How to install an eSIM on iPhone and AndroidHow to install an eSIM on iPhone

Installation takes under a minute and happens at home over ordinary Wi-Fi. One rule matters: install the profile in advance, but switch it on only when you land. The two steps get confused constantly, and that confusion is why the internet "does not work".

What arrives after payment

An email with a QR code and the profile details. There are two ways to install: scan the QR code from another screen, or enter the details by hand. The second is for when there is no second screen — for example, you are reading the email on the same phone you are installing on.

iPhone

With the QR code:

1. Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM.
2. Use QR Code.
3. Point the camera at the code on another screen.
4. Give the profile a clear label, such as "Cyprus".

Manually:

1. Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM → Enter Details Manually.
2. Copy the server address (SM-DP+) and activation code from the email.

During setup the iPhone asks which line does what. Sensible answers: home number for calls and iMessage, the new profile for cellular data. You can change this at any time.

Android

Wording varies by manufacturer, the path is roughly the same:

1. Settings → Network & internet → SIMs (on Samsung: Connections → SIM manager).
2. Add eSIM → Scan carrier QR code.
3. Scan the code or enter the details manually.
4. Confirm the profile download.

The key part: do not switch it on early

The plan starts counting from the first connection to a network, not from the moment you pay. So:

• Installing the profile two weeks before departure is perfectly safe.
• Switching it on should wait until you have landed.

Turn it on at home and it will attach to your local network as a roaming profile and start the clock.

On arrival: three switches

1. The profile is on. Settings → Cellular → select the profile → Turn On.
2. Cellular data runs through it. Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data → pick the profile.
3. Data roaming is on for that profile. It sounds odd but it is required: for an eSIM the local network is formally a visited one. No roaming charge results; you are billed for the plan.

If it does not work

A step-by-step walkthrough is in eSIM not connecting. The short version: nine times out of ten it is switch two or three above.

In short

• Install at home over Wi-Fi, switch on after landing.
• Validity starts at the first network connection, not at purchase.
• After landing check three switches: profile, cellular data, data roaming.
• Your home SIM stays in the phone and keeps receiving calls.