In short
How to activate eSIM on iPhone starts at home: install your travel eSIM on Wi-Fi, scan the QR code with the Camera app and tap Add Cellular Plan. On 374 of the 379 plan families in our catalog, the days start only when the eSIM first connects at your destination (October 29, 2026).
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You may not need an eSIM. If your carrier plan already includes data where you are going, stay on it and skip the install.
The bill trap is your US line. With both lines on, Apple warns: “You might still incur roaming fees from your home eSIM” (Apple).
Two checks come before any purchase: Is my phone unlocked? and Does my phone support eSIM?.
When to install: at home, before you fly
Install before departure, at home on Wi-Fi. Apple lists a Wi-Fi network or hotspot among what you need (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple: eSIM setup). Installing does not start the days on 374 of our 379 plan families.
Those plan families start their validity on the first connection to a network at the destination (our catalog snapshot, October 29, 2026). The other 5 start at installation: our Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mayotte and Suriname plans. Read the activation rule on your plan before you scan.
Each plan also has an install window, and the plan page shows it. Install at home, activate on arrival: if a step fails, you find out with Wi-Fi around and time to sort it out before the flight.
Keep the QR code on a second screen or on paper. The Camera route needs the code on another device; the tap-and-hold route below works on the same iPhone.
On iOS 26 or later, the iPhone might ask whether you plan to use a travel eSIM at home or while you travel. Apple says this can happen when you buy it before leaving (Apple: eSIM while traveling).
iPhone: QR code, link or manual details
How to activate eSIM on iPhone depends on what your order gives you: a QR code, a link or details to type. The Camera and tap-and-hold routes both end at Add Cellular Plan (Apple, checked on October 29, 2026, Apple: eSIM setup).
| What your order gives you | Steps on iPhone, in Apple’s labels |
|---|---|
| A QR code on another screen or on paper | Open the Camera app and scan the code → tap the Cellular Plan Detected notification → Continue → Add Cellular Plan |
| A QR code in your default email app or browser, iOS 17.4 or later | Tap and hold the code → Add eSIM → Continue → Add Cellular Plan |
| A link, iOS 17.4 or later | Tap the link → Allow on the Activate New eSIM notification → Continue |
| Details to type | Settings → Cellular → Add Cellular Plan → Enter Details Manually |
| A QR code while you set up a new iPhone | On the Set Up Cellular screen, tap Use QR code |
If the phone asks for a confirmation code, enter the one your order gives. Use the manual route only when your order email gives a manual activation code instead of a QR code.
Add eSIM appears in this flow only after you tap and hold a code. On Apple’s page, Settings → Cellular → Set Up Cellular or Add eSIM moves a number from another iPhone. It is not the way to add a travel plan; moving your own number has its own guide.
Apple lists these methods “depending on your carrier’s eSIM support”. Menus can differ by model and software version.
Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel: adding the eSIM
On a Galaxy, you add the eSIM in SIM manager; on a Pixel, in SIMs. Samsung adds a restart to apply the profile (Samsung and Google US support pages, checked on October 29, 2026).
| Phone | Add the eSIM | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy | Settings → Connections → SIM manager → Add eSIM → Scan QR code | Restart the device to apply the eSIM profile (Samsung) |
| Google Pixel | Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Add SIM → Set up an eSIM | Follow the instructions on the screen (Google) |
If an eSIM ready notification appears on a Galaxy instead, Samsung says to tap it, tap Add and restart. On a new Pixel, Google’s setup screens offer Download SIM → Set up for the same job.
Samsung warns that “Some carriers may not yet support the eSIM capabilities of your Galaxy device.” It adds: “Available screens and settings may vary by wireless service provider, software version, and device model.” Menus can differ by model and software version.
Label the line and choose which one uses data
After the install you hold two lines. Apple says “Your iPhone can use one cellular data network at a time” (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple: Dual SIM). Label the travel line now and move data to it when you land.
On iPhone, the label sits under Settings → Cellular → the travel line → Cellular Plan Label. Name it Travel, so you can tell the two lines apart at a baggage carousel. You pick the data line under Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data, and the table at the end has the Galaxy and Pixel labels.
Your US number stays on your main line for calls and texts. In our catalog, 371 of 379 plan families are data only and the other 8 include minutes for local calls only (October 29, 2026). Texts and 2FA codes on that number are covered in keep your US number.
When you land: data roaming for the travel line
When you land, make the travel line your data line and turn data roaming on for the eSIM line only. On iPhone, the switch is under Settings → Cellular → the travel line → Cellular Data Options (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple: Data Roaming).
On your US line, the Data Roaming switch is your choice: roaming there is billed under your carrier’s rules, so read them first.
On iOS 26 or later, a Turn On Travel eSIM notification can appear when you arrive with the travel eSIM installed. Tap it, choose Travel eSIM Only or Travel eSIM and Current eSIM, tap Continue, then pick Turn on Low Data Mode or Not Now. The dual SIM guide says which choice keeps your US number on.
On a Pixel, turn Roaming on under Settings → Network & internet → SIMs (Google: data roaming). Google adds that “Some carriers charge extra for data roaming”; that is about your US carrier’s bill, and our plans are prepaid.
On a Galaxy, Samsung’s US pages give no path to the roaming switch, so we print none. Both makers’ paths, and what to do on a Galaxy, are in turn data roaming on or off.
eSIM not activating after you land? Work through the no-signal checklist in order.
| Task | iPhone | Galaxy | Pixel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add | Camera → Cellular Plan Detected → Continue → Add Cellular Plan | Settings → Connections → SIM manager → Add eSIM → Scan QR code | Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Add SIM → Set up an eSIM |
| Data line | Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data | SIM manager → Primary SIM | SIMs, under “Your primary SIMs” |
| Roaming | The travel line → Cellular Data Options → Data Roaming | No path on Samsung’s US pages | SIMs → Roaming |
Labels from the makers’ US pages, checked on October 29, 2026. Menus can differ by model and software version.
Next step: pick your destination on our countries page and read its activation rule before you scan.