How to install an eSIM on Android
Short answer: On Samsung, go to Settings → Connections → SIM manager → Add eSIM. On Pixel, Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → + → “Download a SIM instead?”. Scan the QR code from your order page, set the eSIM as your mobile-data line, and turn data roaming on for that line only.
Android has no single eSIM menu. Every manufacturer puts it somewhere different and calls it something different, which is why a generic “go to settings” instruction is so unhelpful. Below is the exact path for each major brand, then the three settings that actually matter once it is installed.
Before you start
- Check the phone can take an eSIM. Dial *#06#. An EID next to the IMEI means yes. No EID means no, whatever the model name says.
- Connect to Wi-Fi. The profile downloads over the internet, not over mobile data.
- Have the QR code on a second screen, or use the manual details — every order page shows the SM-DP+ address and activation code underneath the QR for when you are installing on the same phone you bought with.
- Do it before you fly. Validity starts when the eSIM first connects in the destination, so installing early costs nothing.
Samsung Galaxy
- Settings → Connections → SIM manager. On One UI before 5.0 this is SIM card manager.
- Tap Add eSIM, then Scan QR code from service provider.
- Scan, or choose Enter activation code to type the details by hand.
- Back in SIM manager, set the travel eSIM as the preferred SIM for mobile data.
- Settings → Connections → Mobile networks → Data roaming on. Samsung applies this per SIM, so check it is on for the travel line.
Google Pixel
- Settings → Network & internet → SIMs.
- Tap the + beside SIMs, or Add SIM if there is no second line yet.
- Choose “Download a SIM instead?” — this is the eSIM option, despite the wording.
- Tap Next and scan the QR code.
- Under SIMs, select the travel line and turn on Mobile data and Roaming.
Other Android brands
The shape is the same everywhere: find the SIM or mobile-network section, add a SIM, choose the eSIM or “download” option, scan, then set it as the data line and enable roaming on it.
| Brand | Where to add it |
|---|---|
| Xiaomi | Settings → SIM cards & mobile networks → eSIM |
| OnePlus | Settings → Wi-Fi & network → SIM & network → + |
| Motorola | Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → + |
| Oppo | Settings → Mobile network → SIM card & mobile data |
| Honor | Settings → Mobile network → SIM management |
| Huawei | Settings → Mobile network → SIM management |
| Sony | Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → + |
| Nothing | Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → + |
Menu names shift between Android versions and regions. If none of these match, search your Settings for “eSIM” — most Android builds have a settings search.
The three settings that matter afterwards
- Mobile data → the travel eSIM. Installing does not select it.
- Data roaming ON for the travel line. It is a foreign profile roaming onto a local network; without this it connects to nothing.
- Data roaming OFF for your home line. So nothing roams in the background on your normal SIM while you think you are on the eSIM.
If it still will not connect after that, eSIM not working? Here is how to fix it works through every remaining cause.
