United Kingdom eSIM

How to activate your eSIM in United Kingdom

1. Check your phone first. It must support eSIM and not be carrier-locked. Dial *#06# — an EID in the results means the hardware is there. Per-brand setup steps are in our device compatibility guide.
2. Buy while you still have Wi-Fi — at home or at the airport. You cannot install an eSIM without a working connection, so doing it after you land in United Kingdom is harder than doing it before you go.
3. Install the profile. Your order page shows a QR code and the SM-DP+ address plus activation code. Scan the code with the phone that will use the eSIM, or type the two values into "Add eSIM" if you are buying on that same phone.
4. Leave it switched off until you arrive. Installing is not the same as activating — many plans start counting on first connection to a United Kingdom network.
5. On landing, select it for mobile data and turn data roaming on for that line, exactly as the plan instructions say. Your usual number stays available for calls and texts.
6. If nothing connects, restart the phone and re-check that the eSIM is enabled and selected for data before contacting support.

The QR code and activation code normally work only once — most networks disable them as soon as the eSIM is installed.

Buy your United Kingdom eSIM

Which networks does it use in United Kingdom?

Your eSIM attaches to these networks in United Kingdom:

• O2 — 5G
• EE — 5G
• 3 — 4G

These are the same commercial networks local customers use, not a separate tourist band. Which one your phone picks is chosen automatically by signal strength and the roaming agreements in place at the time, so it can change as you move around — that is normal and needs no action from you.

Will my phone work in United Kingdom?

The eSIM is a software profile, so the question is your handset, not United Kingdom. Three things have to be true:

• The phone supports eSIM. Every iPhone from XS and XR onward does, as do recent Pixel and Galaxy flagships. On any phone, the reliable check is Settings — if there is an Add eSIM or Add mobile plan option, the hardware is there.
• It is not carrier-locked. A phone still locked to the network that sold it will usually refuse a second profile. Your original operator can confirm and unlock it, normally free once the contract is settled.
• It was not bought in mainland China. iPhones sold in that market ship without eSIM hardware regardless of model, so an iPhone 15 Pro bought in Shanghai cannot install one while the identical model bought elsewhere can.

Some older models have the hardware but shipped with patchy software support, so the Settings check beats a spec sheet. If Add eSIM is missing, no plan from anyone will install — that is a device limitation, not a United Kingdom one.

Why buy your United Kingdom eSIM here

You see the whole price before you pay. Every plan above shows a fixed data amount, a fixed validity and one total. There is no "unlimited" allowance that quietly slows after a few gigabytes, no activation fee appearing at checkout, and no auto-renewing subscription — when the data runs out, it stops, and nothing bills you again.

You install before you fly. Buy at home on Wi-Fi and the profile is on the phone before you reach the airport. That matters more than it sounds: installing an eSIM needs a working internet connection, which is exactly what you do not have standing in an arrivals hall in United Kingdom.

Your own number keeps working. The travel plan is data-only and runs alongside your normal SIM, so calls and texts to your usual number still arrive. Nothing is swapped out and there is no tray to lose a SIM in.

Both ways to install are given to you. The order page shows a QR code and the SM-DP+ address with activation code. Use the QR if you are setting up a second device, or type the two values in if you bought on the same phone — it cannot scan its own screen.

We tell you when a plan is home-routed. Some United Kingdom plans carry their data out through a partner network in another country rather than exiting locally. It is normal and does not reduce your allowance, but it can affect latency and which network you appear on — so we say so rather than leaving you to discover it.