How to Install an eSIM on iPhone

These steps cover iOS 16, 17, 18 and later. Apple renames this screen occasionally — if your iPhone says "Mobile Data" or "Mobile Service" rather than "Cellular", the path is otherwise identical.

Before you start

• An iPhone XR, XS, XS Max or later, including every SE from 2020 onwards. US models of the iPhone 14 and later have no SIM tray at all and are eSIM-only.
• The iPhone must be carrier-unlocked. Check Settings → General → About and scroll to Carrier Lock. It must read "No SIM restrictions". If it names a carrier, that carrier has to unlock it before any third-party eSIM will work.
• A Wi-Fi connection.
• Your QR code, either on another screen or ready to enter by hand.

Method 1 — scan the QR code

1. Open the QR code from your delivery email on a second screen: a laptop, tablet, or a printed copy.
2. On the iPhone, go to Settings → Cellular (or Mobile Data / Mobile Service).
3. Tap Add eSIM. On iOS 16 and earlier this is Add Cellular Plan.
4. iOS 17 and later offers to transfer a plan from a nearby iPhone first — ignore that and tap Use QR Code.
5. Point the camera at the QR code. When "Cellular Plan Detected" appears, tap Continue, then Add eSIM.
6. Wait while the profile downloads. One to three minutes is normal. Leave the Settings app open.

Method 2 — enter the details by hand

Use this when the QR code is only on the phone you are installing to.

1. Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM.
2. Tap Use QR Code, then Enter Details Manually at the bottom of the scanner screen.
3. Fill in the two fields from the activation code on your delivery page. For LPA:1$rsp.example.com$K2-4RT-9QW:
   • SM-DP+ Address: rsp.example.com
   • Activation Code: K2-4RT-9QW
   • Confirmation Code: leave empty unless we gave you one.
4. Tap Next, then Add eSIM.

Set the plan up correctly

iOS walks you through four questions immediately after the download. Getting these right is what stops your home carrier billing you for roaming.

1. Label the plan. Choose "Travel" or type a custom label. Do not label it "Primary".
2. Default Line: choose your existing number. This is what people call and text.
3. iMessage & FaceTime: choose your existing number, so your contacts still see the number they know.
4. Cellular Data: choose the new travel plan. This is the one that matters.
5. On the same screen, make sure Allow Cellular Data Switching is OFF. Left on, iOS will quietly fall back to your home line when the travel plan is slow — at your home carrier's roaming rates.

Turn on data roaming for the travel plan

1. Settings → Cellular.
2. Tap the travel plan under SIMs.
3. Turn Data Roaming ON.

This is required. A travel eSIM connects through partner networks, which the iPhone treats as roaming — with it off you will see signal and get no data. It costs nothing: the plan is prepaid.

Stop your home line costing money

Go to Settings → Cellular, tap your home plan, and either turn Data Roaming OFF for it, or tap Turn Off This Line to suspend it entirely. Turning the line off means you will not receive calls or texts on your normal number; turning off only its data roaming keeps you reachable while making sure no data goes through it.

APN settings, if data still will not flow

1. Settings → Cellular → tap the travel plan.
2. Tap Cellular Data Network.
3. Under Cellular Data, type the APN shown on your delivery page. Leave username and password blank.
4. Go back and toggle airplane mode on and off.

If Cellular Data Network does not appear, the profile is set to configure itself automatically and there is nothing for you to change — contact us instead.

Confirm it is working

• The status bar shows signal for the travel plan.
• Settings → Cellular lists the plan as On.
• Turn Wi-Fi off and load a website.

Troubleshooting

• "No Service" or "Searching": toggle airplane mode for 30 seconds. Then Settings → Cellular → travel plan → Network Selection → turn Automatic off and pick the operator named on your delivery page.
• Signal but no data: data roaming is almost certainly off, or Cellular Data is still pointing at your home line.
• "Unable to Complete Cellular Plan Change": you are not on Wi-Fi, or the QR code has already been used. An eSIM can only be installed once.
• "Unable to Add Cellular Plan": the iPhone is carrier-locked, or it is running an iOS version too old for the profile. Update iOS and try again.
• Everything worked, then stopped: check whether the plan's data allowance or validity period has run out — Settings → Cellular shows usage per plan.

For more background on how eSIMs work, read our iPhone eSIM guide, or contact support with your order number.