My eSIM isn't working: what to check, and in what order

First of all: where are you up to?

eSIM problems look very similar from the outside, but they fall into three stages that don't overlap. Find yours and jump straight to it.

1. 1

   You don't have the QR code yet

   You've paid and nothing has arrived, or it arrived and you can't open it. Go to “I've paid and the email hasn't arrived”.

2. 2

   You have the QR code but can't install it

   Your phone won't read the code, or says it can't add the plan. Go to “The QR code won't scan”.

3. 3

   It's installed but you can't get online

   The eSIM appears in your list of lines and there's still no internet. It's the most common case, and the one people most often get wrong: start here.

I've paid and the email hasn't arrived

If your bank has charged you, the order exists. Not seeing the email almost never means the purchase has been lost.

1. Check your spam folder and the “Promotions” or “Social” tabs. This is by far the most common reason: the email contains a QR code and a link, and that's enough for some filters to set it aside.
2. Search by sender, not by subject. Search for “Glowi” across your whole inbox, including the bin.
3. Check you typed your email address correctly. One letter missing from the domain and the email went to an address that doesn't exist. You can see it exactly as you typed it on the order confirmation screen.
4. Give it a few minutes if you've only just paid. Delivery is automatic and usually instant, but the provider can take a little while to return the eSIM.

If none of this finds it, don't buy again: ask us to resend the QR code with your email and order reference, or write to us. Buying again means paying twice for the same thing.

A note about the link in the email. It expires for security reasons. If it says it has expired, that doesn't mean you've lost the eSIM: write to us and we'll send you a new one.

The QR code won't scan

Before you decide the code is faulty: the QR code has to be scanned with the phone the eSIM is going on, from Settings, not with the normal camera or a QR reader app. If you scan it with the camera, your phone will offer to open a link and nothing will happen.

If you're scanning it from another device

This is the recommended way: open the email on your computer and scan the screen with your phone. If everything is on the same phone, you can't scan your own screen: use the direct install button in the email (on iPhone) or enter the codes by hand (on any phone). Both options are in the installation guide.

If your phone doesn't recognise the code

• Turn up the brightness on the screen showing the QR code and switch off dark mode if you're using it: a grey-on-grey QR code doesn't scan well.
• Enlarge the image. A small QR code on a phone screen loses definition.
• Clean the camera and move back a few centimetres. eSIM scanners focus less well than the photo camera.
• Don't print the QR code if you can avoid it. On low-quality paper it fails more often than on screen.

If your phone says the code has already been used

An eSIM QR code works only once. If you've already installed it — even if you deleted the line afterwards — that code is used up and can't be used again. Deleting an eSIM from your phone doesn't give it back: you need a new one. Write to us before you buy another.

The full steps, with the menu paths for iPhone and Android: step-by-step installation guide.

The eSIM is installed but there's no signal

The line shows up in Settings but gets no signal, or says “No Service” or “Searching…”. Check these in order: they go from most to least likely, and the first three solve most cases.

1. 1

   The line is switched off

   Installing an eSIM doesn't switch it on. Find the Glowi line in your mobile data settings and check it's turned on. On iPhone, in Settings → Mobile Data, the line must show as on; on Samsung, in Settings → Connections → SIM manager; on Google Pixel, in Settings → Network & internet → SIMs.

2. 2

   You haven't arrived yet

   The eSIM only connects to networks in the country you bought it for. At home it won't get a signal, and that doesn't mean it's broken. It's normal for it to say “No Service” until you land.

3. 3

   Your phone is still looking for your home network

   When you land, your phone sometimes hangs on to what it knew. Turn Aeroplane Mode on for 15 seconds and off again, or restart. It's the dullest fix and the one that works most often.

4. 4

   Network selection is set to manual

   If you've ever chosen a network by hand, your phone will keep trying that one. Set it to automatic: iPhone → Settings → Mobile Data → the Glowi line → Network Selection → Automatic. Samsung → Settings → Connections → Mobile networks → Network operators → Select automatically.

5. 5

   Your phone is locked to your network

   A phone bought on a contract or instalment plan may be locked to other lines, and then no one's eSIM will work on it. Check here.

Still no signal after all five? Write to us and a real person will reply. Tell us exactly what the status bar says: “No Service” is not the same as “SOS only” or “Emergency calls only”.

You have signal but can't get online

The signal bars are full, it shows the name of a local network, and pages still won't load. If you've already checked Data Roaming and your mobile data line, there are two causes left.

The APN is missing (happens on some Android phones)

The APN (access point name) is what the line uses to get onto the internet. It's almost always set up automatically. Some Android phones don't pick it up, and then you have signal and no data: exactly this symptom. On iPhone you don't need to change anything.

To enter it: Settings → Connections → Mobile networks → Access Point Names (on Samsung; on Google Pixel it's Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → the Glowi line → Access Point Names), with the Glowi line selected, add a new one, type the value in the APN field and save it. Leave the other fields empty. Then turn Aeroplane Mode on for 15 seconds.

The value depends on the destination. These are the ones for the destinations people ask about most:

These are the ten destinations people ask about most. The APN for all 207 destinations is on each country’s page, next to the plans: find it here. If yours isn’t listed or doesn’t work, let us know.

You're online, but services think you're in another country

When you browse with a travel eSIM, your phone connects to a mast in the country you’re in — that’s why you have coverage — but your traffic reaches the internet through another country. It isn’t a fault and it isn’t just you: of the 201 destinations in the catalogue with a known country, 194 exit through a different country and only 7 exit through their own.

You’ll notice it on sites that check where you’re coming from: your bank may ask for an extra confirmation, a video platform may show you a different catalogue, and some websites may appear in another language. Your data works just the same; what changes is where you appear to be connecting from.

What this does NOT fix: a travel eSIM can’t be used to make it look as if you’re in a particular country. We don’t choose where the traffic exits, we can’t change it on request, and the exit country can change without notice. If you need your bank to see you at home, use your usual line or Wi-Fi.

The eSIM has expired or run out of data

It stopped working suddenly, halfway through your trip or when you went to use it again. There are three different endings and it's worth not mixing them up.

1. The days have run out. The plan lasts the number of days you bought, counted from the first connection at your destination. When they're up, the line stops giving data even if you had GB left over. Unused data doesn't outlast the validity period.
2. The data has run out. The same, the other way round: even if you have days left, no data means no connection. You can see how much you have left in your phone's data usage screen, and plan better next time with the data calculator.
3. It expired before it was installed. An unused QR code also has a deadline. If it has passed, the code no longer works.

Your eSIM stops connecting, but it stays installed on your phone. If your plan can be topped up, go to My eSIM and tap “Add data”: the data and days are added instantly, with nothing to install. If it can’t, buy another plan for the same destination and install it as a new eSIM, with its own QR code.

Delete the used-up eSIM from your phone before installing the new one, or at least switch it off. Two lines for the same destination side by side is a recipe for your phone picking the one with no data left, and you thinking the new one is broken.

Your phone doesn't support eSIM (or so it seems)

If your phone has no option to add an eSIM anywhere, there are three possibilities, and people constantly mistake the last two for the first.

• It doesn't support eSIM. Dial *#06# on your phone's keypad: if an EID number appears, your phone does support eSIM. If only the IMEI shows, it doesn't.
• It supports eSIM but is locked to your network. Here the EID appears and the eSIM still won't work. It happens with phones bought on a contract or instalment plan with a provider. Your provider unlocks it, not us.
• The model supports eSIM, but your regional version doesn't. Some models sold in mainland China, and certain versions for other markets, came without eSIM even though the model generally has it.

Check if my phone is compatible

If you've bought one and your phone turns out not to be compatible, write to us: see what our refund policy says.

If you write to us, tell us this

You don't need to know anything about eSIMs. With these five details we can almost always solve it first time; without them, the conversation turns into back-and-forth questions while you're travelling.

1. Your order reference (it starts with GLW-) and the email you bought with.
2. Which phone you have and whether it's an iPhone or Android. The exact model, if you know it.
3. Exactly what the status bar says. “No Service”, “SOS only” or the name of a network are three different problems.
4. Whether the Glowi line appears in your mobile data settings, and whether it's switched on.
5. What you've already tried from this page. That way we won't ask you to do it again.

Write to us — a real person will reply