How to install an eSIM on a Google Pixel
The Pixel is one of the easiest phones for this: the eSIM downloads from the network settings in a couple of minutes. Here's the exact path, how to keep your own number for WhatsApp, and what to do if it installs but won't connect.
Before you start
- Check the model. Pixels have supported eSIM for years, but the very first ones in the range don't, and some variants sold in certain countries differ. Look yours up in our compatibility checker.
- It isn't locked to a network. A locked phone won't accept an eSIM from another provider.
- Do it on Wi-Fi, before you travel. Installing needs a connection, doesn't use any of the plan's data and doesn't start the days: those begin when you connect to a network at your destination.
- Have your purchase email to hand. It contains the QR code and, just in case, the details to type in by hand.
Install the eSIM, step by step
- Open your purchase email on another screen (a computer, a tablet, another phone) with the QR code showing.
- On the Pixel, go to Settings → Network & internet.
- Tap SIMs, then the + or Add SIM. If the phone asks whether you're using a physical SIM, tap Download a SIM instead?
- Tap Next and point the camera at the QR code.
- If it asks for a confirmation code, it's in the same email.
- When it's done, give the line a name. The country you're visiting works well, so you don't mix them up later.
Can't scan the QR code because it's on the same screen? The scanner step has an option to enter the code manually: that's where you type in the SM-DP+ server address and the activation code, both in the delivery email.
Dual SIM: keeping your own number
The Glowi eSIM is data only: your usual SIM stays in, with your number for calls and texts, and WhatsApp works as normal because it runs over data.
In Settings → Network & internet → SIMs:
- Mobile data: choose the eSIM line as your preferred line for data.
- Calls and SMS: leave them on your usual line.
- Roaming: turn it on for the eSIM line. Without it, it won't connect outside your home country, and it's the number one cause of “it's not working”.
- If you want to make sure your home data isn't being used, turn off mobile data on your other line while you're travelling.
More for your trip: WhatsApp with the eSIM, calls and dual SIM, data roaming and what to check if it won’t connect on arrival.
The APN: the step people forget on Android
It's almost always set automatically, but on some Android phones you have to type the APN in by hand or there's no internet, even with the eSIM installed perfectly.
The APN for your destination is on the country page and in the delivery email. To set it: Settings → Network & internet → SIMs, choose the eSIM line, go to Access Point Names and add a new one with that name. Leave the other fields as they are.
Common problems and what to do
I can't find the option to download a SIM
Make sure you're in Network & internet → SIMs and not in the menu for a physical SIM that's already inserted. If the model doesn't support eSIM, that option doesn't appear: check it in the compatibility checker.
The eSIM installs but there's no internet
Three things, in this order: roaming turned on for that line, the eSIM chosen as the preferred line for mobile data and, if it still doesn't work, the APN typed in by hand.
“Invalid QR code” or “already used”
The QR code works for one installation only. If you've already scanned it on another phone, it won't work on a second one.
I've deleted the eSIM from my phone
In general it can't be reinstalled. Write to us through the contact page with your order code and we'll look into it.
Where can I see how much data I have left?
In My eSIM, with the email address you used to buy. The operator reports usage with a delay, so don't treat it as a real-time counter.
Can I install it now and use it when I arrive?
Yes, and that's what we recommend. Install it at home on Wi-Fi; the plan's days start when you connect to a network at your destination, not when you install.
Don't have your eSIM yet?
Choose a destination and a plan from €2.95: it's delivered instantly by email, with the QR code and instructions.