How to install an eSIM on iPhone, step by step
Ten minutes at home on Wi-Fi, and when you land all you have to do is switch your phone on. Here's exactly where to tap at each step, and what to do if something doesn't work.
Before you start: two checks
- Your iPhone supports eSIM. Check it in our compatibility checker, which searches by model. A shortcut on the phone itself: if Settings → Mobile Data offers the option to add a plan or an eSIM, your iPhone supports it.
- It isn't locked to a network. A locked phone won't accept an eSIM from another provider. If you got it on a contract, ask your operator before you travel.
Does your model have eSIM? iPhone 11 · iPhone 12 · iPhone 13 · iPhone 14 · iPhone 15 · iPhone 16 · iPhone 17 · iPhone Air
Do it on Wi-Fi, before you leave. Installing the profile needs a connection, and at your destination you won't have one yet. Installing doesn't use any of the plan's data or start the days: those begin with the first connection to a network at your destination.
Install the eSIM
- Open your purchase email on another screen (a computer or tablet). Your QR code is inside.
- On the iPhone, go to Settings → Mobile Data (Cellular on iPhones set to US English).
- Tap Add eSIM or Add Data Plan, depending on your iOS version.
- Choose Use QR Code and point the camera at the QR code in the email.
- If it asks for a confirmation code, you'll find it in the same email.
- When it's done, give the new line a label: “Travel” or the name of the country is easier to tell apart than “Secondary”.
Reading the email on the same iPhone you're installing it on? The email has an Install on this iPhone button: one tap installs it without scanning anything.
Dual SIM: keeping your own number and WhatsApp
The Glowi eSIM is data only. Your usual SIM stays in the phone, so you keep your number for calls and texts, and WhatsApp keeps working with your usual account, because it runs over data.
The settings you're looking for, in Settings → Mobile Data:
- Mobile Data: select the eSIM line. That's the one used for browsing.
- Default Voice Line: leave your usual line, so you make and receive calls as normal.
- Allow Mobile Data Switching: leave it off. If it's on, the iPhone may fall back to your home line's data when the eSIM has no signal.
- Data Roaming: open the eSIM line and turn it on. Without it, the eSIM won't connect abroad.
A tip to avoid nasty surprises: turn off mobile data on your home line while you travel. That way you know the data is coming from the eSIM.
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.
When you land
- Switch your phone on and give it a minute to pick up a network at your destination.
- Check in Settings → Mobile Data that the line used for data is the eSIM and that Data Roaming is on.
- If it won't connect, turn Aeroplane Mode on and off again: it forces a fresh network search.
Common problems and what to do
“Mobile Data Plan Cannot Be Added”
It's almost always one of three things: the QR code has already been used on another phone, the iPhone is locked to a network, or the connection isn't stable. The QR code works for one installation only.
The eSIM shows as installed but won't connect
Check that Data Roaming is on for that line and that the eSIM is the line selected for mobile data. Then turn Aeroplane Mode on and off.
I deleted the profile by mistake
In general, an eSIM profile can only be installed once: if you delete it, it may not be recoverable. Write to us through the contact page with your order code and we'll look into it.
I've changed iPhone
The profile doesn't move across by itself. If you hadn't installed it yet, install it on the new one. If it was already installed on the old one, write to us before you delete anything.
I can't find the email with the QR code
Check your spam folder. You can also get it back by going to My eSIM with the email address you used to buy.
Don't have your eSIM yet?
Choose a destination and a plan; it's delivered instantly by email, with the QR code and instructions.