How to install an eSIM on a Xiaomi or Redmi
Compatibility matters more here than with other brands: two phones with the same name may or may not support eSIM depending on where they were sold. Check before you buy anything.
First: does your model support eSIM?
On Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO, eSIM isn't available across the whole range, and the same family can have it in the global version and not in another. This is the step to sort out before anything else.
- Look it up in the checker. Search for your exact model in is my phone compatible?.
- Check on the phone itself too. If the SIM card settings show nothing like “eSIM” or “Add eSIM”, that device doesn't support it, and no setting or update will change that.
- It isn't locked to a network. A locked phone won't accept an eSIM from another provider.
- If in doubt, write to us before you buy through the contact page, with the exact model. It's quicker than finding out at the airport.
Does your model have eSIM? Redmi Note 13 · Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G · Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G · Xiaomi 14T · Xiaomi 15T
Install the eSIM
- Open your purchase email on another screen, with the QR code showing.
- On the phone, go to Settings → SIM cards & mobile networks. Depending on the system version, the menu may be called SIM card & mobile networks or something similar.
- Look for the option to add or use an eSIM; it's usually next to the SIM slots, as a third option.
- Choose scan the QR code and point the camera at the QR code in the email.
- If it asks for a confirmation code, it's in that same email.
- When it's done, give the line a name: the country you're visiting works well.
Can't scan? In the add eSIM menu, look for the option to enter the details manually: 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 keeps working because it runs over data.
In Settings → SIM cards & mobile networks:
- Mobile data: choose the eSIM line.
- Calls and SMS: leave your usual line as the default.
- Data roaming: turn it on for the eSIM line. Without it, it won't connect outside your home country.
- Watch out for the system's aggressive battery saving: if the connection drops by itself when the screen locks, check that the app affected doesn't have background data restrictions.
The APN: the step people forget on Android
It's often 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 correctly.
The APN for your destination is on the country page and in the delivery email. To set it: Settings → SIM cards & mobile networks, tap 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
There's no eSIM option at all in the settings
It almost always means that model, in that country's version, doesn't support it. Check it in the compatibility checker and, if you can't find it, write to us before you buy.
It installs but there's no internet
Three things, in order: data roaming turned on for that line, the eSIM selected for mobile data, and 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 it isn't a real-time counter.
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.