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Magic eSIM › Guides › iPhone

How to install an eSIM on iPhone

Installing takes a few minutes and needs an internet connection — Wi-Fi is easiest. Below is the whole path: checking that your iPhone supports eSIM, installing the profile, and turning on mobile data at your destination.

Check that your iPhone supports eSIM

Open Settings → Cellular (called Mobile Data in some regions). If you see Add eSIM or Add Cellular Plan, your iPhone supports eSIM.

Your iPhone must also not be locked to one carrier. See how to check compatibility.

Option 1 — scan the QR code

  1. Show your eSIM's QR code on another screen: a computer, a tablet or a second phone.
  2. On the iPhone, open the Camera app and scan the QR code.
  3. When the Cellular Plan Detected notification appears, tap it.
  4. Tap Continue, then Add Cellular Plan. If you are asked for a confirmation code, enter the one provided with your eSIM.
  5. Give the line a clear name, such as «Travel», so you do not mix it up with your main SIM.

With iOS 17.4 or later, if the QR code is in an email or on a web page on the iPhone itself, touch and hold the code, then tap Add eSIM.

Option 2 — enter the details manually

  1. Find the details for manual installation that come with your eSIM.
  2. Open Settings → Cellular (or Mobile Data) and tap Add Cellular Plan.
  3. Tap Enter Details Manually and type in those details.
  4. Confirm, and wait until the installation finishes.

Useful when there is no QR code to scan.

At your destination — turn on data

  1. In Settings → Cellular, make sure the eSIM line is turned on.
  2. Tap Cellular Data and choose the eSIM line. Your main SIM can stay on for calls and texts.
  3. Open the eSIM line and turn on Data Roaming. Travel eSIMs usually connect through partner networks, which the phone treats as roaming.
  4. If you do not want charges from your home operator, turn off data roaming on your main SIM.
  5. Give the phone a minute or two to register on a local network.

Menu names can differ slightly between iOS versions.

If something goes wrong

Check that the eSIM is the line chosen for cellular data and that data roaming is on for it, then restart the phone. The full checklist is in eSIM not working.

Do not delete the eSIM while troubleshooting: its QR code may be single-use, and you may not be able to install it again.

Questions

Do I need Wi-Fi to install an eSIM on iPhone?

You need an internet connection to download the profile, and Wi-Fi is the easiest. Installing on the day you travel, before you leave home or on airport Wi-Fi, works whatever the plan's rules for when its validity starts.

The QR code is on this same iPhone. Can I still install it?

Yes. With iOS 17.4 or later, touch and hold the QR code in the email or web page, then tap Add eSIM. Or choose Enter Details Manually and type in the details provided with your eSIM.

What happens to my main number?

It stays on. Calls and texts to your main number follow your home operator's roaming terms; the travel eSIM is used for mobile data.

Why turn on data roaming for the eSIM?

Travel eSIMs usually connect through partner networks, which the phone treats as roaming. Data roaming on the eSIM line is a normal setting; you can keep it off on your main SIM.