How to activate an eSIM on Android depends on who made the phone. On a Google Pixel, open Settings, tap Network & internet, then SIMs, then Add SIM. On a Samsung Galaxy, open Settings, tap Connections, then SIM manager, then Add eSIM. From there you scan a QR code, type an activation code, or let the provider’s app do it for you. Then turn the eSIM on, choose it for mobile data, and enable roaming on it when you land. Don’t forget that last step.
Last updated 30 October 2026.
Which Android version these steps come from
Android menus shift between makers and versions. Most people miss this, then wonder why a tutorial’s buttons don’t exist on their screen. So here’s exactly which pages we read today, and which versions they cover.
Google Pixel. Google’s page How to use dual SIMs on your Google Pixel phone warns that “some of these steps work only on Android 11 and up.” To see yours, Google’s version page says: open Settings, tap About phone, then Android version.
Samsung Galaxy. Samsung’s US page SIM cards for your Galaxy phone or tablet uses the labels SIM manager and Add eSIM. It doesn’t name a One UI version. Samsung’s UK page How to use an eSIM with your Galaxy phone, last updated 22 January 2025, still shows the older labels: SIM card manager and Add mobile plan. If your Galaxy shows the older words, it’s running older software. Same path. Different names.
Saily’s install overview says its Android guide covers Samsung, Xiaomi and other phones. Saily’s Android guide gives the Galaxy-style path first and the Pixel-style path as an “alternative manual method” for phones where the first doesn’t match.
Before you start
Check the phone supports eSIM. Google’s SIM page is clear for Pixels: “Pixel 4 and later: All phones work with eSIM.” Older Pixels depend on where and how they were bought. For other phones, our guide on whether your phone is eSIM compatible walks through the checks.
Make sure it’s unlocked. Airalo’s Android guide says: “Your device needs to be eSIM compatible and network unlocked.” A carrier-locked handset will refuse a foreign profile, and no amount of retrying fixes that. If you’ve bought the phone on contract, ask your carrier.
Get on Wi-Fi. Saily asks you to “maintain a stable internet connection (Wi-Fi) during the installation process.” Honestly, home Wi-Fi a day or two before you fly beats airport Wi-Fi every time.
Activate an eSIM on a Google Pixel
Google’s steps for adding an eSIM to a Pixel that already has a SIM:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Network & internet, then SIMs.
- Tap Add SIM, then Set up an eSIM.
- Choose your eSIM’s network provider to begin.
- When asked to set SIM preferences, tap Get started, Next, Done.
With a travel eSIM’s code. A travel eSIM company may not show up in that provider list, so you’ll often enter its details yourself. Saily’s Pixel guide gives the path: Settings, Network & internet, SIMs, Add SIM, “Download a new eSIM.” Then tap “Need help?” and choose to enter the code manually. Type the details, tap Continue, then Download.
Two eSIMs at once? Sometimes. Google says you can run two eSIM profiles on a Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro or later, if your carrier allows it. In the US, Google notes Pixel 10 models other than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold take eSIM only.
Set the data SIM. In Settings, Network & internet, SIMs, turn on Mobile data. Under “Your primary SIMs,” tap Mobile data and pick the travel eSIM. Google’s rule: “Only one SIM can be the default for data.” Keep Calls and Texts on your home SIM. Bank codes still arrive.
Automatic data switching. On a Pixel 8a or later, Google describes a toggle called Automatic data switching under the same SIMs screen. When you’re abroad, you probably want it off, so your phone doesn’t drift back to the home SIM and its roaming rates. Don’t skip this.
Activate an eSIM on a Samsung Galaxy
Samsung’s US page gives the path: Settings, Connections, SIM manager, Add eSIM. Then one of these:
- Scan QR code. Point the camera at your provider’s code.
- Carrier Discovery Server. The phone searches for a plan your carrier has assigned and downloads it.
- Carrier push notification. Tap the eSIM-ready notification, then Add.
Samsung adds one line most people miss: “Restart the device to apply the eSIM profile.” Don’t skip the restart.
With an activation code instead. Saily’s Android guide, written on a Galaxy, spells it out:
- Go to Settings, tap Connections, select SIM manager.
- Tap Add eSIM and select “Scan QR code from service provider.”
- Tap “Enter activation code.”
- Type the details from your provider and tap Connect, then Add.
On the older layout, Samsung’s UK page says to tap Add mobile plan, then “Add using activation code.”
Set the data SIM. Saily’s guide: Settings, Connections, SIM manager, tap Mobile data, choose the travel eSIM. Samsung’s own page also mentions a Primary SIM setting in SIM manager for calls, texts and data.
Moving from an old Galaxy. Samsung offers “Transfer SIM from another phone” under Add eSIM, and “Convert to eSIM” for a physical SIM. Those are built for carrier lines, and a travel eSIM follows its own provider’s rules about moving between phones, which differ a lot from one company to the next, so ask that provider before you try to shift a plan you’ve already installed.
The easiest route: the provider’s app
If you’ve bought from a travel eSIM company with an app, you may never touch those menus. Honestly, it’s the gentlest route.
Saily’s app steps (Android): tap “Install eSIM”, choose the device, tap “Start eSIM install”, then tap “Allow” and wait a few seconds “without closing the app.” Name it if you like. Then pick your preferred SIM for calls, messages and mobile data, and return to the app. It walks you through three switches: turn on the eSIM line, enable roaming, set Saily for mobile data. Saily’s guide ends with “Ensure it is activated before traveling.”
Airalo’s app steps: Airalo says “some Android models support Direct installation.” Open My eSIMs, pick your eSIM, tap View Details, then Install or share and Start installation. Allow activation if asked. Then wait patiently. When the app asks whether you’ve arrived, tap Get Connected if you’re there or Connect Later if you’re not. If installation fails, “View options” offers a replacement, refund or support.
No direct install on your model? Airalo’s QR route: Settings, Network & Internet, + Add Mobile Network (or Add eSIM), tap Next at “Don’t have a SIM card?”, then scan. Or choose Enter code manually and type the SM-DP+ address and activation code from the app.
Install isn’t the same as on
This trips up plenty of travellers. Turns out an eSIM can be fully installed and still not carry a byte. Airalo lists what turns it on:
- Turn on the eSIM and enable Mobile data on it.
- Enable Data roaming, and “turn off your primary line to avoid roaming charges when abroad.”
- If required, set the APN with the details from the Airalo app.
On a Pixel-style menu, Saily’s version is a single line: in Network & internet, SIMs, “turn on the toggle for the eSIM and enable ‘Mobile data and Roaming’.”
Don’t forget the roaming switch. It feels wrong to turn on roaming for a plan bought for one country, yet both Saily’s and Airalo’s guides tell you to enable it. When you skip it, the phone can show signal bars and still load nothing.
When does the plan start? Airalo says “most eSIM validity periods start only when the eSIM connects to a mobile network in its coverage area,” with rare exceptions listed in the package details. So installing early, at home, usually costs nothing. Our guide on when to install a travel eSIM covers each provider’s rule.
A worked example: a family visit to Istanbul
A teacher flies to Istanbul for ten days to see family, carrying a Galaxy phone with their home SIM still inside, a provider app already downloaded, and a rough idea of how much data a family visit really needs.
Data estimate. Maps and ride apps for an hour a day, messaging all day, a few photos sent to relatives, and two video calls a week with colleagues. They budget about 0.8 GB a day, so 8 GB for ten days, and buy a package with headroom above that.
Two days before. On home Wi-Fi they open the provider’s app and tap install. On a Galaxy the system asks to allow the download; they tap Allow and wait without closing the app. They name the line “Turkey” and leave calls and texts on the home SIM. Then they restart, as Samsung suggests.
At the airport. Nothing left to do. No menus, no codes, no hunting for a free hotspot near the gate.
Landing at Istanbul Airport. Settings, Connections, SIM manager, Mobile data: “Turkey.” In the travel eSIM’s settings, roaming goes on. On the home line, roaming stays off. Within a minute a Turkish network name appears.
Day six. The app shows 4.1 GB used, under the 4.8 GB their budget allowed for six days, because evenings ran on the relatives’ Wi-Fi and the phone quietly preferred it whenever it was in range. No top-up needed. When you watch the meter early, surprises stay small.
That’s the whole job. In practice, nearly all of it happens before you leave home.
When it won’t activate
“No internet” with full bars. Check, in order: eSIM line on, mobile data set to the eSIM, roaming on for the eSIM. Then restart the phone.
The QR code won’t scan. Type it instead. On a Galaxy that’s “Enter activation code”; on a Pixel it’s “Need help?” then the manual option.
An error during the app install. Saily says to tap “View instructions” in its app to see your setup details and add them by hand.
Still nothing. Sometimes an APN is needed; Airalo shows it in the app. After that, contact support before deleting anything. Our eSIM not working abroad guide covers the fixes in more depth, and iPhone users have their own iPhone install guide.
FAQ: activating an eSIM on Android
Where is eSIM in Android settings?
Pixels keep it under Network & internet, then SIMs. Galaxies keep it under Connections, then SIM manager, or SIM card manager on older software. Saily’s guides map other Android brands onto those same two layouts.
Why does my eSIM show signal but no data?
Usually the eSIM isn’t set as the mobile data SIM, or roaming is off on it. Both Saily and Airalo tell you to enable roaming on the travel line. If both are right, check whether your provider lists an APN.
Do I need to restart after adding an eSIM?
Samsung tells Galaxy owners to reboot so the profile applies. Elsewhere it isn’t always required, though a reboot is a cheap first fix whenever a connection refuses to appear.
Can I keep my home SIM active for calls?
Yes, on dual-SIM handsets. Give the travel eSIM mobile data, leave calls and texts with your usual number, and switch that line’s roaming off so it can’t quietly bill you.
The short version
- Pixel owners start under Network & internet, then SIMs (Google’s steps cover Android 11 onward).
- Galaxy owners start under Connections, then SIM manager, and reboot afterwards.
- A provider’s app can skip both menus; tap Allow and keep it open.
- Installed isn’t working: switch the line on, give it mobile data, enable its roaming.
- Your regular number keeps calls and texts, with roaming off.