How to install an eSIM on an iPhone
Settings, Mobile Data, Add eSIM, Use QR Code, and you scan the code from the email. Do it at home on Wi-Fi: downloading the profile needs a connection. If the QR doesn't work, the same screen lets you type in the SM-DP+ address and the activation code from your order page.
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Before you start
- You need Wi-Fi. Installation downloads the profile from the internet.
- The iPhone has to be an XS or later and free of operator lock.
- Have the email with the QR to hand, or open the order page on another screen.
- If you're switching phones before the trip, install it on the new one: the profile downloads once and is tied to that phone.
The steps
- Open Settings and go into “Mobile Data” (on some models it appears as “Mobile”).
- Tap “Add eSIM” or “Add Data Plan”, depending on your iOS version.
- Choose “Use QR Code”.
- Point the camera at the QR in the email. If it's on the same screen, tap “Enter Details Manually”.
- Give the line a name, the country's for example, to tell it apart from yours.
- When it asks which line to use for what, leave your usual SIM for calls and the eSIM for data.
- Leave it switched off until you arrive. Nothing else is needed for now.
If the QR doesn't work
On the same “Add eSIM” screen there's an option to enter the details by hand. Your order page has the SM-DP+ address and the activation code: copy them exactly as they are, without spaces. If that doesn't work either, write to us with your order number.
When you arrive
- Settings, Mobile Data, and switch on the eSIM line.
- Under “Mobile Data” on that same screen, choose the eSIM as your data line.
- Turn off “Data Roaming” on your Spanish line.
- Turn on “Data Roaming” on the eSIM line: it looks odd, but that's what lets it connect to the country's local network.
That last step confuses a lot of people. A travel eSIM connects to local operators as a guest, so it needs roaming switched on on its own line. What you have to turn off is roaming on your Spanish SIM, which is the one that charges you.
Does adding an eSIM erase my SIM card?
No. It's added as an extra line; your physical SIM stays in the tray and keeps working with your number.
Can I install it without Wi-Fi, on mobile data?
Technically yes, if you have data. What you can't do is install it with no connection at all, which is the situation you're in if you leave it for the destination airport.
How many eSIMs fit on an iPhone?
Recent models store several profiles at once, though only a few lines can be active at the same time. You can keep the ones from past trips saved and switch on whichever one is due.
How do I delete it when I get back?
Settings, Mobile Data, tap the line and choose “Delete eSIM”. If the plan has already expired there's no need to delete it, but it keeps the list tidier.
Something off, or a price changed? Write to ayuda@zasesim.com and we'll fix it. Data when you land.