How to install a travel eSIM on Android (Pixel and Samsung)

Android phones all follow the same three steps — add the eSIM, label it, make it the data line abroad — but each brand tucks the menu somewhere different. The two most common are below.

Before you start

• The phone must be unlocked and support eSIM. Pixel 3 and later, Galaxy S20 and later, and most recent flagships do. Check the device list.
• Connect to Wi-Fi and keep the QR code from your order email on another screen.

Google Pixel

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → SIMs.
2. Tap Add eSIM (on some versions: + Add SIM, then Download a SIM instead?).
3. Scan the QR code. If the camera will not read it, choose Need help? and enter the activation code from your order page.
4. Confirm the download and give the SIM a name such as Travel.

Samsung Galaxy

1. Open Settings → Connections → SIM manager.
2. Tap Add eSIM, then Scan QR code from service provider.
3. Scan the code, confirm, and rename the new SIM to Travel.

When you land

1. In the same SIM menu, open the Travel SIM and switch on Roaming.
2. Set Travel as the Mobile data SIM. On Samsung this is under SIM manager → Mobile data.
3. If your phone offers Auto data switch or Data switching, turn it off so it never falls back to your home SIM.

Calls and SMS can stay on your home SIM. Turn off roaming on the home SIM if you want to be certain it never uses data abroad.

If something goes wrong

• The phone says it cannot add an eSIM: it is almost always a carrier lock.
• Installed, but "No service": check that roaming is on for the travel SIM, then toggle aeroplane mode.
• APN prompts: most profiles configure themselves. If yours asks for an APN, the value is on your order page.