If you’ve never installed an eSIM, the language around it makes it sound more technical than it is. Here’s the plain version, mostly screenshots, written for people who haven’t done this before.
What you’ll need
- The order confirmation email from SimKit, with a QR code in it.
- Your phone, connected to Wi-Fi.
- A second screen to display the QR code — a laptop, a tablet, or another phone. (You can’t scan the QR on the phone you’re installing it to.)
- About five minutes.
The install, in plain English
Whatever phone you’re on, the process is the same: open your phone’s mobile data settings, choose “Add eSIM,” point the camera at the QR code, confirm. The eSIM is downloaded onto your phone in about 20 seconds, sits dormant, and starts when you connect to a foreign network.
On iPhone
- Settings → Mobile Data.
- Tap Add eSIM.
- Tap Use QR Code.
- Hold the iPhone up to the QR code on your other screen. (The phone will detect it within a second.)
- Tap Continue. The eSIM downloads.
- Name it something obvious like “Japan trip.”
- When asked which line to use for data: leave it on your home SIM. You’ll switch it after you land.
On Android (Pixel / Samsung / OnePlus)
- Settings → Network & internet → SIMs.
- Tap Add eSIM.
- Tap Scan QR code.
- Point at the QR code on your second screen.
- Confirm. eSIM downloads.
- Label it clearly.
- Keep your home SIM as the default data line until you land.
The thing that confuses people
Installing the eSIM and starting the data plan are different events. Installing just adds the profile to your phone — nothing is billed, no clock is running. Starting happens automatically the first time the eSIM connects to a foreign mobile network, usually when you turn airplane mode off after landing.
This is why you install at home: so on landing day, there’s nothing left to figure out. You just turn airplane mode off, switch your data line to the SimKit eSIM, and you’re online.
One mistake to avoid
Don’t set the eSIM as your default data line before you leave. If you do, it sits there trying to activate on your home network (which it can’t, because it’s a travel eSIM), and you’ll see “No Service” in the status bar. Leave it dormant. Switch over after you land.
If something goes wrong
The two most common issues: you weren’t on Wi-Fi when you scanned, or you used the camera app instead of going through Settings → Add eSIM. The troubleshooting guide covers the rest.
Or, you know, message us. We’re fast.