How to install an eSIM on Android, safely.
Use this guide when you have an eSIM QR code or install link and want to add it without disturbing your current number. We show the common Android flow, with Samsung and Pixel wording called out where it differs.
The honest reason people search how to install an eSIM on Android is not that they want a list of taps. It's that they want someone to confirm they're not about to brick a £900 phone they just paid off. So: you're not. An eSIM is a small file your phone downloads from your carrier. It sits on a chip Samsung, Google and the rest have been shipping in flagship phones since 2019. Installing one does not touch your physical SIM. It does not touch your contacts, photos, WhatsApp history, or apps. If you change your mind, you delete it, and your phone goes back to exactly how it was.
The catch with Android is that every brand puts the eSIM menu in a slightly different place. Samsung calls it one thing, Pixel another, OnePlus a third. The flow is identical underneath; only the wording changes.
Install: two ways onto the phone
eSIM Copilot emails you the eSIM. That email holds two things: a QR code and a one-tap install button. Which one you use comes down to a single question. Are you reading the email on the Android phone that is getting the eSIM, or on another screen?
Way 01 · Tap the button
Email open on the phone itself
Tap the install button in the eSIM Copilot email. Android opens the eSIM installer with the plan filled in for you, handling the first four steps below on its own. You pick up at step 05, confirming the download.
Way 02 · Scan the QR
Email open on another screen
If the email is on a laptop or a second phone, use the QR code in it. You scan that from the phone's SIM menu, the full path in the carousel below.
Swipe through the install
Pixel: Network & internet
Open Settings.
Samsung: Settings → Connections. Pixel: Settings → Network & internet.
Pixel: tap SIMs
Open SIM manager.
Samsung: SIM manager. Pixel: SIMs. OnePlus/Xiaomi: similar paths.
SIM cards
eSIMs
Tap Add eSIM
Tap "Add eSIM".
At the bottom of the SIM list. Some phones say "Add mobile plan".
Centre your QR in the frame
Phone reads it automatically
Scan the QR.
Point the camera at the QR code in your eSIM Copilot email. The phone reads it automatically.
Profile detected
eSIM Copilot
5 GB · Europe · 7 days
Your eSIM profile downloads over Wi-Fi. It takes a few seconds.
Confirm and download.
Tap "Add" or "Download". A short pause, then the eSIM is on your phone.
Give this line a name you'll recognise.
Name the line, pick defaults.
Name it "eSIM Copilot" so you can spot it, then set which line gets calls, SMS, and data. You can change both later.
Required for travel eSIMs
Turn on Data Roaming.
SIM manager → tap your new eSIM → Data roaming → On. Required for travel eSIMs.
Swipe for the next step
The SIM menu lives in different places per brand. Samsung: Settings → Connections → SIM manager. Pixel: Settings → Network & internet → SIMs. OnePlus / Xiaomi: Settings → Mobile network → SIM card & mobile data, or similar. The flow once you reach "Add eSIM" is the same everywhere.
That's the install finished. The phone doesn't restart or reset, and there's no waiting around. The new line shows up next to your old one in the SIM menu, and it sits idle until you switch data to it.
Your old SIM is still there. Here's what dual-SIM looks like on Android
The phrase you'll hear is DSDS (Dual SIM Dual Standby). It means both lines stay awake at once, with no need to pick one over the other. What your new eSIM can do depends on what you bought. A full line with its own number carries calls and texts as well as data. A data-only plan, which plenty of travel eSIMs are, has no number and only ever carries data.
The usual split:
- Your normal SIM keeps your phone number. Calls, texts, two-factor codes, WhatsApp, Signal, your dentist's reminder, all of it carries on.
- Your new eSIM handles data: maps, Spotify, the group chat, whatever Instagram serves you at 2am.
You can flip the defaults in two taps. Samsung lets you assign "preferred SIM for data" per app, which is useful if you only want one app burning your data plan.
Things people worry about (that you don't need to)
Will I lose my phone number?
No. The eSIM is a second line, not a replacement. Your physical SIM (or your original eSIM, if your phone is eSIM-only) keeps your number. Nothing about it changes.
My phone is older. Does it even support eSIM?
Most Samsung Galaxy S20 and newer, every Pixel from the Pixel 4 onwards, OnePlus 11 and newer, and most Xiaomi flagships from 2023 onwards support eSIM. If the SIM menu has an "Add eSIM" option, you're in. If it doesn't, your phone is hardware-locked out and a QR code won't help.
What if it fails halfway?
If the QR is bad or the network drops out, the phone tells you and rolls back. It doesn't half-install. You try again. There's no broken state to recover from.
Will it kill my battery?
A second line on standby uses a tiny bit of extra power, roughly in the range of leaving Bluetooth on. Most people don't notice. If you do, you can turn the eSIM off when you're not using it: Settings → SIM manager → tap the line → off.
Can I delete it later?
Yes. Find the eSIM in the SIM menu, tap it, tap Delete. It's gone. The phone goes back to one line.
Do I need Wi-Fi to install it?
You need an internet connection of some kind. Wi-Fi is easiest, but your existing cellular works too. Most people install on hotel Wi-Fi the night before they fly.
After it's installed: the settings worth checking
The install is the easy part. The bit that catches people out is realising, later, that apps are using the wrong line. Two settings worth checking on day one:
Setting 01
Default for calls and SMS
Set this to your home number so the people who text you still reach you on the number they know.
Setting 02
Default for mobile data
Set this to the eSIM Copilot line whenever you want it carrying data. On a trip, that keeps maps and Uber on the local plan instead of international roaming.
On Samsung you'll find both under Settings → Connections → SIM manager. On Pixel they live under Settings → Network & internet → SIMs. Two taps, and the phone does the right thing automatically from then on.
If you're managing eSIMs for a team, not just yourself
The flow above is for one person installing one eSIM. If you're handing eSIMs to thirty employees who are about to travel, the QR-by-email approach scales badly. People lose the email, forward the QR to the wrong colleague, or install the wrong plan on the wrong device. eSIM Copilot is the bit that fixes this: provision once, push to the employee's Android via Slack, Teams or WhatsApp, see every active line in one dashboard, and stop company mobile access when the trip or role ends.
Get started
Pushing eSIMs to a fleet of Androids?
See how eSIM Copilot handles employee eSIMs end to end: central provisioning, install via Slack, Teams or WhatsApp, live visibility, and access control when the trip or role ends.
Related
Tested on One UI 6 (Samsung), Android 14 (Pixel), and ColorOS 14 (OnePlus), May 2026. Menu wording shifts between OEM skins regularly; the underlying flow has been stable since Android 12.