Your eSIM is asking for a confirmation code: where it comes from

A second key, sent apart on purpose

The GSMA specification behind every consumer eSIM says a profile download may be protected by a confirmation code. The provider registers that code on its eSIM server and gives it to the customer, and when the phone asks for it, the server checks that what you type matches. The specification also states that the code is provided separately from the activation code, which is the part inside the QR.

The idea is simple. Someone who gets hold of a photo of your QR code still cannot install the eSIM without the second piece. That is also why it is no use scanning the QR again to find the code: it is not there. Apple's setup guide says it in one line: if you are asked for a confirmation code to activate your eSIM, enter the number your carrier provided.

How to tell before you start

The activation code has a fixed structure: a format number, the server address and a matching ID, separated by dollar signs. When a confirmation code is required, the GSMA format adds a flag at the end, set to 1. The specification's own example looks like 1$SMDP.GSMA.COM$04386-AGYFT-A74Y8-3F815$$1, and inside a QR code the same text starts with LPA:.

So if your provider also sent the details as text, for manual entry, look at the end of the string. A final $1 after the matching ID means the phone will ask for a code. It is a clue rather than a guarantee: the specification also lets the server request the code during the download even when the flag is missing. Either way, you will know before anything is installed, because the phone asks first.

Where it usually is, and what it is not

• A separate email from the provider, sent around the same time as the QR code.
• A text message, if you gave a phone number when ordering.
• The provider's app or the order page on its website.

Several other numbers look similar and do not work here. The matching ID is the long code next to the server address, and it is already in the QR. The SIM PIN protects a line after a restart and comes with the plan, not with the download. Your phone's passcode and your email password have nothing to do with it either. If you find none of the three above, ask instead of trying them all.

Why guessing can cost you the eSIM

The GSMA specification requires the server to protect against too many incorrect entries. The provider decides how many attempts are allowed, and once that limit is passed, the download order is terminated. The provider can then issue a new order for the same profile, with the same or a different code, but that has to come from them.

In practice, two or three wrong guesses can turn a working QR code into one the phone rejects, and the next scan may tell you the code is no longer valid. If the first attempt fails, check that you copied the code exactly, without spaces, and that it is the most recent one the provider sent. If it fails again, write before trying a third time.

If you never received one

Write to the provider with the email address you ordered with and a screenshot of the screen asking for the code. They can resend it, tell you where it went, or issue the eSIM again if the attempts have run out.

If the screen appeared while installing a Snoozim eSIM, write to us from the help page before entering anything; if the fault is on the service side, we fix it or replace the eSIM. Whichever provider you use, the same care applies to the code as to the QR itself, as our note on keeping the QR code private explains, and the installation steps that come after are in our guide to installing an eSIM.