How to add an eSIM on a Samsung Galaxy, from the QR code to the data SIM

Two minutes of checks that save a wasted code

Samsung asks you to be connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data before adding a plan, because the eSIM is downloaded from the provider's server. At home, Wi-Fi is the safe choice.

Then confirm the phone can take an eSIM at all. Samsung's Spanish support page lists eSIM on Galaxy phones from the S20 onwards, the Z Fold and Z Flip, the S FE and several A and Xcover models, but marks some entries as available only in certain regions, and warns that depending on the country a unit was made for, eSIM may not be supported. Wi-Fi-only tablets never take one. The quick test is the EID, which Samsung places under Settings, About phone, Status; our guide on eSIM on mid-range Android phones explains why the model name alone is not enough.

Finally, open the QR code on a laptop, a tablet or a printout. The Galaxy has to point its camera at it.

Adding it with the QR code

• Open Settings and tap Connections.
• Tap SIM manager. Some regional versions call it SIM card manager.
• Tap Add eSIM. On some versions the button reads Add mobile plan.
• Tap Scan QR code (Add using QR code on some versions) and point the camera at the code.
• Confirm on the screens that follow and wait for the plan to download.

Samsung's US guide adds a restart once the plan is downloaded, which is worth doing before you test anything. When the new line appears in SIM manager, the installation is done. Do not scan the code a second time: a Snoozim eSIM installs once and then stays on that phone, and the same is true of most travel eSIMs.

While you are in SIM manager, tap the new line and give it a clear name. Samsung's dual SIM guide has a Name option for each SIM; calling it after the destination helps when you have several, as our guide on renaming SIM lines shows.

When the camera will not read it: the activation code

Samsung offers a second route on the same screen. In its Spanish and US instructions you tap Scan QR code and then Enter activation code; the Irish page shows it as Add using activation code under Add mobile plan. You then type or paste what your provider sent instead of the image.

Travel providers present this in two ways: a single string that starts with LPA:1$, or an SM-DP+ address and an activation code listed separately. Paste them exactly as given, with no added spaces. The details and the other ways round a code that will not scan are in installing an eSIM without scanning the QR.

You will also see Samsung mention routes with no code at all, such as a carrier notification or a plan the phone finds on its own. Those only work with operators that support them. A travel eSIM sent by email uses the QR or the activation code.

Making the eSIM the SIM that carries data

• In Settings, Connections, SIM manager, look for the preferred SIM section and tap Mobile data.
• Choose the travel eSIM.
• Leave Calls and Text messages on your usual SIM, so your number keeps working.

Samsung also lets you switch from the quick panel: swipe down from the top of the screen, tap Mobile data and pick the SIM. Its US page calls the same setting Primary SIM.

One detail matters abroad. Samsung's Latin American guide notes that the phone can use the other SIM for data if the preferred SIM cannot connect to the network. That fallback is harmless at home and expensive on a trip if your usual SIM is allowed to roam, which is why the next step covers both lines. WhatsApp is not affected by any of this: it keeps your number whichever SIM carries the data.

Data roaming: on for the eSIM, off for your SIM

Samsung's route is Settings, Connections, Mobile networks, and the Data roaming switch. If the switch is greyed out, Samsung says to check that mobile data is on, under Connections, Data usage. Some versions and carriers label it Data Roaming Access.

Samsung's roaming page does not say which SIM that switch applies to when there are two. Before you flip it, check which line the screen is showing and set them in opposite ways: on for the travel eSIM, which connects to local networks as a visitor and cannot work without it, and off for your usual SIM. On a prepaid travel eSIM, turning roaming on costs nothing, because the data is already paid for.

Why the eSIM needs it is explained in do you need data roaming on for a travel eSIM, and the other half in turning off roaming on your home line.

Where Galaxy models differ

The biggest difference is how many eSIMs can be on at once. Samsung says that on most Galaxy devices only one eSIM can be active at a time. The usual travel setup, a physical SIM for your number and an eSIM for data, works on all of them. If your own line is already an eSIM, check your model's page before the trip: on a phone with the one-eSIM limit you may have to switch your line off while the travel eSIM is in use, and SMS to your number will wait until you switch it back.

Storage is a separate limit. Samsung puts it at up to 20 eSIM profiles, possibly fewer depending on the chip's memory, as explained in how many eSIMs a phone can hold.

You will also find Transfer SIM and Convert to eSIM in the same menu. Those move your operator's line between phones. An installed travel eSIM stays on the phone where it was installed.