How to Install Your eSIM With a QR Code

Installing your eSIM with a QR code

Every Donesim order ends with a QR code, and installing it takes about two minutes. This short guide walks through the steps on both iPhone and Android, plus the two settings people most often miss.

Before you start

Check three things. First, your phone must be eSIM compatible and carrier unlocked. Second, you need a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection during installation, because the phone downloads the eSIM profile from the network. Third, install before you fly: doing this at home on Wi-Fi is far easier than doing it at an airport.

iPhone steps

Open Settings, then Mobile Service, then Add eSIM. Choose Use QR Code and point the camera at the code from your Donesim dashboard or email. Confirm the plan, and when asked, keep your main line as default for calls and pick the new eSIM for mobile data. Turn on Data Roaming for the new eSIM only. That last switch is the one most travelers miss.

Android steps

Open Settings, then Network and Internet, then SIMs, and tap Add eSIM or Download a SIM instead. Scan the QR code, confirm, and set the new eSIM as your data SIM. As on iPhone, enable data roaming for the travel eSIM. Menu names vary slightly between Samsung, Pixel, and other brands, but the flow is the same.

When it activates

Most plans activate when the eSIM first connects to a supported network at your destination, so installing early does not burn your validity days. Your dashboard shows the exact activation and expiry details per plan.

If the QR code will not scan

You can always install manually: every order includes an SMDP address and activation code alongside the QR. Enter those in the same Add eSIM screen under manual entry. If anything still refuses to work, the support page is one tap away in your dashboard, and the team can reissue installation details for your order.