A QR code that will not scan is the most common problem at install time. It is nearly always one of six things.
1. You are scanning with the ordinary camera app
This is the most frequent mistake. An eSIM QR code is not scanned with the normal camera and a tap on the notification. You have to be in the right place:
- iPhone: Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM → Use QR Code
- Android: Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Add eSIM
The camera app may recognise the code but has no idea what to do with it.
2. The code is on the same phone you are installing to
A phone cannot scan a code displayed on its own screen. You need the code on another screen — a computer, a tablet, or someone else's phone.
If you only have one device: our delivery page has a one-tap install button, with no scanning at all. Use that.
3. The phone has no internet
Installing an eSIM needs a connection. It sounds odd but it is true: the phone has to download the eSIM profile from the operator's server. Get on wifi before you install.
4. The screen is too dim or the code too small
If you are scanning from another screen, turn its brightness up fully and enlarge the code. The camera needs contrast.
5. The code has already been used
Each QR code installs once. If you installed it successfully before and then deleted it, the old code will not work again. That is a limit of the eSIM standard, not a fault in your phone.
Check: go to Settings → Cellular and see whether an eSIM is already there.
6. The phone does not support eSIM, or is carrier-locked
Dial *#06#. If no EID line appears, the phone does not support eSIM.
If there is an EID but it still will not install, the phone may be locked to one operator. Phones bought on a carrier contract abroad are often locked. The only reliable way to check is to ask the operator that sold the phone.
Still stuck
Write to us with three things: the ICCID from your eSIM page, a screenshot of Settings → Cellular, and which country you are in. With those three we can check with the operator and give you a definite answer instead of a guess.