Sofa to signal, properly explained.

Before you fly

1. 1

   Install on Wi-Fi, at home

   Adding an eSIM needs an internet connection. Using it does not. Do this before you leave and the rest of the trip is just a toggle.

   Do not wait until you land. Without data you cannot install the thing that gives you data.

2. 2

   Scan the QR code from the email

   Open the email on a laptop or print it, then scan it with the phone that will use it. You cannot scan a code shown on the same phone you are installing to — use the manual details instead.

3. 3

   Label it, then leave it alone

   Name the plan after your destination so you can find it later — the line arrives called “Mobile Data”, and on the install screen the profile may announce itself as Plus, the network our eSIMs are registered on. Keep your home SIM as the active line for calls and texts.

4. 4

   Turn Data Roaming on for the new line

   This sounds alarming and is not. The eSIM is a local plan roaming inside its own network, so the switch has to be on for it to work. It cannot generate a bill from your home carrier.

   This is the single most common reason a correctly installed eSIM shows no data.

Exact taps, by phone

Menu names shift between versions and manufacturers. If you cannot find the option, search your settings for “eSIM” — every phone that supports it has it somewhere.

What your iPhone asks, and what to answer

Four questions come up the moment the profile lands. Nothing here is permanent — but the last one is worth getting right first time.

Default Line

Your own numberCalls and texts keep working exactly as they do now. The SimbaSIM line carries data only — it has no number to ring.

iMessage & FaceTime

Your own numberSo friends see the number they already have for you. Both run over data, so they will work on our connection regardless.

Mobile Data

Your own line for now — switch when you landThe plan is only valid at your destination, so choosing it at home gives you a line with nothing behind it. Switching takes two taps on arrival.

Allow Mobile Data Switching

OffOn, the phone quietly falls back to your home line when ours is slow — abroad, that is your carrier’s roaming rate. This one switch is the difference between a $12.90 trip and a surprise.

Android asks less: keep your main SIM for calls, name the new one, turn roaming on for it, and point mobile data at it when you land.

When you land

1. 1

   Land and take it off airplane mode

   Give it a minute to find a network. It may show the local operator’s name rather than ours — that is exactly right, because you are on their towers.

2. 2

   Switch mobile data to the SimbaSIM line

   iPhone: Settings → Mobile Service → Mobile Data → SimbaSIM. Android: Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Mobile data. Your validity period starts at this moment, not before.

3. 3

   Leave calls and texts on your own number

   Nothing changes there. Your bank codes and phone calls keep arriving as normal, and WhatsApp works over the new data.

When something is wrong