What is Installation QR code?

The installation QR code is the black-and-white square a provider sends after a purchase. Its job is to carry a short piece of text that the phone needs in order to fetch a profile. That text holds the address of the server where the profile is waiting and an activation code identifying which profile is yours. The code itself is not the profile and contains no details of the line. It is an instruction telling the phone where to collect something.

Because it is only an instruction, the QR code has limits people rarely anticipate. It has to be read by the camera of a second device or from paper, since a phone cannot scan its own display. And once a profile has been downloaded, the same code usually cannot be used again. This page covers both of those, along with what to do when scanning is impossible and what to do with the code once installation is finished.

What is inside the code

Decoded into text, a QR code turns out to be a single line with two main parts. The first is the address of the server that hands out profiles. The second is an activation code, a long string intended for one use. The phone contacts that server, presents the code, and if the code has not been used already the server returns the profile to be written into the handset's eSIM chip.

The important consequence is that all of this happens over the internet. The code does not carry the profile with it, so scanning without a connection will fail no matter how crisp the image is. That is why every set of instructions tells you to install at home or on trustworthy Wi-Fi rather than after landing with no way online at all.

Why a phone cannot scan its own screen

The question sounds like a joke, but it is the single most common place people get stuck. When a provider emails the code, most people open that email on the same phone they intend to install on, and then discover that the rear camera points away from the screen. There is no way for the camera to see an image being displayed on its own display.

There are several ways round it and all of them work. The first is to open the code on a computer, a tablet, or a second phone and scan it from that screen with the handset you are installing on. The second is to print it on paper. The third is to skip scanning altogether and type the details in by hand, which most providers supply alongside the image anyway.

Some newer handsets can read a QR code from a picture in the photo library, and where that exists it is a convenient shortcut because no second device is needed. But the feature depends on the manufacturer and the OS version: some phones have it, some do not, and the control sits in different places. Do not plan a whole trip around the assumption that yours can do it; try it before departure.

1. 1Display the code on a second deviceOpen the email or order page on a computer, tablet, or second phone. Turn that screen's brightness up and enlarge the image until the pattern is clearly defined. An image that is too small is the most frequent reason a scan fails.
2. 2Get the installing phone onlineJoin a Wi-Fi network that actually works and is stable. Installation downloads the profile, and if the connection drops midway the attempt can fail and have to be restarted.
3. 3Open the add-a-line section of SettingsThe wording differs by manufacturer and OS version, but it usually sits under a heading about mobile networks, connections, or SIM management. Look for a control that mentions adding a line, using a digital plan, or scanning a QR code.
4. 4Scan from the other screen or from paperHold the phone far enough back that the whole square sits inside the frame, and keep shadows and reflections off the image. If you are using paper, lay it flat under even light.
5. 5Follow the prompts to the end, then label the lineThe system will ask what the new line should be used for. Give it a name clearly distinct from your existing one, such as Travel data, so you do not switch to the wrong line at your destination.
6. 6Do not delete the email or the image yetKeep them until you have confirmed the profile really works at your destination. The details are useful when contacting support, even after the code itself has been consumed.

Read the full installation guide

Entering the details by hand

Everything the QR code does can be done by typing, because it is the same information. Providers generally supply the server address and the activation code as text alongside the picture. Once you are in the add-a-line menu there is usually an option to enter details manually, which opens two or three fields for exactly that data.

The hazard when typing is character confusion. Activation codes are long and mix letters with digits, and the pairs that trip people up are zero and the letter O, one and lowercase L, five and S. The safest approach is to copy the text out of the email and paste it rather than retyping. If you must type, check it in small groups before confirming.

How many times a code works, and when it expires

As a rule one QR code downloads one profile once. When a handset pulls the profile down, the activation code is marked as used, so scanning it on another phone generally fails. The knock-on effect is that if you delete the profile, reinstalling is not always something you can do on your own; it depends on whether the provider will issue a fresh code.

Expiry is another point that varies between providers. Some require the code to be used within a set period after purchase, some set no limit, and some distinguish between when the code expires and when the plan's validity starts counting, which are not the same thing. The correct answer for your plan is in the terms that came with your order, not in any universal rule.

What to check when a scan will not take

The last row causes more alarm than it should. People finish installing at home, see that the new line has no service, and conclude they bought something broken. In fact a travel plan is built to work in the destination country, so a profile installed but not yet in that country has no network to attach to. That is normal behaviour, not a fault.

Keeping the code safe, and never sharing it

Treat an installation QR code like a key. Anyone who sees the image before you and scans it before you gets the profile instead, and getting it back is not simple. So do not post the picture on social media, do not forward it into a group chat with several people in it, and do not leave a printed copy lying about in public.

The right place to keep it is your own email or a private album on the phone. If you print it, keep the sheet with your travel documents and destroy it when you get home. Holding on to one copy is genuinely useful if you need support, because the order details in the email make it quick to identify your purchase.

• Always display the code on a second device, since a phone cannot scan itself
• Install on trustworthy Wi-Fi, before the day of travel
• Copy the code rather than retyping it, to avoid look-alike characters
• Give the new line a name clearly different from your existing one
• Do not delete the order email until the line works at your destination
• Never forward the QR image to anyone, even after installing
• Never test-scan with a phone you are not taking with you

Is printing it still worth doing?

Printing is still useful in two situations. The first is when you have only one device and nobody to lend you a screen; a sheet of paper solves it outright. The second is travelling as a group with several phones to set up, where one clearly labelled sheet per person prevents far more confusion than passing a single phone around and reopening emails.

The caution with paper is print quality. An image printed too small, with faded ink, or on a creased sheet can defeat the camera. If you print, print it at a reasonable size and check by eye that the pattern is sharp, with no broken lines or blurred dots. And when you are done, remember that the sheet still carries your order details.

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What to do once installation is finished

First, confirm that the new line really appears in the phone's list of lines, rather than seeing a success message and closing the screen. Open the line management menu and check with your own eyes that the name you chose is there. Second, review the settings you will need on arrival: roaming enabled on that line, and that line nominated for data.

Third, decide when it should start. Some plans begin counting their validity from installation, others from the first attachment to a network in the destination country. That condition differs by provider and is stated in the details of the plan you bought. If it is not clear after reading, ask rather than guess, because a misunderstanding here quietly costs you days you paid for.

When you are still stuck

If you have worked through the table above and it still will not go, the fastest route to a fix is complete detail: the handset model, the OS version, the exact wording on the screen, the steps you have already taken, and whether the profile appears in the list of lines yet. That set of facts removes several rounds of back-and-forth.

Our channels are LINE at https://lin.ee/skDPoNx (@esimonline), email at esimonline.asia@gmail.com, and phone at 089-942-0818 or 088-521-6848. We take messages around the clock, every day, though replies can run a little slower late at night Thailand time. If your situation is urgent because a flight is imminent, say so with the timing in your first message so it can be prioritised properly.

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