Before-you-travel eSIM checklist

Do these before you leave home. Doing any of them at the airport is harder.

1. Install the eSIM at home — don't activate yet

The QR code installs the profile. Activation switches it on. Installing at home means you have stable Wi-Fi and time. You don't burn validity because the plan only starts counting when the eSIM connects to a partner network in your destination.

2. Label the profile something obvious

On iPhone: Settings → Cellular → tap the profile → Cellular Plan Label. On Android: similar location, depending on brand. Name it after the country ("Japan", "Saudi Arabia"). Saves panic later.

3. Decide on a primary line

Settings → Cellular → Default Voice Line. Most people want voice + SMS on the home line and data on the travel eSIM. That way Apple Pay, banking SMS, 2FA codes still arrive.

4. Turn data roaming ON for the travel eSIM only

The eSIM is on a foreign network — by definition you're "roaming" on it. The home SIM stays with data roaming OFF so it doesn't accidentally rack up a £20/MB bill.

5. Save your activation code

The QR is also a typed activation string (LPA:1$smdp.io$...). If the install fails or you need to re-add the profile, the typed string is faster than re-scanning. We email both.

Bonus tip

Install the destination's main apps before you arrive — local maps app, Uber/Bolt/Careem, the country's COVID app if any, the official tourism app. Downloads over your home Wi-Fi don't eat your eSIM quota.