eSIM QR Code Reader

What is inside an eSIM QR code

The QR code your carrier sends for an eSIM holds one short line of text. It always starts with LPA:1$, and the parts after it are separated by dollar signs:

LPA:1$rsp.example.com$K7P2-9QX4-B0OM-3NDA

When your camera scans the code, the phone splits that line for you. When the camera cannot scan it, you have to type the parts in yourself, and that is what this reader is for: it reads the code from a screenshot or photo and shows each part on its own, ready to copy.

The example above is made up. If you searched for a line that starts with LPA:1$, paste it into the text box above and it will be split the same way.

What is an SM-DP+ address?

The SM-DP+ address is the web address of the server your phone downloads the eSIM from. SM-DP+ stands for Subscription Manager Data Preparation: the GSMA name for the system a carrier uses to prepare eSIM profiles and hand them out to phones. It looks like an ordinary web address, for example rsp.example.com, and it is usually the same for every customer of that carrier or eSIM provider.

The address on its own installs nothing. Your phone needs it together with the activation code, which is the part that belongs to you alone. You can find both:

• inside the eSIM QR code, which this reader splits out for you,
• in the email, text or app where your carrier or travel eSIM provider sent the QR code, often under a heading such as "manual installation" or "enter details manually",
• or by asking your carrier's support for the SM-DP+ address and activation code for your line.

SM-DP+ address and activation code: which box gets what

Phones ask for the details in two different ways, so check which one yours uses before you copy anything:

Activation codes are case sensitive, and a single wrong character stops the download. The reader shows numbers in blue so the letter O and the number 0, or I and 1, cannot be mixed up, and it removes stray spaces and line breaks that often get copied along with a code from an email.

How to enter an eSIM manually on iPhone

1. Connect to WiFi, so the phone can reach the eSIM server.
2. Open Settings, then Cellular. In some countries it is called Mobile Service or Mobile Data.
3. Tap Add eSIM (on some versions, Add Cellular Plan or Add Mobile Plan), then Use QR Code.
4. Tap Enter Details Manually at the bottom of the camera screen.
5. Paste the SM-DP+ address into the first box and the activation code into the second.
6. Fill in the Confirmation Code only if the reader says one is needed and your carrier gave it to you. Otherwise leave it empty.
7. Tap Next and wait while the eSIM downloads.

How to add an eSIM manually on Samsung Galaxy

1. Open Settings, then Connections, then SIM manager.
2. Tap Add eSIM, then Scan QR code from service provider.
3. Tap Enter activation code. On some models the option is called Add using activation code.
4. Paste the full code, starting with LPA:1$, then tap Connect and confirm.

How to add an eSIM manually on Google Pixel

1. Open Settings, then Network and internet, then SIMs, and tap the + button.
2. Choose Download a SIM instead.
3. On the screen that asks you to scan the QR code, tap Need help?, then Enter it manually.
4. Paste the full code, then tap Continue and Download.

Menu names change a little between phone models, software versions and countries. If a step does not match, look for the words "eSIM", "activation code" or "enter manually".

Why your phone will not scan the eSIM QR code

• The code is on the same phone. A phone cannot point its camera at its own screen. Take a screenshot of the email or app, read it here, and type the two parts in by hand. Or open the email on a laptop and scan the code from there.
• The code is too small, blurred or reflecting light. Zoom in on the code before you take the screenshot, or crop the image close to it.
• The code came as a PDF or printed card. Take a screenshot or photo of it and read it here.
• The camera reads it but nothing happens. Use manual entry instead: the details are the same ones the camera would have read.

"This code is no longer valid": what it means

This message usually means the code has already been used. Most eSIM activation codes work only once, and a download that started and then stopped can be enough to use one up. Typing the details in by hand does not get around it, because manual entry uses the very same code.

• Check whether the eSIM is already on the phone. Look in Settings under Cellular, Mobile Service or SIM manager for a plan you did not finish setting up. If it is there, turn that line on instead of scanning again.
• Removed it earlier? An eSIM that was deleted usually cannot be installed again with the same code.
• Phone locked to another carrier? A locked phone can show the same message. Ask the seller or the carrier to unlock it.
• Still stuck? Ask your carrier or eSIM provider for a new code, and tell them the exact message you saw.

What the confirmation code is

A few carriers protect the download with a confirmation code, an extra PIN you type in when the phone asks for it. The confirmation code itself is never inside the QR code. The code only carries a flag that says whether one is needed, and the reader shows that flag as "Needed" or "Not needed". If it is needed, your carrier sends it separately, usually in the same email or in its app. If it is not needed, leave the confirmation code box empty.

Keep an unused eSIM code private

Until your eSIM is installed, the QR code works like a key: anyone who has it could install your line on their own phone first. Do not post a screenshot of it when asking for help online, and delete the screenshot once the eSIM is working. This reader decodes the image inside your browser, so the code is never uploaded or stored anywhere.

Related tools

Got a different kind of code? Scan QR Code Without Camera reads any QR code from a screenshot or photo, the WiFi QR Code Decoder shows the network name and password in a WiFi code, and the safe QR code scanner checks where a link really goes before you open it.