Install an Italy eSIM on Any Android Phone
Xiaomi, OPPO, Motorola, Honor: the eSIM install pattern that works across Android skins, plus the roaming switch to flip when you land in Italy.
Updated August 28, 2026
Three things to know before you start
It connects only at your destination
Install at home, but expect “No Service” or “Activating…” until you land — that is normal. The plan wakes up when the line first finds a network at your destination.
Your QR code works exactly once
Seeing “invalid QR” after a scan almost always means the eSIM is already on your phone. Don’t rescan — open your SIM list and just switch the line on.
No internet after landing? Check Data Roaming
Turn the travel line on, set it as your mobile data line, and switch Data Roaming ON for it. This one toggle causes most “it doesn’t work” messages.
Installation steps
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Step 1
Confirm the phone can do this at all
Open the dialler and type *#06#. An EID under the IMEI means eSIM hardware is present; no EID means it is not, whatever the spec sheet said about the model in general. Variants differ by market, so your own handset is the only reliable source.
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Step 2
Buy your plan in the Italy eSIM app
Complete the purchase and the QR code plus manual activation details appear under your order. They stay there, so nothing is lost if the first attempt fails.
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Step 3
Get on Wi-Fi and stay on it
The install pulls a profile down over the internet, so do it at home rather than in an arrivals hall. Being early costs no plan time: validity begins at the line's first connection to an Italian network, not at checkout.
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Step 4
Find the eSIM screen using Settings search
Settings Search eSIM
Skins differ enough that one tap sequence would be wrong for half of readers. Use the search box at the top of Settings: type eSIM, then SIM if that returns nothing.
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Step 5
Or follow the general pattern by hand
Settings Network SIM
The structure is the same underneath the branding: Settings, then Network & internet or Connections, then SIM manager, SIM cards or Mobile network. Inside is an option to add or download a SIM, sometimes behind a plus icon.
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Step 6
Scan the QR code or type the details
Point the camera at the code on another screen. With no second screen, look for manual entry — often behind a link reading Need help — and copy the SM-DP+ address and activation code from the app.
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Step 7
Name the line and leave it disabled
Label it Italy, keep your existing SIM as the default for calls and texts, and switch the new line off until you land. It uses nothing while it sits idle.
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Step 8
On arrival: enable, select for data, allow roaming
SIM settings Data roaming
Turn the Italy line on, set mobile data to use it, and enable roaming for that line specifically — on most skins the switch sits inside the line's own settings, on some under Mobile networks. Roaming is the permission a line needs to attach to TIM, Vodafone or WindTre, and on a prepaid Italy plan it adds nothing. Keep the same switch off for your home SIM, unless it already covers the EU.
Half the phones sold worldwide are neither iPhones nor the two Android brands with pages of their own, and their owners land in Italy facing the same question everyone else does: is this an EU trip or not? EU residents already roam here on their home plan at no extra cost and can stop reading. Everyone arriving from outside the bloc — the US, the UK since Brexit, most of Asia — sits in their home carrier’s normal out-of-region band, usually the most expensive on the sheet, with the alternative being a shop that by Italian law will ask for a photo ID before selling a prepaid SIM.
Doing it in advance is simply easier. Buy in the Italy eSIM app, install the line over home Wi-Fi, leave it switched off, and turn it on when the wheels are down. Validity starts with the line’s first connection to an Italian network and not at purchase, so there is no advantage in waiting — particularly if Italy is one stop on a longer route and your window between connections is short. Plans are listed on pricing; the guides index has the device-specific versions of this page.
This page deliberately avoids pretending there is one Android. Xiaomi’s HyperOS, OPPO’s ColorOS, Motorola’s near-stock build and Honor’s MagicOS all reach the same standard eSIM mechanism through different words and menu depths, and any single tap sequence we printed would be wrong for a large share of readers. Use the pattern instead — Settings, then Network or Connections, then the SIM screen, then add or download a SIM. Before any of that, dial *#06#: an EID under the IMEI is the only proof that your variant has the hardware. Owners of a Samsung or a Pixel get the exact taps on those pages.
Two facts we repeat on every page because they change how people plan. The plan is data-only and carries no Italian phone number, which most visitors never notice; a rental desk or occasionally a clinic will want a local callback number, and a data eSIM has none to offer. Your own number keeps working on your own SIM. And Italian coverage is uneven by geography rather than by provider — excellent in cities, along the autostrade and in most towns, thinner in parts of the Alps, the Dolomites and a few smaller islands, and weaker indoors behind the thick stone walls of an old town centre. No SIM changes where towers stand or how a palazzo was built. The included hotspot keeps a laptop or the rest of the group online everywhere the signal reaches.
Troubleshooting
My Settings look nothing like these instructions.
Expected. Every manufacturer reskins Android and moves things between versions, which is why the Settings search box is the reliable route: type eSIM, then SIM. What you want is a screen listing your SIM lines with an option to add or download one. The process underneath is standardised even where the labels are not.
Will the plan give me an Italian phone number?
No. It carries data only, so there is no Italian number on it and no way to add one. Your own number stays on your own SIM and keeps receiving calls and texts as normal. Most visitors never need a local number; where a rental counter or a clinic insists on one, a local SIM is the only fix.
I hold an EU passport — is this product for me?
Generally not. EU residents already roam in Italy on their home plan under the bloc's roam-like-at-home rules, at no extra cost. This eSIM exists for visitors from outside the EU, whose home carrier has no such agreement with Italy.
How reliable is coverage across the country?
Very good in cities, along the autostrade and in most towns. Genuinely patchy in parts of the Alps, the Dolomites and a few smaller islands. That reflects where towers were built, not the SIM you chose; a local prepaid SIM would behave the same. Thick historic-centre walls can also cut an indoor signal.
The QR code will not scan on my phone.
Turn the brightness up on the screen displaying the code, hold the phone steady around 20-30 cm back, and keep glare off it. If the camera still refuses, switch to manual entry and copy the SM-DP+ address and activation code from your order — the same profile installs.
The install fails, or the option is missing entirely.
First check *#06# for an EID. If there is none, the handset cannot take an eSIM. If there is one, the usual culprits are unstable Wi-Fi during the download or a carrier lock from the operator who sold the phone. Restart and retry on a stable network; if it keeps failing, ask your operator about unlocking before you travel.
The QR code says invalid, already used, or the install fails on a second try.
An activation code is single-use, so this error almost always means the first scan already worked and the eSIM is on the phone. Do not keep rescanning. Open the phone's SIM list (the cellular or SIM manager screen) or My eSIMs in the Italy eSIM app: if the line is listed, the install is done — turn the line on, give it mobile data and enable Data Roaming instead of installing again.
Do I have to scan the QR code at all?
No. In the Italy eSIM app, open My eSIMs, tap your plan and tap Install — the profile installs on the same phone with no camera involved. The QR route exists for installing from a second screen; both end in the identical profile, and the steps after the install are the same either way.