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Everything between checkout and signal.

Read it in the order a trip happens: what to check before paying, how the install goes on each phone, what to switch on when you land. Most problems end there; for the rest, the bottom of the page says how to reach us.

Before you buy

Three checks that take a minute.

A phone that can't take the eSIM is the one problem no one can fix after purchase, so it comes first.

  • Does the phone support eSIM?

    Most phones sold since 2019 do; many budget models and every iPhone before the XS don't. Look up the exact model, not the brand.

    Check your device

  • Is it locked to a carrier?

    A locked phone installs the eSIM and then never connects. On an iPhone, Settings → General → About should read “No SIM Restrictions”. Android has no single place to look: ask the carrier the phone came from.

  • Where was it bought?

    iPhones sold in mainland China have no eSIM hardware at all, and neither do some models sold in Hong Kong and Macau, or a number of budget Android phones. That's why the checker asks where the phone was bought.

What you'll need

  • A Palmye account. The eSIM is delivered to it, and to your e-mail; if the e-mail goes missing, the account still has it.
  • Wi-Fi while installing. The profile downloads over the internet, and a phone with no working SIM has no other way to fetch it.
  • A few minutes at home. Install before you fly: the plan costs nothing until it starts, and its page says when that is.

Installing

One scan, in the phone's own settings.

The QR code and the manual details are on the eSIM's page in your account and in the delivery e-mail. Scan the code from another screen, or type the two fields by hand.

  1. Open Settings → Cellular (or Mobile Data) → Add eSIM, then Use QR Code.

  2. Point the camera at the code on another screen. Or choose Enter Details Manually and paste the SM-DP+ address and the activation code.

  3. Give the plan a label such as Travel, and keep your usual line as the default for calls and messages.

  4. Leave cellular data on your usual line for now. When you land, switch it to this eSIM.

On iOS 17.4 or later, opening the eSIM's page on the iPhone itself shows an “Install on this iPhone” button; no second screen is needed.

Manual entry

Where the phone offers to enter details manually, it wants two fields: the SM-DP+ address and the activation code. Both are behind “Manual setup” on the eSIM's page, each with a copy button.

If the install stops

  • “Unable to add cellular plan”

    It's almost always the connection. Move to a steady Wi-Fi, switch off any VPN, restart the phone and scan once more. Keep the screen on until the profile says it's installed.

  • “This code is no longer valid”

    The eSIM is most likely already on the phone. Open the list of cellular plans in Settings before scanning again: while the profile is on the phone, a second scan is refused.

  • No room for another eSIM

    Phones hold a limited number of profiles. Remove an old travel eSIM whose plan has ended rather than this one. A deleted profile can go back onto the same phone while its plan is valid, but never onto another one.

  • The option is greyed out

    An out-of-date system, a VPN, or a work profile managed by an employer can block the install. Update the phone, switch the VPN off, and try again.

Getting online

Installed, but no data? Four switches, in order.

Four settings explain nearly every “no service” after a clean install. Each takes seconds, and most phones need only the first two.

  1. Turn on data roaming, on this eSIM

    A travel eSIM is a roaming profile by design, and the switch is off on many phones. Turn it on for the Palmye line only. It has nothing to do with your home carrier's roaming charges: those live on your own SIM, which can stay off.

  2. Make this eSIM the data line

    Installed isn't the same as selected. Under Cellular data or Mobile data, choose the Palmye eSIM. Your usual SIM stays on for calls and messages.

  3. Airplane mode on, thirty seconds, off

    Or restart the phone. Either makes it register with the network afresh, which clears a good share of stuck connections on its own.

  4. Check the APN, then pick the network by hand

    If the eSIM's page lists an APN, enter it in the eSIM's own settings; Android in particular doesn't always fill it in. Then, under network selection, turn automatic off and choose one of the networks named on your plan.

Still nothing?

A phone that installs the profile but never connects is usually locked to the carrier it was bought from. On an iPhone, Settings → General → About reads “No SIM Restrictions” when it isn't. Only that carrier can lift a lock — we can't from our side — and the refund policy says what applies.

Refund policy

Questions

Asked often.

  • When does the validity start?

    Not at purchase. Each plan says which on its card and on the eSIM's page: either when the eSIM is installed, or on the first connection at the destination. Either way, the eSIM has to be installed within the window its page shows.

  • Can I make calls or send texts?

    No. The eSIM is data only: it has no phone number, no voice and no SMS. Your own number keeps working on your usual SIM, and calls over WhatsApp, FaceTime and the like run over the data.

  • Does the hotspot work?

    Sharing the connection with another device isn't promised on any plan. On many networks it works; on some it doesn't, or it's slowed. Nothing on a plan's page claims it.

  • Is the data counter live?

    No. The figure on the eSIM's page typically runs two to three hours behind, and it shows when it was last updated. For an up-to-the-minute figure, use the phone's own counter. Plans sold as unlimited show the days left, never a gauge.

  • The connection is slow.

    Speed and coverage are down to the local operator, in that place at that hour; we don't control them. Try the airplane-mode reset, then pick another of the plan's networks by hand. A slow hour isn't a fault; a network that never registers the phone is, and the refund policy covers it.

  • Can I add more data?

    If the plan allows it, the eSIM's page has a “Top up” button, and the data loads onto the same eSIM with nothing to install. Plans that can't be extended say “No top-up” before you buy; for those, buy enough for the whole trip.

  • I deleted the eSIM from my phone.

    While the plan is valid, you can install it again on the same phone with the same code: open the eSIM in your account and use its QR code or manual details. It can't be moved to another phone. Next time, switch it off in settings instead of removing it.

  • How do refunds work?

    An eSIM that was never installed can be refunded in full within 30 days, from its own page. An installed eSIM is refunded when a network-side fault stopped it working and less than one percent of the data was used. Refunds go to your wallet.

  • Do I need an account?

    Yes. The eSIM lives on your account page, which is where you find it again if the delivery e-mail goes missing, and where the data counter, the refund and any top-up are.

  • Where is my QR code?

    On the eSIM's page under your account, and in the delivery e-mail. Both show the same code and the same manual details.

Contact

Still stuck? Write to us.

Support is by e-mail; there's no phone line. Fill in the form and the reply goes to the address you give, within two working days and usually much sooner. A plan that isn't working at the destination goes first.

You don't need an account or an order number to write.

Tell us the phone model, the country you're in, and what the screen says.

Up to 3 JPEG or PNG images, 10 MB each. A screenshot of the screen you're stuck on reads far better than a photo of it.

No images chosen

Or write to this address yourself:

support@palmye.com