# How to Install an eSIM Without Scanning a QR Code

> Every QR code is just a server address and an activation code. How to type them in when the camera will not cooperate, and when there is nothing to type.

Phones and networks · Published 2023-09-07 · Updated 2026-08-21 · 5 min read

Page: https://esimradar.com/blog/enter-esim-qr-code-manually

![A close-up of someone typing on a phone keyboard.](https://esimradar.com/blog-images/enter-esim-qr-code-manually/hero-6411-1280.webp)

*Every QR code has a typed equivalent, which is what you need when the code is on the screen you are holding.*

The QR code is not the eSIM. It holds two short strings — the address of a provisioning server and an activation code — and typing them in by hand runs exactly the same installation as pointing a camera at the square. Nothing is lost by skipping the scan.

That makes manual entry the fix for a whole family of problems: a code emailed to the only phone you own, a printed code that will not focus, a scanner that refuses a screenshot, a cracked lens. If you can read the characters, you can install the plan.

## What the code actually contains

Decoded, a typical eSIM QR code is one line beginning with [LPA:1$](https://esimradar.com/blog/esim-explained), followed by two or three fields:

- The SM-DP+ address — the server that holds a profile prepared for your phone. It looks like a domain name.
- The activation code — a long alphanumeric string identifying which profile to hand over.
- Occasionally a confirmation code, a short separate PIN the provider supplies alongside.

The format is not a provider’s invention — it comes from [the GSMA’s SGP.22 provisioning specification](https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/esim/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SGP.22-v2.6.pdf), which is why the same two fields work on any phone. One detail there is worth carrying with you: the LPA: prefix belongs to the QR form only, and a code you type starts at the format digit. Providers who support manual entry publish the parts directly, usually next to the QR image in the order email or the app.

## Typing it in

On both platforms the option sits on the screen that adds a plan, alongside the scanner rather than behind it, so the camera never has to come into it.

### iPhone

1. Settings → Cellular → Add Cellular Plan.
2. Tap Enter Details Manually at the bottom of the screen. [Apple lists this as a route in its own right](https://support.apple.com/en-us/118669), not something buried behind the camera, so you do not need to open the scanner first.
3. Paste the SM-DP+ address and activation code into their fields, plus the confirmation code if you were given one.
4. Label the line something you will recognise at an airport gate — "Japan", not "SIM 2".

### Android

1. Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Add SIM → Set up an eSIM, which is [the current Pixel wording](https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/16115470). Other makes call the same screen SIM manager.
2. Choose Need help? or Enter it manually, depending on the manufacturer’s wording.
3. Enter the activation code — many Android builds want the whole activation string in one field rather than split fields.
4. Confirm, and wait for the download to finish before switching networks.

> **Note:** An activation code installs once. If a scan appeared to half-succeed before you switched to manual entry, the code may already be consumed — ask the provider to reissue rather than retrying, and never hand the code to a third party, since whoever installs it first gets the plan.

## If the provider will not give you the details

Some issue only an image. Two things usually get you past it:

1. Ask support directly for the SM-DP+ address and activation code. They exist for every profile; whether the interface exposes them is a product decision, not a technical limit.
2. Failing that, display the code on a second screen — a laptop, a tablet, a printout — and scan it from there. It is the same code, just not on the phone doing the installing.

## When manual entry is not the problem

If the details are accepted and the profile still will not work, the installation was never the issue. In rough order of likelihood:

- Data roaming is off for the travel line. A travel eSIM always needs it on — see [roaming on for one line, off for the other](https://esimradar.com/blog/turn-on-off-roaming).
- The phone is carrier-locked, in which case the profile installs and then never registers. [Check the lock status](https://esimradar.com/blog/iphone-unlocked).
- The code was already used, or has expired — many are valid for a limited window after purchase.

## Buying one that installs cleanly

Providers differ in whether they publish manual details at all, which is worth knowing before you are standing in an airport with a code that will not scan. [Install it before you fly](https://esimradar.com/blog/install-esim) and there is time to ask. Plans by [destination](https://esimradar.com/country), ranked on [price per GB](https://esimradar.com/faq).

## Common questions

### Can I install an eSIM without scanning a QR code?

Yes. The code only carries an SM-DP+ address and an activation code, and both platforms let you type those in. The installation is identical.

### Where do I find the SM-DP+ address and activation code?

Usually beside the QR image in the provider’s order email or app. If they are not published, support can supply them — they exist for every profile.

### My QR code will not scan. Is it broken?

Usually not. Cameras struggle with screenshots, low-contrast prints and scanning a code shown on the same phone. Manual entry sidesteps all three.

### Can I use the same activation code twice?

No. It installs once and is then consumed. If an attempt half-succeeded, ask the provider to reissue rather than retrying the same code.

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More guides: https://esimradar.com/md/blog.md

Compare plans by destination: https://esimradar.com/md/destinations.md