When to install a travel eSIM: before you fly or after you land?
Install before you fly, at home, on Wi-Fi. Installing needs an internet connection — which is exactly what you do not have when you step off the plane. Installing early costs you nothing, because the plan does not start until the eSIM first connects to a network at your destination.
Why installing early costs nothing
Installing and activating are different things. Installing puts the eSIM on your phone. The plan's clock starts only when the eSIM first connects inside its coverage area.
So an eSIM installed a week before departure is just sitting there, idle and unbilled, until you land.
The ideal timeline
Before the trip: forward your flight or hotel confirmation to trips@get.esimion.com. Plan options come back by email. Pick one, and your eSIM arrives with a tap-to-install link and a QR code.
At home, on Wi-Fi: open the email on your phone and tap the install link. Two minutes, done.
At the gate or on the plane: set the eSIM as your data line, turn its Data Roaming on, and turn your home SIM's data roaming off.
When you land: the eSIM finds a network and connects. Maps work in the taxi line.
If you are already abroad
Not lost — you just need any internet connection for the install. Airport Wi-Fi, hotel Wi-Fi, or a cafe all work. Order by email, open the eSIM email on your phone, tap the link, and you are online a few minutes later.
One thing not to do
Do not install at the last second with no connection and no backup. The install itself downloads data, so it cannot happen offline. Give yourself the calm five minutes at home instead of the stressful five minutes at baggage claim.