Buying a Korea eSIM for a parent or partner and getting it onto their phone

Yes, you can pay for a Korea eSIM that your mother, partner or friend will use, but think of yourself as the courier rather than the user. The QR code and install link arrive at the email address typed at checkout, and the eSIM has to be installed on the phone the traveller will carry in Korea, because a Kedanto QR code installs only once. Check their phone before you pay, get it installed over Wi-Fi before they fly, and keep your own phone's camera away from the code.

Everything here was checked on 30 September 2026 against Kedanto's FAQ, install guide, support page, refund policy and Korea plans page, Apple's "Set up eSIM on iPhone" support page, and Samsung Canada's Galaxy eSIM support page.

Can you pay for a Korea eSIM that someone else will use?

Yes. An eSIM belongs to whichever phone installs it, not to whoever paid. Kedanto's FAQ says that after payment, usually within a few minutes, "the QR code and install link go to the email address you entered." So the person who checks out holds the install details, and their job is to get those details onto the right phone.

Kedanto's pages don't say anything about typing the traveller's email address instead of your own at checkout, so this guide assumes the usual case: the email comes to you and you pass it on. If you're buying for two people, say both parents, each phone needs its own eSIM, because one QR code can't be installed twice. Whether two people could share one eSIM over a hotspot instead is worked out in how many eSIMs a group needs.

What should you check on their phone before you pay?

Ask for the exact model, then check two things: that it has eSIM, and that their home carrier hasn't locked it. Kedanto's FAQ says most iPhones from the XS on work, as do most Galaxy S-series phones from the S20 on and the Z Fold4 and Flip4 and later. For the S20 to S22, it depends on the country and carrier the phone was sold through. Apple's own requirement is "iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, or later."

Plenty of people don't know their model number offhand, and "a Samsung" isn't enough, so ask them to read it out from the phone's settings or send you a screenshot. Then run it through Kedanto's device check. A phone locked to its home carrier can't use a travel eSIM even if the model supports eSIM, and the settings screens that show the lock are covered in what to check before you buy.

If you get it wrong, the refund policy has a clause for it: when the customer's device isn't supported, a full refund is available as long as the eSIM hasn't been installed.

Where do the QR code and install details arrive?

In one email, whose button opens the order page where the install options actually are. Kedanto's install guide describes the order page as the place with the One-tap install for iPhone button (iOS 17.4 or later) and, for Galaxy, the SM-DP+ address and activation code to paste in by hand. The QR code image is there too.

Treat that email like a house key. Anyone who opens its button sees the install codes, so forward it only to the person who is travelling. If it goes missing, the order page can still be reached, and where a lost Korea eSIM QR code lives explains how.

Why shouldn't you scan the code with your own phone?

Because the install would happen on your phone, and the code would be used up. Kedanto's support page says "A QR code can only be installed once. If it has already been used for an install attempt, it can't be reused." By that wording, an attempt that fails partway counts too.

It's easier to trigger by accident than it sounds. Apple says that on an iPhone, pointing the Camera app at an eSIM QR code brings up a Cellular Plan Detected notification, and tapping it starts the setup. The One-tap install for iPhone button on the order page works the same way as the eSIM links Apple describes: tapped on an iPhone, it sets the eSIM up on that iPhone. So when you open the email on your own iPhone just to check it arrived, look, but don't tap.

If it already happened, the eSIM counts as installed on your phone, and the refund policy gives no refund after installation, even if it hasn't been activated. Buy a fresh eSIM for the traveller. If you're not sure the install actually went through, email support@kedanto.com with the order number before deleting anything; the supplier's records decide whether it was installed.

How do you install it for them when you're in the same room?

Put the QR code on your screen and let them scan it with their own phone, over Wi-Fi. Your laptop or your phone shows the order page. They hold their phone:

• iPhone: Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM → Use QR Code, as Kedanto's install guide lays out, or simply point the Camera app at the code and tap the notification.
• Galaxy: Settings → Connections → SIM manager → Add eSIM → Scan QR code, which is the path on Samsung Canada's page (last updated 29 September 2026).

Kedanto's guide lists Wi-Fi as the first thing to check when an install fails, and Apple's page says to connect the iPhone to a Wi-Fi network or hotspot. Doing it together the evening before a trip, on home Wi-Fi, is the calmest version. Before you hand the phone back, rename the new line something like "Korea" so they can find it after landing. Where the menu names differ by model is in the iPhone and Galaxy setup screens compared.

How do they install it when you live in different cities?

Forward the email, and have them open the order page on the phone that is travelling. From there, what they tap depends on the phone:

Apple limits the touch-and-hold route to a QR code opened "in a default email app or browser", so ask them to open the order page in their browser rather than inside a chat app's built-in viewer.

A video call while they do it helps more than written instructions, mainly so that nobody taps the same thing twice. Because a failed attempt uses up the code, make sure they're on Wi-Fi before they start.

Can they scan a screenshot of the QR code on the same phone?

Not with the phone's own camera, and neither Apple nor Samsung describes scanning a screenshot. What both describe are routes that don't need a second screen. On iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later, Apple says to touch and hold the QR code in the default email app or a browser and choose Add eSIM, or to type the details in through Enter Details Manually. On Galaxy, Samsung's route is Enter activation code inside the Add eSIM screen. The order page shows the SM-DP+ address and activation code for exactly this.

Kedanto's own install guide adds a third idea for iPhones: save the QR code to Photos and use Open Photos on the scanning screen. Apple's setup page doesn't mention that option, so if it isn't on their screen, go back to the codes. A screenshot you send them is still useful for one thing: shown on a tablet or another phone, it can be scanned like any QR code.

What happens to their home number while they're in Korea?

Their home SIM stays in the phone, and the Korea eSIM only adds data. Kedanto's Korea plans page says every plan is data only, with no Korean phone number and no SMS, and that calls and texts to the traveller's usual number still reach the SIM they already have. Whether those texts actually arrive abroad, and what the home carrier charges for them, depends on that carrier's roaming. For keeping in touch with family, Kedanto's FAQ suggests data calling apps such as WhatsApp or KakaoTalk.

Kedanto's install guide says to turn on roaming for the travel line only and leave it off on the home line. For a parent who won't be checking settings mid-trip, that single rule helps keep their home carrier's roaming data out of the picture.

What will they have to do themselves after landing?

Two switches, and you can't do them from home. Kedanto's install guide lists them:

1. Choose the travel line for data. iPhone: Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data. Galaxy: SIM manager → Mobile data.
2. Turn on data roaming for the travel line. iPhone: in the travel line's settings. Galaxy: Settings → Connections → Mobile networks.

If it still doesn't connect, the guide's next step is restarting the phone. Installing early doesn't start the plan, which is explained in why you install before arriving.

If the trip is cancelled, who asks for the refund?

Whoever holds the order number, which is normally you, the buyer. Kedanto's refund policy sets out the stages:

For the second stage, the policy asks for an email to support with the order number, and the refund depends on the eSIM not having been installed. So if the trip might still fall through, wait until the dates are firm before installing it on their phone; it can still go on before they fly, over Wi-Fi. Once it's installed there is no refund, though no days are used until the line activates in Korea. What counts as activation is covered in when a Korea eSIM is activated. All 15 Korea plans are on the Korea eSIM page.

What should the message you forward say?

The email itself is written for the buyer, so add a few lines on top before you send it. Something like:

The button below opens your Korea eSIM. At home, on Wi-Fi, open it on the phone you're taking and install it (the steps are at kedanto.com/guide). Do it once only; the code can't be used twice. Don't delete the new line. When you land in Korea, set it as your data line and turn on data roaming for it, and nothing else. Call me on WhatsApp if anything looks odd.

Then keep the original email in your own inbox. If they ring from Incheon arrivals saying the internet isn't working, you'll have the order number ready and the install guide open on your side.