iPhone vs Galaxy: where the eSIM setup screens differ

You buy a Korean eSIM and an email arrives. Open the link and there is a QR code and a few lines of text, and the instructions usually stop at "scan the QR code." Then you pick up your phone, and that one line turns into two different stories depending on what you hold. On an iPhone you can point the Camera app at the code. On a Galaxy you have to go into Settings and find SIM manager before a scanner opens.

Knowing where the two paths split turns this into a five-minute job the night before you fly. Everything below comes from what Apple and Samsung publish in their own support documents (checked 16 September 2026).

Why does every guide use a different menu name?

One thing first. The menu names are not fixed, and that is not sloppiness on our part — the manufacturers themselves use two sets of names.

• Apple's own support page uses both Add eSIM and Add Cellular Plan on the same page, because the wording changed across iOS versions.
• Samsung does the same. Its US page says SIM manager and Add eSIM; its Irish page says SIM card manager and Add mobile plan.

So rather than memorising a word, remember the direction. On iPhone you are heading into Cellular (called Mobile Data on some phones). On Galaxy you are heading into Connections. Once inside, look for the item with "eSIM" or "plan" in it.

What do you tap on an iPhone?

Apple documents two routes. Either one works.

Scan it with the Camera. Apple says to open the Camera app and scan the QR code, tap the Cellular Plan Detected notification when it appears, tap Continue at the bottom of the screen, then tap Add Cellular Plan. You never open Settings.

Go through Settings. Open Settings, tap Cellular, then tap Setup cellular or Add eSIM. If you cannot scan anything, tap Enter Details Manually at the bottom and type the code in.

That second route matters more than it sounds. The QR code is often sitting on the same phone's screen, which nothing can photograph. That is why the Kedanto order page shows the SM-DP+ address, the activation code and the full code as separate copy buttons under the QR image. On iOS 17.4 or later, the install button on that page skips the whole thing in one tap.

What do you tap on a Galaxy?

Samsung's Korean support page gives the path as Settings → Connections → SIM manager → Add eSIM → Scan QR code. If you have no QR code to scan, choose Add using activation code in the same place.

Depending on your model and where it was sold, "SIM manager" may read SIM card manager and "Add eSIM" may read Add mobile plan — both appear on Samsung's own English pages. The order is the same either way: Connections → the item with SIM in it → add.

There is one instruction Samsung gives that Apple does not. Samsung's US support page tells you to restart the device to apply the eSIM profile. If the install finishes on a Galaxy but no line appears, nothing is broken — you may simply not have restarted yet.

When do you name the line?

This is the clearest difference between the two.

Galaxy asks you during the install. In Samsung's documented steps, after the profile downloads you change the SIM name and icon to what you want, and then choose which SIM to use for calls, texts and data — all inside the wizard. (Those steps come from Samsung's mainland-China page, so other regions may word them differently.)

iPhone asks you afterwards. Apple says to label your plans after you activate your second plan, via Settings → Cellular → the number → Cellular Plan Label.

Either way, rename the travel line to something like "Korea." If both lines sit there called "Primary," you will not know which is which at the moment you need to switch your data over.

How do you make sure data goes through the travel line?

Installing is not the end of it. Your phone now has two lines, so you have to say which one carries the internet.

• iPhone: Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data, then pick the travel line. The calling line is set separately under Default Voice Line.
• Galaxy: inside SIM manager, choose which SIM handles calls, texts and mobile data.

iPhone has one more switch worth knowing: Allow Cellular Data Switching. Apple explains that while you are on a call on your voice-only number, that number automatically switches to carry data too. That is exactly where a call on your home number can quietly start spending your home carrier's roaming data, so it is safer to leave it off while you are in Korea.

Can a QR code be scanned twice?

A Kedanto QR code installs only once. If it has already been used for an install attempt, the same code will not work on a second phone. Install it on the phone you will actually carry in Korea.

Apple says something related from the other direction. In its page on erasing an eSIM, it notes that if you erase an eSIM, you will need to contact your carrier to get a new one. Erasing lives at Settings → Cellular → Delete eSIM, or Delete Plan on the plan itself. It is not a button to press out of curiosity mid-trip.

Losing the code is a different matter. The order link in your email keeps working, and if you sign in with the same email address, your order history will show it again at any time. If the email never arrived, check your spam folder first, then tell support the address you used when ordering — a typo is the usual cause.

What do you check if the install will not go through?

Apple repeats one condition throughout its documents: your iPhone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network or hotspot. The same sentence appears in the page about what to do when an eSIM will not set up.

That is the argument for installing before you fly, at home or at your hotel, where Wi-Fi is a given. Doing it on arrival means first catching airport Wi-Fi, which is a poor task for a passport queue. Why installing early does not start the clock is covered separately.

If the install worked but the internet does not, there is an order to check things in. When your eSIM is on but there is no internet walks through iPhone, Galaxy and Pixel screens. And if you are not yet sure your phone accepts a Korean eSIM at all, start with checking the model and carrier lock.

What about Pixel and other phones?

Google's official path is Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Add SIM → Set up an eSIM, and from there it only says to follow the on-screen instructions — the QR step is not spelled out.

Plenty of other phones support eSIM, and their settings tend to resemble one of these three. Find the menu with "mobile network" or "SIM" in its name, then the option to add one.

The two screens side by side

Everything in the table is taken from Apple's and Samsung's own support pages. Exact wording can differ slightly by model and software version.

What to do the night before you fly

Your bag is packed and you are sitting on the bed with your phone. Home Wi-Fi is already on, so the one condition is met.

Open the link in your email. On an iPhone, tap the install button or point the Camera at the QR code shown on another screen; on a Galaxy, go to Settings → Connections → SIM manager and open the scanner. When it finishes, rename the line to "Korea," leave it switched on, and set the data line back to your home line for now. When you land at Incheon and turn off airplane mode, move the data line over to the travel one, and the map will be open before you reach baggage claim.