How to Activate AT&T eSIM in 2023

Activating an eSIM on your AT&T device should be fast and painless. An eSIM phone plan grants you more flexibility by letting you download the SIM information rather than storing it on a separate chip—and storing more than one phone number on your device if you so choose. 

Activating an AT&T eSIM card is often as easy as powering up your phone and following onscreen prompts to download and activate your eSIM card. As we all know, unfortunately, it is not always that easy. This article will guide you through how to activate your AT&T eSIM in 2023 for each phone manufacturer, what eSIM brings to your device, and a bit of history on SIM cards and eSIM cards. 

How to Activate AT&T eSIM in 2023

Activating your AT&T eSIM varies a bit between each phone manufacturer, and this section will cover the specifics of each process. There are usually multiple ways to activate your AT&T eSIM, and we will touch on each one just in case your phone is feeling extra finicky that day. 

Activate AT&T eSIM on iPhone

You should first connect to a stable Wi-Fi network when activating your iPhone. After you activate your iPhone, the eSim might download automatically. If that’s the case, then you are all set. The telltale sign of a successful eSIM activation is when you have wireless service bars and can make a call. 

If your eSIM does not download automatically, check for a prompt to install an AT&T cellular plan in your notification bar. If you continue from there, you should be all set in the eSIM activation process. You can also activate an AT&T eSIM through a QR code. When scanning the code, you should see a “Cellular Plan Detected” notification arise, which will bring you to the standard cell phone plan activation path. Once it’s done, your plan should be up and running on your device!

If you continue encountering problems, double-check that you have activated your device. If so, proceed to AT&T’s customer service to continue the troubleshooting process. 

Activate AT&T eSIM on Samsung Smartphone

Samsung users should receive an eSIM activation card with a QR code to activate their AT&T devices. Once on a stable WiFi connection, scan the QR code and follow the steps to activate the plan. 

If the camera doesn’t scan the QR code, follow these steps:

• Open Settings
• Connections
• SIM card manager
• Add Mobile Plan
• Follow the prompts to scan a QR code and activate your device! 

If you continue encountering problems, double-check that you have activated your device. If so, proceed to AT&T’s customer service to continue the troubleshooting process. 

Activate AT&T eSIM on Google Smartphones

Google smartphones also activate through QR code scans. When you order an AT&T eSIM phone plan, you should receive an eSIM activation card with a QR code. Once you have that, you can follow these steps:

• Connect to WiFi 
• Open Settings
• Choose Network & Internet
• Select the plus sign by Mobile network
• Select Download a SIM
• Follow the prompts to scan the QR code on your eSIM activation card 

If you continue encountering problems, double-check that you have activated your device. If so, proceed to AT&T’s customer service to continue the troubleshooting process. 

Activate AT&T eSIM on Other Android Phones

These devices also activate eSIM cards through a QR code. Once you have your QR activation card and are connected to WiFi, follow these steps to activate your AT&T eSIM: 

• Open Settings and look for Network, Connections, Mobile, or similar
• Find the option to download a SIM or eSIM
• Follow the prompts to scan the QR code on your eSIM activation card from AT&T

If you continue encountering problems, double-check that you have activated your device. If so, proceed to AT&T’s customer service to continue the troubleshooting process.

What Does eSIM Bring to Your Device?

There is a lot of excitement around eSIM cards, but what do they really bring to your device? In terms of service, they are similar to physical SIM cards. The SIM card within your device is not connected to your mobile data speeds or the stability of your service. It allows your device to connect to mobile networks (in this case, AT&T’s) and stores your account information. So, why the change to eSIM? 

Dual SIM Devices

One big change is the availability of dual SIM phones. Dual SIM phones are those with multiple numbers on one device. This availability is mainly a boon for people carrying around two phones. Lugging around a work phone and a personal phone is less than ideal. Activating dual SIM puts both numbers on the same device. Dual-SIM phones for people with multiple numbers still do a good job separating the work and personal numbers. Only one SIM card is active at a time in the user interface, so apps like social media, pictures, and games will all go through your personal SIM (unless you want the UI set to the other number). While only one SIM card is active at a time in your user interface, you will receive text and call notifications from each number whenever it is relevant. 

With dual-SIM active phones, even if you are on a call with one number, you will still receive notifications from the other SIM. The SIM you set for your UI will also use mobile data, so watch out if your dual-SIM device has a limited data plan. Both SIM cards will operate at full functionality within your device. 

Currently, the two major groups taking advantage of dual SIM phones are those with work and travel phones. 

• Work phones are a classic way for people to remain connected to their job at all hours and separate their personal and work lives. People with a work number can customize their settings more than those trying to fit it all on one device. For instance, they can set their work number to do not disturb outside of work hours, and the phone will block all notifications from the work number while the personal number continues to function normally. 
• Travel phones are a popular alternative to pursuing international phone plans from US carriers. If you regularly travel to the same country, purchasing a phone plan from that nation provides much better rates and lower prices than what’s offered in the United States. A dual-SIM device lets you do it all from your personal phone, and you can put your personal number on airplane mode for the duration of your stay to ensure you don’t incur any roaming charges. 

How does it work? 

The majority of setup involved in dual SIM phones happens at the very beginning. Users must configure their devices to know when to use SIM One and when to use SIM Two. You can separate numbers into contact groups to separate personal and work contacts, enable/disable mobile data usage for each card, and configure which number to use when calling/texting an unsaved contact. All of this is also easy to change as time goes on.

Phones to Become eSIM Only

Currently, manufacturers and wireless providers have a lot of physical and eSIM compatibility, but both Samsung and Apple have released new phones that are eSIM only. The iPhone 14 series is eSIM only, as well as some of the Galaxy S23 series. This puts a soft cap on how long physical SIMs will remain on the market. When, for instance, the iPhone 13 series gets so old that they are no longer functional, then iPhones will be eSIM only! The exact timeline may depend on when carriers start moving to eSIM only. Carriers resist the change due to the number of people still using physical SIM phone plans. If a carrier goes eSIM only and a large portion of their user base still uses physical SIMs, those users will likely switch to another carrier rather than from physical SIM to eSIM. 

Transferring Accounts from physical SIM to eSIM

There’s no rush to get on the eSIM train, but switching from physical SIM to eSIM is relatively straightforward. If you are changing devices, all you need to do is choose a mobile phone that supports eSIM cards, pick out a plan, and choose the eSIM option when you check out. 

If you want to transfer on the same device, look for an option through your carrier’s portal. Some carriers do not support moving from physical SIM to eSIM on the same device. 

A Brief Overview of SIM Cards

SIM cards have been around for many years. Initially, they let phone companies track users' phone usage to bill them the correct amount. Over time, SIM cards have gotten smaller and smaller. Unsurprising, considering the strides made in cell phone technology as well. The information within a SIM card has not changed much over the last few decades, but our ability to house information has. While Nano SIM cards were once as small as we could go, eSIMs take up a fraction of that space within a device.

What Does a SIM Card Do?

Your phone is connected to AT&T through its SIM card. The card, whether it be physical or embedded, taps into your phone’s power to broadcast your phone on the network. They have a bit of dedicated data storage, but physical SIM cards take up way more space than they need to. With phone manufacturers always looking to free up space in their devices (sorry, headphone jack), it is no surprise that they want to remove the SIM card tray next. 

Since carriers want to keep physical SIM compatibility as long as they can it will likely be phone manufacturers that drive the change from physical SIM cards to eSIMs only. 

Embedded SIMs are a huge piece of technology for smartwatches. The new series of smartwatches that connect to mobile networks all operate through eSIMs, letting the device connect to the internet without worrying about the whole physical SIM card aperture. 

What Happens to Phones Without SIM Cards? 

A phone without a SIM card functions normally, just without a mobile network connection. It will work fine on WiFi but won’t have a number associated. You can use your cell phone SIM-less as long as you want without any shenanigans when you activate a mobile account on the device. We recommend keeping your phone connected to a mobile network for as long as possible when you switch, but that’s just to ensure you can contact your carrier if anything goes astray. 

While you cannot physically remove eSIM cards, you can still wipe an account off them. The eSIM card without an associated account will lie dormant until you need it again. Switching accounts and carriers is very easy with eSIM cards, as they can program themselves anew almost instantly. 

Replacing Your SIM Card

This is a common occurrence, and fortunately, it is very easy! Since eSIMs are stuck within your device, there is no need to pop the old one out and replace it with a SIM from your new carrier. When activating your AT&T eSIM, it is all done online. This is generally done using QR codes sent by AT&T, but iPhones can automatically detect the eSIM and start the process with a notification from the device. 

With physical SIMs, you have to wait for the chip to make it through the mail. Not with eSIMs! One of the great things about activating an eSIM cell phone plan with AT&T is that you can get started immediately with your new account. Still, when switching cell phone plans it is important to make sure everything is in order before you officially cancel your old service. 

Key Takeaways 

Activating your AT&T eSIM should be a swift process in your transition to a new phone or carrier. With any luck, you won’t have to worry about SIMs and eSIMs for long. Once your phone is up and active, the eSIM card should work in the background and never cause you any trouble. If you’ve already gotten your phone up and running — congratulations! If you are still preparing, here are some key takeaways from how to activate eSIM on AT&T. 

• There is a slightly different process to activate eSIM cards on different phones
• The eSIM activation should start up automatically when you activate your phone.
• The evolution of SIM cards shows them getting smaller and smaller, eventually switching from physical SIM cards to eSIMs. 
• eSIMs allow for dual SIM devices, which are best for people who, alternatively, would carry around multiple phones. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I activate my AT&T eSIM? 

You can activate your  AT&T eSIM by following the instructions at the start of the article. In brief, once you connect to WiFi, you can scan the QR code that came with your activation card and follow the onscreen instructions to activate your  AT&T eSIM

How do I activate cellular eSIM?

This will vary slightly on your carrier, but activating your cellular eSIM can be done through an activation QR code, an app, or the carrier itself. 

Why isn’t my eSIM activating? 

First, ensure your phone supports eSIM and is up to date on its software. If your device continues to have issues, contact your carrier’s customer service for assistance activating your new device. 

What are the disadvantages of eSIM? 

Not being able to remove the card if your device is broken physically is one of the major disadvantages of eSIM. Switching from one device to the next is less convenient than it was with a physical SIM. Some international countries do not yet support eSIM technology, so your phone will not function in those areas. 

Do I need a SIM card to activate an eSIM card? 

Nope! eSIMs are pre-installed within your device, and you can activate your eSIM card by following your carrier’s instructions. 

Can eSIM and physical SIM work together? 

Yes! All phones that support eSIM also support multiple active SIM cards. That lets you activate dual SIM mode on your phone and juggle two phone numbers on one device.