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How to activate an eSIM on the Google Pixel 7 series

Once you have the eSIM activation QR code from your carrier, all it takes is just one scan!
By
December 12, 2023

The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are both great flagships, even after the release of the Pixel 8 series. If you’re looking to get started with your new device, we’ll guide you on how to activate an eSIM on the Google Pixel 7 series in this article.

QUICK ANSWER

Once you have a QR code for eSIM activation from your carrier, go to Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > Download a SIM instead and follow the onscreen instructions to scan the QR code and activate your eSIM.


JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

How to activate an eSIM on the Google Pixel 7 series

Activating an eSIM on the Pixel 7 series is very easy. The steps change slightly if you purchased the phone through a carrier vs purchasing unlocked, as carriers will already link the phone IMEI to an appropriate eSIM profile, making the setup a breeze. If the IMEI is not linked to an eSIM profile, then you’d need a QR code from your carrier, as we guide below.

When purchased through a carrier

If you purchased your Google Pixel 7 or 7 Pro through a carrier, they have likely assigned and linked an eSIM profile to your device IMEI.

  1. When you begin the setup process on the new device, you will get a prompt to download an eSIM.
  2. You will need to connect to a Wi-Fi network to download the eSIM, and your phone will automatically take you to the Wi-Fi setup and connection screen.
  3. Once connected to Wi-Fi, the phone will search for a linked eSIM profile and download it.
  4. Just click activate when the profile is downloaded.

And that’s it. You have successfully activated a linked eSIM on your new Google phone. Since the process is part of the setup flow when purchasing through a carrier, the process is very straightforward as the phone already has an assigned eSIM profile waiting for it from the carrier.

When purchased unlocked/if you missed the setup screen

If you purchased your Pixel 7 and 7 Pro unlocked, then your carrier will not have automatically linked an eSIM profile to the phone. You may have also been away from WiFi during setup and missed the prompt. In such a case, you will need to do a bit of preparation before you get started:

  • Firstly, you will need to contact your carrier’s customer care service to request an eSIM. Your carrier will likely confirm your identity before raising an eSIM request. From past experience, we recommend speaking to a customer care executive and avoiding text-based chats, as speaking directly to a human has a higher chance of easy and quick eSIM processing. The overall experience differs across carriers, however.
  • Once the request is processed, your carrier will send you a QR code that contains all the relevant information for your phone to read. This QR code is unique to your phone number and is usually sent to your email address.
  • You will need to scan this QR code in later steps to activate your eSIM. Once you have your eSIM QR code ready, you can proceed to the next steps.

With that out of the way, you’re ready to activate your eSIM on your Pixel 7. Here’s how to do that:

  1. On your Google Pixel 7 or 7 Pro, connect to a Wi-Fi connection. Go to Settings > Network & internet > Internet, and choose and connect to your local Wi-Fi network.
  2. Once you are connected to the internet through Wi-Fi, go to Settings > Network & internet > SIMs.
  3. Click on “Download a SIM instead?” and click Next on the next screen.
  4. You will now be asked to scan the QR code from your network, as mentioned in the preparation steps. Just scan the QR code and follow the steps to activate the eSIM.

If you missed activating the eSIM on the setup screen on a carrier-purchased phone, you can follow the above steps to activate the eSIM. You can also follow the steps above to add a second or multiple eSIMs.

Which Google Pixel phones support eSIM?

These Google phones support eSIM:

  • Pixel 8 series: Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro
  • Pixel 7 series: Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a
  • Pixel 6 series: Google Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 6a
  • Pixel 5 series: Google Pixel 5, Pixel 5a 5G
  • Pixel 4 series: Google Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 4

These Google phones support eSIMs in limited conditions:

  • Pixel 3, Pixel 3XL: Phones bought from US or Canadian carriers other than Sprint and Google Fi do not support eSIM. Phones bought in Australia, Taiwan, and Japan also do not support eSIM.
  • Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL: Phones bought from Verizon, and phones bought in Japan do not support eSIM.
  • Pixel 2, Pixel 2XL: Only phones bought from Google Fi support eSIM. Rest do not support eSIM.

The original Google Pixel and Pixel XL do not support eSIM at all.

How many eSIMs can be used in the Pixel 7 series?

You can add multiple eSIMs on the Google Pixel 7 series, but only one eSIM will be active at any given time. The other eSIM profiles cannot be active simultaneously, yet.

However, Google has added the ability to keep two eSIMs active on the Pixel 7 series with the Android 13 QPR2 Beta 2 update. This feature is currently in beta, and it is expected to reach the stable platform soon. We will update this article when the dual-active eSIM feature goes live in stable Android 13 for the Pixel 7 series.

In the meantime, if you want to use two SIMs on the Pixel 7 series, you can use one eSIM and one physical nano SIM. This achieves the same purpose and will let you have two active numbers on the Pixel.


We hope this guide has helped you in learning all there is to eSIM connections on the Pixel 7 series. If you’re facing any other issues, you can check out our guide on the common Pixel 7 series problems and their solutions.

FAQs

Activating an eSIM on an unlocked device usually requires customer service assistance in generating a QR code. If you have the QR code, or you have purchased a carrier-locked device, then you can activate eSIM on your own.

Yes, the Pixel supports eSIMs alongside the nano-SIM. You can have two active numbers on the same phone this way.

Yes, you can activate an unlocked Pixel 7 series on Verizon’s eSIM.

It is not possible to migrate eSIM profiles from iPhones to Android directly. You will have to contact your carrier’s customer service to generate the QR code and follow the steps in this guide to add a new eSIM to the Pixel 7 series. It is expected that future Android versions will make eSIM migration easier. But for now, we do not have that feature.

An EID is a serial number that identifies the eSIM device, and is often needed for carrier eSIM activation. On the Pixel 7, go to Settings > About phone > SIM status > EID.