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No longer valid can mean your HelloRoam eSIM is already installed

Short answer

Your HelloRoam eSIM may already be installed, not invalid. Check your phone's list of mobile lines first. It sits under Settings > Cellular on iPhone, SIM manager on Samsung and SIMs on Pixel. If the HelloRoam line is there, stop scanning and fix its settings instead. Never delete it to try again.

Each scan error points somewhere different

What you seeWhat to do
Your phone says the code is no longer valid, or that the QR code expired.Open your phone's list of mobile lines before you scan anything again.
A HelloRoam line is already in your phone's list of lines.The eSIM is installed. Leave the code alone and check the line's settings.
The HelloRoam line is in the list but switched off.Turn that line on so you can read its details, then check its settings.
Your phone says the eSIM could not be added, or that it is already added.Read the list of lines first. An install error and an installed eSIM look alike.
No HelloRoam line shows anywhere in the list.Stop scanning. Email help@helloroam.com with your order number and a screenshot of the list.

A used code cannot install the same eSIM twice

Your HelloRoam eSIM is in use from its first connection to a supported network in your destination. Installing it does not count. Neither does a connection at home, or on a layover network your plan does not cover. Before that connection you can remove the eSIM and install it again with the same QR code or activation code. This works only for a limited time after purchase, so put it back straight away. After the first connection, the code is finished and cannot install that eSIM again. Never delete an eSIM that is in use. To check, open My eSIMs on the HelloRoam website. Active on the card, or an Activated On date in the details, means treat the eSIM as in use. Ready, Not Activated and the purchase date do not show that it has never connected. Never use them to decide to remove it. The app cannot tell you either: an eSIM that is still running sits in the Current tab, used or not. On iPhone the app can show an Install eSIM on this device button even when the eSIM is already installed. That button is not proof, and the app never shows it on Android. Deleting is never the fix. Apple's help agrees: don't erase an eSIM to troubleshoot unless your eSIM provider tells you to. The settings checks come first.

Find the HelloRoam line on each phone

iPhoneSamsungPixelOther Android

iPhone

The list of lines settles it. Read it before you try anything else.

  1. Open Settings and tap Cellular.

  2. Read the whole list of lines on that screen.

  3. Look for a HelloRoam line. If it is there, the eSIM is installed.

  4. Tap that line. If it is off, tap Turn On This Line.

    Clip

  5. Match the ICCID in Settings > General > About with the HelloRoam app.

  6. Ignore the app's Install eSIM on this device button. It tells you nothing.

Illustration

Illustration. Menu names can differ by model and software version.
Step 1 of 6
Install an eSIM on iPhone

Samsung

Samsung keeps every eSIM on one screen. Read that list first.

  1. Open Settings and tap Connections.

  2. Tap SIM manager.

  3. Read the list of eSIMs already on the phone.

  4. Look for a HelloRoam line. If it is there, the eSIM is installed.

  5. If that line is switched off, turn it on to see its details.

Illustration

Illustration. Menu names can differ by model and software version.
Step 1 of 5
Install an eSIM on Samsung

Pixel

Pixel keeps your lines in the network settings. Start there.

  1. Open Settings and tap Network & internet.

  2. Tap SIMs.

  3. Look through the lines for HelloRoam.

  4. Tap that line. Turn on Use this SIM if it is off.

  5. A line you can see here is installed, whatever its name says.

Illustration

Illustration. Menu names can differ by model and software version.
Step 1 of 5
Install an eSIM on Pixel

Other Android

Menu names change by brand and Android version. Look for the closest match.

  1. Open Settings and tap Network & internet.

  2. On older phones, tap Mobile network. On newer ones, tap SIMs.

  3. Read the list of lines or eSIMs there.

  4. If the HelloRoam line is there, the eSIM is installed. Don't scan the code again.

Illustration

Illustration. Menu names can differ by model and software version.
Step 1 of 4
Install an eSIM on Android

When the line is nowhere in the list

  1. 1

    Look again with every line turned on. A switched-off line still shows, and names mislead.

  2. 2

    If you bought more than one eSIM, match them by ICCID, not by the order you installed them.

  3. 3

    Rename the HelloRoam line once the ICCID matches, so you do not lose track of it again.

  4. 4

    If the line is there but you have no internet, that is a settings problem. Our no-internet guide walks through it.

  5. 5

    If the phone never installed the eSIM and shows a compatibility or activation error, our install-failed guide covers that.

  6. 6

    If no HelloRoam line shows at all, stop scanning and email us the details below.

Confirm these before a second attempt

  • Check whether the eSIM has ever connected to a supported network in your destination. That is what decides everything below.
  • Open My eSIMs on the HelloRoam website. Active, or Activated with an Activated On date, means it is in use.
  • Ready, Not Activated and the purchase date tell you nothing. They are not permission to remove the eSIM.
  • If it has never connected, the same QR code or activation code installs it again. That works only for a limited time after purchase, so put it back straight away.
  • If it has connected once, the code is finished. Email us instead of removing the eSIM.

Email us the error and the line list

Email help@helloroam.com. A screenshot of the screen you are looking at tells us more than a description does.

  • Your order number.
  • Your phone make and model.
  • The exact words on the screen, or a photo of the message.
  • A screenshot of your phone's list of lines: Cellular on iPhone, SIM manager on Samsung, SIMs on Pixel.
  • Whether your eSIM has ever connected, as far as you know. If My eSIMs shows Activated On, treat it as in use. Ready, Not Activated and Purchase Date tell you nothing either way, so a best guess is all we ask for.
  • If the line is missing: whether it was ever on the phone, and roughly when it vanished.
  • If you have more than one eSIM: the ICCID shown for the HelloRoam line.
  • The country and city you are in now.

Crop any QR code out of your screenshots before you send them.

help@helloroam.com

Answers about QR code errors

My eSIM QR code says invalid. How do I get a replacement?

You may not need one, because that message can mean your HelloRoam eSIM is already installed. Check your list of lines first: Settings > Cellular on iPhone, SIM manager on Samsung, SIMs on Pixel. If the HelloRoam line is there, fix its settings and don't scan again. If you deleted it, read what to do after an accidental delete. Otherwise, email help@helloroam.com the exact error and a screenshot of your lines.

Why can't I find my eSIM when the app says it's already installed?

Your HelloRoam line can sit in the list under another name. A line's name is only a label anyone can change, and a switched-off line still shows. The HelloRoam app shows your eSIM's ICCID under My eSIM > More Detail > About Your eSIM. Match it with the ICCID your phone lists, where it shows one. Our guide shows how to find the ICCID on each phone. Then rename the line so you know it next time.

Can my eSIM QR code be reused?

A HelloRoam QR code can be reused only before your eSIM first connects to a supported network in your destination. Until then, it can install the eSIM again on the same phone, for a limited time after purchase. After that first connection, the code is finished for good. While the e-sim is still on your phone, a second scan only returns an error. The code was never meant for a second phone.

My Android phone says the eSIM couldn't be added. What do I do?

Check your phone's own list of lines first. On Samsung, open Settings > Connections > SIM manager. On Pixel, open Settings > Network & internet > SIMs. Other Android phones list lines under SIMs, or Mobile network on older phones. A HelloRoam line in that list means the eSIM is already on your phone, so don't scan again. No HelloRoam line means the install did not finish, so work through the install error checks.

How do I reactivate a QR code?

You can't reactivate a HelloRoam QR code once your eSIM has connected. That first connection in your destination finishes the code for good, and nothing switches it back on. If the e SIM is still on your phone, it needs no code, so check the line's settings instead. If it had connected and is now gone, email help@helloroam.com with your order number.

Sources for this guide

The steps and menu names for your phone's settings follow these pages. Each entry shows the date we read it.

  1. If you can't set up an eSIM on your iPhone, Apple. Retrieved
  2. How to erase an eSIM on your iPhone or iPad, Apple. Retrieved
  3. Set up eSIM on iPhone, Apple. Retrieved
  4. Use eSIM while traveling internationally with your iPhone, Apple. Retrieved
  5. Use Airplane Mode on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro, Apple. Retrieved
  6. If you can't connect to Wi-Fi on your iPhone or iPad, Apple. Retrieved
  7. Use cellular data on your iPhone or iPad, Apple. Retrieved
  8. Use Dual SIM on iPhone, Apple. Retrieved
  9. Connect iPhone to the internet, Apple. Retrieved
  10. Using Dual SIM with an eSIM, Apple. Retrieved
  11. If you see SOS, No Service, or Searching on your iPhone or iPad, Apple. Retrieved
  12. Find the serial number or IMEI on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple. Retrieved
  13. Galaxy eSIM and supported network carriers, Samsung. Retrieved
  14. SIM cards for your Galaxy phone or tablet, Samsung. Retrieved
  15. Samsung Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Edge and S25 Ultra User Guide, Samsung. Retrieved
  16. Set up a new eSIM, Google. Retrieved
  17. Connect to mobile networks on a Pixel phone, Google. Retrieved
  18. Control airplane mode, private DNS & other network settings, Google. Retrieved
  19. Android Settings app strings, res/values/strings.xml (android16-release), Android Open Source Project. Retrieved
  20. Android Settings app strings, res/values/strings.xml (android-16.0.0_r4), Android Open Source Project. Retrieved

About this guide

Covers
This guide covers HelloRoam QR codes rejected as no longer valid or already added, and nothing else. Steps cover iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel and other Android phones. Other install errors have their own guide.
Written by
HelloRoam Editorial Team

The HelloRoam team that writes every help guide, working from the HelloRoam app and the phone makers' own help pages.

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From the HelloRoam app's own tutorials, recorded on iPhone
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