Travel guide
What to Set Up on Android the Moment You Land: eSIM on Samsung, Pixel, and Xiaomi
נועה רגב7 min read
You've landed, phone in hand, and you need data now. On most Android phones the sequence is the same: open the SIM settings, turn on data roaming for your travel eSIM line, turn it off for your home line, and confirm the eSIM is set as your default line for mobile data. What trips people up isn't what to do, it's where to tap, because Samsung, Pixel, and Xiaomi each hide this menu in a slightly different place. This guide gives you the exact path for each one, no guessing required.
Key Takeaways
- Turn on data roaming for your travel eSIM line. Leave it off for your home line.
- Confirm the eSIM is set as your default line for mobile data, not your home line.
- The menu name and location differ between Samsung (One UI), Pixel (stock Android), and Xiaomi (HyperOS).
- If you can't find "roaming" in the SIM menu, search for the word directly in the Settings search bar. This works on every brand.
The full sequence: 3 steps
Before getting into each brand's specific path, here are the three steps you need to take, on any Android phone, in this order:
- Turn on data roaming for the eSIM line. This is the line that's supposed to give you internet abroad, and without roaming turned on it won't connect to any local network, even if it's installed and shows as active.
- Turn off data roaming for your home line. Otherwise it can quietly rack up roaming charges in the background, even without you using it for browsing on purpose: an app update, a cloud backup, or a push notification is enough. We covered this in detail in our guide to avoiding roaming charges from your home carrier, including the exact settings and why it's also worth calling your carrier before you fly as a backup, in case the phone setting resets itself.
- Set the eSIM as your default line for mobile data. This is the step that's easiest to miss. Even if roaming is set correctly on both lines, if the phone is still "looking" for data through your home line by default, you won't get a working connection, or you'll end up browsing on the wrong line without noticing.
These three steps live in almost the same settings screen on most devices, so there's usually no need to jump between several different menus. If you haven't installed the eSIM at all yet, our complete guide to installing an eSIM on Android walks through it step by step, including QR code scanning and manual entry in case your camera isn't accessible.
Why menu names differ by brand
Android is one operating system, but almost no manufacturer runs it "clean." Samsung built an interface layer called One UI, Xiaomi built one called HyperOS (and MIUI before that), and only Google's own Pixel phones run the stock version, the one closest to what Google itself publishes. Each of these interface layers reorganizes the settings menu, renames things, and sometimes moves an entire function to a different menu altogether. That's why "go to Settings, then Network" instructions don't always work: on one phone it's called "Network & internet," on another "Connections," and on a third "SIM cards & mobile networks."
Samsung (One UI)
Settings → Connections → SIM manager. Tap the eSIM line and turn on data roaming for it. The same screen also has the option for your preferred SIM for mobile data (under "Preferred SIMs"), so you can handle both settings in one place, per Samsung's official support page for managing SIM cards on Galaxy devices. On older or newer Samsung devices the button's position within that screen can shift slightly depending on the One UI version. If you don't see "data roaming" in SIM manager, search "roaming" in the Settings search bar.
Pixel (stock Android)
Settings → Network & internet → SIMs. Select the eSIM line and turn on "Roaming." The same "SIMs" screen also has the option for your default line for mobile data, per Google's official instructions for using two SIM cards on a Pixel phone. Another Google guide, on managing mobile data usage on Pixel, also explains how to track actual usage per line separately.
Xiaomi (HyperOS / MIUI)
Settings → SIM cards & mobile networks. Tap the eSIM line and find the "Data roaming" toggle. The same screen also sets your default line for mobile data. If you've installed the eSIM but haven't activated it yet, eSIM profile management is in the same menu, under "Manage eSIM." On older Xiaomi phones still running MIUI, the menu may be called "Mobile networks" instead, but the buttons inside it are the same. Xiaomi doesn't publish a detailed official support page for this step in English or Hebrew, so the path described here is based on direct testing in the HyperOS settings interface, not a link to an official source the way Google's and Samsung's are.
Quick reference by brand
- Samsung (One UI): Settings → Connections → SIM manager. Toggle name: Data roaming.
- Pixel (stock Android): Settings → Network & internet → SIMs. Toggle name: Roaming.
- Xiaomi (HyperOS/MIUI): Settings → SIM cards & mobile networks. Toggle name: Data roaming.
Can't find it at all? On every brand, and every Android version, the search bar at the top of the Settings app searches by function, not by menu location. Type "roaming" and you'll get a direct link to the right setting, even if it's buried in a menu with a name you didn't expect. This sidesteps the whole "what is this menu called on this brand" question, because the search ignores the interface layer and points straight at the underlying Android function.
It's also worth remembering that Airplane Mode doesn't solve this. Turning on Airplane Mode shuts off all cellular radio on the device, including the eSIM line, and won't let you turn on mobile data for a specific line while it's active. If your goal is to browse through the eSIM, the fix is to turn off roaming on your home line only and leave the eSIM active as usual, not to turn on Airplane Mode.
Confirming it worked
Once you've set both roaming toggles and the default line, there's a simple way to check everything is set correctly: open a browser and load any website, without Wi-Fi. If the page loads within a few seconds, the eSIM is working and you can move on.
For a more precise check, one that also confirms the correct line is the one actually using data, you can go back into the same SIM management screen (Samsung: SIM manager, Pixel: SIMs, Xiaomi: SIM cards & mobile networks) and look at the data usage meter shown for each line separately. If the number climbs on the eSIM line and stays flat on your home line, the setting is correct. If it's the other way around, that's a sign the default data line is still set to the wrong one, and it's worth going back to step 3 to fix it.
If there's no internet at all despite roaming being on for the right line, check that the eSIM is set to "active" and not just installed, and that it's actually selected as the default line for data, not just available as a second line. Our guide to confirming the eSIM, not your home SIM, is handling your data goes through this check in detail, including what to do if it turns out the wrong line is active, and when the problem is no longer settings but network coverage at the destination itself.
Bottom line
Three toggles, in a slightly different place on each brand: roaming on for the eSIM, off for your home line, and default for data set to the eSIM. If you don't remember exactly where, the Settings search bar with the word "roaming" finds it on any phone, regardless of brand.
Frequently asked questions
I have an Android phone from a different brand (OnePlus, Oppo, Realme) — what do I do?
The exact same sequence: roaming on for the eSIM, off for your home line, default for data set to the eSIM. The specific menu will be called something close to "SIM cards" or "Network & internet," but if you can't find it, searching Settings for the word "roaming" works on every brand.
Doesn't turning on roaming drain the battery faster?
Not significantly. Roaming itself is just permission for the phone to connect to a foreign network. Actual battery use depends on data usage (navigation, streaming, cloud backup), not on whether the toggle is on.
Do I need to do this again when I get home?
Worth checking. On most newer phones the setting reverts on its own once they detect a home network, but the safe way to make sure is to open the SIM screen again and switch the default data line back to your home line, so you don't accidentally stay connected to a network that requires roaming.
Why not just leave both toggles on?
Because your home line, with roaming on, can rack up charges abroad even without you using it on purpose: background app updates, automatic backups, or a moment where the phone prefers it over the eSIM. Turning off roaming on your home line is the simplest way to prevent that.
Can I do all of this before landing, during the flight?
You usually can't actually turn on roaming for a foreign line during the flight, because the phone still can't see a network at your destination. You can absolutely install the eSIM in advance and confirm it shows as installed, so that at the moment you land all that's left is turning on roaming and picking the default line, without messing with QR scanning in the air or at the airport.
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