The commonest reason is that you are trying to scan the code on the same phone that is meant to install it — a camera cannot photograph its own screen
Three Ways Round It
- Tap the install link in the confirmation eMail on the phone itself — no scanning at all
- Open the eMail on another screen — a laptop, a tablet, someone else's phone — and scan from there
- Enter the details by hand using the activation code beside the QR code
If You Do Have a Second Screen
- Turn the other screen's brightness up
- Make the code larger — zoom in rather than scanning a thumbnail
- Hold the phone fifteen to twenty centimetres away and steady
- Avoid direct sunlight and reflections on the screen
- Clean the camera lens, which is dirtier than you think
Scan from the eSIM menu in settings, not from the ordinary camera app. Some phones will happily read the code in the camera and then offer to open it as a web link, which does nothing.
A printed code works well, and a screenshot of the code on another device works too. What does not work is a photograph of a screen taken at an angle — the code needs to be flat and sharp.
Manual entry is the reliable fallback and takes a minute. Copy and paste rather than retyping — see What is Manual Installation, and When do I Need It?
