Not when you pay, and not when you install — a plan starts the moment your phone first connects to a mobile network in a country the plan covers
This is deliberate, and it is in your favour. Buying weeks ahead and installing at home costs you nothing: the validity period does not begin until you arrive, so a seven-day plan gives you seven days at the destination rather than seven days from checkout.
The Conditions, in Order
- The eSIM is installed on your device
- The eSIM is selected as the line used for mobile data
- Data roaming is switched on for the eSIM — this is the step most often missed
- You are physically in a country the plan covers
- Wi-Fi is off, so the phone actually reaches for a mobile network
Switch data roaming off for your own home SIM at the same time, and on for the travel eSIM. Those two settings do opposite jobs, and getting them the wrong way round is the single most expensive mistake on this page — see Do I Need to Turn on Data Roaming?
What You Will See
The plan sits at Pending from purchase until all of the above is true, then changes to Active on its own. Nothing needs to be confirmed and no button starts it. On the phone, an operator name appears at the top of the screen; in your account, the status changes and the countdown begins.
Landing usually means a few minutes of nothing while the phone finds a network, especially in a busy terminal. Turning flight mode on and off once is the standard nudge — see How Long does Activation Take After Arrival?
