eSIM Cannot Be Added: “This code is no longer valid” — what it means and how to fix it

You scan the QR code, the iPhone opens Activate eSIM with “Connecting to your network provider. This may take a few minutes”, and then this lands on top of it:

eSIM Cannot Be Added This code is no longer valid. Contact your network provider for more information.

It reads like the eSIM is broken. It almost never is. An eSIM code normally works once, and the usual reason for this alert is that it already has: the eSIM is on the phone, most often as the last line in the list. That is what we find in most of the support chats that begin with this screenshot. This guide explains what the message means, the six situations behind it, how to check in a minute whether your eSIM is already installed, and what happens when it really is gone.

The short answer

• The code works once. The QR code, the one-tap install link and the manual activation code all point to the same single eSIM. Once a phone has downloaded it, every one of them is spent.
• Look before you scan again. Open Settings → Cellular (Mobile Service or Mobile Data, depending on your iPhone’s language and region) and read the list of lines. The eSIM you added is usually the newest one, often labelled Secondary or Travel.
• If it is there, keep it. Turn the line on and set it up for data. Deleting it is the one step that cannot be undone.
• If it is not there, because it was deleted or installed on another phone, message us and we issue a new eSIM.

1. What does “This code is no longer valid” actually mean?

It usually means the server behind the code has already handed over the eSIM the code points to. Every eSIM QR code holds two key pieces of information: the address of the provider’s download server, called the SM-DP+ address, and an activation code. When a phone scans it, the server sends that eSIM profile to that phone and records it as downloaded. For Horizon eSIMs, as for most travel eSIMs, a second request with the same code, from the same phone or from any other, is refused, and the iPhone reports the refusal as “no longer valid”.

The second sentence, “Contact your network provider”, is the standard iPhone wording. For a travel eSIM, the provider to contact is whoever sold you the eSIM, not your home carrier. For a Horizon eSIM, that is us.

2. Why do I see it if I only scanned once?

Because one of these six things happened, and the first is by far the most common:

1. The first installation worked. The Activate eSIM screen can sit on Connecting for a few minutes. If you closed it, lost Wi-Fi for a moment or decided it had frozen, the eSIM often finished downloading anyway. Scanning again then meets a code that has already been used.
2. You installed with one tap, then scanned as well. On an iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later, the one-tap link (Install with one tap, or Install on iPhone in the order email) opens the installer with every detail filled in. Scanning the QR code afterwards is a second attempt with the same code.
3. Another device used the code first. An old phone, a partner’s phone, a tablet that read the QR code off a laptop screen, or anyone it was forwarded to: whichever device downloads it first keeps it, so treat the QR code like a password.
4. The eSIM was deleted. Removing an eSIM in Settings, as a troubleshooting step or while tidying up after a trip, deletes the profile from the phone, and the old code does not bring it back.
5. You are reusing an eSIM for a new trip. A Horizon eSIM that is still on your phone can often take a new plan in My eSIMs without scanning anything; its card shows what it can add. The original QR code is spent; the installed eSIM is the part that matters.
6. You typed the code by hand. One wrong character can be refused in the same way. Copy and paste the SM-DP+ address and activation code from your order instead of typing them.

3. How do I check whether the eSIM is already installed?

On iPhone:

1. Open Settings → Cellular. Depending on your iPhone’s language and region, this is called Mobile Service or Mobile Data.
2. Read the list of lines under SIMs. Next to your usual line there may be one you do not remember naming: iPhone gives new lines labels such as Secondary, Travel or Business.
3. Tap it. If the line is in the list, the eSIM is installed. If its Turn On This Line switch is off, it is simply switched off.
4. Rename it through Cellular Plan Label, for example to Horizon, so it is easy to find later.

On Android, the same list lives in Settings → Network & internet → SIMs on Google Pixel and many other Android phones, or Connections → SIM manager on a Samsung. The alert wording differs, but the cause and the check are the same.

In your Horizon account, the eSIM’s card in My eSIMs shows its setup progress. When it shows Installed, the eSIM has been downloaded to a phone. If it says installation is not confirmed yet while you know you installed it, keep it on the phone: the confirmation can arrive later.

4. It is installed. How do I get it working?

Nothing else needs installing. When you arrive at your destination:

1. Turn the line on.
2. Choose it for Cellular Data.
3. Turn on Data Roaming for that line. A travel eSIM connects through partner networks, so iPhone treats it as roaming.
4. Keep data roaming off on your home line if you do not want your home carrier to charge for data.

An eSIM installed days ago has lost nothing: validity does not start until the eSIM first connects to a supported network at your destination. The installation guide walks through the same screens step by step.

5. The eSIM was deleted or went to another phone. Now what?

Do not keep trying the same code. It will not work, and repeated attempts change nothing on the server. A deleted eSIM cannot be installed again from its old code, and an eSIM downloaded to another phone stays with that phone.

Write to us before you buy another one. When the eSIM is truly gone, we issue a new one. To make it quick, send:

• the email address you used for the order;
• a screenshot of Settings → Cellular, so we can see which lines are on the phone;
• whether you have a Horizon account, so the new eSIM also appears in My eSIMs when you sign in.

You can reach a person at any hour: we offer 24/7 human support in all languages, with guaranteed instant replies. The contact page lists every channel.

6. How does Horizon support handle this screenshot?

The same way every time, usually in a couple of messages:

1. We check the eSIM on our side. Our records often show whether the eSIM has been downloaded, and the list of lines on your phone settles the rest.
2. We ask you to look at the last line in Settings → Cellular. Most of the time the eSIM is there, labelled Secondary or Travel, switched off or not yet chosen for data.
3. We help you switch it on: line on, chosen for Cellular Data, data roaming on for that line.
4. If it is not on the phone, we send a new eSIM, by email, and in My eSIMs if you have an account with your order email. Nobody has to explain how the first one disappeared.
5. The same chat carries on after you land. If the eSIM shows no data at your destination, network selection and roaming are the next checks, and we go through them with you.

7. What if the eSIM is not on the phone and was never downloaded?

That is rare, and it points somewhere else. Before writing to us, two quick checks cover most of it:

1. Try another network. Some hotel, office and public Wi-Fi networks block the server an eSIM downloads from. Switch to a different Wi-Fi or a friend’s hotspot and try again.
2. Make room if the phone holds many old eSIMs. iPhone stores eight or more, so this is rarely the cause. Remove only eSIMs you will never use again; keep Horizon eSIMs you may refill, the one you are installing and any with a plan still running.

Then restart the phone and install any iOS update waiting in Settings → General → Software Update.

8. Can I move a Horizon eSIM to a new phone?

Not by scanning the old code. Transfer between phones depends on the device, the provider and the selected plan, so do not delete the eSIM from your old phone on the assumption that it will move. If you are changing phones before a trip, message us before you wipe the old one. Moving your number to a new iPhone 18 Pro explains how transfer works for home lines.

Short answers

What does “eSIM Cannot Be Added: This code is no longer valid” mean? The code has usually been used already to download the eSIM, most often to your own phone. The eSIM is then in Settings → Cellular as the newest line.

Is my eSIM broken? Almost never. The alert is about the code, not the eSIM. Check the list of lines before anything else.

How many times can an eSIM code be used? Normally once. The QR code, the one-tap link and the manual code are three routes to the same eSIM, so using one uses them all.

Can I reinstall a deleted eSIM with the same QR code? No. A deleted eSIM cannot be installed again from its old code. Contact us and we issue a new one.

How do I know if my eSIM went to another device? From the phone alone you usually cannot, and you do not need to. If it is not in Settings → Cellular, message us: we check our records and, if it is gone, issue a new eSIM.

Do I need to call my home carrier? No. “Contact your network provider” means the company that sold you the eSIM. For a Horizon eSIM, that is our support team.

Has my plan started because of the failed attempt? No. Validity does not start until the eSIM first connects to a supported network at your destination.

Can I get my money back instead? Yes. We always refund the full amount you paid when you request it, whether your eSIM is unused, partly used or fully used. The refund policy has the details.