How to Install a Dubai eSIM on Google Pixel
Add a Dubai eSIM to your Pixel before you fly: the exact Settings path, why to install on Wi-Fi first, and the network names to look for after landing.
Updated August 23, 2026
The reason to arrive in the Emirates with an eSIM already installed has nothing to do with signal. UAE networks are dense and consistent — your Pixel will hold a strong connection at the terminal, in the taxi and out along the coast. What actually costs you is your own operator’s roaming rate applied to a few days of maps, messages and ride-hailing, and the first hour of a short visit spent at a SIM counter with your passport out.
That hour matters most to two groups. Families and business visitors here for three to five days are working against a fixed schedule, so an hour is a meaningful fraction of the trip. Long-layover passengers at DXB are working against something tighter: when the stopover is the visit, being online between the jet bridge and the taxi is the entire point. Buy in the Dubai eSIM app, install before you leave home, and arrival is one toggle. Plans are on pricing, with background on what an eSIM is.
Pixels make this easy because they run close to stock Android: Settings, Network & internet, SIMs, then Download a SIM instead, largely unchanged across recent releases. This guide walks that path, then covers the two settings that matter on arrival — selecting the eSIM for mobile data, and enabling Roaming for that line alone while your home SIM keeps its own roaming firmly off. Other handsets are covered in our guide index.
One point worth reading before you buy rather than after. Some internet-calling services are restricted on UAE networks. A data plan does not change what a network permits, and a travel eSIM is data — it carries no ability to unlock a service the network blocks, and we would rather say so here than have you discover it in a hotel room. The rest of the common questions are on our FAQ.
Installation steps
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Step 1
Buy the plan you need in the Dubai eSIM app
Pick a plan sized to the length of your stay in the Emirates. The QR code and manual activation details appear under your order straight after payment and remain there if you need to install again.
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Step 2
Do the install at home, on Wi-Fi
Downloading an eSIM profile needs a working connection. Handling it before you leave means the only thing left on arrival is a switch — which is what turns a long stopover into usable time rather than counter time.
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Step 3
Open Settings, then Network & internet
Pixels run close to stock Android, so the path is short and stable across recent releases. If your build shows something different, the search box at the top of Settings finds it when you type SIM.
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Step 4
Tap SIMs, or the + beside it
With a physical SIM already in use the entry reads SIMs, with a plus icon next to it. On a phone with no SIM at all you may instead see an invitation to add one. Either route lands in the same place.
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Step 5
Choose Download a SIM instead, then scan
Android first offers to look for a carrier plan; ignore that and pick Download a SIM instead — Google's wording for the option that accepts a provider's QR code. Hold the Pixel over the code on another screen, or tap Need help for manual entry and copy the SM-DP+ address and activation code from the app.
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Step 6
Name the line, then leave it disabled
The Pixel downloads the profile and asks you to confirm. Label it Dubai so the dual-SIM screens read clearly, keep your home SIM as the default for calls, and switch the new line off — validity starts on its first connection to a UAE network, not at purchase.
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Step 7
On arrival, enable it and make it your data SIM
After landing, open Settings, Network & internet, SIMs, select the Dubai eSIM and switch it on. Then set Mobile data to that line. Calls and SMS stay on your usual number without interfering.
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Step 8
Enable Roaming for the Dubai eSIM line only
With the Dubai eSIM line open, turn Roaming on. The toggle sits per SIM on a Pixel, which is exactly what you want: it lets this line register on a visited network and adds nothing to a prepaid local plan. Your home SIM keeps its roaming off.
Troubleshooting
Which Pixels can take an eSIM?
Pixel 3 and everything after it, broadly speaking, with regional exceptions — a small number of variants sold in particular markets shipped without it. Rather than trust a list, dial *#06# on your own handset: if an EID is shown alongside the IMEI, your Pixel has the hardware.
I cannot find Download a SIM instead.
Check you are in Settings, Network & internet, SIMs rather than a carrier app. If the option is genuinely absent and *#06# does show an EID, the Pixel is likely carrier-locked — operator units sometimes restrict which eSIMs they accept. Your home operator can unlock it, far more easily before you fly than from Dubai.
I have landed but the eSIM has no signal.
Check three things in order: the line is enabled under SIMs, it is selected for mobile data, and Roaming is on for it. Then toggle Airplane mode. If it is still blank, open the line's network settings, switch off automatic selection and pick e& — frequently still listed as Etisalat — or du by hand.
Does switching Roaming on create a charge?
No. That switch is how Android permits a line to attach to a network other than its own, and your Dubai eSIM plan is prepaid for exactly that use on UAE networks, with no home operator in the chain to bill you. Just confirm roaming stays off on your primary SIM.
Can this eSIM get around restrictions on internet calling in the UAE?
No. Certain internet-calling services are restricted on UAE mobile networks, and a data plan does not change what a network permits. Our eSIM runs on those same networks and cannot unlock a service they do not carry. Decide in advance how you will stay in touch with people at home.