If the code is on a screen
- Turn the screen brightness right up.
- Make the code larger, and hold the phone 15 to 20 centimetres away.
- Clean the camera lens.
- Avoid glare and reflections, which is the usual culprit.
If the code is printed
Make sure it is not creased across the pattern, and that it printed at full contrast.
If the code is on the same phone you are installing to
A phone cannot scan its own screen. Use the manual details instead, which are on the same screen as the code. See "Install on iPhone by entering the details manually" on the SimFuse site.
Enter it by hand instead
Every plan comes with manual details as well as a code:
- an activation or SM-DP+ address
- an activation code
Your phone's Add eSIM flow has an option to enter these by hand. It is not a workaround; it produces exactly the same result as scanning.
If it scans but then errors
Then scanning worked and the problem is installation. See "Cellular plan cannot be added" or "This code is no longer valid" depending on the wording.