h15t0r1an

Unless Vodafone considerably increase roaming data size they give soon, I am going to move my phone away from them. I switched GPS on for 3 minutes in an emergency in Florida and it blew more than my daily allowance! that's just unreasonable.

mrcamp

Yeah, roaming with a UK sim outside of the EU is excessively expensive. At least it's ok within the EU. We in North America do not have those kinds of regulations in place.

wco81

Just to follow up on this, I was going to go to Phonehouse but came up on a Telecor store on Calle Sierpes in Seville. There were other mobile shops and Phonehouse is pretty pervasive. Saw several Telecors around as well, another chain worth looking for, it seems.

The guy spoke English so I asks him about data, told him wasn't interested in phone calls. He said the Yoigo was the best deal -- well Carrefour seems better but they're usually on the outskirts of big cities, not that convenient to reach.

He said the Yoigo SIM is 20 Euro with 20 Euro credit. The best Internet plan is 500 MB for 8 Euro for 30 days.

However, since I had 20 Euro credit, I asked him to put me on the 3 Euro/day for 100 MB plan instead, so that I would use up most of my credit during my week's stay.

First time I popped it in my Huawei E585, it prompted for a PIN. I had the PIN but no way to enter it so I asked if he would put it in an unlocked phone and enter it for me, after he said that I would only need to input the PIN once. He had to open a box but he reluctantly did it.

He didn't tell me the APN so I waited until I got back to the hotel later on. I set the APN to "internet" and it worked real well. When it connected, it showed "Xfera" or something like that. Supposedly it's using Telefonica's network according to the guy.

I've found coverage to be good in most of Seville, on the AVE to Cordoba and so far in Granada. However, my E585 was doing something weird, displaying "TM Espana" and not connecting. It displayed "Roaming" and a big "R" inside a square. The E585 web admin page showed it was disconnected and that I would have to connect by clicking a button. When I did that from my iPhone, it put up a dialog warning that there would be roaming charges. I clicked it anyways and it didn't work.

What I ended up having to do was to reset the E585 admin settings again, which goes through connect modes, APN settings, Wifi settings, and admin password. It's about 5 or 6 quick-loading pages on mobile Safari browser. At the end you click "finish" for the settings to be configured (though I'm not actually changing any of the settings, it re-sets them). The Wifi goes down and then comes back up and it works as normal, displaying "Xfera" instead of "TM Espana."

Had to do this once or twice more. I can't tell how much data I've used. I've been turning it on and off instead of leaving it on all the time, so I'd turn it on for 5-10 minutes at a time, several times during the day. The E585 shows how much data for that sessions but not really the running total per day.

I went to the Yoigo.com site to log into my account to see the balance. The Telecor mobile shop took my passport info. down and then gave me a print out with the SIM ICC-ID number as well as the actual phone number (I did pack an unlocked old Nokia but so far haven't bothered to pop the SIM in there).

So you need a password to log in as well as the phone number. I enter my phone number to retrieve the password which it texted. THen I go into the E585 web interface to see the text and got my password.

Showed a residual credit of 17 Euro, then 14 Euro. Doesn't show how much data and it gave me no way to activate/deactivate the plan. According to the shop guy, it would automatically deduct 3 Euro, each day I used it.

I didn't look into how long any credit would remain before needing to be recharged. Not even sure if it can be recharged by US credit card. Since I plan to use most of the credit during my stay, it should not matter much the few Euros of credit that is left.

20 Euro for a week is kind of expensive. If I was staying for 2 weeks, I'd be looking at another plan, probably one that goes up to 1 GB or more, though just using the iPhone (and once connected my laptop to the Mifi), I really didn't come close to the 100 MB limit. This is checking emails, playing a couple of games when it's my turn (Words with Friends, Scrabble, Dominion), browsing a few web pages.

I didn't try to use Maps or anything that used GPS that much. Streaming maps probably would have used up the data quicker.

JakiChan

I may be contacting you for a pair.

Does anyone know if you can stick a pre-paid SIM card into an iPad and have it work? I'm pretty sure iPads are unlocked, and I don't want voice in France I just want decent data for my (and my SOs) iPads.

If anyone knows if something like this works then I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.

fredsxb

The only convenient data-only plan for iPad in France is sold by Bouygues (€29.90 for 1.5Gb/30days):

http://www.laboutique.bouyguesteleco...pad-70_sg.html

Although it can be complicated to add credit (from my blog):
http://superfr8d.blogspot.com/2010/1...paid-ipad.html

Orange & SFR have what they call non contract iPad plans but they require a French bank account

redondo-beach

GERMANY D2 pre-Paid How long is Sim valid ?

Hi

I have a D2 Sim from Germany that I have used for the last 5 years ,
But I did not go to Germany last year so its been 14 months since its been used.

How long is it Valid for ?

If its still good (how would I check ? ) is there a way to put money in it over the web ?

Thanks for your help

RB

JakiChan

How hard is that to sign up for? Is it something that visitors can easily get access to?

Jake Gittes

In my experience it's easy to get. The hard part is for us non-French speakers trying to explain what we're looking for.

JakiChan

Does it have to be tied to a particular name? For example, if I get someone from my companies office in France to get one for me before I get there would that be pretty easy?

w0r1dtrave1er

Bump bump!

Looking for a pre-paid 3G micro-SIM for Tahiti / French Polynesia

For data, not necessarily for calls/sms


I recently used econnectjapan.com

$61 shipped to the hotel, one micro-sim data-only
1GB data or one month
no need to return the SIM

Data, Data tethering worked in my unlocked iPhone, via APN settings

BangkokTraveler

Information as of March 2012.

I am in Cambodia now (only Phnom Penh), so let me update the info on the Hello SIM. It is called the Hello Travel SIM Pack and it is bought at the stall described above when exiting the airport, the girl will give you the SIM and an instruction sheet for checking balance, finding your number, changing your language, etc. To activate, put the SIM in the phone and try and make a call.

Price is $5, which includes $3 in regular credit and $7 in "onnet credit". I *think* this onnet credit is only for calls to other Hello users, as mine has stayed at $7. SIM expires after 10 days of inactivity, which is not a problem, just buy another one on your next visit.

I received calls on the SIM from Cambodia and USA, and quality is good. Calls to the USA are 13 cents/min, from what I remember.

The best thing about this SIM is that I am getting 4G coverage within Phnom Penh. Just did a speed test, it is 3.10 Mbps up and 1.72 Mbps down. Really great!!! My phone is a HTC T-Mobile MyTouch 4G. Cost of Internet is:1 cent per 500KB, so 50MB for $1. Cheap. If you want a larger package for internet, you can get a 400MB bundle for $2 by typing *8880*7# ... incredible value, IMHO.

APN is: hellowww

You can add credit all over the city at the stalls on the corners, just ask around. Credit comes in as little increments as $1.

Color me impressed by the cost, coverage and speed. Last time I was here, mobile calls and Internet were spotty at best

Tons more info here, including instructions, rates, Internet packages for larger volumes, etc.: http://www.hello.com.kh/public/international_services/international_services.aspx?page=is_hello_travel_s im_pack

FYI, a friend here has the Beeline SIM, it is cheaper ($2) and reliable and calls to USA are 8 cents (I think). No 3G or 4G coverage though, so Beeline is only an option if you don't care about Internet.

Off to Indonesia next.

BangkokTraveler

Any idea if this XL SIM has good for coverage in Bali (Tulamben, Nusa Lembongan) and Gili Trawangan? Internet coverage on the phone is essential.

chff

Hi there,
I'm traveling in 2 weeks to Poland, Hungary, & Ukraine.
I'm looking for a sim card with (3G) data, unlimited prefered.
Does know which company I can order & ship to USA, as I need it as I arrive because I will not be arriving at airports and won't for some time stop at a store to buy it.
Thanks

bukzin

You might have a look at both Xcom and iphonetrip.

Both in US.

gailwynand

I'm headed to China soon on a business trip and would like to get a prepaid data SIM to use with my iPad 2 while I'm there. I know I could probably go to any electronics market and get this done, but as a very obvious foreigner I am sure I would get ripped off. I could ask my Chinese coworker to help me, but I'd rather not bother her if there is a better option.

Is it possible to get a SIM at the Apple Store in China? That would be my ideal method of going about this.