dstan

Thanks, I will check out Piranha - like that it has a US number with no surcharge (eKit charges more when people call the US number instead of UK). Looks like expiration is 420 days if unused or below min balance? That's great! What is the minimum balance and minimum top-up amount?

UA Fan

I just bought a SIM from Piranha. Hopefully it works out. They have decent rates per minute - much better than Telestial which is why I went for it. It looks like they have an auto-top up option. My research also showed a 420 day expiration and that their top-up starts at GBP 10. They have the option to bill you in USD, but I could not any card to go through. So just bought it in GBP.

The SIMs costs GBP 12 of which GBP 5 is call credit.

dstan

Cool, thanks, I will try it, too!

osamede

Am starting a European trip in the UK and travelling to Germany and then Spain. Any recommendations for a pay as you go SIM to stick in my tablet?

Voice would be nice but not a necessity, however I need data at least.

nmenaker

For those countries you might check out the toggle sim. A data bundle and calling plans would roam freely across those countries. Setup a USA nber and inbound calling us free.

pilotalan

Through continued digging here, I found a reference to Vodaphone Smart Passport. The Italian webpage is here, use Google Translate to read it:
http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privat...SMART-Passport

Basically, for 3 Euros/day, you get each day 500MB of data, 25 min each of incoming and outgoing calls, and 50 sms messages.

Works everywhere in Europe, and the US & Canada
(Italy isn't on the list, because it's from Vodaphone Italy's website).
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
French Caribbean
Cyprus
Croatia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Great Britain
Greece
Guadalupe
Guernsey
Guyana
Ireland
Iceland
Isle of Man
Faroe Islands
Jersey
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Martinique
Norway
Holland
Poland
Portugal
Czech Republic
Reunion
Romania
Saint-Barthélemy
Saint-Martin
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Hungary
USA

MaxBuck

Looks like they've removed the US from the calling plan and boosted the cost to 5 euros per day. They've also increased the minutes. But your link is broken; do a Google search to find this plan.

pilotalan

Here's the link as of today:
http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privat...SMART-Passport
The broken link was copied directly off their site yesterday. It changed overnight.

It's still 3 Euro, still 25 in/25 out, and 500Mb, but now it says US and Canada are in the plan only until Sept 15th.

I would guess there was an EU rate or roaming change that takes effect July 1st. Hope the plan is still there when we arrive.....

dstan

Finally ordered my Piranha Mobile SIM - I was unable to order using credit card in USD - kept getting an error:

But, when I changed the currency to the default GBP, it went thru fine. Fortunately my card has no foreign transaction fees.

AeoNKiNG

I am going to be in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania for about two months. Anyone know the best option for me for data and texts? I don't care about calls. Just want a bunch of data and texts.

UA Fan

Same thing happened to me. I have just come back from a trip to Ethiopia, China, Mongolia, Canada, N Korea, and Russia. Piranha worked everywhere except in Canada and NK. The callback feature with Piranha is a bit annoying.

I bought another SIM from world travel SIM and I could not seem to use it anywhere.

jason8612

Any thoughts for a SIM for Russia and Belarus? I will be traveling in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Russia, Belarus, and Belgium. All the EU countries I will have data on my Polish SIM (23EUR for 1GB) but I'm thinking of just buying a local SIM in Russia and Belarus.

dstan

Got my Piranha SIM - give yourself some time to get it up and running before you depart on your trip as their documentation is difficult to follow and there are several redundant paths to the same solution.

1) You need to log into your account on the website to activate the SIM. After login, click on Accounts Admin-SIM Accounts, then click the View|Edit|Top-Up button next to your mobile account number, then Set Account Status to Activate Account, then click Update SIM.

https://www.piranha-mobile.com/index...=userhelp/help

You will be able to get your US and UK phone numbers from that page as they are not listed on the SIM card itself.

2) If you're on an iPhone 6 like me, you should to download two apps from the Apple Store:

The SIM app gives you some (clunky) management of the SIM - to get your balance, go to Edit SIM Settings, set Fetch Account to your phone numbers, and click Get Account Information - you can also get Call Rates and Call Logs fairly easily from the main menu:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pira...950761747?mt=8

The SIP app enables VOIP, which is their cheaper option - you need to get your SIP username and password, which are not the same as your Piranha username and password, from the SIM app above - they are NOT accessible online, only via the SIM app, or you can text SIP to 222 and receive the info back by text (not free):

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pira...959472891?mt=8
https://www.piranha-mobile.com/index...=userhelp/help - select Using and Setting Up VOIP

3) The SIM is plug and play for voice - got on the T-mobile network in the US no problem. However, to access data on an iPhone, you need to install an APN dongle on the phone. There are several routes to this:

a) If you try to access a website, a link to the APN install will come up automatically (slowly).
b) In the SIM app, select APN Settings, select your phone number, and click Send APN Link.
c) Navigate to http://openroamer.com

Once the APN is installed, you will be able to access data while roaming. HOWEVER, once you put your original SIM back in (Verizon for me), you have to delete the APN to access data on that SIM - Settings / General / Profile / openroamer / remove

https://www.piranha-mobile.com/index...=userhelp/help - select Set Up Mobile Data

4) Be sure to check Settings / Phone / SIM Applications for shortcut numbers to balance info (*301#) and SIM phone numbers (*113#). This info is also available in the SIM app under User Guide / Balance and Numbers


FYI, I was able to get a bundle with SIM plus £30 credit for £35, but looks like they just updated the website and now you can ONLY purchase the SIM Starter Pack with SIM plus £5 credit for £12.

UA Fan

Can someone who has a Piranha account check it and let me know if everything is ok with it? I used it on a trip a few months ago and after coming back my balance shows 0 when I hardly used it. I also don't see any data on my transactions tab except for when I first bought it.

Tried emailing and calling and have not received a response.

chx1975

All quiet on the Western (sea)front: