Finkface

Where did you find the APN settings for TIM? Did they give them to you? I have had to change APN several times in various places but usually had to find them online. Wondering if I should do the same or if TIM gives them to you?

wco81

Google it.

http://wiki.apnchanger.org/Italy#Tim...alia_Mobile.29

ibox.tim.it

slidergirl

OK. I'm taking my new IPad Mini with me to Italy in 2 months. I have the AT&T version. I understand I have to buy a new nano Sim and some time to be able to use it with 3G/4G and not my wifi.
What to do next is what I don't understand. I went to the website wco81 listed - it made no sense to me. Is SMS a text message? I don't have a smartphone, so I don't know much about that kind of stuff How would I SMS a number from an IPad that doesn't have a phone #?

Could some nice soul please give me step-by-step instructions on what I would do if I buy a TIM SIM?

ShopAround

I got it from the TIM store when I couldn't get online. I'd already used the MiFi in England, Ireland and France and hadn't needed to change the APN but then in Italy, it wouldn't work. It was someone in the store that suggested changing the APN and that did it.

wco81

I've never had to text for the plan I wanted. Usually I purchase or buy additional credit at a TIM store and someone there speaks English well enough.

You tell them which plan you want activated and they do it for you, as opposed to you having to text a special code.

But I did set up an online account at 119.it, which is TIM's customer portal. You register with the phone number you get with the SIM and with it, you can activate and deactivate the plans. I don't speak Italian but I could figure it out.

The one thing to be wary of is if you take the iPad into the TIM store, they may give you a more data-limited plan. If all you plan to do is to surf on the iPad, 1 GB should last you a couple of weeks. But if you are going to try to use the Personal Hotspot (which may or may not work) to connect other devices or even a laptop, 1 GB may not be enough, depending on how long you would use the service and how much you'd use it (like downloading or uploading photos, watching videos, would use up the data quickly.)

slidergirl

Thanks. Not going to use the Hotspot - the iPad is the only device I'd have. I'll have WiFi at the hotel, but I just want the ability to use the iPad when I'm out and about. I can be judicious about turning on/off cellular when I don't need it. I do the same with my wifi on my iTouch now.

wco81

Then you can probably get by with a few hundred megabytes per week.

But sometimes, Wifi at hotels in Italy are wonky. Either the signal is weak or you have to go to some common area. Or even if you get a good signal, the speed is bad. Or it's a pain to log in each time.

So I've often got much faster speeds on TIM than on Wifi.

slidergirl

I ended up going to a TIM store in Rome. I bought the nano SIM with 250MB of data. It was 10EU for the SIM and 25EU for the data. It was extremely easy to set up - the hardest part was getting the SIM holder open on the Mini! I received a little packet with a SIM and the PIN, PUK and phone #. The packet SIM was larger than the nano. The clerk gave me a separate little card with the nano SIM. She linked the nano to the other data on her computer. After that, I just put in the SIM, went to settings, filled in the PIN and phone # and away I went. I was so nice to be able to use my Mini anytime I wanted to send emails, look at directions, use the GPS. And, yes, the TIM signal and speed were usually better than my wifi access.

wco81

Hmm for 25 Euro, you should have gotten 10 GB of data, not just 250 MB:

http://www.tim.it/internet/offerte-i...-per-chiavetta

Now, maybe the nano SIMs don't all come with the same amount of data but you're talking about a difference of 40 times.

daniel46211

I found TIM to have great LTE coverage, speeds were no where near Australian/US speeds, but still faster than hotel WiFi.

slidergirl

Maybe I did get more time, but I thought I just got the 250MB. I have my receipt right here - it doesn't say how much data:
VEND-ODF65-Internet 25.00
VEND-(#) TIM CAR 10.00

I'm back home now, so it's kind of a moot point. I used my 3G to navigate from Rome to Florence, so maybe it's a good thing I had more time.
In any case, it was an OK purchase for me, since it kept me more in touch than I've even been before when I travel.

wco81

I found wifi to be poor in many hotels so I get a lot of data and use it in hotels too if the wifi is slower, which it often is

JMN57

Spilt milk but Vodafone has a 5gb plan that's around $12 E plus I think 5 E for the SIM. I got that in December plus I think I got a promo for my phone that was 350 min/350 text/1gb for E8.99

slidergirl

probably my fault for going into the store in a dazed and jetlagged state
There were a few times that I did use the cell service up at the hotel in Rome and in Florence. In the morning, wifi was fine in Rome, but horrible in the evening (everyone was probably on and doing the email and uploads).

JMN57

If they gave you good service and didn't waste your time, it was well worth it. My personal experience has been better on Vodafone than TIM (it has been a while since I have TIM'd) but it is certainly YMMV.