Mobile data in Spain - best sim and router?

[julians]

Hi all, I need to sort out Internet access for the boat in Spain, so amthinking of getting a sim card/mobile Internet router.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a mobile Internet provider? And what router should I use?

Ideally I don't want to have to pay a recurring monthly fee all year round and would just like to activate it when we are in Spain,and deactivate it when we're not. Unlimited data would be good too.

Any suggestions?

 

[oldbloke]

I have a Digi PAYG SIM which is fine, I think it uses Vodafone network. I have also changed to Lebara in the UK, they allow you to freely use your minutes/data in Europe, subject to "fair use". Advantage of a UK sim is you can still watch bbc etc

 

[Clash]

When traveling abroad in countries outside the EU where roaming charges are eye-wateringly expensive, I've used e-sim providers who operate on short term contracts. Obviously you need a phone that can use e-sims. Not sure if any routers have this functionality, but it's usually cheap enough.

 

[TonyR123]

I use a Pepwave router (supplied with the boat), which I think is very good. DC powered as well. I have also installed NordVPN on to the router which mostly works to get me UK TV (but not always). 95% of the time it works for Sky Sports to watch the F1 so am happy with that! With Amazon I have to disable the vpn to get it to work.

The router came with a sim from "caclase" which has the option of PAYG. I had bought a lobster sim which would be pay monthly, but decided to try the caclase sim as it came with free date to begin with and I havent changed it since. This month so far it has only used 500mb (on camera and activecaptain). In August I used 11GB as was there for 3 weeks. It is €3.20 GB which is expensive but as only payg I am usually paying less per year than I was previously with a vodafone sim for 50GB per month, over the year. I seem to be using 9GB per month over the year. TBH I am not convinced the caclase sim is the right option, but it is a payg option.

This year I think I will swap to the lobster sim at €20pm for 100GB. Will be cheaper. Think you need a spanish address for one of these so I just got it sent to someones office in Mallorca.

 

[billskip]

I have a Digi PAYG SIM which is fine, I think it uses Vodafone network. I have also changed to Lebara in the UK, they allow you to freely use your minutes/data in Europe, subject to "fair use". Advantage of a UK sim is you can still watch bbc etc

I did exactly what Julians wants with a sim TPLink wifi router in Spain..But...Digi would not work, (we have Digi on 2 phones and can't use the gigs for hotspot) so I bought a sim from Vodafone. There are deals that are data only sim, but as with all these things you have to boot it periodically otherwise it shuts down. With the payg now you can load it up with credit for the time you want. I found best deals for max gigs was the cheap end of payg plan's rather than the data only and just loaded the credit and forgot about it.

 

[oldbloke]

How odd Digi hotspots fine for me using a phone, maybe it didn't like the router. A pity because I was going to buy a router as I can only hotspot 3 things at a time with the phone

 

[julians]

Been doing a lot of googling about, if you don't need unlimited data then there are quite a lot of euro sim card providers who will do 10,20, 30gb etc for pretty reasonable prices, but it seems the unlimited sims either come with quite restrictive fair use policies (eg 500mb of fast Internet per day then throttled down to 756kbs) or are expensive.

It seems most of the UK sims will only give you 30gb per month when roaming regardless of how many gb you have available in the UK.

And some sims don't allow use in hotspots, or significantlimit the hot spot data quantity.

 

[Clash]

I found this one in Ireland. €14.99 a month for life, 5G and 16Gb data roaming. Obviously check the terms and conditions, but seems like it could be useful.

 

[julians]

I found this one in Ireland. €14.99 a month for life, 5G and 16Gb data roaming. Obviously check the terms and conditions, but seems like it could be useful.

Thanks, but 16gb when roaming isn't going to be enough (teenage you tube watchers), hence really needing unlimited data.

 

[billskip]

How odd Digi hotspots fine for me using a phone, maybe it didn't like the router. A pity because I was going to buy a router as I can only hotspot 3 things at a time with the phone

Well I bought the TP Link sim router from amazon and took it into the local shop that sells various sim's, I ask him for a digi same as he supplied for my phone, we couldn't get it to work, he suggested try Vodafone, stuck a Vodafone sim in all came alive. We took the laptop to the government office to install a program and I couldn't make my phone act as a hotspot, tried the other phone same result..no hotspot.

 

[billskip]

How odd Digi hotspots fine for me using a phone, maybe it didn't like the router. A pity because I was going to buy a router as I can only hotspot 3 things at a time with the phone

Where are you ( pm if you prefer) as I don't use or need my TPLink router any more,
I'm Tenerife.

 

[Tony W]

Used Lobster for 2 years in Mallorca, Mobile Plans – Lobster
Used marina address, pick your plan, sim arrives, put it in your router, “‘Park” the service (on their App) when your’e not there so don’t pay your monthly fee, put it back on “unpark” and the fee starts again. That to me payg+
Here’s the router Amazon.co.uk

 

[billskip]

Used Lobster for 2 years in Mallorca, Mobile Plans – Lobster
Used marina address, pick your plan, sim arrives, put it in your router, “‘Park” the service (on their App) when your’e not there so don’t pay your monthly fee, put it back on “unpark” and the fee starts again. That to me payg+
Here’s the router Amazon.co.uk

Yes that's the router I got (or very similar) but cost 67 euros here..works OK, used it for cctv.

 

[Hurricane]

Definitely - Lobster
English speaking local Spanish service designed for UK ex pats.
10.99 euros a month for 50GB (thats their "Just Spain" deal but they have more options with more data)
Which means you either "use up" the 50GB or one month - whichever comes first.
When you run out, you simply add another month/50GB - all from within your Lobster account/login.
You can set it up so that it "auto renews" every month - thats what I do to get a 24/7/365 connection.
One of the big features of Lobster is that you can "Park" the account whilst you are away from the boat.
For example, if you are half way through a month and have (say) 12GB left, you can "park" it and "unpark" it when you get back a few months later.
The only limit to using the parking feature is that you must use it within a year of "parking" it.

More info - here Lobster – The full English mobile service in Spain

As with all these types of deals, they are set up to be used with a smart phone.
But in SCM, lots of us now have cheap routers.
At the moment, Lobster don't offer a 5G connection so any of the cheap 4G routers will do.
I would avoid any of those MiFi devices - they work but a proper router provides a way faster/better connection.
I recommend the D-Link DWR-921 - search for it on Ebay - lots available second hand - £50 to £80
I bought two second hand ones from Ebay a couple of months ago - both worked - no issues.

This is the D-Link DWR-921


As with all SIM deals, it is best to set them up using a mobile phone first.
Once the connection is set up, transfer the SIM to the router.

IMO, definitely the best options in Spain at the moment.

 

[capnsensible]

English is my first language, Spanish second.

Don't understand computer geek, but we live in Spain and use Lobster.

 

[julians]

Yep, agree that lobster looks the best option, I'll probably go that route.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Hurricane]

Yep, agree that lobster looks the best option, I'll probably go that route.

Thanks for all the input.

When you order the Lobster, they need a Spanish address for the delivery of the SIM card.
They won't deliver to a UK address.
Not a problem, they are happy with the boat and your marina address if you haven't got a fixed address that you can use in Spain.
In our case in SCM, the marina's address is probably best because there is always someone in Reception that will take the delivery.

They also ask for the usual NI number etc but we just give them our passport information.
IIRC, in the case of a passport, I think they asked for a photo of the passport to be sent to them.
If you run into problems, their help desk is extremely helpful - all in English.

 

[oldbloke]

There are also shops that supply Lobster Sims