Sim Card for France and Spain

[cliffee]

I will be sailing in France and Spain this year and would like to have use of my laptop/ Ipad/Iphone, in the UK I use a Mi Fi Dongle with the 3 network.
I have heard in France my UK Dongle wont work?
Anyone one got experience in this field, or know the best sim's to use
Thanks Cliff

 

[nigelmercier]

In Spain I use MasMovil.

 

[concentrik]

I will be sailing in France and Spain this year and would like to have use of my laptop/ Ipad/Iphone, in the UK I use a Mi Fi Dongle with the 3 network.
I have heard in France my UK Dongle wont work?
Anyone one got experience in this field, or know the best sim's to use
Thanks Cliff

We use Lebara in Spain www.lebara.es They offer good rates to the UK (even better on bundles) and reasonable data packages. We pay about ten euros a month for 400 minutes. Best of all, their customer service helpline is free, they speak excellent English and are most helpful.

 

[Cardo]

First thing is to ensure your dongle is unlocked. If it isn't already, you can either buy an unlocked one from eBay, or get yours unlocked for around a tenner.

In France, you'll want to get yourself an Orange France prepay data SIM and use the 2GB data packages. These can be bought from Orange shops and you get a piece of paper with a code. You make a call to a freephone number and follow the instructions, entering the code when prompted. You then have 2GB to use up within 2 months. When you use the 2GB, or after 2 months, you get a new recharge from an Orange shop and rinse and repeat. It's not the best deal in the world, especially compared to what you can get in other countries, but it's the best in France for prepay, as far as I'm aware.

Ignore those that tell you it's complicated to get and you need a French address, their information is out of date. As of around a year or so ago, you can buy the SIM card using a British address, just take along a passport for ID. This is what we did when travelling through France last summer.

 

[TonyBuckley]

Best of all, their customer service helpline is free, they speak excellent English and are most helpful.

+1 for Lebara

Lebara's customer service desks are centralised for all countries in Moorgate London! Quite amazing for a virtual network operator; it's quite slick, but shudder to think how much that costs them.

 

[nigelmercier]

+1 for Lebara...

http://www.lebara.es/?isoCode=en_GB

I don't see any option for a data service, just "Internet Passes" for a smart phone. No use for dongle users.

 

[TonyBuckley]

http://www.lebara.es/?isoCode=en_GB

I don't see any option for a data service, just "Internet Passes" for a smart phone. Possibly OK for the OP, but no use for dongle users.

Trouble is the packages change so quickly and often it is hard to keep up; here today and gone tomorrow. Lebara were offering unlimited free data at one point on a SIM that was primarily for calls.

They def do data bundles but maybe the website not very good.

This one has a 500mb component and I can't see why it wouldn't work in a dongle...

http://www.ritesim.com/lebara-spain-sim-card-10-euro-500mb-credit

 

[nigelmercier]

... I can't see why it wouldn't work in a dongle...

Even assuming the package would work with a dongle, you have to send a text to activate or deactivate it. I've tried to send them an email, not sure if it worked.

 

[westernman]

Even assuming the package would work with a dongle, you have to send a text to activate or deactivate it. I've tried to send them an email, not sure if it worked.

The software package which comes with most dongles will let you send and receive texts.

 

[nigelmercier]

The software package which comes with most dongles will let you send and receive texts.

Not if you don't install it and use a router, or a Mi-Fi unit like the OP.

 

[westernman]

Not if you don't install it and use a router, or a Mi-Fi unit like the OP.

Most MiFi units allow you to connect to them with a web browser and send/receive text messages. You just need to find out what address to use.

 

[John_d_Smith]

This summer in France i'm going to try the Toggle card, available in Carphone Warehouse.

 

[nigelmercier]

Most MiFi units allow you to connect to them with a web browser and send/receive text messages. You just need to find out what address to use.

I must have been unlucky then. I've used two Mi-Fi units, and four 3G USB modems. None of them have supported text messages via the web interface.

 

[Gwylan]

Have used LeFrench for a couple of years and it works well and is cheaper than the roaming packages from Orange. Bit complicated getting the data roaming set up, but the service from them was excellent getting the settings sorted.

Seems that you cannot buy data package outside France - tried a number of times and it failed. As soon as I was in France then the text went and the whole thing was flying along.

It will work in Spain and again is not as expensive as some other networks roaming.

Also got a 'fonerange' dual sim, about £90. Weather resistant phone - was recommended here. Makes using 2 sim cards easy and not having to switch sims and transfer contacts and email stuff. Better battery life than the previous HTC. Been pleased with it, so far.

 

[ean_p]

Try JOE Good pay as go card that they will send to your UK address free of charge and you load in the package you want. I just used it for data. 3Gb for 20E