Using mobile phones abroad
Please can anyone advise on the most cost-effective way of using a mobile phone/iPad in France when we are there for 3 weeks in June? We want to use them for a combination of searching the Internet, social media, texts and calls.
Comments
-
find a wi fi spot, use whatappp to text and if you are on BT broadband use the BT phone app which then just uses your home calling plan. You can buy data bundles for the EU if you want to use it anywhere and call charges are not that high now and are set
to come even lower soon.0 -
I take an old PAYG phone - for essentials like booking restaurants for lunch
and those calls cost me 15p a minute, but otherwise use this I pad for everything else like e mails in and out and Internet searches.Over half the sites we go to have free wi fi that is good enough for that - otherwise I use free wi fi in bars, public libraries, tourist offices, service stations and so on. I am too mean to pay.
0 -
First port of call should be your home network to see what sort of data packages they offer. Data charges are due to fall again this year. Networks like Three have a good offer at the moment where you can buy a data sim which can be used in several countries
in Europe as if you were using it in the UK. Lots of campsites do have a WiFi provision, sometimes free, sometimes chargeable, sometimes site wide ,sometimes restricted to the Bar area.David
0 -
Thanks everyone. We will probably be staying on Aires most of the time but are planning a few nights on sites for a bit of 'luxury'
I'd
spotted the Three 30-day SIM only offer but am with Tesco Mobile normally. Can I simply just change over the SIM for the month then switch back when I return? Will check out the home network option too.0 -
Jack
Provided your phone is unlocked there should be no problem in using a SIM from another network. Something you need to check, but I think you have to register the SIM before you go in the UK, I don't think it can be done from abroad?
David
0 -
Data roaming in Europe is not set to become 'cheap' until 2017. You won't be able to access the internet via 3G unless you enable 'Data Roaming' on your phone. i message and whatsapp need internet access. Not sure whether a UK data simm will work on continent.
Access to the internet is free to customers of McD and many cafes. For the price of a cup of coffee you can do your searches and catch up on emails. If you are a BT customer you can sign up for BT FON, which will give you access to SFR.FON in France.
Many campsites have free wifi at reception, but as you intend to use Aires this won't be an option.
0 -
I'm with Orange but use a "Three" PAYG SIM when I'm in Spain.
0 -
I've never had any problem finding a cafe or tourist information office with free wifi in France. Many sites (even cheap municipals) also have it.
I wouldn't use mobile phone data until the EU-wide roaming price limits come into operation (but of course it may not apply to us by then.....)
0 -
You've all been a great help - many thanks.
0 -
We used our Three contract airtime in France this past September, for plenty of UK calls, for tethering to use the cellnet internet and via Skype to call the US, Australia and for calls within France. Cost nothing except via Skype-Out a token charge to landlines and mobiles, all in the airtime rental, not even a Three phone.
0 -
Does the 3 sim only cover you for calls within Spain and France or is it just calls back to the UK? I have also been looking at best way to make calls while we are away and did look at 3. We did wonder about getting a Spanish sim but looks like it isn't
so easy to get them. Anyone tried it?0 -
Does the 3 sim only cover you for calls within Spain and France or is it just calls back to the UK? I have also been looking at best way to make calls while we are away and did look at 3. We did wonder about getting a Spanish sim but looks like it isn't
so easy to get them. Anyone tried it?Write your comments here... you just use your phone package as if you were "at home". That's what 3 call it. It doesnt work in Belgium but works in France,Spain and many other countries. Many long stayers seem to use a 3 MiFi for iPads etc. Some then using
a local sim once it is activated. (MiFi)0 -
Are you sure? I think a Three contract phone lets you phone from France to UK without extra charges as part of your package, but calls from France to France are charged as extras. Is that correct?
0 -
I used to have a Spanish Vodafone PAYG SIM but it needs topping up at least every six months. I forgot last year and it self-destructed. I haven't bothered replacing it and now use a Three PAYG SIM
0 -
I used to have a Spanish Vodafone PAYG SIM but it needs topping up at least every six months. I forgot last year and it self-destructed. I haven't bothered replacing it and now use a Three PAYG SIM
Write your comments here...Is that bought over here before you go to Spain or do you buy one in Spain?
0 -
Are you sure? I think a Three contract phone lets you phone from France to UK without extra charges as part of your package, but calls from France to France are charged as extras. Is that correct?
Yes, that is how it works. So for calling say a French number from France, we use our data allowance to call the phone via a Skype Out account, for pence.
0 -
With EE you can pay for a Euro-Pass for 500MB data which costs £3 for any day that you use it. We tend to just use WiFi otherwise it can become very expensive. Our phones charges for calls home are not too bad with the drop in roaming charges.
0 -
The cost of making and receiving calls either from the UK to Europe, or from Europe to the UK and between different countries within the EU is relatively inexpensive unless people are inclined to speak for hours on end. However it is data that is still relatively expensive. Most modern phone rely on a data connection if you wish to use the full range of options that these phones offer. You do have the choice of turning data off but that does reduce quite drastically the function of the phone. I am with Virgin and I can buy a 250mb data package which is reasonable economic but heavy data use like using it for tethering can soon use the data up.
David
0 -
I used to have a Spanish Vodafone PAYG SIM but it needs topping up at least every six months. I forgot last year and it self-destructed. I haven't bothered replacing it and now use a Three PAYG SIM
Write your comments here...Is that bought over here before you go to Spain or do you buy one in Spain?
I bought it in the Vodafone shop in Santa Pola. I did need my passport and NIE(Spanish financial document) so I'm not sure if you can get one unless you have a Spanish address. They like to keep track of PAYG SIMs because of terrorist threats.
0 -
I used to have a Spanish Vodafone PAYG SIM but it needs topping up at least every six months. I forgot last year and it self-destructed. I haven't bothered replacing it and now use a Three PAYG SIM
Write your comments here...Is that bought over here before you go to Spain or do you buy one in Spain?
I bought it in the Vodafone shop in Santa Pola. I did need my passport and NIE(Spanish financial document) so I'm not sure if you can get one unless you have a Spanish address. They like to keep track of PAYG SIMs because of terrorist threats.
You need a passport, to be recorded against the SIM, but you do not need a Spanish address, NIE or residency
0 -
I used to have a Spanish Vodafone PAYG SIM but it needs topping up at least every six months. I forgot last year and it self-destructed. I haven't bothered replacing it and now use a Three PAYG SIM
Write your comments here...Is that bought over here before you go to Spain or do you buy one in Spain?
Write your comments here...buy them in the uk from the 3 website. In addition tp my phone, I have a 12 month payg in my "mifi" which has as 12gb preload, more than enough for my travels. My phone has a 1gb per month limit, so use the mifi for tablets and
phone whilst abroad. The roaming allowance even includes the USA and Australia.0
