All You Techies....

[Hope0925]

Hi everyone,
I'm beginning my first Camino on May 7 and have a question about my iPhone 6. Could someone tell me the pros and cons of unlocking your phone and getting a SIM card in Spain vs. buying a travel plan from Bell Canada? I wasn't aware that once your phone is unlocked it has to stay unlocked and to be honest, I'm not at all sure what that even means. Will I then come home to no service? I won't need a huge amount of data, but I will need to text as that is how my partner is going to find me when she joins me at the end of May. Many thanks for any assistance you can offer.

Jane

 

[Deleted member 3000]

An unlocked phone (I am talking of a smart phone here) means that you can put SIM chips in it without restriction. You can return to your home service when you return to Canada.

International data service with Bell may set you up for large charges. Read the fine print. My brother got a $600 bill from AT&T in addition to the $20 he signed up for before he left home. With an unlocked phone and a Spanish SIM chip, you can get data service for as little as 10 Euro. If you use more, you can add money at most markets and tobacco shops. I have found that I spend about 30 Euro for a month-long walk. Map programs can use a lot of data, and any streaming, like watching a movie at night, will be very expensive regardless of your plan.

 

[evanlow]

If you use a SIM card in Spain that means you phone will have Spanish number and not your Canadian number while you are there. Text messages to your Canadian Bell number will not go through. That goes for all android phones.

Unless...... both you and your partner are using Apple iphone. Then you can text each other via iMessage using your respective apple id instead. In short it is text message via the internet and not the traditional SMS via the phone numbers.

 

[C clearly]

The only con to getting your phone unlocked is that it costs money to do, if you get it done officially through Bell. As stated before, it simply allows you to use a different provider's SIM card. When you return home, you put your Bell card back in, and continue with no change at all, reverting to your Canadian phone number and service.

In Spain, if you get the Vodafone International SIM card for tourists (Euros 15) it does not include text messages. If you add on some prepayment, you can text but the messages are quite expensive. Instead, since you will have the data service, you can "text" with Facebook messaging or WhatsApp, or even use email. When you put the Spanish SIM card in, all of your accounts like email and Facebook will work as normal. Only your telephone number changes.

My suggestion is to get a Spanish SIM card with at least 1 GB of data, and arrange with your partner to communicate by Facebook messaging or WhatsApp or even email. You will receive those messages right away because you have data with your cell coverage. You don't need the SMS text messaging to your phone number.

Depending on where you plan to start, you may have a few days before you get the new SIM card. Be sure to turn OFF data roaming and rely on wifi. If necessary you can still use your phone at whatever rates Bell charges per call minute and per message. (I think Rogers charges me $2/minute and $.75/message. That is fine for "emergencies" but can get expensive if used a lot.)

I hope my explanation is not too confusing!

 

[Hope0925]

The only con to getting your phone unlocked is that it costs money to do, if you get it done officially through Bell. As stated before, it simply allows you to use a different provider's SIM card. When you return home, you put your Bell card back in, and continue with no change at all, reverting to your Canadian phone number and service.

In Spain, if you get the Vodafone International SIM card for tourists (Euros 15) it does not include text messages. If you add on some prepayment, you can text but the messages are quite expensive. Instead, since you will have the data service, you can "text" with Facebook messaging or WhatsApp, or even use email. When you put the Spanish SIM card in, all of your accounts like email and Facebook will work as normal. Only your telephone number changes.

My suggestion is to get a Spanish SIM card with at least 1 GB of data, and arrange with your partner to communicate by Facebook messaging or WhatsApp or even email. You will receive those messages right away because you have data with your cell coverage. You don't need the SMS text messaging to your phone number.

Depending on where you plan to start, you may have a few days before you get the new SIM card. Be sure to turn OFF data roaming and rely on wifi. If necessary you can still use your phone at whatever rates Bell charges per call minute and per message. (I think Rogers charges me $2/minute and $.75/message. That is fine for "emergencies" but can get expensive if used a lot.)

I hope my explanation is not too confusing!

No, it wasn't at all. Thanks so much!

 

[dalstonmarra]

There are many Albergues and cafes with Wi Fi,use whatsapp and it costs you nothing,you can also send photo's on whatsapp and you can e-mail too without cost with the free Wi Fi

 

[BrienC]

The approach I take when travelling abroad is to purchase a short-term service plan through a service provider (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobil, etc.) that allows me to text, use limit data and to make phone calls whenever in cell range. These plans and their service providers have agreements with many of the service providers in the country or countries in which you are travelling. I’ve found this to be a quite manageable solution, one that provides much convenience, but at a price. This approach works well in Europe and many other parts of the world. Check with your service provider before hand.

Other methods to stay in contact by phone are purchasing, if you have a simple cell phone or a smartphone that has been unlocked, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card and service package for your phone (either before leaving home or once in Europe). Or, you can purchase a simple pay-as-you-go phone when you arrive in Europe. I have not witnessed much success with the SIM card approach, but I know this works well for travellers in many countries. One time, a friend of mine spent three days emailing back and forth with his IT group back home trying to get a SIM card to work on his business phone. Too, there are scams being used on the pay-as-you-go phone method. With either approach, if you purchase either option, make sure the phone works before you leave the shop. The salesperson may say things like, “It takes a few hours to activate, no problem.” Only, there is a problem, the service never does come online and by the time you discover this, you are too far down the road to bother going back.

Buen Camino!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Last year I had Telus unlock my phone and I bought a Vodaphone plan and sim card when I got to Spain. 25euros worth. A mistake. Even when having my phone on airplane mode it gouged the 25 euros in a few days. When I recharged it at a local store the clerck told me this was not unusual which is why these prepayed plans are not in use very much in Spain anymore. So last week I payed 60$ to Telus to be able to use my phone in Portugal and Spain and we'll see how it goes. The other alternative, and what I used to do, is to rent a phone with a Spanish number. This is an example of such a company: http://www.cellomobile.com/international-cellphone-rental/spain.html. I used their phone for calls and carried my smart phone for WIFI and taking pictures.

 

[C clearly]

Last year I had Telus unlock my phone and I bought a Vodaphone plan and sim card when I got to Spain. 25euros worth. A mistake. Even when having my phone on airplane mode it gouged the 25 euros in a few days. When I recharged it at a local store the clerck told me this was not unusual which is why these prepayed plans are not in use very much in Spain anymore. So last week I payed 60$ to Telus to be able to use my phone in Portugal and Spain and we'll see how it goes. The other alternative, and what I used to do, is to rent a phone with a Spanish number. This is an example of such a company: http://www.cellomobile.com/international-cellphone-rental/spain.html. I used their phone for calls and carried my smart phone for WIFI and taking pictures.

I remembered your comments, but ended up getting the €15 Vodaphone tourist plan anyway. We were misinformed that 2 of us with the same plan could call/text each other free. I added on €5 so I could do some other texting but that disappeared in no time as the texts turned out to be almost €1 each, and we had no free communication (the first clerk was wrong).

Once I understood the situation better and realized that I didn't need SMS texting, I was satisfied with the plan. After a month I topped it up with another €15 with no trouble.

For €25, you must have had something different.

I agree with the advice to make sure everything is working before you leave the store!

 

[Hope0925]

Thank you, everyone! As usual your help is most appreciated.

 

[Dave2525]

Last year I had Telus unlock my phone and I bought a Vodaphone plan and sim card when I got to Spain. 25euros worth. A mistake. Even when having my phone on airplane mode it gouged the 25 euros in a few days.

I'm curious has to how that happened. I had about the same with Orange and also in airplane mode. I only used orange for voice calls and wifi for data and never came close to burning through everything.