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On an earlier trip where my wife bought a SIM from a UK provider, it was not possible to top up the credit elsewhere in Europe without a UK credit card. From our perspective - completely pointless. While we pay a little more, we continue to use TravelSIM, and while we are in Spain buy a local SIM while we are walking.In order to top up online you would have to have a UK registered credit or debit card.
On an earlier trip where my wife bought a SIM from a UK provider, it was not possible to top up the credit elsewhere in Europe without a UK credit card. From our perspective - completely pointless. While we pay a little more, we continue to use TravelSIM, and while we are in Spain buy a local SIM while we are walking.
Really! Either one puts too much credit on the phone, and ends up going home having paid for something that one isn't going to use, or too little and not having the phone to use at all. Getting the sweet spot is just chance.Yes that's a problem. You need to buy credit before you leave the UK but the credit lasts forever, so it's no issue if you know how long you want to use the sim.
I read a couple of weeks ago in a British newspaper that the EU will soon abandon roaming charges. This will change things a lot re EU sim cards, I guess. This change will not apply to the UK for obvious reasons. Keep an eye out for changes. I assume that hyper-competitive telecom/sim companies will be adversely effected but customers will benefit.I am coming from USA with a Samsung Note 3 on Sprint service. I did the international unlock to prepare it for a European Sim card. I have family in UK as well as france, so I want to pick a sim card only plan, to buy in London before I head on My Way. It needs to make & receive calls from uk, france as well as Spain and also to usa. Is this possible on one sim card with one service plan?
Buy a Three pay as you go sim in the UK. You can then use it in France and Spain as if you were in the UK. You can buy 500mb for £5 and you will get 150mb free every time you top up. You can also sign up to monthly plans that will include calls, sms too. I only use it for data though.
I use this sim all over the world as it covers many countries, even the USA!
I have always used Orange and find the coverage great. In Pamplona they spoke good English in the Orange store.
I am coming from USA with a Samsung Note 3 on Sprint service. I did the international unlock to prepare it for a European Sim card. I have family in UK as well as france, so I want to pick a sim card only plan, to buy in London before I head on My Way. It needs to make & receive calls from uk, france as well as Spain and also to usa. Is this possible on one sim card with one service plan?
I will assume I can do the same coming from Canada to the U.K. even the U.K. is not on their list (being a U.K. company)Yes it sure is!
Buy a Three pay as you go sim in the UK. You can then use it in France and Spain as if you were in the UK. You can buy 500mb for £5 and you will get 150mb free every time you top up. You can also sign up to monthly plans that will include calls, sms too. I only use it for data though.
I use this sim all over the world as it covers many countries, even the USA!
You can buy the sim cards is supermarkets. In order to top up online you would have to have a UK registered credit or debit card. The way around this is to ensure you have enough credit on your phone before you leave the UK. You can buy credit everywhere, but this option won't be available in France, Spain etc.
http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home
US residents with an android phone from Google can use their Project Fi service overseas with the one sim card they get with the US service. Overseas calls will be 20 cents a minute over cellular but free or near free if you are connected to WiFi. Cellular data is the same worldwide, $10 per GB (but effectively 1 cent per MB either if over or under your limit). https://fi.google.com/about/Being from the USA, I am totally confused which will be best for my wife and I to use for our Pad and droid phone. I just wrote an email to my carrier here but I doubt they have anything to work over there. Last year on the Camino Frances we carried nothing but a watch and it was a real challenge to go disconnected to say the least. This year we are taking tech with us for we are stating in Norway (September-December) through the following countries : Norway, Sweden, Denmark Germany then a hop over to the Czech Republic, over to France then into Spain for the Camino Norte'. Any suggestions from USA trekkers or anyone for us ?
I am fascinated. Earlier today, we had this post:
but last week, this:
So what will it be next week?
If the wikipedia entries for the two companies are correct, they are structurally independent. Certainly Orange has been sharing fixed infrastructure etc with other mobile providers for some time, but that does not make them the same provider. Thank you for trying, but I don't think my question really has been answered.The Orange network is now defunct and was taken over in part by 3.
Only valid for one year after last credit-buy!!! I was told that as a foreigner you can only buy pre-paid SIM card in Spain (terrorism prevention etc.???) or be a bank account holder to be able to buy ordinary/long-term SIM card.I keep reusing the PAYG Orange Sim I bought in Spain a few years ago. It does not expire but lies dormant between visits.
True. But don't remember exactly whether by the end of June or July 2017.I read a couple of weeks ago in a British newspaper that the EU will soon abandon roaming charges.
A very complex issue:True. But don't remember exactly whether by the end of June or July 2017.
For the OP - maybe wait with on-line purchase of Spanish SIM card until above info is certain. If your Camino dates are late summer or fall, of course.
After that it will be even harder to choose best offer because maybe Lithuanian or Greek deal would be better than Spanish or Portuguese one
This lady (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viviane_Reding) "started" it:A very complex issue:
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...-phone-roaming-charges-post-brexit-paper-says
Certainly sounds as though its a push to benefit the consumer. Roaming charges have long been considered a nasty scam.
I live in the UK and have used the Three network's Pay-as-you-go service for a number of years. Their "Feel-at-Home" international roaming deal has worked very well for me in Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden and Norway in recent years. I find that Three's pricing is very competitive. The point @dougfitz makes about topping-up online requiring a UK-registered card is a bit of a problem for non-Brits though. Perhaps the OP could ask their UK-based family to top-up on their behalf from time to time when necessary? Easily done online for any number on the network: https://www.three.co.uk/Web_top_up
Calls to the USA would not be included as part of a call/text/data bundle but are available on Three's pay-as-you-go service for 3p per minute: http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Roam...om_the_UK/__destination_details/1214306357859
US residents with an android phone from Google can use their Project Fi service overseas with the one sim card they get with the US service. Overseas calls will be 20 cents a minute over cellular but free or near free if you are connected to WiFi. Cellular data is the same worldwide, $10 per GB (but effectively 1 cent per MB either if over or under your limit). https://fi.google.com/about/
Edit: That allows you to keep the same phone number that you use at home so friends and family can easily stay in touch no matter where you are.
It will only work with Google phones because only they have all the radio frequencies needed. The phone works with both the GSM and CDMA protocols. That means that you can use any US cellular provider. Other than paying for one month's service you are not under contract and the phone is unlocked. Google uses all three of Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular as its providers in the US. FI will use the best connection of them or WiFi that it can connect to. The downside is that Sprint et al do not provide as much coverage in the US as other providers do so if you are in a rural area or travel to one a lot their service may not be for you. Google's cheapest phone usable with the FI service is a Nexus 5X and these are available for $250. A drawback here is that this model doesn't have a memory card slot but a USB OTG dongle might be used.All I need now is a google droid. I wonder if it would work with my unlocked droid through my google acct.
It will only work with Google phones because only they have all the radio frequencies needed. The phone works with both the GSM and CDMA protocols. That means that you can use any US cellular provider. Other than paying for one month's service you are not under contract and the phone is unlocked. Google uses all three of Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular as its providers in the US. FI will use the best connection of them or WiFi that it can connect to. The downside is that Sprint et al do not provide as much coverage in the US as other providers do so if you are in a rural area or travel to one a lot their service may not be for you. Google's cheapest phone usable with the FI service is a Nexus 5X and these are available for $250. A drawback here is that this model doesn't have a memory card slot but a USB OTG dongle might be used.
I mentioned FI here for general information but also in the chance that you might want to pick up another phone soon anyway.
Just thought of this. So, what if you want the FI service because it is really handy if you travel outside the US a lot but you also want coverage in the US rural areas? I think you could get away with doing this: Get a $100 100 minutes in a year prepaid plan with AT&T and an AT&T sim card. Setup your FI account so that when your FI account is called the AT&T number will also get a ring. Then, when in the areas with no FI coverage, swap the SIM cards. Now you call out with your AT&T phone number and when someone calls your FI number your phone should still ring. I'm not sure how this might work with data.Google uses all three of Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular as its providers in the US. FI will use the best connection of them or WiFi that it can connect to. The downside is that Sprint et al do not provide as much coverage in the US as other providers do so if you are in a rural area or travel to one a lot their service may not be for you.
Thanks.this is what i am gathering:
first, call verizon to get it unlocked so it will work on a european network.
then, buy a local (to the country you are visiting) sim card, pay as you go or pre-paid
i think that might be it, but for us coming from the USA, i'll believe it once it is actually working for me!!
BUT ....... i am so very grateful for all the detailed responses to my question. Thank you all.
You dont say when you will be in London but as of this June new EU regulations kick in that means the cost of using your phone is the same in all EU member states. How that impacts on calls out of the EU I am not 100% sure so check in advance how much each country charges to phone the US. The sim card however will not need to be changed. Hope my understanding of the new rules is correct, would not want to give you bad info so do double checkI am coming from USA with a Samsung Note 3 on Sprint service. I did the international unlock to prepare it for a European Sim card. I have family in UK as well as france, so I want to pick a sim card only plan, to buy in London before I head on My Way. It needs to make & receive calls from uk, france as well as Spain and also to usa. Is this possible on one sim card with one service plan?
It will apply to the UK for the time being as it is still part of the EU for around the next two years. I have read a statement from Vodafone to say the current situation will not affect their compliance with the new roaming rulesI read a couple of weeks ago in a British newspaper that the EU will soon abandon roaming charges. This will change things a lot re EU sim cards, I guess. This change will not apply to the UK for obvious reasons. Keep an eye out for changes. I assume that hyper-competitive telecom/sim companies will be adversely effected but customers will benefit.
I am fascinated. Earlier today, we had this post:
but last week, this:
So what will it be next week?
Thank you for clarifying the inconsistencies in your advice.For your information I use two simcards in Spain, UK Three and Spain Orange. In fact I use my Three sim all over the world as I travel a lot, but will often buy a local one if I am in the country month or more.
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