Telephones in France

[Deleted member 3000]

We, the English-speakers, had a running joke about the cabines téléphoniques. Find the hottest shadeless spot in town, and you will find one. It was nearly impossible to read any of the displays because they were faded/melted or just the glare. I was good for about 30 seconds in the daytime before I was cooked. The phones operate on a telephone card, which you can buy in post offices and tobacco stores.

A cell phone was handy. We bought SIM chips for our unlocked cell phones, which we sold on eBay when we returned. When I called, any response except oui, non, and complet was beyond my language capability, so having a cell phone was very convenient for asking someone with language skills to help make a reservation. It did not require dragging them to a hot cabine téléphonique, or spending their money using their cell phone.

An unlocked iPhone may be the best technology at the moment. You can make calls, and use wifi when it is available.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

This is good advice for Spain also given the increasing number of handheld devices with Wifi access. I've found public Wifi in even the most remote places.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Yes, I intend to take a phone 'next time' in France Falcon, for just the sort of reasons you describe. Plus one you omit: the 'chip' phone cards didn't work in all the telephone cabins- some villages seemed to have 'old phones' that couldn't take them. So that might mean waiting another day or two to find a use-able phone.

I am not sure how complicated a phone I will take. At present I have a very simple phone, but I do know how to use wifi from my iPod Touch. But can you tell me two things Falcon please? What brand of Sim card did you find best to use in France- Orange or something else? And how did you make sure your iPhone was 'unlocked' before you went? (We have limited providers here, and I haven't seen any 'unlocking' services here like I have in parts of Europe.)
Thanks.
Margaret

 

[Deleted member 3000]

We settled on Orange SIM cards. Orange seemed to have the widest coverage.

I bought an unlocked cell phone on eBay for under $10, a slightly older Motorola with the three GSM frequencies. I now have a later Motorola RAZR that I purchased unlocked. One way to test if it is unlocked is to put your current SIM chip in it and see if it works. Then borrow a chip from a friend who uses another service and see if it works. If both work, your phone is unlocked.

For low international rates, buy a separate dialing card with good rates from France to your home country. An internet search should yield a lot of possibilities. Calling will require dialing a local access number, entering the access code, and then dialing the destination phone number. Standing inside a French phone booth you would broil before hitting the last digit. In the relative cool of a gite, you can punch a wrong button and start over without heat exhaustion. I know it sounds like a joke, but we really did stop using French public phones until about sunset because the booths were so hot.

 

[newfydog]

I found the Orange SIM card was available for an unlocked phone for about 30 euros, but they also had a phone with a card available for only 5 euros more. That was a good thing, because the phone I though was unlocked was actually locked by t-mobile when I got their card in the US. The phone and card I picked up at Orange was nicer than the one I brought too--lighter weight with bigger display for my failing eyes.