Low cost roaming

keithclancy · 08-07-2014 9:51am

Just saw on the German mydealz.de site that some lad has gone to the trouble of setting up a wiki and doing a write up on a rake of countries

http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/Prepaid_SIM_with_data

Spipov · 08-07-2014 11:11am

had the lebara while in paris. Good signal strength, but the data is quite slow. cant comment for outside paris. Call charges appear very reasonable.
very easy to buy and setup sim.

just be aware, you have to register the sim before using, and the customer care is only open 9am to 9pm. i couldnt do it online when i got in at 10pm because i had no internet...

BenEadir · 08-07-2014 9:58pm

martyc5674 wrote: »

Ive now put SIM into a mifi device and its working pretty well.

Hi Marty, is your MiFi device unlocked? I have a Vodafone MiFi device http://shop.vodafone.ie/shop/mobile-broadband/vodafone-mobile-wifi-r206 about 6 months. Can I just stick a Lebara sim into it and use it as a hot spot or will I have to hack it somehow???

Ben

Fred Swanson · 08-07-2014 11:04pm

This post has been deleted.

BenEadir · 08-07-2014 11:05pm

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Is that the unlock code?

Ben

Fred Swanson · 09-07-2014 12:29am

This post has been deleted.

BenEadir · 09-07-2014 8:05am

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Hi Fred, can I ask how you actually enter the unlock code into the device?

Ben

Fred Swanson · 09-07-2014 9:04am

This post has been deleted.

galait · 09-07-2014 12:14pm

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Adapters-Preloaded-minutes-Unlimited/dp/B00ABJ0WA8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

This looks like it will fit the bill for use in France for 2 weeks in August , Its a 3 PAYG Sim with Nano and Micro Adapters and comes with £15 Credit for unlimited data for 30 days, Am I missing something ?

Bigcheeze · 09-07-2014 12:16pm

galait wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Adapters-Preloaded-minutes-Unlimited/dp/B00ABJ0WA8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

This looks like it will fit the bill for use in France for 2 weeks in August , Its a 3 PAYG Sim with Nano and Micro Adapters and comes with £15 Credit for unlimited data for 30 days, Am I missing something ?

No it'll work fine in phones but will stop working if used in a tablet or for tethering.

galait · 09-07-2014 12:23pm

Bigcheeze wrote: »

No it'll work fine in phones but will stop working if used in a tablet or for tethering.

Yes we already know that , But my point is the simplicity of getting the SIM that will fit in any phone that already has the required credit delivered free to Ireland as long as you spend another £10 on Amazon ...

Other posters are getting family to post SIM's and then having issues with buying credit on a 3 UK website etc etc etc...

Fred Swanson · 09-07-2014 12:32pm

This post has been deleted.

galait · 09-07-2014 12:36pm

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

What are the costs when roaming in France with 3 IRL ? I know the UK is free , My Brother is currently in Hospital in the UK and using a 3 PAYG Sim with €20 topup every 30 days and he is using it in a MIFI Device , He uses SKY GO , Netflix , Aertv.ie , Skype and it is fantastic

Fred Swanson · 09-07-2014 12:39pm

This post has been deleted.

galait · 09-07-2014 12:46pm

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Any Link to this , Found it...

Bigcheeze · 09-07-2014 12:58pm

galait wrote: »

Yes we already know that , But my point is the simplicity of getting the SIM that will fit in any phone that already has the required credit delivered free to Ireland as long as you spend another £10 on Amazon ...

Other posters are getting family to post SIM's and then having issues with buying credit on a 3 UK website etc etc etc...

Well as you've read the thread you'll see how I did it very simply.

MadDogGreener · 09-07-2014 1:05pm

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

A 3Ireland sim will cost 24.6cent/MB in France. It is not covered by three like home (unlike the 3UK sim)

Bigcheeze · 09-07-2014 1:07pm

MadDogGreener wrote: »

A 3Ireland sim will cost 24.6cent/MB in France. It is not covered by three like home (unlike the 3UK sim)

that's my understanding too, although this is strange on the Three site:

Roaming with Prepay Broadband.

Use your daily, weekly or monthly add-ons just like home without any extra roaming charges. Just buy a top up voucher at an Irish Three store or Three top up retailer before you go, and go to My Three to buy a daily, weekly, or monthly add-on.

Bon voyage!

https://apps.three.ie/roaming/pages/display/data-roaming

Fred Swanson · 09-07-2014 1:19pm

This post has been deleted.

gerryo · 09-07-2014 8:47pm

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

From my recent experience:-

3 like home worked great in the UK.
In France the dongle kept locking to a network not on the 3 partner list, never got any data connection.

Queried with 3 when I got back, it seems that you need to have credit on your account if you want to roam in any of the above countries, it's not enough to have purchased an addon, even if there is loads of unused data, it will not be used for general roaming, will only be used if there is a 3 network.

BenEadir · 10-07-2014 7:57am

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Thanks Fred, appreciate it.

galait · 11-07-2014 9:56am

Well where is the truth , Has anyone confirmed that PAYG Broadband from Three IRL can be used in France with no extra charges.

martyc5674 · 11-07-2014 10:58am

It can be used free of roaming charges if on the flex or flex max packages (I forget the exact names)... But it can't be used on regular PAYG
Marty

BenEadir · 16-07-2014 3:04pm

Spipov wrote: »

had the lebara while in paris. Good signal strength, but the data is quite slow. cant comment for outside paris. Call charges appear very reasonable.
very easy to buy and setup sim.

just be aware, you have to register the sim before using, and the customer care is only open 9am to 9pm. i couldnt do it online when i got in at 10pm because i had no internet...

Hi Spipov,

How did you manage to register the Lebara sim? I got one today and called the helpline to register it only to be told the only way to register is to pop it into a phone and text a UK short number e.g. 55555. I explained I was in Ireland and the guy (aged about 13) said it first had to be registered in the UK from a UK network before it could be topped up or used abroad!!

I'm sure he's wrong but he was adamant.

This is what I get when I try to register online

Ben

Spipov · 16-07-2014 3:12pm

erm, i dont know, call them again. i speak french, so got it registered straight away while on the call. the girl at the time was helpful, and she only needed my driver licence number and address in ireland.

bear in mind, you need the APN settings for lebara mobile for data to work. i cant remember it, but ask when you call the helpline the first time as its free.

everytime you call customer service, there is a charge thereafter.

BenEadir · 16-07-2014 10:27pm

Spipov wrote: »

erm, i dont know, call them again. i speak french, so got it registered straight away while on the call. the girl at the time was helpful, and she only needed my driver licence number and address in ireland.

bear in mind, you need the APN settings for lebara mobile for data to work. i cant remember it, but ask when you call the helpline the first time as its free.

everytime you call customer service, there is a charge thereafter.

Figured it out. I was sent a UK Lebara SIM which needs to be activated via a handset making a call to "5588" which is a UK short number service. I tried +445588 and although the call failed it seemed to make enough of a connection to complete the activation because 2 minutes later I got a text confirming activation. I then went through the online set up and having completed that I went to buy a data pass only to realise because it's a UK SIM I can only buy UK data plans.

If I want a French data plan I need to buy a Lebara SIM in France when I arrive and then register it which can be done online on the French website.

Drama drama!!!

Ben

galait · 22-07-2014 4:41pm

MICHAELO_4921 wrote: »

I'm in the Vendee region at Port-Bourgenay. I'm using a French sim from Joe mobile, I ordered it at home & got it delivered to the site. You need a Web connection to activate it on there website. For €30 I get call within France, landline calls back to Ireland & 7GB of data for 30 days. You log your credit card details with them, you are able to turn off the automatic top up after 30 days. If you don't top up within 6 months the sims it inactive. I'm getting 3.68mbs download & I'm able to use the device as a hotspot. They have an app you can see your usage & turn off the recharge of the sim card.

I ordered this 1 week ago and it Arrived today at my address in Ireland (€1 cost),
I will activate if I need to with €30 for the 7 GB of data
The Joe SIM is only a backup as I intend using 3 UK PAYG SIM with £15 topup which gives AYCED... , I hope that 3 UK because I will be roaming in France wont twig I will be using it a MiFi Device.

BeepBeep67 · 22-07-2014 10:21pm

Heading to Italy in a few weeks (on O2 Bill Pay) - what's the best options, presume will need to get the phone unlocked anyhoo?

September1 · 23-07-2014 10:38am

I know I started this thread praising Lebara, but on last visit I was not able to get internet working on Moto G or Nokia 625 :-( I was only able to use it with iPhone which is big let down.

The_Conductor · 23-07-2014 10:51am

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Heading to Italy in a few weeks (on O2 Bill Pay) - what's the best options, presume will need to get the phone unlocked anyhoo?

Maybe not- any O2 phone I've ever gotten- hasn't been locked. Put a Vodafone/Meteor SIM in here- and see if they work- but I'd guess there is a good chance its unlocked already.

gingernut79 · 23-07-2014 7:51pm

thumbs up for the giffgaff sim for the UK. Was able to set all up online and had good coverage most places. I went with the £12 top up and best of all I have to go back to the UK within the calendar month so I wont have to pay again!

jimmycrackcorm · 23-07-2014 10:51pm

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Heading to Italy in a few weeks (on O2 Bill Pay) - what's the best options, presume will need to get the phone unlocked anyhoo?

Get a three prepay sim and buy credit then use three like home in Italy

Rucking_Fetard · 24-07-2014 12:28am

Best option for communicating between Ireland and France?

iPhone. · 24-07-2014 12:40am

A translator?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

BeepBeep67 · 24-07-2014 10:25am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Get a three prepay sim and buy credit then use three like home in Italy

Tnx - will look into that, unlock code came today

martyc5674 · 26-07-2014 8:32am

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Tnx - will look into that, unlock code came today

That only works on the flex plans.. Read the fine print

ScouseMouse · 26-07-2014 11:23am

Rucking_Fetard wrote: »

Best option for communicating between Ireland and France?

Lay your hands on a working 3 uk sim.

When you travelling?

theroomisonfire · 26-07-2014 7:58pm

Was in Germany recently and I ordered a sim card from blau.de and had it delivered to the hotel for when I arrived. Worked great and cost €10 for 1gb for 30 days

DUBLIN_person · 30-07-2014 8:45am

Just realised I never gave a further update on the Lebara and three UK Sims in France...

In Short get a three UK SIM unless you want it for tethering, fast enough to load most webpages, Facebook, Twitter etc but not to stream video. Good enough coverage when stationary, however when on the road travelling, it can be a bit patchy.

However a Lebara SIM card is actually ok when tethering, seems to tether better then using it on a main device! Was shocking slow on main device probably the equivalent of GPRS service even though the signal was supposedly 3G.

Both Sims were used in West France (Vendee) and Paris and both roaming on the same network Bougytel(hope I've spelled that right) Lebara uses that network as it is an MVNO and 3 seems to roam on it by default...

Johnny_Fontane · 30-07-2014 9:04am

heading to france friday and am on three here in ireland. have picked up a vodafone prepay sim and will go red roaming on it. Its 2.99 a day for 100mb and all calls. if i put on €20 I get €10 free. Also have an option of 50mb for €2 per 24 hours.

I have the option of picking something up in france in carrefour or whatever. Will be using it for mostly mobile data around the loire.

Anyone have any other options/ideas?

galait · 30-07-2014 10:14am

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

heading to france friday and am on three here in ireland. have picked up a vodafone prepay sim and will go red roaming on it. Its 2.99 a day for 100mb and all calls. if i put on €20 I get €10 free. Also have an option of 50mb for €2 per 24 hours.

I have the option of picking something up in france in carrefour or whatever. Will be using it for mostly mobile data around the loire.

Anyone have any other options/ideas?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ABJ0WA8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am on the LD on Friday aswell , I got one of these delivered and activated it and it is working fine in Ireland and will be the same in France , It has unlimited data .... In the UK it only works in a phone and no tethering or hotspot /Mifi , But I will try it in a Mifi in France as it must harder for them to identify the device the sim is in when roaming - Heres Hoping.

galait · 06-08-2014 5:55pm

The 3 Sim from Amazon is working a treat around Nantes , Skype etc all working fine ,

dave oc · 06-08-2014 7:47pm

Quick question regarding the 3UK sim: when does the sim get activated for use? Is it when the sim is put into a phone for the first time?

I might pick up a sim but won't be using it straight away, so I don't want it to expire before I use it.

galait · 06-08-2014 8:20pm

dave oc wrote: »

Quick question regarding the 3UK sim: when does the sim get activated for use? Is it when the sim is put into a phone for the first time?

I might pick up a sim but won't be using it straight away, so I don't want it to expire before I use it.

When you put into phone

MadDogGreener · 07-08-2014 11:32am

galait wrote: »

The 3 Sim from Amazon is working a treat around Nantes , Skype etc all working fine ,

Is this in a phone or with a mifi device?

galait · 07-08-2014 12:21pm

Phone only

When I put into mifi it redirected to 3 portal saying sim was only for phone use

MadDogGreener wrote: »

Is this in a phone or with a mifi device?

raytaxi · 08-08-2014 12:15pm

Hi All
I'm in spain at moment using sim got in voadafone shop 1.5gb for 15 euro valid 3 months, though seems to use data very fast (used 0.6 in 3 days) Good speed mostly Hsdpa+

Bruno Batista · 11-08-2014 10:41pm

I read somewhere that for those 3 UK SIMs the All You Can Eat Data roaming thing only kicks in after you use the SIM for more than 30 days.

Any experience with this?
Going to Paris in two weeks and need data!

DUBLIN_person · 11-08-2014 10:45pm

Bruno Batista wrote: »

I read somewhere that for those 3 UK SIMs the All You Can Eat Data roaming thing only kicks in after you use the SIM for more than 30 days.

Any experience with this?
Going to Paris in two weeks and need data!

Not true...used it in France about a month ago. Topped it up 2 days before...worked fine

Bruno Batista · 11-08-2014 10:47pm

Awesome, cheers!

Now to find some crap I don't need on Amazon so I bring it over the £25 threshold to get free shipping!
(yes, I know that makes no sense)

Low cost roaming

Comments