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Buying A Phone in France

Angela Stewart

New Member
Donating Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Planning the Camino Frances for April (2023)
We have just completed Camino Frances .One of our small group now needs to buy a new phone as hers has completely failed. In France does anyone have any advice that may be helpful If it will be difficult or ill advised . it would be nice to know as she could possibly wait to purchase a new phone when she returns to Australia in three weeks.
 
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Hi Angela.

My understanding is if it’s only the phone and she’s putting her current Australian SIM card in (I.e. she is not buying a new SIM card or plan of any sort) it should be straightforward. Your friend will likely need ID, eg her passport, for the transaction.

Most mainstream sellers will check compatibility, help with transferring the sim to the new phone if she needs.



Edited to add in light of the comment below : I can only speak about iPhone - but the keyboard is easily changed in settings. As to the other possible issues, if she’s concerned I guess it depends whether she’s happy to wait. All the best.
 
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These days it is much easier but watch out as by default it will start up in French and will probably also default to a keyboard with € rather than $.

Many years ago I bought a laptop in Sweden and it took me months to get it configured for English.

Like I said the phone should be much easier but allow a day to configure it properly.

The other thing to watch are the radio bands used. In general Ozzies don't have problems using their phone in Europe and so it shouldn't be a problem the other way.

The last gotcha is the warranty as usually they will insist on sending it back to the country of purchase if it needs warranty repair.

Unless your friend spots a real bargain it MIGHT be safer to leave it until she returns to Oz.

Edit:

I had a problem with my Kiwi phone in Spain initially and when it became difficult to fix Vodafone reverted to a list of models that they support and my phone wasn't on that list and so they washed their hands on fixing my problem.

In the end the phone somehow fixed itself, I have a suspicion about what the problem was and it was nothing to do with the model of phone.

This is the sort of problem that your friend might encounter at home. If something doesn't work then the phone network companies might just say "Sorry, it is not a standard Australian model and so we can't support it".

This is not likely but it is possible.
 
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Be sure to insert your Australian simcard in upside-down to adjust for the hemisphere change….. In truth, there may be a customs issue (TAX) since they will actually be importing that device back to their country.
 
Vacajoe said:
Be sure to insert your Australian simcard in upside-down to adjust for the hemisphere change….. In truth, there may be a customs issue (TAX) since they will actually be importing that device back to their country.
Click to expand...
Useful advice for some countries. I have no idea about Australia but if I bought a single phone overseas and returned home with it I would not pay any import tax or sales tax (GST) mainly because I wouldn't declare it but I also get a personal allowance that probably covers everything except an iPhone!

Of course I would not be carrying the phone's original packaging as that might trigger a question from the Customs person at the border.
 
For the USA, it’s generally an $800 exemption though all purchases must be declared or are subject to forfeiture (even if they amount to less than the allowed total). For Aus, no idea, but it’s worth checking. You also risk losing any type of assured traveler status (like TSA Precheck and Global Entry in the USA) if you are caught violating this law.

While I’m sure 99.99% of folks walk through Customs without issue, I wouldn’t want to be that 10,000th traveler caught with a new cellphone because I chose not to follow the rules.
 
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I have two things to add (as an Aussie who walks in Europe from time to time) to the discussion.

Several years ago, my Android phone died in Portugal. I easily bought a replacement (Samsung) which served me well for years. But as the seller explained, for some weird technical reason the first phone call made with it had to be in Portugal; otherwise the phone would lock. I was puzzled, but used my Portuguese SIM (from the dead phone) to make that initial call, and never ever had any issue with it for years in Australia and travelling internationally. I never fully understood why this condition applied.

The second point relates specifically to France, where I was walking last month. My battery in my current phone was acting up so I looked around at what was available in case I needed a replacement. I was impressed by the range and prices of Androids at the local Electro Depot store. In the end, I didn't need to buy a new phone but was confident that, if I needed one, I could buy one easily in France. I'm not knowledgeable regarding the technical specifications, but I assumed that any Android bought in France would work in Australia (since I've never had any problem using my Australian phones in the EU).

Also, I am not a tax expert, but I would not worry about the question of import tax. It would be a replacement, used, personal item. I don't think a mobile phone would be an issue for a returning citizen arriving in Australia.
 
David from Freo said:
I'm not knowledgeable regarding the technical specifications, but I assumed that any Android bought in France would work in Australia (since I've never had any problem using my Australian phones in the EU).
Click to expand...
Hi David. That has been our experience. I am Australian, my husband is French. He has had android phones bought in both France and Australia and used both in both countries. It has simply been a matter of changing the SIM card
 
If she buys make sure that it isn’t “locked” to a French network. Also check SIM card format (mini, micro etc.) as different brands and/or cheaper phones might need an adapter for her SIM card to fit.
 
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Nobody says 'when' he or she had this or that problem
Times are changing.
And yes before some phones were locked to the country's provider in Europe.
But this is over
Try the phone before buying like already mentioned before by putting your SIM in it.
Changing the language in the settings and your phone 'speaks' your language....easy.
The vendor can do it for you in a blink of an eye.
And yes get rid of the packaging.
Take a lot of pictures and install the normal blabla Apps and your fine...no stress, it is your phone. At least I would be happy to have a phone for keeping in touch with the 'homefront'
And passing customs...
Carpe Diem
 
Pelerina said:
Hi David. That has been our experience. I am Australian, my husband is French. He has had android phones bought in both France and Australia and used both in both countries. It has simply been a matter of changing the SIM card
Click to expand...
Yes, indeed. In fact, I've long preferred a dual SIM phone so I can keep my 'home' SIM in one slot and the relevant international SIM in the other slot when I travel so I can conveniently switch between the two depending on the location and the purpose.
 
ok thanks very much
 
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Thanks very much for that
 
Thanks David
 
Good idea Thanks
 
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Great thanks
 
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