SIM cards and PAYG phones

[Tia Valeria]

There have been several comments about mobile phones which 'expire' between one year's Camino and the next. My UK based phone just did that in the UK. Used for volunteer work I had received but not made a call for some time. The SIM card had gone down together with my (small) remaining balance. The phone is PAYG with Orange.
The Orange shop gave me a new free SIM card, just a £5 top-up needed to activate it, and I have a new phone number. End of problem. Just advice to ensure that I phone myself or send a text occasionally to keep the SIM active, certainly within a 6 month period.
This is only a dual-band phone and does not work worldwide, but there are tri-band PAYG phones too. The latter work worlwide as far as I know, certainly in the US as well as EU.
My thinking is that if you are not EU based then invest in a tri-band phone and while back home send yourself a text every 2 or 3 months. It would be worth it, even with roaming charges, to keep the phone active - especially if you still have much credit on it.
If your phone has already gone down try asking for a new SIM card, but make sure you have your phone numbers written down to add into it.

Does anyone have a similar experience with other service providers?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I eventually got a balance from an expired SIM transferred to a new number on Vodafone. I think that 9 months of inactivity in Spain, and your account is deactivated. After a year, you lose the phone number.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Speaking of phones, I've never taken one on the Camino but will need to do so on the trek I'm leading in the spring.

Can someone walk me through where I need to go, what I need to ask for, to get a telephone in Pamplona that will give me service for about 3 months?

I'm lost...

I have an iPhone but I think international roaming will be too expensive.

 

[newfydog]

You are right that roaming on an iphone will be expensive. Depending on what model phone and who your phone service is through, you might be able to get it unlocked. Then you can put a Spanish card in your iphone and pay local rates.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1274057

Here's something I posted in June, which might be available still:

Phones-
Ivan posted a nice link to Maxroam who offered a SIM card with a British number, plus 10 Euros of credit for 5 Euros. We bought two of these, and they worked great. You need an unlocked GSM phone. One of our phones was locked to T-Mobil, but they gave us an unlock code for free because we have been customers long enough.
The Maxroam rates are pretty good-- free incoming calls, 0.39 a minute to call in Europe, and 0.49 a minute to call the US. You can check your balance and top it up online. I was also able to get a local French number for 5 Euros a month. That made it cheaper for French friends to call me.

http://ryanair.maxroam.com/Home.aspx?ln ... ds&cur=EUR

 

[ivar]

You can get phones and a sim card (spanish phone number) in the phone stores (Vodafone, Movistar, ...) but more and more you can also now get them at the larger supermarkets.

For example:
Carrefour has a basic Nokia phone for €25,90 (phone only)
http://www.carrefouronline.carrefour.es ... =136501058

...and then you can get a spanish phone number from (for example) Vodafone. They usually sell you this in the same store:
http://tienda.vodafone.es/movil/tarjeta ... 103tsim003
The cost of this card is €1,-. The link above is a promotion where you get 30 minutes of free calling to any country (Except Cuba) if you add a minimum of €10,- to your balance.

By the way, in Spain a Pay As You go card is called "Tarjeta".... the other option would be "Contrato", and that would be signing a contract... and you don't want that.

If your current phone if not locked to your current provider, you can just bring that and get the sim.

Buen Camino!
Ivar

 

[jeff001]

Another option is to buy an inexpensive unlocked GSM phone (I got mine on ebay) and buy a pay as you go SIM card in Spain. Stores are everywhere and you can recharge the card in many places, as Ivar says.

 

[Tia Valeria]

I started this thread because it seems that it wasn't the phone, or using it in Spain that some folk were finding a problem. The real issue for some folk was that if they used the phone one year and wanted to return the following year they were finding that the Spanish SIM no longer worked as it had expired. The only way to keep it live is to send a text few months. I would suggest 2-3 months is best. Those of us from the EU can use dual band phones, those from elswhere need to use a tri-band phone, when at home with the Spanish SIM in it.
It is the SIM card you are keeping active rather than the phone!

 

[Tia Valeria]

Thanks for the Tarjeta info Ivar. If using a Spanish SIM card can it be topped up with vouchers or only with a swipe card? I wouldn't want to link a credit card to the phone.
We usually use our UK based Orange phone, but it might be useful to put a Spanish SIM card in it if it made topping up easier, no roaming charges etc.
Then take my own advice on keeping it live :lol:

 

[ivar]

Thanks for the Tarjeta info Ivar. If using a Spanish SIM card can it be topped up with vouchers or only with a swipe card? I wouldn't want to link a credit card to the phone.
We usually use our UK based Orange phone, but it might be useful to put a Spanish SIM card in it if it made topping up easier, no roaming charges etc.
Then take my own advice on keeping it live :lol:

You can top it with cash if you want... that would be my recommendation..

 

[grayland]

I normally just go into local store/shop along the way and pay cash to top it up. Simple and fast.
I have used the Lebara SIM the last couple of times. It can be topped up at local shops all along the way.
I buy mine before I leave the U.S. at Simsforspain.com. No problems.

Good rates: $29.95 USD
Unlimited FREE incoming calls
l Only 0.09& euro/minute to all Spanish cell phones and landlines
l Calls to the USA and Canada at 0.03€/minute
l FREE in-network calls to all Lebara phones*
l Comes preloaded with 10€ of credit
l Your own permanent Spanish cell phone number
l Voicemail
It works for me and I have not found anything cheaper.
Now I need a similar deal for a French SIM for the Le Puy route.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Wow.. those are good rates.
Thanks everyone.

 

[Lydia Gillen]

I once bought a spanish sim card at a vodafone shop but it would not fir into my Irish vodafone.

So I bought a spanish phone for €29.00 and received €30.00 credit

However I had not realised that a text could keep it alive from one Camino to the next.

Lydia

 

[Nagypoci]

Hi, thanks for your useful advice! In addition to that, do you have any suggestions on local internet flat rate options as I seem to be a little addicted to my smartphone and I use that for international communication to avoid roaming. Thx.

 

[Jun]

Hi Ivar,
I am coming from Singapore and will be flying to Barcelona. I will be in Spain for about 15days so I would like to know if i can purchase a calling card for my iphone5 at the airport? Or do you have any advice for me?

How much to purchase a calling card for data usage in Spain?