Phones while touring in France

[Simon_m]

that sounds like a good deal regarding teh sim. from the brief look i had at EE, they dont seem to offer that, best i call them though. Can you explain roughly what the mifi device is? is it basically... your phone is connected to the "web" by its 3g/4g then you attach the mifi to your phone, which then creates a wifi hotspot for others to join? or an ipad etc.

 

[classic33]

http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/en/eurosim.html

 

[Dogtrousers]

A Mifi is what I was describing. Its a device containing a SIM that sets up a connection over the 3G/4G network and makes this connection available to your devices (incl your phone) over wifi. It's effectively a personal portable wifi hotspot. You can then switch data roaming off on your phone, and use it only for voice/SMS and use the MiFi for all data comms.

 

[Simon_m]

http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/en/eurosim.html

ooo thats good thanks again

 

[Simon_m]

A Mifi is what I was describing. Its a device containing a SIM that sets up a connection over the 3G/4G network and makes this connection available to your devices (incl your phone) over wifi. It's effectively a personal portable wifi hotspot. You can then switch data roaming off on your phone, and use it only for voice/SMS and use the MiFi for all data comms.

ah ok, still a little confused, i would have to get a french sim still? thanks

 

[classic33]

ah ok, still a little confused, i would have to get a french sim still? thanks

A French SIM Card wouldn't work. Treat it as a phone locked to a network.

 

[jay clock]

A French SIM would work in an unlocked Mifi. I have bought one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E522...?ie=UTF8&qid=1430250632&sr=8-1&keywords=e5220 and although it has Three branding I have tested it with a Voda SIM and works fine. My plan is to use it abroad using a 3 SIM and their Feel at Home package

 

[classic33]

A French SIM would work in an unlocked Mifi. I have bought one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E522...?ie=UTF8&qid=1430250632&sr=8-1&keywords=e5220 and although it has Three branding I have tested it with a Voda SIM and works fine. My plan is to use it abroad using a 3 SIM and their Feel at Home package

Out of interest, how much to get it unlocked?

 

[Tanis8472]

http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Roaming_and_international/Mobile_roaming?content_aid=1214306374696

 

[briantrumpet]

Yes,

This looks pretty good

http://www.lebara.fr/boutique/illimite €15 for unlimited calls and texts +3GB data.

It looks like you need a French address for the free SIM. I've had a Joe Mobile SIM - that was excellent, but they've sold out to Virgin Mobile - not nearly as good now. So I am in the market for French SIM, as I'm over there about 9 weeks a year. I haven't worked out yet if I could turn the Lebara line on and off, depending when I'm in France.

 

[HovR]

The thing to watch is when you go over that limit. Then the costs really increase. At 50MB you'll be looking at around half an hour a day(EE's own figure being used here).

T-Mobile/EE actually aren't bad for this in my experience, as you can't use data without buying a roaming package. When you first open your browser whilst connected to a French network you get redirected to the page where you select/buy a data package. As you're nearing the end of your data you get sent a warning text, and when you do run out you get redirected back to the page to buy another package. Not sure if this applies to Orange/EE or just straight up EE contracts as mine is an older one grandfathered in from T-Mobile, but I'd have thought so.

I need to review it live so I can have access to their database.

Out of interest, which database do you mean? Having toured in France I still don't quite understand the need for online maps. Offline maps contain all the same information such as public toilets, cafes, restaraunts, campsites, B&B's, hotels and more, and the maps are searchable.

Obviously it's good to have access to Google (I used it to find opening times on a couple of occasions), but I'm not sure it's the wisest (or cheapest) option for primary mapping.

 

[classic33]

Is it T-mobile, Orange Or EE you are with?
All three have separate T&C's over their roaming charges
"T-Mobile EURO Talk and Text Booster - £2 Per Day Roaming Minutes and Texts. Available to customers on T-Mobile pay monthly plans only. Consumer plans only. You can purchase a daily booster for £2 which will give you unlimited calls and texts to and from mobiles and landlines in Europe and selected countries, when roaming abroad in countries set out below (the ‘included countries’). You will need to opt in to the booster by calling 150 on your phone or by texting EUDAYTM to 441. If you opt-in to this booster once, it will automatically trigger each and every time you’re abroad in one of the included countries when you make a call, receive a call or send a text. You only pay for the days you use your phone to make a call, receive a call or send a text. Receiving a call when you are in one of the included countries will trigger the £2 charge, even if you only receive a call on a particular day but do not make a call or send a text. You will need to text EUSTOPTM to 441 or call 150 to remove the booster if you no longer want it."

 

[Simon_m]

T-M


Out of interest, which database do you mean? Having toured in France I still don't quite understand the need for online maps. Offline maps contain all the same information such as public toilets, cafes, restaraunts, campsites, B&B's, hotels and more, and the maps are searchable.
ping.

Just google earths photo database. So when we are going through the next days stage, with the route overlaid from an export from Garmin BaseCamp, I can point out points of interest by clicking on the images, things to look out for etc. I can then switch to street view if there are some tricky bits of road or junctions to take. We will have paper maps too of course and some will have garmins. There is so much to see on our route plus just to the left and right of it whcih some people may want to see. So that is why I want to be online using data. Plus a lot of us will want to do blogs, upload photos and video like we did whilst cycling across America in 2012.

 

[jay clock]

Out of interest, how much to get it unlocked?

It came unlocked. I was slightly worried as although I am using a 3Three sim currently, I plan to use it with others. The device has a 3Three logo, and the SSID is something like 3mobile1234 as well. But I tested it with a Vodafone UK sim and it worked fine