Mobile Phones

My husband and I (!) both have 'pay as you go' mobile phones in the UK, which are very expensive to use in Spain - especially when trying to get delivery of goods and the driver has no idea where we are and our spanish is very limited.

I have heard that there is a Spanish 'Sim' card for pay as you go, which I can swap in my UK mobile phone, and this will be cheaper.   Is this possible?

Or should we buy a Spanish mobile phone for use when we are there for our holiday/weekend breaks - before retiring in 2009 (can't wait!!).

PS - Justin, JeanSis, Fibby, Smiley and all the other regular contributors - I do enjoy your postings, even though I don't join in (too shy).  All information very gratefully received.

 

This message was last edited by thehalls on 2/18/2007.

Hello, "thehalls"!  Unless you really want to, don't bother buying another mobile - just buy a sim card to put in the mobile you have now.  I did this last year - just bought a sim card from the Amena (one of the telecom companies I believe) stand in Carrefour for about 18 Euros (if I recall correctly), and this included some call time.  You can then just top it up at different locations - I used to top mine up at a little newsagents in the port.  And, I was told, I will be able to use it at easter when we are out because as long it doesn't go one year without use, it remains active.

Hope that helps!!

Thank you, Pitby.

I'm a bit of a thicko - will this mean we will have a new Spanish mobile number as well?

This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/17/2007.

Hi JeanSis - think I'll take the option of buying a Spanish mobile when we go over in March.  For us, I think it is the easier option, and as we make new friends in Spain over the next 2 years, our "contacts" list should be well full !!!!!!

xxx

 

Thanks, Janice!  Being out here in the desert I keep forgetting that you have these great deals in Europe!  I would definitely buy a Spanish mobile account, if it included the phone and sim, for 50 Euros!!  We don't have that here - we have to buy a mobile phone outright.  As there is only one telecoms provider (soon to be two, but it won't change anything!!), you take out a mobile account with the company and can use the card in any mobile phone.  So we have to fork out at least 100 euros for a phone, before we even have a mobile account and sim card!!!

If we were able to "pop" over to Spain more than twice a year (tops!) then I would definitely opt for a mobile contract locally - it would probably save me wiping my entire phone book, which I managed to do one time!!!

This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/17/2007.

Dont know what its like on the Costa Blanca but Amena/Orange doesnt seem to have such good coverage as Vodafone from what I am told - someone is going to correct me I just know it - friend of mine just changed provider - wasnt unhappy with Vodafone but it was a good deal he was being offered - now he knows why - cannot get the same strength of signal he had with Vodafone and often cant take or receive calls in places that used to be fine - one of them on his terrace at home!!

unlocking phones does not have to cost you. There is a web site called unlockme that gives you the unlock codes if they are available. simply put in your phone id and hey presto a code is given with instructions and you have an unlocked phone in no time.

Carrefour have a sim card, costs 10euro with 10 euro credit so not reaaly any cost at all. It uses the orange network.Calls cost 15cents to all and all times. What they dont tell you is the 24cents connection charge, but not a bad offer to get you anumber.

This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/17/2007.

JeanSis, you know you can press 3 different keys within just a second, come on don't be shy, you type at a rate of knots!

Rgds,

Sorry to revive an old post, but just sat here idly browsing and noticed this one.

If you log on to 'that auction site' and enter 'Spanish sim cards' there quite a number on offer from both Amena and Movistar - they are about a tenner and all seem to include 18euros credit. I bought two about a year ago for our mobiles and have had no probs whatsoever.

Steve.

Jan

I have just noticed this thread too and realised i need to get a mobile sorted out as i am spending more and more time in spain. My experience so far in our development is that the signals from each of the providers varies from good to bad quite randomly on the development ...suppose its because we are in a hilly area!!  I have been using my UK mobile and switching between networks and some are better than others but old age as caught up with me and i cannot remember which was best.

I intend to follw the advice on here and buy my own spanish mobile and as i am out next week i will try and see which network performs best by using my uk mobile then decide upon which provider to use.

Hi John, it's not worth us taking out a local mobile contract as we really won't get the use of it.  Between us, with the local Amena sim card and my husbands Dubai number, hopefully we shall be okay!  I can't recall us having any problems at all last year, right through from Paris to Duquesa on his number, or on the Amena number when I got it in Estepona - so fingers crossed!

No doubt, the signal failure will probably bite when we need to get hold of someone delivering or installing something in the apartment!!!

This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/17/2007.

Janice

You are so right..i was working from my place some months ago and everytime i needed to make a call which was alot of the time and because i wasnt confident that the signal would last i would drive and sit in my car at the top of the development ...consequently spent most of my time sat in the car on those days!!! suppose i could get a Telefonica line but wouldnt use it very much.

John

We're the same.  We have Movistar and at home we have practically no coverage.  We have to go outside in the garden to use the mobile. 

We're with Vodafone Spain, and always have a great signal no matter where we are.

This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/17/2007.

Hi everyone

We have 2 spanish sims - movistar & orange networks. The orange network seems to work much better & clearer when phoning the UK from the Mar Menor area. The Post Room in Los Alcazares sorted me out the last time I was over there with the orange sim in an old english phone (they were a lifesaver - can highly recommend them).

They also recommended the 5 euro card which you can use with the orange sim. You basically tap the numbers in off the card & then the UK phone number you want to dial (it's all written on the card what to do & very easy) & you get very cheap calls to the UK. Was on the mobile to my hubby for at least 25mins & only cost 1 euro!

Hope this all makes sense.

hi

the 25 minutes for 1 euro sounds great..is the 5 eurocard only available with orange? 

john

 

Hia

As far as I know it's only with the orange network. I actually made a mistake one night & picked up the wrong mobile - doesn't work on the Movistar sim.

Each time you use the card, you get a message saying how much credit you have left - never used over 1 euro on any call to the UK. When the credit is used up, you just go and invest another 5 euros on another card. Great system.

do the messages you get from the network operator appear in spanish or english? 

regards

 

Have just gone & dug the card out - it's def just with orange & looks like a cardboard credit card. On the back it takes you through the steps - you dial 273 & connect to the system - From memory someone asks in spanish which language you want - 2 is english (this is very obvious on the instructions) - you then dial the PIN on the card followed by the UK numbers then #.

Believe me - if I can manage it anyone can!!!

Thanks for that...i am there next week and will try and get an orange sim card. All i need  now is a friend to phone

This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/17/2007.

Call him what you want!!!

The orange sim card sounds like a great idea.  Where did you buy it from?  We are in the Velez Malaga area, Costa del Sol, is it available there?

Regards

Mountie

THINK ITS THE OLD AMENA NETWORK - CAN GET EM FROM ANY MOBILE PHONE SHOP AND VELEZ MALAGA SHOULD BE NO DIFFERENT - THINK THERES A MOBILE SHOP IN THE EROSKI CENTRE THERE - AT LEAST THERE WAS TWO YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS LAST IN THERE BUSTING FOR A LEAK AND NOT ABLE TO FIND THE LOOS!!

Hola chaps and chapesses

How do we ring (from England) a spanish mobile that starts with 6?

Gracias or grassyarse as my son would say!!

Tina