Spain Pay As You Go sim card for internet access

1mix

I checked the SIM details and it says Ballena 12, 1Gb data/1cent a minute/1000 free SMS and I paid 13 euros for it.

However, in my MiFi it kept connecting/disconecting and in my iPhone I got a stream of text messages [100's] but in the meantime I could access SOME aspects of the internet.

I could for example listen to my radio station, but I could not access my website. I could use my Facebook & Twitter Apps, but not use a browser.

Hope this helps.

bamboobam

1mix wrote: »

I checked the SIM details and it says Ballena 12, 1Gb data/1cent a minute/1000 free SMS and I paid 13 euros for it.

However, in my MiFi it kept connecting/disconecting and in my iPhone I got a stream of text messages [100's] but in the meantime I could access SOME aspects of the internet.

I could for example listen to my radio station, but I could not access my website. I could use my Facebook & Twitter Apps, but not use a browser.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your reply.
If you got hundreds of texts I wonder if you ran out of credit altogether and these texts were asking you to top-up? There are Spanish people complaining on in forums that the terms and conditions of the Ballena tariff are that you must have a balance in order to use the month of benefits, so if something wiped out your balance to zero then in theory it wouldn't let you use the data package even though you already paid the flat rate 13Euro fee for the month.... Which is obviously an outrageous condition... If the SIM card is cheap to buy in Spain so that the cost only just covers your first month of benefits and nothing else then maybe you are quite likely to end up with zero credit after the first monthly fee has been deducted. That would explain why there are so many complaints.. Because you buy the sim and then need to top up again in order to use your month of benefits. Disgraceful (but manageable if you know about it).

bamboobam

I found a website in German language selling the card with activated Ballena tariff (but because I am a new forum user it won't allow me to post the link) and it says this:
Unsere spanischen SIM-Karten funktionieren perfekt mit:Smartphone, iPhone, iPad, USB-Modem, Tablet, oder MiFi.
Wir liefern weltweit kostenlos, oder an Ihre Spanische-Adresse, Hotel oder zu Hause.

1mix

Obviously the person in 'Phone House' thought it would work i a MyFi too but it didn't.

I asked at an official Orange Store and they told be a data SIM was only available on pay monthly and it was 50 Euros a month

bamboobam

So somebody in one of the phone shops was wrong then. Can't trust everyone in a phone shop no matter which country/language you're in.... Could have been the Orange shop who were wrong (especially if they were on commission).

Unless anyone has a cheaper suggestion for 1 month of wi-fi for a laptop in north Lanzarote then I'm going for the Ballena 12....?

1mix

Let us know how you get on when you get back..

Buzby

Rather than spend money in advance, it is often better to simply go and scan for WiFi. Many of the Canaries resorts have wide area wiFi only networks where you can buy a daily or weekly pass (using PayPal).

Well worth checking before spending money on SIM cards that may not do as advertised.

NiftyDigits

bamboobam wrote: »

So somebody in one of the phone shops was wrong then. Can't trust everyone in a phone shop no matter which country/language you're in.... Could have been the Orange shop who were wrong (especially if they were on commission).

Unless anyone has a cheaper suggestion for 1 month of wi-fi for a laptop in north Lanzarote then I'm going for the Ballena 12....?

Even if it works as you hope(and I hope that it does), I doubt if 1GB will last a month, unless you use it sparingly. Once it's gone, you are slowed down to 64kbps. I don't think you have any idea as to how annoying that will be.
If you think that you will be happy with 128kbps either, think twice.
You can only hope that the issue that 1Mix had was an incorrect profile.

Let us know about your experience asap, as you could save others from wasting their money if it doesn't work as expected.

Orange's normal data SIM would give you 2GB for 29.99€. That is then slowed to 128kbps.

Yoigo give 500MB for 8€. There are a lot of local options. Worst case scenario you could have purchased the Orange SIM for 9€, topped it up with 10€ instore and got them to apply the Ballena 12 tariff.

I use a Carrefour data SIM out there. They use Orange anyway, as do many of the MVNO.

Either way, your experience can help others, so let us know.

Don't neglect to put the Profile and APN, from the link I supplied, into your MiFi and set it as Default before you leave. So that if it works, you are up and running as soon as you land.

bamboobam

@NiftyDigits - You are right 64kbps would be unworkable, but I had 128kbps before for work emails and it was fine. Just need it for work emails and the odd document which may have an internet link in it which I need to check, so just need it to load the odd page and email mainly.... From what I've read, Ballena is slowed to 128kbps, no? Please post a link where it says 64kbps for Ballena because if not I'll need to buy the Orange 2gb data sim for 29.99Euros - thanks for your help!!!

@1mix - indeed I'll let you know in 1 month!

@Buzby - Yes you are right in general terms for the usual holiday resorts, but I tend to go to rural places off the beaten track. Often the difference between accommodations set up for English/German holidays with wi-fi included versus local Spanish apartments rented by Spanish people who live locally (typically to Spanish people from the Peninsula) is very great. I am only paying 500Euros a month for a modern apartment with huge roof terrace in rural North Lanzarote with no wi-fi in the apt.... It has all the other modcons (dishwasher,full oven,large flat screen tv) just no wi-fi. Other quotes I got for apt/casita with wi-fi was 1500-2000Euros for the month...(Because they are set up with facilities aimed at Northern Europeans and run by agents). So such a large saving there obviously makes up for 15-30Euros cost of SIM on a MiFi.


Thank you all very much for your help. So nice a "noob" such as me can find helpful replies like this. :-)

NiftyDigits

bamboobam wrote: »

@NiftyDigits - You are right 64kbps would be unworkable, but I had 128kbps before for work emails and it was fine. Just need it for work emails and the odd document which may have an internet link in it which I need to check, so just need it to load the odd page and email mainly.... From what I've read, Ballena is slowed to 128kbps, no? Please post a link where it says 64kbps for Ballena because if not I'll need to buy the Orange 2gb data sim for 29.99Euros - thanks for your help!!!

@1mix - indeed I'll let you know in 1 month!

I already posted the link in post #30.

The relevant passage is here:

Una vez superado el 1 GB a m!xima velocidad, se reducir! la velocidad a 64 Kbps

If the SIM works, then post about it immediately. If you wait for a month, we will assume that it did not work.

Don't panic, they have mobile telephone shops in Lanzarote I'm sure. Put Movil tienda Lanzarote in Google and click on the map produced at the side for locations.