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Mobile phone connectivity in France

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slinga
slinga Posts: 1,485 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
I don't have or use a mobile phone, but the missus has one.

She bought the phone in UK and it has a Singapore Sim card because we live there 6 months of the year.

The phone works perfectly in Singapore and UK, but fpr 2 years on holiday in France it has refused to get a connection.

The missus emailed her Singapore Sim provider, M1, but although they suggested this and that the phone still wouldn't connect.
So we went into the Nokia office in Bordeaux.

The guy there tried for 45 minutes to get a connection but couldn't.

He was certain that the fault lay with the Singapore provider.

Obviously we are back in UK now and the phone works perfectly.

Any of you lot got any ideas what the problem might be.

When we are back in Singapore we'll go to the provider there but because the problem only occurs in France I'm not sure they'll be any help at all.
It's your money. Except if it's the governments.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Debt-free and Proud!
    edited 13 July 2015 at 4:23PM
    My advice would be to bung in a PAYG sim.

    If you are only/mostly going to be making calls within France, use a French sim.

    If you will be ringing back to the UK a lot, use a UK sim.

    I'm with Virgin Big Talk, and calls from Europe, to the UK, are 18p per minute, with texts at 5p each.
  • I_have_spoken
    I_have_spoken Posts: 5,051 Forumite
    Any of you lot got any ideas what the problem might be.

    No roaming agreements with M1 and/or a block on roaming outside of the UK
  • coolagarry
    coolagarry Posts: 1,261 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I'm with 3 mobile and their 'feel at home' contract means that I can take my 'data', 'talk minutes' allowance etc , with me to a number of countries in the world, including France. I was in France recently and it worked perfectly. I used my phone the same as I would at home and there were no extra charges. (Unfortunately it doesn't cover Singapore)
    I'm Glad to be here... At my age I'm glad to be anywhere!!
    I'm not losing my hair... I'm getting more head!!
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    coolagarry wrote: »
    (Unfortunately it doesn't cover Singapore)
    ... and is limited to 2 (1?) month per a year.
  • redux
    redux Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 12 July 2015 at 5:44PM
    Some networks offer roaming in more countries to their contract customers than those on pay as you go.

    If your Singapore SIM is on pay as you go, then this might be one possible explanation, that they cover UK but not France.

    Even if that's not the explanation, you'd get cheaper possibilities with French and probably also UK SIMs.
  • slinga
    slinga Posts: 1,485 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    edited 13 July 2015 at 9:10AM
    No roaming agreements with M1 and/or a block on roaming outside of the UK
    Apparently M1 have an agreement with Orange for roaming in France.

    The phone is under contract.

    We use it soo little, just for initial contact with gite or apartment owner, that we've always thought that buying a French Sim card wasn't worth it.
    It's your money. Except if it's the governments.
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    But where in France? Many rural areas of France have little connectivity, let alone 3G. Are you saying that there is no signal anywhere in France, or just at your gite? Can you get a signal on another handset in the same area?
    First thing to do is try it with another SIM to see if this is a phone or network issue.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • slinga
    slinga Posts: 1,485 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    The Nokia guy who spent time on it, see above, said the phone was fine.
    You know the power of the connection by the number of bars showing on the phone screen.
    It was everywhere from La Rochelle to Bordeaux, even close to masts.
    It's your money. Except if it's the governments.
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Is it set to 'select network automatically when roaming'?
    Like I said, instead of relying on someone else telling you 'the phone is fine', you need to test it with another SIM.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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