Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

redux

Raven wrote: »

I just went into settings > mobile network > manual search and chose another network (where we were I was always picking up at least three different choices) and this seemed to sort out any low signal problems.

If you leave it on automatic search there's no need to do that

It's only in one or two countries (Russia?) that this SIM will have different rates on different networks and manual selection would be beneficial

Traveltalksim I mentioned earlier does seem to have some countries where rates vary slightly more per network, and it would be worth checking beforehand

Delhibelly

Since my last post, Free2roam have emailed & claim that the 99p a month charge & remaining credit being cancelled after 12 months was in the original T's & C's (still don't remember reading that!).Also all old sims will be disconnected at the end of July 2010.
Good news is that their new sim does not have a monthly charge or credit time limit.:T
They have (very kindly?) sent me a new sim with $10 credit.I have still lost out - so let this be a warning to everyone!
Make sure you read the terms & conditions & if you have an old Free2roam sim - Upgrade NOW! (I think you can transfer credit).
:beer:

Raven

redux wrote: »

If you leave it on automatic search there's no need to do that

Yep, agree with you on that.



In theory, thats how it should work but where we were with two identical S.E mob's using the same sims one hooked onto Voda (4 bars) and one onto Turkcell (1 bar) even though both were only a Tequilla Sunrise :beer: apart, the Bro in law then standing 20 feet away using the same sim which had locked onto Avea and tried ringing the Turkcell, no connection but when attempting to connect to the Voda, he got straight thru.

That said we had 4 mobiles working at the same time in Turkey and we were very happy, saved us a small fortune (Bro in laws last bill was £80 :eek: this time £12 ) so no complaints from us and we will continue to use these sims from www.simstogo.co.uk




All calls/texts got through to us except those sent from an 02 mobile (daughter could not not connect- so she used her 3 mob) but from my sons 3 phone it was 12p per min to call but free to text me (out of his inclusive bundle)


Would easily reccommend them and their c.s people are great if you need to speak to them




Raven

stormbreaker

As usual we have left things to the last minute. ANY advice on calls to and from Corfu to home on O2? We are only away for a week. We have PAYG. Should we get their travel add on on buy a sim whilst we are there? Would it be better phoning another o2 mobile or landline? The O2 mobile we would be calling is on a simplicity contract.

Apologies for my stupidness, should have had this sorted but taking a last minute break and flying today!!!

mrwibble

Surprised the new Mobile Roaming guide hasn't included one other option when in US - buying a PAYG phone with credit.

I bought 2 x LG 100C phones at Walmart in Orlando earlier this year on NET10 (a virtual network) - cost $29.99 each with 200 minutes.

We used a substantial number of minutes both for "where are you ?" calls in the parks (10c a minute) as well as local and international calls to UK (15c a minute).

Whilst the airtime does expire it is cheaper than buying a SIM with credit especially if you use a lot of time. I sold ours on Ebay with credit remaining when we got back. Obvious downside is that you can't use it till you buy it for "arrived safely" texts when arriving.

Other advantage is you don't have to take your expensive UK phone to the parks.

Worth a discussion on relative merits I would have thought.

MDonovan

All,

Just a word on Story Telecom - shown here as "the best deal" in global SIMs.

I got a global SIM from them upon the recommendations and glowing reviews from MSE.

I started to use it in a very basic handset. Nokia 2630 to be exact. I soon realized that I was not getting notified of:

1. Missed Calls
2. Messages left on Voice Mail

When I asked Story Customer Services about this I was told the Carrier could not guarantee that missed calls would be notified OR that I would be notified upon receiving voice mail.

All a bit useless really.

I ended the deal immediately. I was refunded what was left of my credit although most of my credit was me consulting voice mail to actually see if any messages had been left because I was not getting an SMS or other notification.

I'd avoid the Story Telecom deal.

magic57

As promised I said I would report back on our experiences of UK2abroad US sim.

DS is in the USA and we bought him a sim before he went for keeping in touch on the move.

He found the instructions very difficult to work out and the credit didn't last long. It cost £25 for sim and £25 for credit.
He is still in the USA but has given up on it and we are using PAYG O2 again to tell us to plug in the MagicJack.

Others may find it ok but we won't be topping it up.

neuro

Just got the new Money Tips email, and read the Roaming guide for the first time after Martin referenced it in the quick briefing.

Bit disappointed to see the guide discusses Vodafone's Passport free add-on a tad inaccurately: it only works in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, yet it's listed under non-EU roaming deals. The guide also doesn't make it clear that to use a cheap roaming SIM, your phone - if it came subsidised from a UK network - probably needs to be unlocked. O2 customers with contract iPhones (or PAYG iPhones that they've had for > 12 months) are lucky; they can unlock their phone very simply in around a fortnight after filling in a simple web form, but virtually everyone else in the UK with a PAYG or an in-contract phone won't be able to use ANY SIM card other than one from the network the bought their phone from. Buying an unlocked phone for most modern phones will be an expensive purchase, and the experience of unlocking your current phone could be a simple trick, a quick call to the telco, a costly call to the telco (T-Mobile, for example, charge £15 to send you an unlock code once you are out of contract), a purchase of unlocking software (usually free to download an unlock application, then £10-100 to purchase an unlock code, plus you may need a cable to connect the phone to your PC), a technical bodge (e.g. jailbreaking then unlocking an iPhone) which could affect your warranty, or something that's simply not possible.

Kate_G

So I've read the article and am still not clear what my daughter (who's off to study in Canada for 8 months) should do about keeping in touch!
She's taking a netbook and will have access to tinternet as well as phone in her room (but we're informed it's for local calls only).
She has an unlocked Nokia phone (currently used with a £15 TMobile SIM-only 30 day contract).
Obviously she can skype us but I was trying to get my head round this Jahjah thing and have failed dismally to understand how it works!
Can anyone help? I'm going to be picking up the tab for her keeping in touch with us and (more costly I imagine) the boyfriend!

bargain_bagger

MDonovan wrote: »

All,

Just a word on Story Telecom - shown here as "the best deal" in global SIMs.

I got a global SIM from them upon the recommendations and glowing reviews from MSE.

I started to use it in a very basic handset. Nokia 2630 to be exact. I soon realized that I was not getting notified of:

1. Missed Calls
2. Messages left on Voice Mail

When I asked Story Customer Services about this I was told the Carrier could not guarantee that missed calls would be notified OR that I would be notified upon receiving voice mail.

All a bit useless really.

I ended the deal immediately. I was refunded what was left of my credit although most of my credit was me consulting voice mail to actually see if any messages had been left because I was not getting an SMS or other notification.

I'd avoid the Story Telecom deal.

I was thinking about buying this SIM for my upcoming Europe trip but if it doesn't notify you of missed calls or voicemails this is a huge flaw! I'm not planning to have my phone on me at all times so need to know when someone has tried to contact me when I go and check it. Do you think it depends what phone you have? i've got a nokia 2730 (cheap 3G phone).