kirmic

Hello everyone,

I am going to France for a month.
Is it possible to order a Lebara SIM card from the USA and to get it before coming to France?
Thank you !

StuDudley

We did that last year. You will need to "play around" with your US address to try to "trick" their "system" into thinking the address is in France. We actually submitted 2 requests last year with different places to put California, USA, zip, etc. We received both SIMs successfully. But that doesn't mean it will work OK this year.

Stu Dudley

Sarastro

This has worked in the past but Lebara has never officially recognized sending French sims to individuals not living in France. If you should receive one, Lebara offers no support until you are actually in France and have complied with French sim registration laws.

StuDudley

What "support" does one need from Lebara? We've used Lebara SIMs for each of the last 3 years for our 1 month June trip & our 1 month Sept trip, & never needed any "support". This year we are trying to keep last year's SIM "alive" so we can use the same SIM phone number. We've had to pay a "wasted" 30E "top-up", and then made a call from our Lebara SIM to our US land line to "register" a call. That seems to have kept it alive/active so far - but "who knows" if it will be operating this June for our trip.

Stu Dudley

Sarastro

<i>What "support" does one need from Lebara? </i>


Indeed, one would not think this to be an issue but never underestimate another´s complete inability to grasp the obvious. I didn´t find it but there was a post by a lady who had received a free SIM, mailed to her in the USA, and was incensed that she could not get it to work. She wrote all kinds of nasty comments about Lebara, and about me as well when I pointed out that she hadn´t paid for anything in the first place.


The trick to keeping a SIM going is in recharging it. I kept a Lebara SIM active for several years until the credit card I was using for automatic recarges was reissued and Lebara would not accept payment from my new card or any other I attempted to use.

Robert2533

I'd tell you to kiss it off and go with T-Mobile, but that's just me.

ssander

We successfully ordered Lebara chips last year...it was, indeed, a little tricky online. Someone told me to spell Pennsylvania "Pennsylvanie" (the French spelling) and not enter USA as the country. They said the postal workers would know it should go to USA.

Whether or not that was the reason we were successful, I cannot say...but we got the chips...and they arrived very quickly...not much more than a week later.

I will also emphasize what has been said earlier... that if you do not use them they expire...not sure how many days.

You have to put them in the phones, go online, activate them and add cash -- I did this through PayPal.

When they arrived and were activated and loaded with 10€, they worked perfectly in our "test" calls here in the USA. Mine worked perfectly in France, but my wife's expired before we left the USA -- I forgot to do a second test call with her chip between the time we ordered them and the time we left.

With her, we used a GiffGaff chip (UK) that we had from an earlier trip to London. She doesn't use her phone much when we travel (I make most calls), so the rates in Paris, though more than Lebara's, were not a problem...and still cheaper than our US carrier would have charged.

We are going to Paris again this spring, and I will get another Labara chip next month for me...I'll keep everyone posted on how successful I am. (But I will take our two GiffGaff chips that still have money for my wife's phone.)

ssander

swandav2000

Hi kirmic,

I met an old friend in Paris when I was there last November, and I got a Lebara sim sent to her USA address -- that part went fine.

She got the card, activated it, and loaded it with €.

But once in Paris, she could not use it. We had to go to L'Atelier des Smartphones (the one on rue Saint Antoine) two times to try to fix it. They did at least get it to the point of calling, but we could never, ever get the texting or data to work. It was a pia.

BTW, L'Atelier des Smartphones were terrific to us -- they helped us all they could, and they didn't charge us a thing for either visit. If anyone knows where I could write a review for a business, I'd love to hear.

Anyway -- it may be worthwhile to get something where you can get support if you need it --

Have fun as you plan!

s

wesleymarsh

It is my civic duty to warn anyone who asks about Lebara. You can read about my personal experience here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rom-the-us.cfm

I will never attempt to use their service again.

Sarastro

wesleymarsh - Please allow me to repeat here what I wrote in the thread for which you provide a link.

_____

Let´s see if I have understood correctly:

1. You are fully aware that Lebara, stated in writing, only sends SIMs to addresses in France.

2. Lebara did not send you a free SIM to the USA even though you asked for one.

I am sure that we all share your dismay at this shockingly horrible treatment that you received from Lebara.

AJPeabody

The bottom line: Lebara is free, so if it works, fine, and if it doesn't, no loss.

wesleymarsh

Sarastro, I don't allow you to repeat your nonsense because you refuse to understand the facts correctly. You've proven my point more than once. Please ignore my posts. I don't appreciate the game you play.

>>Lebara is free<<

The SIM card is free if you can get it, the minutes are not. The time it takes to deal with this issue is not free either.

StCirq

Back in the day when I was ordering free Lebaras to be delivered to me in the USA it never took more than 3 minutes to get it registered and activated. It wasn't rocket science.

But now that they apparently don't send cards to the USA, this is all irrelevant. Knock yourself out if you want to spend a small fortune for cell phone activity, but there are plenty of options here in France that are plenty simple to work out. And way cheaper than the one you have chosen to opt for.

Sarastro

wesleymarsh, here is how it works; you post a comment and everyone, including myself, is free to respond. If you want your posts ignored, you are free to use some other forum.

topeater

StCirq and any others with knowledge....

Could you please elaborate on other methods that are cheaper? We will be in France for 3 weeks in May and a few days in Amsterdam. Coming from the US and have iPhones.

wesleymarsh

Sarastro, I'm not a child who needs a lecture on bad forum behavior. I know how forums work, and you are downright rude and obnoxious. I never asked Lebara to send me a free SIM to my U.S. address, so I don't appreciate your continual desire to promote and foster a lie. You're either bull-headed or you work for Lebara. Either way, I'm asking you to ignore my posts. Thank you.

ssander

Ahhh...let's get back to the topic.

Does anyone know for sure how many days idle with a Lebara chip will render it deactivated? 90?

I'm going to Paris in the spring. I don't want to get it too soon, because keeping it active in the US uses up money (I guess it's serious roaming). I would prefer to only make one test call here..as soon as I get it working and with funds.

On the other hand, I don't want to get it too close to departure time, because it can take time to receive it, ...plus I might have to try more than once to get the SIM.

ssander

kirmic

Thank you all for such detailed INFO.

All the Best!

Sarastro

The amount of time a SIM will remain active and usable is often commensurate with the euro value with which it was last charged. For Lebara, expect validity to extend 90 day from the last paid recharge. If you are using a Lebara SIM you received for free, I would not activate it until just before leaving, (not more than few days at most).

There are some companies which now, for a higher fee, will guarantee a SIM working for a longer period, inactivity for up to months at a time. SIMs of this type of generally available from 3rd party (possibly 4th party) resellers. Costs are significantly higher than are prices from companies such as Lycamobile or Lebara.

The following companies offer SIMs which remain usable for a period of one year or longer:

https://www.securelmobile.fr/espacec...008_Login.aspx
http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/

Robert2533

If you're from the States, why not try T-Mobile? We use the service both and home and when traveling, and with excellence coverage. We just spent a month in Spain, using data, email and voice daily at little or no additional cost (data). It only makes SEN$E.

If you have an iPhone 6 or later, then T-Mobile will allow you to call for free when in a Wi-Fi zone.