Sarastro

Those not familiar with how SIMs function and have a general grasp of initiating service might not want to rely on Lebara as a mobile phone solution. While the process is itself simple, obstacles, such as not knowing if your phone is locked or not, may prove frustrating and make the process daunting. Lebara offers no support, no one will take you step by step through the process.

If you have questions, a better solution might be to visit a Phonehouse outlet when you arrive in France. Phonehouse is the largest, independent mobile phone outlet in France and while their solutions may or may not be a cost effective as Lebara, they make sure your phone operates as it should. Mobile phone service and SIMs have become a commodity and customer service offered by many low cost providers has become very rudimentary.

If you are not sure that your mobile phone is unlocked then it probably isn´t.

tdk320n

TOPPING

lavandula

Michele, I don't know how Call in Europe works (I don't live in N. America) - but frequently when you buy a phone with a SIM included the phone is locked to the provider of the SIM, and has to be 'unlocked' with a code if you want to use someone else's SIM (so for instance the phone + SIM package that you might get from an electronics store is fixed to only accept SIMs from that provider). You can go to most phone shops and get an unlocked phone, which means it comes without a SIM and you can put the SIM of your choice into them. It's quite possible that a phone with a Call in Europe SIM is locked to that provider (and again I stress that I don't know). If you know for sure your phone came unlocked then of course, it wouldn't suddenly be locked again.

Lavandula

lavandula

Oh, and what I forgot to mention - obviously the CIE phones provided are the right kind of phone to work on the European systems: usually a GSM phone, which is a different frequency to GSM in North America:

http://allworldcellphones.com/gsm-frequencies-list.htm

If you are buying an unlocked phone to use abroad, be sure to ask for an unlocked quad band phone, which will take you round the world.

Lavandula

xyz123

Good alternative to CIE, take a look if there are 3-kit cards still available on ebay. You get both a UK and USA number to receive calls throughout most of Western, Central and even parts of Eastern Europe (we're most concerned here with France of course(, and pay when I last checked nothing to receive calls that come in to you via the UK number and 19¢ per minute for calls that come in via the USA number. Calling from France to the USA is relatively cheap by roaming standards something like 48¢/minute with a 35¢ per call set up fee. These rates may have changed.

The eu is pushing hard to make all of Europe, or as much of it tht it wishes to control, one big non-roaming zone in the same way it happened in the USA 15 or so years ago and rates within the eu for most European sim cards have become cheaper and cheaper, so much so that I no longer both with French sims, I used my UK one to receive calls and pay rates constantly coming down. That is one of the reasons for the demise of so many of the roaming sim carriers over the past few years. The problem is calling from Europe to the USA or Canada. I can use certain British sim cards to call from Britain to North America for as little as 3p/minute but once I leave Britain, then we're taking £1/minute or more. Coming up with workarounds for this is the challenge and that's where lebara can come in but it is a pain to constantly change sim cards as you go from say France to Holland to Belgium or wherever.

Les_Pincu

I have been using Call in Europe for several years, and was quite upset today when I learned that they would be no longer offering their service. With family in France, it's helpful when I visit for me to have the same French phone number when I visit so that relatives can call me using local calls. I did check the web-site that the email gave, since they said the service would now be picked up by a local French company "Zero Forfait"

Here's what I can make of their rates:
They offer two plans:
1. Le compteur (metered service) and
2. Les Forfaits Libres (fixed charges)

The price of the first plan is 1.99 euros per month, and you pay per call at 0.10 euros per minute and 0.10 euros per text.
The second plan costs (at the lowest) 4.99 euros per month which gives you one hour of phone time and 50 sms texts.

I tried to verify my understnading with Call in europe, but nobody answered the US phone number today. I will try again, and if I don't get an answer I will call the French company and ask questions. My French isn't great, but I think I can make myself understood, and I will report back.

The reason I liked the plan I had so much is that I was billed AFTER I used the phone, so when in France, I never had to worry about running out of minutes, pre-paying, lossing minutes that would expire before I returned, etc. It seems that this new French plan charges your credit card AFTER usage too, so it might just work for me.

I also just looked up the rates on Lebara the review on them did not seem good. This sim card from Call from Europe and from Zero Forfait is a regular French SFR (red) sim card, which works everywhere, both in France and throughout Europe.

hetismij2

The easiest way to see if a phone is locked is to try another SIM - from your normal US mobile phone for instance, or that of a friend or family member, in it.

If it is locked you can't use the phone, if it is unlocked you can.

You can ask for it to be unlocked by the provider, or if you search online you will find plenty of reliable sits offering unlock codes for free or a small fee.
They also give you detailed instructions on how to unlock the phone. You do need to know the make and model number of your phone.

I unlocked my Internet Dongle using just such a site.

Check the rates for various providers of phone services. There are maximum charges allowed for EU providers. Non EU providers can charge a lot more.

kevin_widrow

Is it just me, or wasn't life a whole lot easier when you could just pop a quarter in a pay phone ?!?!

- Kevin

xyz123

Yes but Kevin you were never able to pop a quarter into a British pay phone and make it work or be able to call from one country to another.

The reality is there has been a revolution. Every 10 year old kid I see today on the bus has not jus a cell phone but a smartphone whether I'm riding the bus in New York or in London. The fact is, if you want to, it is easy to set it up so that somebody calling your hme phone number in New York will have the call instantaneously transferred to your mobile phone in Italy (I know some will say that who would want to when yu're on holiday) at very very low rates.

I know when I go on holiday whether it be in the USA or in Europe, I have my cell phone with me and marvel that I can be driving along the Santa Monica Freeway and have the cell phoe ring withsomebody calling my New York City number and not having to give out the numbers of all the hotels I will be staying at...also using an app on my smartphone, I can plug a cable into the auxiliary jack and be listening to WFAN and also have another apo going at the same time serving as a gps (somewhat more expensive of course outside the USA but the eu is also working on bringing data rates down)..

It's called progress.

AlessandraZoe

Les_Pincu--Like you, I have been unable to get in touch with CIE, and I so appreciate what you have outlined about the new arrangement.

And you illustrated exactly why we went with CIE for our study abroad student. For ourselves, it had nothing to do with a lack of techno or language ease. We already have Europe-ready GSM phones, we pop SIMS in and out all the time, and our study abroad daughter spoke fluent French, so we could easily have bought the local SIM.

But knowing that no matter where she was--Budapest or Barcelona or Prague--and no matter what the time--1 a.m. or 1 p.m., she would have endless minutes available to her was ideal. And that's the main reason (plus the services in English) I have been telling other study abroad parents that this might be the best way to go. I better revise my advice quickly.

Oh well, things change, sometimes for the worst but most times for the best, as xyz pointed out. Most of the Paris students renting from landlords who provided internet service as part of the rent (very common no matter what size and shape of apt) also ended up with free international land line calls (not Skype) as part of the deal. Five years ago, this would have been highly unusual.

Sarastro

<i>I also just looked up the rates on Lebara the review on them did not seem good.</i>

Did not seem good? Compare Lebara´s rates as of today with those of CIE:

Inbound calls: always free, all inbound calls
Calls to the USA: 0.01€ per minute, 0.15€ connection fee
Calls within France: 0.15€ per minute, 0.15€ connection fee
Calls to other Lebara users: free
SIM cost: free

Conceivably, a family could obtain two free Lebara SIMs, call one another while on vacation, and never pay anything.

Lebara´s SMS fees vary from 0.10€ (within France) to 0.15€ each (to the USA). Lebara does not offer data (3G).

_____

Another option for calling the USA; T-Mobile offers free VoIP (inbound and outbound) to subscribers using their new smartphones. As long as WiFi is available, your phone functions as though you were back home in the USA at no cost to you other than the usual minute consumption.

StuDudley

As Les_Pincu stated, CIE is going out of business in the US, so I doubt that anyone is answering phones there to tell me if my Motorola/CIE phone is unlocked or not.

I'll wait till my wife wakes up to find out where her US/AT&T phone is located so I can pop her AT&T SIM card into the Motorola/CIE phone. Does anyone know if this Motorola/CIE phone will work with a US AT&T SIM in the US - unlocked or not????? Also, on CIE's replacement service notification e-mail that they sent to us, they stated that they will send me a new SIM card, so this perhaps means that the CIE phone is unlocked - but perhaps that's assuming too much (I don't have a lot of trust in the CIE people).

It seems like the new CIE rates & hopefully the service is OK, so I'll order the CIE alternative & try that. I'll also order the Lebara SIM & try that (switching SIMs on the same phone). We have some experience dealing with French companies while in France & while at home in the US. It is something we don't look forward to and if Sarastro's assessment of Lebara's customer service is correct, then I don't hold out much hope.

We do have our AT&T unlocked phone and we could pop the Lebara SIM into it, but we like to keep our AT&T phone number available to the few people who know it and only call us for emergencies (my wife's 92 YO FIL).

Yep Kevin, things were simpler 10 years ago - but the French phone booths are vanishing.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

>>When the sim card comes, you can load the minutes on your phone on their web site.<<

blh
Can I do that from the US (with the Lebara SIM in use), or do I have to wait until I get to France. I'm assuming that the Lebra SIM won't work in the US - is that a correct assumption??

Stu Dudley

ParisAmsterdam

For those wondering if their phones provided by CiE can still be used... the answer is most likely yes. My Motorola from them is unlocked and I have used other SIMs in it.

Simply insert another SIM. If your other cell phone doesn't use one try a SIM from a friend's phone... it won't hurt it.

If you are not techy enough to try that stop in at a phone boutique in a mall. The nearest mall to where I live has boutiques or counters for at least 10 providers. The staff in these places spend half their time standing around doing noting... take your CiE phone in and ask if they can determine if the phone is unlocked or not. Most will be happy to help.

kerouac

LeBara shops are ubiquitous in the immigrant neighbourhoods of Paris. On my street, there are no fewer than six LeBara shops in a distance of two blocks (mostly run by Bangladeshis and Srilankans).

ParisAmsterdam

I've seen other comments about locking above... the thing to remember is there are always people who can unlock a phone for you. Look on Kijiji.com, Craigslist etc. Where I live it costs 20-50 dollars depending on the phone.

And if a phone is unlocked it can't mysteriously lock itself.
As I mentioned... my CiE phone is unlocked... your's probably are too. If unsure, check with another SIM or phone CiE... I have always found them helpful.

StuDudley

>>phone CiE... I have always found them helpful.<<

As stated above by several posters, they are going out of business in the US, and so far they are not answering their phone calls.

Stu Dudley

ParisAmsterdam

>>not answering their phone calls.<<

Too bad. They worked well for me but the market has changed
and their business model no longer makes much sense.

michele_d

Lavandula,
Thanks for your help. I will find another sim and try it in my CIE phone to see if it is unlocked. If not then I will start the process over.

StuDudley

OK
I popped my AT&T US SIM into my French CIE Phone and the CIE Motorola phone seems to be unlocked. I could access the address book on my AT&T SIM. However, I could not get service or make a call.

Stu Dudley