grandmere

Ok, here we go again, but I need some help. I have never bought a SIM card in France but plan to buy an Orange the day my teenage granddaughter and I arrive in Paris. We leave the next day for a week in ISLS. Question: will the transaction at the Orange store (either blvd. St-Michel or St-Germain) "most likely" not take up a lot of time? With such a short time in Paris I hate to spend over an hour waiting in line to buy a SIM. The alternative would be just to get the AT&T international plan here at home, but calls are still expensive, and I know I will be making calls within France for cabs, restaurants, etc., since we are staying in an apt., not a hotel in L'Isle.
Any experiences at Orange stores in Paris?
Thank so much for revisiting the cell phone question yet again!

Andrew

I doubt it will take an hour. But depending on the exact phone, it may take longer to set up. Last year, when I bought SIM cards in Montenegro and Bosnia, my phone's data did not automatically work and it took the agent some time to set up the phone - maybe 10 minutes just for that. But it was an older phone. If your granddaughter's phone is a new phone it may be easier.

Just make sure the phone works completely - voice and data - before leaving the store.

If you want to save money on phone calls, look into the Google Hangouts Dialer app: FREE phone calls home to the US (even landlines) and cheap calls within Europe (you have to buy credit like $10 at once I think). You can use Hangouts Dialer on WiFi and not have any SIM card or international plan and still make calls. I used Hangouts Dialer numerous times to make long calls home from Europe to the US for free; quality was generally good (occasionally I'd fade out and have to repeat myself but rarely). I think Google charges 6 cents/minute for calls to France.

grandmere

Thanks so much; my iPhone is a new one, 6S, so maybe it won't be too involved to get it set up.
And also thanks for the advice for making sure it works before I leave the store!

Andrew

Not sure if iPhones are locked, but that's one more thing to make sure of before you go! Someone else here can probably chime in or you can check with AT&T.

grandmere

Since I bought it at Apple, not at AT&T, Apple says it is unlocked. Thanks for the reminder.

Leyden

We bought a SIM card in Paris at the Orange store across the street from the ST. Paul Metro station last winter. In the middle of the afternoon, there were few customers in the store so we did not wait long. They were very helpful -- installed the card and checked it out for us.

grandmere

Thanks; hope my experience goes as smoothly!

fuzzbucket

It depends on the time of day you go to the store. I'd advise not attempting to go when the store opens, or from noon until 14h, and again just before closing time.

The agents will install your SIM, unlock it and check to make certain it works before you leave the store.

The problems arise when people haven't done research into the plans they want - Mobicarte, etc. You can check out the available plans online before you visit the store.

ParisAmsterdam

I bought an Orange SIM in Reims last summer. There was a maitre'd type person near the entrance who took our particulars. We waited for 20 minutes or so. Once we sat down with the clerk it took maybe 5 minutes for him to set up the SIM, collect payment and send us on our way.

grandmere

Thanks, all; great advice, duly noted! Scant days until I give this a try!

imaginaryjazz

Will there not be a phone in the apartment? Every place we've rented over the years has had broadband phone/internet/TV service, with free calls to most countries including the USA. You might not need a Euro mobile at all, and can sign up for the AT&T International plan as a backup.

We usually add international service to our phones that covers only the time we'll be traveling; we're billed a few dollars for the added "service" and then 99¢ a minute if we make a call. We rarely use the phone when traveling for voice transmissions anyway; texting is the way to go.

Andrew

It's always nice to have a mobile phone with you these days, even if just for the data. I'll never use a paper map again to navigate in Europe if I can help it - Google Maps on a phone saved me an enormous amount of time on my last trip finding my way around. If you can get a local SIM cheaply, why not?

And with free/cheap calls with Google Hangouts, I can't imagine needing to pay 99 cents/minute for calls anywhere anymore.

grandmere

No, apartment does not have a phone; we experienced same thing 2 years ago. I guess most people assume that everyone has cell phones today. And if we are out and need a taxi from a train station, eg, I need to have a phone. Not having a car this trip so depending upon public transportation.

I know that in the past we had free calling from the landline phones in the rentals but seems like that's changing.

imaginaryjazz

Interesting, grandmere -- I thought most places had the phone service as part of a package deal including internet and television. I guess some folks don't bundle them all together! Like us at home -- phone and internet, but no television service except over-the-air.

On one of our first trips, we stopped in an Orange store and got a basic phone with service; I think we bought a plan that gave us a certain number of minutes over a 30-day period, or maybe 6 months. We never did figure out how to complete a call successfully; good thing we didn't actually need to. Still have the phone.

grandmere

Buying the Orange Holiday Europe SIM card for 39 euros was easily accomplished, and it worked well for me. I was glad to have it as I did use for taxis, calling apartment owner, French friends, etc. We used Viber for communicating with family back home.

However, the day after I bought the SIM card, I had a strange charge on my credit card, mentioning something about an iPhone; I stopped back in Orange the next morning, and they said it had nothing to do with them. It was for 32 euros; I will look into this further when I get my cc bill in a few days.

We had tv and internet in the apartment in L'Isle, but there was no landline phone.

Andrew

Glad to hear you were able to get the SIM for your phone. But 39 Euros sounds quite expensive to me, unless it were for a lot of credit over more than a month's use. By comparison, when I visited Bosnia and Montenegro last year, I bought a SIM in each country: about $3 USD for the SIM in Bosnia and 5 Euros for the one in Montenegro (data only). Yes, I know things are more expensive in France in general, but I'd skip the SIM for 39 Euros myself or look for something a lot cheaper.

StCirq

The Orange Holiday package IS expensive. There are other, cheaper options, such as

http://boutique.orange.fr/mobile/car...1&ploc=9055476

But it seems the OP was happy with the package and accomplished what she needed to.

And apart from Orange, there are cheaper options with SFR, Bouyges, FREE, and others.

But what the OP chose may just be the simplest deal for travelers in France for short periods.

Andrew

I'm not saying the OP made a poor choice - but, remember, another choice was the AT&T international plan. Would that really have cost 39 Euros for a short period of use and a few phone calls? Not so sure.

Many travelers who are making this same kind of choice ("Should I get a local SIM or use my carrier's international plan or live with WiFI?") will read threads like this, and that's why I wanted to point out that 39 Euros for a local SIM for short-term use is probably on the expensive end of the scale for buying a local SIM.

A local SIM does have one benefit: a local number that locals can text or phone you on. They may balk at calling a USA phone number to confirm a hotel reservation or something. Not everyone needs this, though.

grandmere

Probably was on expensive end, but as someone said, it worked for me, and simple was the operative word of the day!

Alec

Many phone operators have a SIM package targeted at overseas visitors, with a trade-off of simplicity (esp if you aren't fluent in the local language) over value for money. Within EU, with abolishment of roaming charges next year and with many contracts that allow cheap or free use throughout EU, such a packaged deal is only for non-EU visitors. As stated, often getting a basic local SIM deal with data add-on works out cheaper, though France is generally an expensive country for pay-as-you-go mobile use.