Help. Lebara sim didn't arrive. Leaving today. Suggestions?
 

Help! I've been ordering, receiving and using a Lebara sim in my cell for years. But, as luck would have it, the sim didn't arrive in time. I leave today, arrive tomorrow morning. I'll be in Paris for exactly 30 days. The Lebara plan would have been great for the month. But, now I need an alternative. Since using Lebara for years, I haven't paid any attention to the plethora of cell service topics on the forum (and I just don't have the time this morning to do a search).

I arrive CDG terminal 2, is there a store in the airport where I could purchase a sim and a month long plan? What company might you suggest? If there's nothing at the airport, maybe something in my neighborhood? My apartment is in the lower 7th. I'm meeting the apartment owner at 11:30 tomorrow morning and would love to have my phone up and running just in case.

Thanks everyone!

I should have added that I'm looking for SMS, internet and calls to the US.

Again, thanks!

The 7th arrondissement is not exactly a market for Lebara products, since it aims for the immigrant market in France. If you go to a place like Gare du Nord, you will find at least 30 Lebara agents within three blocks along the Faubourg Saint Denis.

You can try the Relay store at the airport. They probably won't have Lebara, but will likely have SFR and Orange, maybe FREE (name of company, nothing to do with costs). Just buy one that you can top up; obviously don't sign up for a plan.

If you have time, Google the Orange Holiday Plan and see if it suits you. Print or take a screen shot, show it to the clerk at the Orange boutique so you'll get what you want with no trouble.

It has been my experience that the Relay stores at the airports or train stations are more likely to sell SIMs from companies such as Lycamobile or Lebara rather than those from Orange, SFR, FREE or Bouygues. You can purchase prepaid credits for just about any provider at airports but finding a SIM sold there will be a bit more challenging.

I don´t follow this topic closely but Lebara was very slow to give their customers access to 3G or faster data speeds on the networks they use. Lycamobile did offer 4G or LTE access with their accounts and might be a better overall choice than Lebara. Of course, faster data speeds are also dependent upon your mobile phone´s capability as 4G or LTE protocols in Europe are transmitted on different frequencies than those commonly used in the USA.

I believe that all of companies now offer prepaid, 30 day plans with various data maximums. IF you want your phone to be up and running upon your arrival, or shortly thereafter, and you use a SIM other than Lebara, which you apparently have used in the past, you might want to be prepared to modify your phone´s APN configurations to those required by a different operator. It´s not difficult to do, just keep in mind that it must be done before you can use the phone if you change providers.

If you have time before you leave go to a T-Mobile store and sign up for a month-by-month plan which you can cancel when you get back. You will get free texts, free low speed data, and 10cent/minute calla.

The T Mobile plan can be attractive to many users but there is a catch for anyone´s signing up for just one month; one´s international use may not be more than ½ of the total domestic use. If one were able to use it heavily domestically before departure, it might work out overall but T Mobile does not allow their plans to be used primarily internationally.

Really? I have never run into that. I was just out of the country for three and a half months with no issues, and I use the phone hardly at all in the US.

Really.

Have you read T-Mobile´s Terms & Conditions?

<i> you are not permitted to use your Device or the Service in a way that we determine:</i>

<i>Results in more than 50% of your voice and/or data usage being off-net (i.e., connected to another provider’s network) for any 3 billing cycles within any 12 month period;</i>

If you have been using your T Mobile account primarily out of the USA for 3 billing cycles, expect to be notified by T Mobile at any time now. I do know those who have had their accounts canceled and service terminated for this very reason.

If by chance you have SPRINT, then international data and roaming is free, with 10 cents per text and 20 cents per minute for phonecalls...worked great for us. Best wishes!

Another option is to buy a simcard from SFR in a bar tabac.
That is what I do.

If you only want T-Mobile for a month, who cares if they cancel you for foreign use?

"If you have been using your T Mobile account primarily out of the USA for 3 billing cycles, expect to be notified by T Mobile at any time now. I do know those who have had their accounts canceled and service terminated for this very reason."

I was out for longer last year, and not a word out of T-Mobile.

<<with 10 cents per text and 20 cents per minute for phonecalls.>>

For those of us who live in Europe, those rates are exhorbitant! I realize it's probably a decent or at least acceptable deal for travelers, but WOW!

I have never had a problem finding an Orange or SFR SIM at a Relay store at the airport. Lebara seems almost extinct by comparison, IME.

You can also buy pay-as-you-go SIMs at almost any supermarket around here, at the cash registers. If we can get them here, I would imagine it would be even easier in Paris.

I must agree with StCirq. Basically, calls to other continents are free with normal plans, so the idea of paying 10 cents per minute is pretty incredible.

<<If you only want T-Mobile for a month, who cares if they cancel you for foreign use?>>

What I have seen T-Mobile do is throttle offending accounts back to a 2G max download speed rendering their service almost unusable.

There are plenty of companies such as Lycamobile or Lebara or some other 3rd party entity selling SIMs at bargain basement pricing. There is really no need to sign up with T-Mobile or Sprint for a 1 month trip to Europe and risk not receiving what you planned on.

St. Cirq, keep in mind that the service itself is "free" if you already have a Sprint account. So no purchasing a SIM card, or no purchasing an expensive add-on from your phone provider.
Also, I think Lebara charges $25 for the card, then still charges 5 cents for each text and minute of phone call...so it does add up.

I never paid a cent for a Lebara card when I lived in the States and ordered them online. Maybe that's changed. What adds up is 10 cents and 20 cents a minute.

@Sarastro - my T-Mobile deal is unlimited low speed data when out of the country. I have never found that to be a problem, but then the majority of my usage is the maps app, I don't generally use my phone to download videos or for lengthy phone calls, and if I were going to I would wait until I had wifi.