As of today, the Lebara.fr website does say that you must have a French residential address.

SS

The way it had been handled in years past was that the French SIMs, when they arrived in the States, had been mailed from Lebara in the UK. Sort of sneaky, but I got my SIMs.

Waiting anxiously to see if Wesleymarsh got his in the mail.

<i>Lebara.fr website does say that you must have a French residential address.</i>

French law requires users of French SIMs to provide an address in France when they register their SIMs. This has always been the case though it has not been diligently adhered to by providers.

Lebara is a UK company so their sending French SIMs from the UK is not particularly surprising.

Sarasto...

Is it possible to give a Paris address -- the apartment where we will stay -- as the French address, but still have them mailed to the US before we leave? (I couldn't tell from the website.)

SS

Yes, your Paris address works fine. Even if your Paris address is a hotel or rental apartment.

Much of the information in this thread is obsolete, particularly pricing structures. I do not have current information in reference to Lebara´s sending free SIMs to those who live outside of France. Lebara never had an official policy to do this, it was always a very informal practice that worked sometimes and sometimes it did not.

Generally, Lebara or Lycamobile SIMs are available at the Relay stores at CDG or in Paris. Typically, the SIMs sell for 10€ and give you 5€ of usage credit. Most companies offering pre-paid mobile services now include data along with voice. Plans vary constantly so those interested should review the web pages of the mobile companies in which they are interested.

A quick reminder about data: the user may need to adjust his phone´s APN settings to successfully receive data. The required settings are easily found on line and are not difficult to setup.

Also, generally 3G/4G/LTE protocols are transmitted on difference frequencies in Europe than they are in North America. Very few smartphones purchased in North America will function as well in France as they do at home. Most North American smart phones used in France will only receive data at 2G speeds. What confuses many users is that their phones may display the 3G/4G label but this indicates the network´s capability, it is not the speed at which their phone is actually downloading data.

On April 8 I ordered two Lebara SIM cards. I put two different combinations of our address, city, state, zip code, and Etats Unis on the Lebara address form. The SIM arrived today with:
My name
street number & name
zip code & California
France.

My city and Etats Unis were nowhere on the envelope with the SIM inside.

Stu Dudley

Thank you, Stu!

I had given up, as the web site seemed very clear that this could not happen. I'm going to the Lebara site as soon as I send this and give it a try. Just hope they get here before our departure on 17 May. If not it's no big deal as I'll just have to spend a few moments in a Tebac and a few more activating them.

Whoops, Stu, no workee. I did as you suggested and the web site defaulted to a screen saying, "Not possible, limit reached for this address". I suspect it had a record of me getting two SIMs last May?

:-(

Do you know your neighbors well??? Send it to them. I got 2 SIMS last year also.

I would think that using 3 lines for the address, and also the town/city - you should be able to make it different enough than you did last year's request, that you fool the computer.

Stu Dudley

Oh, you are a devious fellow, Stu. I like that in a man.

My second Lebara SIM arrived in the mail today. So, both SIMs I ordered found me in the US.

This address was
my name
street number and name
my city, my state, my zip
my zip, my city
France

Stu Dudley

I have received the free SIMS in the past without a problem. But last spring when I tried to order them again, I never got them. I tried using other addresses, etc., to no avail. When it was getting close to our trip date, I ordered a Lebara SIM from Amazon for $10. It came quickly, and I was able to load time on it on the Lebara website with an American credit card. It was well worth the $10 to have the SIM and get it loaded before we left on our trip.
We are going again in December, and I will try to get the free cards once again. But if all else fails, I will probably see if I can one off Amazon.

Stu,

Just to report that my first Lebara SIM arrived today. I used your sneaky address methodology, described two posts above, and it worked!

It was interesting that the envelope packet was stamped "Royal Mail", so it evidently was shipped from the U.K. as a way around French restrictions.

Now, if the second one arrives by Saturday, when I leave, I will be all set.

Thanks!

We activated our Lebara SIM on-line (with some wrastlin'). Then we added 10E worth of minutes. Then we called our landline. Everything worked fine!!

Got a confirming e-mail when we activated it - from Germany.

Stu Dudley

<i>It was interesting that the envelope packet was stamped "Royal Mail", so it evidently was shipped from the U.K. as a way around French restrictions. </i>

Lebara is a UK company so the fact that they mail from the UK is not earth shaking. Using a French SIM requires your registering, giving you name and a physical address in France. These are the only <i>restrictions</i> of which I am aware.

Except the French Lebara site has a restriction that will not allow them to send their SIMs to a Stateside address. I have tried
before with no success. Stu's ploy of putting "France" after the address worked. I realize that I will have to supply the required information in the actual registration process. At least I have one I can register from here in the U.S. and have a phone ready to go when I walk off the plane.

>> Stu's ploy of putting "France" after the address worked.<<

Actually, the "system" automatically put "France" in the address.

Stu Dudley

Lebara Mobile completely failed me, even though I had faithfully tried twice to get their Free SIM in a timely manner and had substantial email communications with two of their customer service representatives. One of the reps had a title, a Customer Relations Administrator, who wrote me and said she would personally send the SIM to my U.S. address.

I had planned for this SIM transaction at least six weeks in advance of my trip. I have no idea what went wrong, but I am now back from France and no SIM card ever arrived. As a result, on future trips to France, I will never seek to utilize the services of Lebara Mobile, and if anyone ever mentions Lebara in my presence, I will advise them to seek another SIM choice.

When Lebara states on their website, "Only available to customers with a French residential address.," American residents seeking Lebara's Free SIM offer need to take them seriously, no matter the success claims of other American customers. Getting Lebara's SIM delivered to a U.S. address is completely arbitrary. There is no clear yes or no, and for me, that is terrible customer service.

When Lebara Customer Service writes, "they do not guarantee International delivery," they mean it. However, it will never be clear whether they mean the SIM got lost in the mail or your order was never filled or completed because you submitted an address outside of France. Even if all seems well with your order, and you communicate with an actual human being who works in customer service, like I did, there is still no guarantee you'll ever receive their SIM.

If I can find the time, I will share more of the details in the coming weeks.

It turns out that my T-Mobile PrePaid SIM worked perfectly in my World Phone. The network connected automatically to Orange and all my in and out calls were crystal clear. I believe my outgoing phone calls were $1.49 a minute, but I did not care. I had plenty of carry-over credit from previous years, and still have a ton left. I was never on the phone for very long, and I had no problem calling locals or their calling me. However, I do not know what it cost a local to call me, but I do know they did not have to dial an international number when they did. All they had to do was dial my area code and seven-digit number and my cell phone rang in France. My phone worked the moment I turned it on after the plane landed. All was good in spite of my desire to try Lebara.

>> I do not know what it cost a local to call me, but I do know they did not have to dial an international number when they did. All they had to do was dial my area code and seven-digit number and my cell phone rang in France<<

Since you do not know what it cost them - how can you be sure that they did not incur international rates?? Did they dial a 001 before your area code?

We ordered two SIMs last year and received both. We ordered two this year, and received both. Nukesafe received his SIM also. Kinda "hit and miss". Since the SIM is free - it's worth a try, IMO. Rates are far lower than $1.49 a min - even to the US.

Stu Dudley

<i>Lebara Mobile completely failed me, </i>

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 <i>free</i> 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.