crellston

Any advice on where to source a Pay as you go micro sim card for an iPad. We will be house sitting in Trabuco near Malaga/ Granada for a few months.

Robert2533

You can buy one at any MoviStar or Vodafone store, but the iPad will need to be unlocked in order to work. I take it the house doesn't have WiFi.

ekscrunchy

Robert: Do you know if there is such a store at Barajas airport? Thank you.

Robert2533

Not at the airport. You can find a store once you arrive in Malaga, if that is were you are flying into. You will need your passport.

CathyM

The only place I've been successful in purchasing a micro sim card for my (unlocked)ipad is at El Cortes Ingles. I've attached a link to my post on TA - granted my original experience was last September. I tried several places and was told it was not possible to purchase a micro sim card for an ipad (along with various other stories). But within the El Cortes Ingles store at the Orange counter I had luck. I was also successful getting my micro sim card reactivated in March also at El Cortes Ingles.

There may be other places you can purchase but this has been my experience. I'm returning next month so I'll check out MoviStar and Vodafone and perhaps I'll have luck this time!



http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...ain-Spain.html

ekscrunchy

Cathy, thanks so much for that info. The price for the one month of use (35e) does sound high, though, but perhaps it has come down a bit since then.

How does the price for the SIM card compare with the AT&T price for a month of service? (Please forgive what might be obvious..I am a new iPad owner and have not yet traveled with the device, but am hoping to take it with me to Europe this fall..)

CathyM

The 35 euro price is much less than it would cost if you were going to use the AT&T plan (AT&T is my carrier) - unless you were going to only use very minimally. I like that I don't have to worry about data usage with the unlimited usage of the micro sim from El Cortes ingles. Vodaphone and MoviStar may be less expensive. If Robert2533 says they offer a micro-sim he is a good authority - so I will check it out for myself next month! I'll post my experience on TA and Fodors.

Robert2533

We've gone to just using the data program offered by AT&T. It's a little more expensive, but far less trouble. We've had too many times that Vodafone hasn't worked after a couple of days. MoviStar works a little better, but overall, AT&T has been better, especially when traveling around ( Spain, Portugal and France).

crellston

Many thanks for the information. I guess I will just have to search for a solution on the ground. El Cortes Ingles seems a good place to start €35 for unlimited usage seems a pretty good deal. Hopefully they will have a store in Malaga or Granada . I am also hoping that Movistar or Vodafone will have a store at the airport on arrival, but that seems too much to hope for! Unfortunately the house we are staying at doesn't have wifi so an unlimited usage card seems very attractive.

I will report back on my experiences, but thanks once again for your advice.

Spin2Win

I just returned from Spain, and learned a few things. My iPad, bought in Canada, was not locked. I'd heard that they were not locked, and this was confirmed.

I picked up a SIM card for E2.00 at a Movistar shop in Madrid. It seemed like between Vodacom and Movistar, there stores were on every block in the cities.

Once I had the card, I had to charge it. E1.90/day for unlimited data at the max 3G speed, or E2.90/week for 100MB at max speed, then a lower speed when we exceded the 100MB. I went for the 1 week, 100MB deal, but had to prepay on a machine that only took E5.00 bills.

However, on my third day, when browsing, a message popped up that I needed to recharge my card. It seems it was never set up properly to do the weekly deal, and was consuming my E5.00 at E1.90/day.

I recharged at a Tabac shop (E10.00 minimum), and found a Movistar shop. The clerk explained what had happened, and "fixed" my plan. However 5 days later - on the way to the airport - the recharge notice popped up again.

I suspect that you cannot get the E3.00 weekly plan for some reason. If you want it, ensure you have it when you buy the card. Otherwise, it worked great in Spain.

Robert2533

Good to know, but if you are staying longer, you can purchase a regular pay-as-you-go plan from MoviStar which you can recharge when you reach your limit. I have a modem for my Mac Air, but seldom need it. And I've had the same MoviStar mobile phone service (currently in my old iPhone) for over 12 years, recharging as needed.

CathyM

Timely posting. I also have an update: when I went to the Orange booth at El Cortes Ingles in March they told me they don't offer the pay as you go micro sim plan. I'd had no problems before - twice in Bilbao and once in Valencia. So either the policy has changed or the person didn't know about this plan. I'll be back in September so will try the alternatives with Moviestar.

crellston

I got fed up with the Orange Sim I originally bought in El Cortes recharging it was nigh on impossible as Orange employees didnt seem to have a clue about the price plan i had bought. in frustration I switched to a " Yoigo" micro sim. They have shops all over the place and seem to use the Movistar network mostly but others as well. The SIM card cost €8 inc 500mb of data which lasts one month. Top ups within the month cost €5 for 300mb the next month back to €8 for 500 mb. I recharged with €25 and this lasted 4 months and was still going when we left ( not entirely sure why?) . It seemed like a good deal and I was not particularly frugal with the usage. Highly recommeded.

scrb11

Yeah Spain's prepaid options aren't as attractive as the ones in the UK or Italy.

I'd be curious about the 1.90 Euro plan whether you can tether or use it with the "Personal Hot Spot" feature on the iPad.

Since the data is unlimited, if you can use it at the hotel by using the connection with several devices, it might be easier to justify.

Because otherwise, you're not going to be able to consume a lot of data on a phone or iPad with the unlimited plan.