travelgourmet

<i>I am not apposed to popping out and popping in a European sim. Recommendations where to get such a nifty tool?</i>

A sim removal tool should have come with the iPad. Otherwise a thin paper clip will work.

The sim card slot is on the side of the iPad and has a small hole. Put the tool/paperclip into the hole and press down. The sim tray will pop out. Replace the sim with a new sim and push it back in. Voila.

Unless you feel like cutting down a regular sim card, be sure to buy a micro-sim. If you tell the clerk it is for an iPad, I'm sure they will give you the right one.

I am not overly familiar with the Spanish providers, but I believe Vodaphone, Movistar, and Orange are all pretty big. I would think that all would have micro-sims.

Confetti

Italy iPad sims answer
I am now in my room in Florence on my iPad. First off those saying wifi is everywhere are just not informed. Yes wifi is everywhere, but like home also locked. My hotel offer for a price, but so what. I want went I am out and about. I heard of tre.it that offers a sim for 5euro for 3 gig. But before we found the shop we found a TIM shop. To date, I have not seen a tre.it shop, but have stumble upon at least 8 Tim shops. A few vodaphones. Anyway, the Tim shops offer 5 gigs for 19 euro, and 1 gig for 9 euro. I got the 9 euro. Charged me 10 euro for the sim. Just popped the sim in, entered the unlocked sim pw and we have been surfing everywhere. Well so far all over Rome, Florence and on the train ride up. This iPad is a travelers delight. Maps, Skype, Internet, just an amazing device.

Confetti

Also, been on my Tim plan for 7 day. Have 2kid plus wife and me. Facebook, skype, lots of internet, ok lots of use, but the ipa is a drug. So far 189 sent, 490 received. Total about 700 mb. The ATT plan would cost $200 for 200 mb. A joke. Will be in Paris next week, will update what I find there if I can

Curiousaboutit

Okay group.. Who has been able to purchase the SIM card which is compatible with the iPad ...specifically in Madrid?

nukesafe

Just an informational note; my wife has had her iPad2 for a week or so and loves the thing. One problem is that she bought the unit that is configured for Verizon, not AT&T, since it is our home service for our cell phones. These machines do not have a slot for a SIM card.

There goes our hope of using less expensive European data plans. I'm not even sure there is a Verizon data plan available for Europe for the Verizon iPad2, so we will be looking for WiFi spots a LOT!

Sigh -----

scrb11

Yes as noted, iPad is unlocked while the iPHone is not, meaning you can put in any SIM in the iPad.

The plans in Italy are competitive but the ones in France and Spain don't appear to be so. I was in Barcelona 3 weeks ago and I have a 3G modem for my MacBook Pro. Had poor Wifi but I couldn't see getting one of the Spanish SIM options.

This site has some information comparing Spanish plans:

http://prepaid-wireless-internet-acc.../Spain+-+Yoigo

You may also look at the forums on prepaidgsm.net.

Some countries will require passports and other personal info, especially Italy which requires a codice fiscale number.

Another option would be a service in the US which will rent you mobile Internet access options. One is iphonetrip.com, which offers you a SIM that you can swap between iPhone and iPad which will give you data overseas. It's about $15 a day and you can use it in multiple countries. But it's only good for one device at a time.

Another option is Xcom Global, which will rent you a Mifi device which will feed several devices via Wifi. That appears to use local SIMs so it becomes more expensive the more countries you use it in during a trip. That's about the same price.

Other option is that USB 3G modems could be had on eBay for about $50 and also they're widely available in Europe (make sure they're unlocked though). But the USB modems only work on computers and on Macs, like MacBook Pros, you can use the connection form the 3G modem to share on the Wifi of the computer, so you can get online with the MacBook Pro and any iPad and iPhone and iPod Touch you may have.

Curiousaboutit

I am jumping with excitement one moment after reading your reportings on how easy it is to get a SIM for the iPad at a TIM shop in Madrid and after a lengthy call with ATT everything is dashed. .
ATT unequivocally insisted that the iPad "IS LOCKED." They check the IMEI numbers and reiterated LOCKED.
I then called Apple Store I go to for "one-to-one" classes on learning unique stuff and THEY said.."ATT is nuts, of course the iPad is UNLOCKED!!"
Whew, what a royal run around. I am feeling challenged.
1-do I get the regular ATT USA $15 data plan because it will unlock the iPad to accept an International data SIM?
2-do I not waste my $15 dollars and go straight to finding a TIM shop hoping the iPad will surf?
3-do I get the $15 dollar ATT USA data plan and the ATT International data plan which cost $60 for 50MG; which they say might be good enough for 200-300 web site visits (not including iTunes or movies).
This is beginning to sound so over blown for a tiny event .. ah.. what can I do but ask for your added ideas and votes of confidence.
Big Thanks in advance.

travelgourmet

<i>1-do I get the regular ATT USA $15 data plan because it will unlock the iPad to accept an International data SIM?
2-do I not waste my $15 dollars and go straight to finding a TIM shop hoping the iPad will surf?
3-do I get the $15 dollar ATT USA data plan and the ATT International data plan which cost $60 for 50MG; which they say might be good enough for 200-300 web site visits (not including iTunes or movies).</i>

#1 does nothing for you; the iPad is unlocked and activating the AT&T plan neither helps nor hurts. #2 should work without an issue. #3 is your call; 50mb is not a lot of volume, but could work for a week of light surfing and email checking and does save the hassle of having to deal with it on vacation.

uhoh_busted

I'm reading with great interest as I will be you come September...will get my IPad2 for Mothers' Day.

I believe you can get the $15 dollar ATT USA data plan for one month. Then not renew it. When you are in Europe, you can get a micro-sim card from TIM (in Italy that plan is highly recommended) or Orange (in France, they seem to be everywhere) to use on a Pay as you go plan.

This is a website where TIMs plans are explained clearly - I bookmarked it a week or so ago. I believe you can check out data plans (or phone plans...they do differentiate between data plans for smart phones and data plans for iPads and other tablets.) http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/italia/tim.html

Don't be afraid to use Apple help user forums for iPad...they are usually pretty good about getting the clear picture of what works and what doesn't.

Saraho

I'm going to be in the UK next month. Where can I get a sim for my IPad2? Has anyone gotten one in the UK?

DinPa

You can buy an ipad 2 sim card from the following
http://www.maxroam.com/Home.aspx?cur=EUR
I just paid 35 Euro for 50 mb of data for my ipad. The sim card is good for all of Europe, so you don't need to get a different one for each country you enter.

scrb11

50 MB for 35 Euro? Not a great deal. That will last a couple of days of browsing and you could use that up in one session with a couple of downloads.


TIM is Italian so you can't get that in Madrid. Probably Telefonica shops that sell Movil. Or phoneshop.es.

Curiousaboutit

Thank you Scrb11 for the Madrid shop information.
We are staying near the Gran Via 28 where the Telefonica's shop is located..easy. Thanks again.

Confetti

In Paris for a few days only. Stopped by an orange store. They had a few plans , but you seem to need a bank acct that they automatically deduct from. RIM # the clerk asked for. Since even if I had my US acct handy, I'm guessing it would not work. Did 't try. Plan were $8 euro for 200 mb, and I think 23euro for 1 gig. Anyway , they do have only 1 prepaid plan. $8 euro for unlimited, BUT for 1 day. So, for 1 week it is 56 euro. Key here is unlimited. Same set up as TIM in italy. Pop in the sim, enter the pw (which is the same.... 0000)' and off you go. Note on McDonald. They have free wifi. Here in Paris, it is a snap. In Italy, it is offered, but we could not access, as they ask for your phone #, to access to send you a SMS message with the pw, but we couln not figure out how to configure the phone # .

mjknycmjk

We will be flying into Switzerland this weekend, and immediately hopping on a train to Salzburg. We will be splitting vacation time between Germany and Austria. Will a SIM card that we buy in Switzerland airport for the ipad 2 work in Germany and Austria? Do we need to wait until we get to Salzburg? Would an austrian card also work in Germany?

Does anyone have any info? Thanks!

travelgourmet

As long as roaming is enabled, you should be able to use the Swiss or Austrian card abroad. It will, however, be expensive. Probably prohibitively expensive.

Mary_Manos

Hello, same questions, different country. We'll be going to Greece in August and I would like to get a SIM card for my iPad. I read that they closed the Germanos (Cosmote) kiosk in the arrivals terminal at the airport (but kept open one in departures), so I won't be able to buy one there. We're traveling directly to an island so I was hoping to pre-purchase a Vodafone SIM card for Greece prior to our trip.

Can anyone recommend a location or website in the US that sells these? I found a Cosmote one, but looking at the coverage map, it seems I might be better off with Vodafone.

Thank you in advance!

kat12

I asked the same question on the Apple forum. I just googled it and there are websites, but I don't have any firsthand experience with them. You might try posting your question on the Apple forum too. Good luck. I loved having my ipad with me in Italy.

bc98

The iPad is definitely not SIM locked (like the iPhone is), I've used it in many countries by purchasing local SIM cards.

A good site to find iPad data plan providers when traveling is http://ipadsimcards.com. Would recommend first finding providers with the cheapest pay as you go plans and then either find them at the airport or Googling their stores in the city center ahead of time. There are tons of stores everywhere, like any other city.

Realize this thread is a bit old but thought this would be a good resource for others looking for the same info on their trip.

CathyM

This thread may help specifically for Spain:


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


I was able to buy a micro sim card in Bilbao but only at El Cortes Ingles - tried several other places and was told it wasn't possible. (Won't say this is the only place to purchase but it's the only thing that worked for me).

I paid the 35 euros for one month unlimited. Although I only used it for 17 days it was still more economical than the daily rate of 3 euro per day.

By the way, this was the first trip (I travel to Spain twice a year) with my ipad and iphone and I don't know how I traveled without it!