SIM card for all of the EU?
 

Ideally I would like to purchase just one SIM card for my cellular capable iPad and have it function in as many EU countries as possible. I'm coming over to ride for several months and want to avoid the hassle of sourcing and activating a diffent SIM card every time we leave a country.
Does such a thing exist?

Google Project Fi is a possibility and many users report it is fantastic. Some like me who wander further afield have found it a total waste of time, effort and money.

https://productforums.google.com/for...0/75UYRsDvHAAJ

Thanks Tony. The user experiences seem to be all over the map. Pretty buggy...
One of its main carriers in the US (I'm Canadian) is T Mobile. I have one of their sims now and their coverage is hit and miss.
I'll do some more research but thanks for the heads up.
S.

Just done a google search. Seems to be a bit expensive but have a look

Europe SIM Card | European Data | GO SIM

Europe Sim Card | Travel Sim Card Europe | Telestial

International SIM Card for Europe, Asia, 200 Global Countries

https://www.simcorner.com/world-sim.html

It might work out cheaper to buy local

Wayne

I was just chatting with T-M today. Current ATT customer. Looking to solve the same problem for myself. Sure "seems" like their Simple Choice (International) plan would be a good solution, but I have no idea what T-M's coverage is like - or at least if its close to the coverage map they advertise :) - in EU/UK...

Whatever you do, DON'T get an Orange France sim... unbelievably appalling service!!
Read all about it here

It was cheaper for me to use roaming from UK Vodafone than use Orange France

I'm on Vodafone Germany, I've no idea how easy / hard it might be for someone from overseas to get a SIM from them but for 5 Euros a month on top of my usual price I can roam anywhere in Europe with unlimited data and voice.

I took the plunge and went Google Fi. I needed a phone anyway. The account has to be set up and initialized in the US. Price is good (I'm Canadian where we get totally ripped off on cell costs!). Heading for Eastern Europe in a week so will report back.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

We are heading for Germany next week and then to Denmark and Iceland so I'll be interested to see if Fi has fixed it all up since my dismal experience in South America

Heading into Turkey on Wednesday
 

And then up to Estonia and through Scanlandia back to UK. I'll let you know. I am planning to go to southern Africa (shipping from UK) afterwards so I wanted a true global solution.
It is all or nothing though. If you remove Fi SIM card for a local one, the Fi can only be reactivated from within the US! Hope it works like they say it does.
Stay tuned.
Steve

If you are in Germany, get a MeinOrtel SIM card with the 'flex' package (or something like that?). I don't recall exactly. 300 minutes to any European country from any European country, plus I think a few gigs of data? I can't recall about texts, but I sent them all the time and they weren't expensive. 20 euro per month for the package, you can top-up online. It's what I used.

Not my experience. But maybe because I paused rather than cancelled. I paused and reactivated Fi a couple of times in South America, then activated it again as we left hoping it would work on the way to Australia. It didn't work in Canada or Australia so I paused it again in Oz and bought a local SIM. When it automatically un-paused itself after several weeks I tried it again (and it worked) but because I still had the local SIM, I immediately paused it again. Now back unpaused (by me on-line) and as soon as the local sim expires in 2 days I'll put the Fi SIM back in and head off to Europe hoping it works.
So I think you can pause and unpause as often as you like where you like.

AND if it doesn't work as advertised, write to support and ask for a refund of the fixed fee for any time it doesn't work when it should

Actually I read thT in the fine print. I have t actually tried it. I'm in Canada at the moment and it's working fine. I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

I'm fairly sure the EU just passed laws limiting the cost of "roaming" within the EU. it might be that you can grab any old sim and go for it.

U.S. T mobile in Europe
 

Hi Steve, I've been using a US T Mobile SIM all summer in Europe. It has worked well and has been fairly inexpensive. The data was upgraded to 4G (where available) . That said, I do have to manually hunt down the best network for data.Phone calls are US .20 a minute. usually I dont get fast data but it is generally enough to use Google map or get my email.

Thanks...
 

I'm hoping for a more global solution. (T Mobile coverage in Canada is "less than stellar".
I have a T M data sim in my iPad. The best part about the TM sim is that they don't let you quit. I stopped paying the monthly over a year ago and each month since then I have been "gifted" another 200 mg which is enough to pick up my email from time to time. I guess they like to pad their stats.

I found "interesting" that Orange France charges the user for SMS they sent themselve and that they cost even more when out of the country. I am extremely surprised though that the dude couldn't be served in English at all.

You can buy an Estonian prepaid SIM (at any gas station or supermarket info desk, no registration or ID needed) and it will roam in the EU and elsewhere. Just need to put some money on it.

This one is 4G and runs on the Telia network, best one in the country and around Scandinavia. Others are available, and prices are very cheap.

In terms of EU limiting the roaming costs, yes, they are very cheap this year and will become free (i.e. domestic pricing all around the EU) from June of 2017.

After 15 June 2017 the costs of using a phone/data in any EU country are the same, as long as you have an EU SIM.

Mobile roaming costs - Your Europe

Brits please note, tough luck after Brexit, suckers.

Google Fi...
 

If you need a phone as well and you are American or have access to the US to set up and activate an account there, check out Google Fi Project.

Google has purchased blocks of time and data in 143+ countries and repackaged it into their own mobile offering. It's great! We used it in 32 countries around Europe, South Africa, Mexico and Canada (and the US, of course).

The coverage is the best possible since it does not rely on just one provider per country but automatically switches the local carrier with the strongest signal in your current location.. The price is way cheaper than buying SIM cards everywhere, it's a million times less hassle, since the switchover between countries (and continents) is seamless, and its reliable.

At $10US per gig of data and for only what you use, not a guessitimate program, it's often easier and the signal stronger than many hotel rooms offer and cheap enough to use data because you want to not only because you need it like blood! Airports that subject you to slow sowed should, advertising and short connections, we don't bother with them anymore.

I know this sounds like an advertisement for this but it isn't. I'm just impressed when once in a while you get a great product and a great price, that actually works as advertised.

It answered all our needs at a great price. I've even given up my cellphone account in Canada. It's cheaper to use the US Google Fi network even roaming! (Canada has terribly expensive cellphone costs.)

:thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:

I detested Google Project Fi when it foirst came out and even for many months after that when it was no longer a beta offering because it let me down very badly in South America, Canada and even back in Australia. However in the last six months they have finally got their act together and it is much more reliable. Not perfect by a long shot, but certainly fairly reliable. I'll be interested to see what it is like when I head back down to S America in a few months. Central Europe through to Denmark and then on the ferry to Iceland, it worked perfectly although once in Iceland I got a great deal on a local SIM and so suspended the Fi service while we were there (which is another advantage of FI - suspend and reinstate on a daily basis if you want to.
The cost of $10/GB worldwide for data and Skype-type call costs all over the world is a pretty good deal. Recently I tried to get a better deal here in the US (where calls are free) but once you started wanting to use the phone as a hot spot, all the great US deals evaporated and all that was left was similar in cost to the fI.

Catch, and there always is one, is the android phones required for the service are at the high end regarding purchase price,

BTW Not sure whether Steve has used his service outside North America, but it is NOT always perfect. There is a huge thread on the topic on Google Forums and there are still plenty of negative reports, although far less than before. Just don't rely on it to call and ambulance if you need one urgently

I've been using it now for almost a year and it has been excellent...flawless...from Sweden to South Africa and Canada to Mexico. Gold standard I'd say. I didn't have one when I did South America, but I wish I had! Good luck in your travels.

I use a UK '3' package (Feel at Home) which costs £10/month and gives me my UK allowances (calls/SMS/data) in most EU countries and many others (42 countries currently). I get 1 GB data, calls, SMS inclusive.