A couple of further thoughts since my earlier reply:
1. to check your balance you have to dial *113# from a cell phone,
2. Overseas SMS are more than €1 each, so expensive.

Hope that helps.

There are quite a few Spanish sims that operate a monthly minimum, so its something to consider if wanting a sim to last between visits.

How to config Samsung Jack to access data/internet on Masmovil
 

I have an unlocked AT&T Samsung Jack (SGH-i637) from the US. I am here in Spain for a few months and bought a Masmovil SIM card that is supposedly come with data. I have been here for 3 weeks now, the phone/SIM works for call but I have been unable to get data to work so I can access internet. I created a APN with the name "internetmas" as instructed, but still no luck with getting internet access (other than via wifi). Anyone with some pointers or can share his/her experience using the Masmovil SIM in Spain, I would greatly appreciate it.

You need to call them and let them activate internet for you.

In November 2010 they had two customer service numbers: one free and one paid. The guys from the free number were unable to help me and didn't speak English. The woman from the paid number helped me right away and internet worked as soon as I restarted my phone :)

Thanks for the reply. I did call them to activate the data and I was told that I was good to go and data service is active. Still, I am unable to access internet. Do you remember what the woman told you to do that made your internet connection work?

She just told me to wait 5 minutes and then restart my phone.... The APN was indeed "internetmas".

Perhaps you should call them again to check and if that doesn't work you could try to visit a MásMovil dealer and ask if they can take a look at it?

Thanks! I am finally able to get it to work and can now access internet! I bought the SIM from retailer in US as a "Classic Prepaid" card. I am thinking to change it to Automatic Prepay so I can get the 500MB a month plan. Anyone has experience on this?

I bought a MasMovil SIM in Bilbao on 2nd September which I changed to automatic prepaid online to get the €14.90/Gb rate. My account pages dont show that I have bought this option (not that I can see anyway) but a phone call to the paid help line confirmed that the rate is active. I'm only using the SIM for data, no calls or text. Havent yet got to the point where it needs a recharge so have no experience yet of whether it will work.

As a side note, the SIM in the package didnt have the correct APN pre-set. It does need to be manually changed to 'internetmas' in whatever device you are using to access the interweb.

This post on TripAdvisor indicates that the "Orange counter" at El Corte Ingles sells a prepaid microsim for iPad which costs 3.5 Euro a day or 35 Euro a month for "unlimited."

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

There may be limits but the poster doesn't seem to know. Or maybe she doesn't realize there's throttling after a certain threshold?

As I understand it, the Simyo is one of the best for prepaid data but you can't get it at any shops, you have to order it online?

Carrefour is supposedly one of the best values according to this page:

http://prepaid-wireless-internet-acc...in+-+carrefour

But they're typically not in historic centers? I'm looking at visiting Sevilla and Granada in February, staying in the historic centers. If they're like the ones in France, the Carrefour stores are always at the edge of big cities?

Any experiences with Yoigo lately, as far as speed, reliability, coverage and how easy it is to buy in shops, especially for foreign visitors?

Spain - Yoigo - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access

Just an update on mobile Internet with Carrefour Movil in Spain:
Since I had a SIM card that is less than 1 year old (11 months), i decided to check whether it would still register on the network. To my surprise it worked. Also the balance of last year (64 cents) was still there, despite the requirement to have at least 3 EUR turnover per month.

After 5 EUR credit bought in a Schlecker store, after a few minutes I got a text stating that my line was activated. Apparently this cost 5 EUR, because my balance suddenly dropped to the 64 cents of last year. After a new topup i was able to use the internet my whole holiday at 1.21 EUR for 100Mb/day (3.6 Mb speed), VAT in mainland Spain increased to 21% since last year.