Using Italian Wind in Canada
 

I've been trying to use my Italian Wind prepaid in Canada. It recieves the Rogers network but when I try to dial a local number +1-403-**** Roger says Wind has not authorized my use in Canada. I have sent an SMS message to Wind with no problem and I can use my phone as a modem with my laptop but no luck in using it as a phone!

Sometimes there is a dial code that you can use.

Try *111*+1403xxxyyyy# or *123*+1403xxxyyyy#.

Expect it to be expensive to use, alas.

Not all prepaid SIMs permit outbound calls in Canada, even when they permit inbound calls.

With Wind you have to dial:
Calls from Canada will cost you 2 eur/min...

Thanks guys but nothing seems to work. I have "easy roaming" and "call your country" so I can call Canada from Italy cheaply and I can call Italy from Canada but I can't call within Canada!
I can add money to my Wind card over the internet from Canada using my Visa card but I can't refill my wife's TIM card as TIM seems to only accept Italian Visa cards?
I had hoped to use my wind phone in Canada as I don't use a cell phone much and it would save me maintaining a Canadian number but I guess I'am out of luck.

There are at least a couple low cost alternatives for infrequent use in Canada.

PetroCanada Mobile - min $20 (~13 Euros) refill every 180 days - $0.20/minute
7-Eleven SpeakOut - min $25 (~16 Euros) refill every 365 days - $0.25/minute

Both offer a starter pack including a low end Nokia phone, SIM card and $5 credit for $50-60.

I've got a Virgin mobile, $100 for 1 year but the battery is dying. They want $40 for the battery so I was hoping to use my Wind instead. I've got several phones so I don't want another phone and you have to buy the phone with Petro Canada or 7Eleven. Maybe I'll try my wife's TIM card and see if it works.

The *124* roaming should work on Rogers but I really don't get the sense of spending 2 EUR/min for each call, even with the Easy Roaming (still 2 EUR for the first minute).

By "they" you probably mean Virgin. "They" are a rip-off. Try eBay. You may be able to find an OEM battery for ~$10.

Officially, yes, but you can find individual SIMS and/or airtime top-ups at http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/speak/

There are also rumours of another SpeakOut promotion starting 16Nov. Usually that means buy $100 of airtime (~500 local minutes) and get a free Nokia 1600 or 1208. You could use the SIM out of that and sell the "free" phone (it's unlocked) on the site above or eBay. By contrast, at 2€/min you'd go through $100 in ~30min.

Better known in Canada as Robbers :evil:

*124* dosen't work with the 403 area code. I suspect this is a Roger's thing rather than WIND. I guess I will have to carry 2 phones around and get a new battery for my Virgin Mobile phone!

On another point entirely my cell phone has no reception in our house in Italy. I have to walk outside the village ( 2 houses down) or into the little Piazza in order to use the phone. I suspect it's the 2 feet of rock in our house walls but we may be in an area of weak signal? Does anyone else have this problem?

Does your phone support GSM 900? If not, and your provider does, that will make a difference in interior coverage.

Stone does attenuate signal very strongly, though. There is little that you can do to change the laws of physics.

I am using a Motorola L6 for my Wind phone. It's supposed to be a quad band phone. I was hoping not to have to put a land line in but I've been checking on antennas and signal amplifiers and it may be cheaper. It's a pain having to go to the piazza with my phone and laptop just to check on emails!

Another alternative is to check other providers. It's entirely possible that you may have reliable service from another provider in your home. If you have friends in Italy that use other providers, have them come over or borrow their phone and see what sort of signal you get.

My wife's TIM dosen't work either. We are in the mountains east of Rome and I think we are above the cell towers. I'am pretty sure an antenna on the roof would solve the problem but they are pricey! I found one in England but they wanted 300 pounds for it.

You can try with Vodafone, but probably you are in one of those "forgotten zones" where no mobile network is available... and if even TIM doesn't have signal that's probably likely the situation you are in.