PrePaidGSM.net Forum (Archived) - View Single Post - Report on using Orange Mobicarte in France

wisniak · 18-06-2009, 05:52

Well, I just got home from a week in Paris.

In the 2nd day there I found an Orange shop (seems that there're aren't that many around, at least not in the areas I visited), and I purchased a SIM card (it cost 15EUR) and an 25EUR refill card.

Initially the guy didn't know what I was talking about (regardind a pre-paid SIM), but after I showed him a printout from this site and some of the "internet max" option, he finally got it.

He also proposed purchasing a 3G/EDGE USB plug (like a disk-on-key), which could also be refilled, but I explained I need it for my PDA, so this option wasn;t applicable for me.

In any case, for some reason or other they weren't able to turn on the internet max option in that occasion, so I went on using the refill card, hoping that it would hold for a couple of days.
Sadly, the credit was eaten up pretty quickly.

I tried setting up the internet max option by myself, using the (free) SMS menu system that Orange uses in France, but wasn't able to.
So I then called (at a charge of 0.37EUR/min) the Orange support, but they told me that I needed to go to an Orange store to turn on the Internet max option, and then it'd take at least 2 days for it to be useable (she didn't explain why). And since I had only 2 days left, I gave up on it and purchased another refill card.

I can report that reception is pretty good in all the areas I visited (which is most of the tourist areas in Paris).

Further, there are quire a few free Wifi hotspots, so I used them whenever I could.

I wanted to thank all the members here who helped me prior to my visit to France.

	(#25)
wisniak (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 12 May 2009 Country:	18-06-2009, 05:52 Well, I just got home from a week in Paris. In the 2nd day there I found an Orange shop (seems that there're aren't that many around, at least not in the areas I visited), and I purchased a SIM card (it cost 15EUR) and an 25EUR refill card. Initially the guy didn't know what I was talking about (regardind a pre-paid SIM), but after I showed him a printout from this site and some of the "internet max" option, he finally got it. He also proposed purchasing a 3G/EDGE USB plug (like a disk-on-key), which could also be refilled, but I explained I need it for my PDA, so this option wasn;t applicable for me. In any case, for some reason or other they weren't able to turn on the internet max option in that occasion, so I went on using the refill card, hoping that it would hold for a couple of days. Sadly, the credit was eaten up pretty quickly. I tried setting up the internet max option by myself, using the (free) SMS menu system that Orange uses in France, but wasn't able to. So I then called (at a charge of 0.37EUR/min) the Orange support, but they told me that I needed to go to an Orange store to turn on the Internet max option, and then it'd take at least 2 days for it to be useable (she didn't explain why). And since I had only 2 days left, I gave up on it and purchased another refill card. I can report that reception is pretty good in all the areas I visited (which is most of the tourist areas in Paris). Further, there are quire a few free Wifi hotspots, so I used them whenever I could. I wanted to thank all the members here who helped me prior to my visit to France.