Report on using Orange Mobicarte in France

[woody1]

Originally Posted by scirocco

Woody1, suggest you check your Orange account. If you had Internet Max previously and never de-activated it (other than running out of credit) it will still be in your list of currently subscribed "mes bons plans". I can see it there in mine.

It looks like they may have removed it from general sale - if you don't currently have it you probably can't select it, but if you are an existing customer it may start working again when you put enough credit into the account.

I also get presented with another option called "recharge max". If I am reading the French right it is 30 euros for one month giving you unlimited calls and SMS within France plus 300MB of data. Only catch is it requires an online credit card purchase which I am sure will fail if the card is not French.

Some good ideas. Unfortunately, my last Orange card has expired, so my account access is gone. My plan is to purchase a B&You card and an Orange card. The Orange card will provide better coverage in rural areas. The B&You card has better rates and can be kept alive with annual usage.

I've used local SIM cards in many different countries, but the French telecoms seem to have the highest rates and are the most difficult to do business with of all the ones I've used. Given that France is a top tourist destination, maybe some carrier will start to offer good prepaid plans that appeal to occasional users.

[nokitsch]

Hello all,

Forgive me if this has been discussed before (I know how annoying noob questions can be). I will be in Paris for 9 days in June. I have an unlocked iPhone 4S. My plan of action was to buy a 3G Orange SIM on Ebay, something like this,

eBay | carte sim orange 3g mobicarte neuves 5e de credits

and have it sent to my Paris address in time for my arrival. I was going to cut the SIM down to the mini size and then buy 20EUR recharge at a tobacco shop to get voice, sms, and 150 mb of data (I am using this link as a guide)

http://mobile-shop.orange.fr/OneESho...in/pop_cmo.jsp

Does this sound right or are there flaws in my plan? Am I better off walking into an Orange shop in Paris and doing everything there?

I am not a heavy Internet user, but would like access to Email, FaceBook and Instagram.

Also, one thing I do not understand - do I need to specify MAX or recharging for 20EUR will automatically give me that plan?

Please advise.

[woody1]

nokitsch: Your plan will probably work, but personally, I think it would be easier just to walk into an Orange shop and have them sell you a sim card and set up your phone. There's usually a wait to get service in an Orange shop, but the advantage is that they will set up your paperwork and get the card working on your phone. They will also sell you additional credit.

If you buy the sim card from eBay, it will probably be ok, but if there's a glitch, it will be hard for you to get it resolved. Also, the Orange shop will sell you the right size sim card so you won't have to cut it down.

You will need to select your plan after you get the phone working. When I was there in May, I used the 2euro daily "Max" plan. I believe that you have to activate it each day that you use it. Otherwise, if you don't specify a plan, it will debit your balance on a per MB rate, which could drain your balance faster.

[V6Matt]

I just topped up my account with £10 and then tried to go into the online portal to try and subscribe (as currently in the UK) but in France tomorrow.

I can see Internet Max as an existing subscription but then spotted online that Internet Max was removed in April 2013.

Does anyone know if I have it as an existing subscription whether it will still work? (perhaps automatically once it sees the credit). Or is 100% dead? and 2 euro a day the only option.

[tux]

Try to look for Internet Max by calling #123#

[flychr]

Hi
Can you activité it from outside France?
Chr

[V6Matt]

Originally Posted by tux

Try to look for Internet Max by calling #123#

Just tried it, still there for me! Took a few attempts but it eventually confirmed that 9 euros had been deducted. I am 99% sure that it will only work for people who have had it before and maintained an active sim.

[bavablu]

Has anybody bought a carte online
Mobicarte - Formules sans engagement - Mobile - orange
and took the hotel address?

Does that work?

How long is the initial credit of a new card valid?


Internet Max is no longer available.

Is recharge max 20 EUR a good alternative?
Is that valid for the next 30 days or just for the month of the year?

[bavablu]

I received following error message by paying with my German VISA Card:

"Une erreur technique est survenue pendant le paiement de votre commande, aussi la prise en compte de votre carte bancaire est actuellement impossible. Vous pourrez renouveler votre paiement ultérieurement ou bien sélectionnez dès à présent un autre mode de paiement. Merci de votre compréhension. "

Can anybody tell me what's going on?

[um98]

Bought a €15 card off ebay, registered on website from the US per the instructions earlier in the thread, and received a txt (to the orange number) almost immediately while on t-mobile. Emailed a passport scan to blois.contrats@orange.com. No idea if someone is now out there stealing my identity but seemed to activate the card after a few days and no less safe than someone making a copy or taking the number down.

For the first day or two the site showed only a €5 credit then seemed to fully activate and show €15 in credit. Used the menu for 50Mb (50Mo) of internet for €2 per day. Only have to do this once per day as I made a mistake one morning and I think it deducted twice. Orange sent a txt when my previous day ran out.

All-in-all, pretty happy with this for a week in FR despite the bit of effort needed. Very helpful to have the phone and internet while wandering around.