Updated Spain iphone/ipad data packages? - Page 3

wisniak · 08-06-2011, 11:00

I did find that link.
Indeed there are many Carrefour locations, but all of them (except the Prat) require some sort of deviation.
My family's going to be with me and they don't have the patience I do for this stuff...
So I'm waiting for the reply from the Prat location.

And another way to see all of this info on map at one time, rather than going one by one, is to go to google maps and enter "carrefour tienda" (or yoigo etc, whichever carrier you're looking for).

cameronjpu · 08-06-2011, 16:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by 123456

Well, last September it really was there, i saw it myself. In Streetview the shop and the sign can be found here.

Weird, I dont know why my searches for the address came up with a different, but very close, location! Glad to see the real sign that says "express" though

cameronjpu · 08-06-2011, 16:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by wisniak

I need to find a Carrefour, Yoigo or Simyo store that is along my route, as we leave from the airport along the highways to our 1st day destinations.

Seems there are no such locations for these 3 providers (most of the stores are located inside tows/villages and I don't want to deviate too much from our route.

Initially I thought that the Carrefour at the Prat would have a telecom service, but they have not answered my emails yet. This would be the most convenient location for me, as we could stop there right at the start of the trip to buy water etc as well as the SIM card.

The problem is buying the card and activating it, afterwards you can buy the refills in many locations.

Carrefour's website indicates that it does, and it indicates that all Carrefours and Carrefour Express do have that service. The one in Prat is a Carrefour so you should be fine.

123456 · 08-06-2011, 17:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by wisniak

My family's going to be with me and they don't have the patience I do for this stuff...

The one in Prat is a very big 'shopping mall size' Carrefour. So, if your family likes shopping you're fine. Take a look here how it looks from the outside.

Manual Carrefour Internet Movil : http://www.carrefour.es/telecom/docu...rnet_movil.pdf

cameronjpu · 08-06-2011, 17:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by 123456

The one in Prat is a very big 'shopping mall size' Carrefour. So, if your family likes shopping you're fine. Take a look here how it looks from the outside.

Yeah they call it a hypermarket, which is scary to those used to supermarkets in America. I suspect though that a hypermarket is about the same as a Wal Mart in the USA far as size goes. It's funny, the one on Ramblas, on the website, says it's just a Market, not an Express, which would mean that it does not have the telephone services. But the street view makes it clear that it's an Express. I think I'm good

wisniak · 08-06-2011, 17:41

I'd appreciate it if someone living in Spain could call the Carrefour Prat de Llobregat at AutovÃ*a de Castelldefells, km. 5 and ask them whether they sell the prepaid microsim for iPad.

The Carrefour email responses are not helpful and I haven't been able to contact them by phone (+34-902 20 20 00).

This branch is the nearest to the Barcelona airport so if the microsim is available there - this would be my 1st stop.

Thanks.

123456 · 08-06-2011, 18:07

@cameronjpu: Carrefour Market is the new name for most of the Carrefour Express stores in Spain. Carrefour started this transition last May.

cameronjpu · 09-06-2011, 00:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by wisniak

I'd appreciate it if someone living in Spain could call the Carrefour Prat de Llobregat at AutovÃ*a de Castelldefells, km. 5 and ask them whether they sell the prepaid microsim for iPad.

The Carrefour email responses are not helpful and I haven't been able to contact them by phone (+34-902 20 20 00).

This branch is the nearest to the Barcelona airport so if the microsim is available there - this would be my 1st stop.

Thanks.

Your family must be TOUGH!

wisniak · 09-06-2011, 05:47

Oh yes...
They've had plenty of "waiting time" in the past years while I looked up SIM cards...

cameronjpu · 23-08-2011, 23:24

Here is a follow-up, for those who find this thread while hunting for answers. I know how frustrating it is when you hear all the debate but never the answer.

I went to Spain and headed straight for the Carrefour express in the Ramblas area of Barcelona. I quickly found that this didn't feel much like a cell phone shop - it was a grocery store in every sense. I went to what appeared to be the customer service area and asked for a SIM card and did my best to convey to them what I was looking for. The guy gave me a SIM card and, though he was clearly not happy to have to deal with me (activating it took him 3-5 minutes) he did. We made a phone call to activate the SIM and I headed out.

The data did not yet work, and he said it might take 10 minutes or so. I had all the information that you see above with me and was not able to get the APN settings to be correct to get data working. After spending an hour on the phone with Carrefour's support people, I gave up. Their suggestion to me was that the SIM card could not be used by a non-resident, so I had to MAIL them a letter with my local address and passport, and they would MAIL me back a SIM card that had been activated. That, or get a refund.

I found that very unlikely, but clearly the first option was not possible. I took the card back to the store and amazingly, got a full refund.

I went across the street to the Phone House (or something like that) and bought a Yoigo SIM that gave me 100MB of data per day at full speed, and then down to 64K afterward. That worked fine for me, as I did find wifi at our hotels. I had to fix the wifi at one hotel which hadn't been working for months, according to the staff. Fixed it in 10 minutes... fixing computers is a good skill to have.

So my advice? It would have to be to go to the Phone House and let their specialists give you what you need. They have multiple options, they only deal with cell phones (no lettuce or Pepsi) and they know what they're doing. Carrefour clearly had a better deal than what I got, but I also wasted 2 hours of my precious vacation failing to get connected, which is worth a lot of money to me.

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	(#21)
wisniak (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 12 May 2009 Country:	08-06-2011, 11:00 I did find that link. Indeed there are many Carrefour locations, but all of them (except the Prat) require some sort of deviation. My family's going to be with me and they don't have the patience I do for this stuff... So I'm waiting for the reply from the Prat location. And another way to see all of this info on map at one time, rather than going one by one, is to go to google maps and enter "carrefour tienda" (or yoigo etc, whichever carrier you're looking for).

	(#26)
wisniak (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 12 May 2009 Country:	08-06-2011, 17:41 I'd appreciate it if someone living in Spain could call the Carrefour Prat de Llobregat at AutovÃ*a de Castelldefells, km. 5 and ask them whether they sell the prepaid microsim for iPad. The Carrefour email responses are not helpful and I haven't been able to contact them by phone (+34-902 20 20 00). This branch is the nearest to the Barcelona airport so if the microsim is available there - this would be my 1st stop. Thanks.

	(#27)
123456 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 134 Join Date: 14 Feb 2005 Country:	08-06-2011, 18:07 @cameronjpu: Carrefour Market is the new name for most of the Carrefour Express stores in Spain. Carrefour started this transition last May.

	(#29)
wisniak (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 12 May 2009 Country:	09-06-2011, 05:47 Oh yes... They've had plenty of "waiting time" in the past years while I looked up SIM cards...

	(#30)
cameronjpu (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 23 Join Date: 05 Oct 2010 Country:	23-08-2011, 23:24 Here is a follow-up, for those who find this thread while hunting for answers. I know how frustrating it is when you hear all the debate but never the answer. I went to Spain and headed straight for the Carrefour express in the Ramblas area of Barcelona. I quickly found that this didn't feel much like a cell phone shop - it was a grocery store in every sense. I went to what appeared to be the customer service area and asked for a SIM card and did my best to convey to them what I was looking for. The guy gave me a SIM card and, though he was clearly not happy to have to deal with me (activating it took him 3-5 minutes) he did. We made a phone call to activate the SIM and I headed out. The data did not yet work, and he said it might take 10 minutes or so. I had all the information that you see above with me and was not able to get the APN settings to be correct to get data working. After spending an hour on the phone with Carrefour's support people, I gave up. Their suggestion to me was that the SIM card could not be used by a non-resident, so I had to MAIL them a letter with my local address and passport, and they would MAIL me back a SIM card that had been activated. That, or get a refund. I found that very unlikely, but clearly the first option was not possible. I took the card back to the store and amazingly, got a full refund. I went across the street to the Phone House (or something like that) and bought a Yoigo SIM that gave me 100MB of data per day at full speed, and then down to 64K afterward. That worked fine for me, as I did find wifi at our hotels. I had to fix the wifi at one hotel which hadn't been working for months, according to the staff. Fixed it in 10 minutes... fixing computers is a good skill to have. So my advice? It would have to be to go to the Phone House and let their specialists give you what you need. They have multiple options, they only deal with cell phones (no lettuce or Pepsi) and they know what they're doing. Carrefour clearly had a better deal than what I got, but I also wasted 2 hours of my precious vacation failing to get connected, which is worth a lot of money to me.