Best deals for roaming?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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simonineaston
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Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by simonineaston »

This is what it says - but you know what - I still don't trust them !
screenshot of roaming charges
screenshot of roaming charges
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
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Sweep
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Location: London

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by Sweep »

ChrisF wrote: 8 Aug 2022, 9:21pm If you had a phone with a dual SIM, would it work to buy a local SIM (PAYG, for a month, say) in your touring country for data, and keep your original number for emergency contact?
OK that woudn't work for WhatsApp 'cos your number would be wrong. So you'd need WiFi for that.
If you don't need WhatsApp, you only need one (local) SIM, just divert incoming calls to your temporary number?
For emergency contact couldn't you just put your original SIM temporarily into an old "dumb phone"? emergency calls would tend to be voice?
Sweep
humankeith
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Joined: 18 Aug 2020, 9:12pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by humankeith »

I've been looking in to ROAMING charges as I'm off to Italy next month. This coincided with my contract running out and looking to switch to a Sim-only contract.

I settled on Plusnet. They have a 'Roam Like Home' policy on their 30 day contracts. I've just switched over and they use the same network as EE so plenty of signal.

Being a 30 day contract I upgraded for 30 days to a £10 pm for unlimited calls and text + 25gb data contract. When I return I'll reduce the data to 12gb and pay £7pm.

Just sharing in case of interest.

edit: Just wanted to add that I looked at how much it would be to 'bolt on' more data etc. and it's £15 for an extra 4gb data. This is why I've just temporarily 'upgraded'.
simonhill
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Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by simonhill »

Simon(ineaston) when you reach the foreign shore, you will get a text from EE telling you what the charges are for your plan/contract.
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by Psamathe »

This year campsites so far in NL have all had rubbish Wi-Fi. On paying you're never told about Wi-Fi and have to ask and signal over camping area is bad to unusable (at best). I've assumed that is because GSM signal is good to OK everywhere (so far) so nobody bothers logging onto site Wi-Fi. I've been using GSM data most places.

And a lot of sites if you do use the Wi-Fi you get an "insecure" warning (so use a VPN if you can find any Wi-Fi signal). That said, there are a lot of campsites so the above is anecdotal.

Ian
GideonReade
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Joined: 4 Jul 2010, 10:46pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by GideonReade »

ChrisF wrote: 8 Aug 2022, 9:21pm If you had a phone with a dual SIM, would it work to buy a local SIM (PAYG, for a month, say) in your touring country for data, and keep your original number for emergency contact?
OK that woudn't work for WhatsApp 'cos your number would be wrong. So you'd need WiFi for that.
If you don't need WhatsApp, you only need one (local) SIM, just divert incoming calls to your temporary number?
I used exactly that system 2016-2018, and WhatsApp seemed fine with it. I presume it was able to query which SIMs were in the phone, rather than what SIM its data went through.
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MrsHJ
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Location: Dartmouth, Devon.

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by MrsHJ »

Does anyone understand roaming contracts with 3?

I went into a new sim only contract in September 2021 to avoid problems with roaming. The maximum available length was 24 months so it expires September 2023 likely mid tour!

It works fine that price is ok etc. if I do nothing does it keep rolling on or will stuff like roaming expire?
DropperPost
Posts: 15
Joined: 31 Dec 2022, 10:47am

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by DropperPost »

MrsHJ wrote: 4 Jan 2023, 4:10pmDoes anyone understand roaming contracts with 3?
I've got 'International roaming' enabled according to my Three app. I didn't request this when I took out my current (12 month) contract, so it probably just comes as standard with any Three contract. So your issue is just going to be renewing your contract whilst you're abroad. I think you can do this via the app, in which case it won't cost anything to do provided your phone has a data source to run the app. If you can't do it via the app, then you can definitely do it online via your 'My3' account - so you'd just need to make sure you bring a note of your log-in details.
Jdsk
Posts: 24636
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by Jdsk »

MrsHJ wrote: 4 Jan 2023, 4:10pm Does anyone understand roaming contracts with 3?

I went into a new sim only contract in September 2021 to avoid problems with roaming. The maximum available length was 24 months so it expires September 2023 likely mid tour!

It works fine that price is ok etc. if I do nothing does it keep rolling on or will stuff like roaming expire?
Current advice from MoneySavingExpert:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobil ... ing-calls/

I'd ask the supplier directly.

Happy New Year

Jonathan
Bonefishblues
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Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by Bonefishblues »

Jdsk wrote: 5 Jan 2023, 12:18pm
MrsHJ wrote: 4 Jan 2023, 4:10pm Does anyone understand roaming contracts with 3?

I went into a new sim only contract in September 2021 to avoid problems with roaming. The maximum available length was 24 months so it expires September 2023 likely mid tour!

It works fine that price is ok etc. if I do nothing does it keep rolling on or will stuff like roaming expire?
Current advice from MoneySavingExpert:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobil ... ing-calls/

I'd ask the supplier directly.

Happy New Year

Jonathan
You're normally quite a sensible chap Jonathan, but I think you've had a moment of madness there, or maybe haven't been a customer of 3 :lol:
Jdsk
Posts: 24636
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by Jdsk »

; - )

Jonathan
Jdsk
Posts: 24636
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by Jdsk »

"Mobile roaming: EE prompts anger as it increases price by 150%":
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/ ... ice-by-150

Money Saving Expert:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobil ... ing-calls/

Jonathan
simonhill
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Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by simonhill »

I think EE are banking on people just staying, without doing a comparison.

I intend to leave EE in April. Stuck with them because I'd built up about 2gb of bonus data and until June had EU roaming. Only paving £5 on an old deal.

For less on someone like Lebara I can get more data and roaming. Why stay.

Currently in Thailand and paying £4.50 for 38gb and unlimited local calls. I'll use WhatsApp if I need to speak to UK.

Bye bye EE.
in4time
Posts: 219
Joined: 13 Jun 2010, 4:55pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by in4time »

+1 for Lebara ( piggybacking on Vodaphone)
I’ve used them seamlessly through France, Spain and Portugal this summer. Think I pay around £6 per month for 15gb data and free calls of some sort ( I used WiFi and WhatsApp a lot) Worth checking out via MSE website.
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Best deals for roaming?

Post by Psamathe »

One thing to watch on "roaming" on a pay monthly contract (i.e. not as a pay by use) is "fair use" within the contract e.g. you may have an unlimited data but when roaming that can be down to e.g. 25GB/mth. Which may or may not be an issue depending on what you use data for when in countries using UK roaming.

Each tour fewer and fewer campsites seem to be offering Wi-Fi and those that do it often doesn't work because nobody is using it for ages because everybody is on mobile data contracts. I take a fair number of photos and update my personal web site. Photos are uploaded to the cloud (backup) and web site uses a few processed photo uploads, etc. plus all the usual route creation, finding camp sites, etc. But it's the photo upload that can eat through data.

Ian
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