So Mrs B and I are heading to your fair country in a couple of months. We want to stay in touch with our kids (who aren't coming). You can buy overseas access through our Canadian wireless provider, but the costs would be outrageous.
What I think I want to do is buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card for while we're in the UK. I know that's a thing, but any idea how I go about doing that? Where would you go in the UK?
Quote from: Barrister on June 02, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
So Mrs B and I are heading to your fair country in a couple of months. We want to stay in touch with our kids (who aren't coming). You can buy overseas access through our Canadian wireless provider, but the costs would be outrageous.
What I think I want to do is buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card for while we're in the UK. I know that's a thing, but any idea how I go about doing that? Where would you go in the UK?
This is a good starting point, it lists pretty much all of the payg sims available in the UK.
https://payg-petef.rhcloud.com/ (https://payg-petef.rhcloud.com/)
Some of the international 'calling plan' sims are regionally targeted, so one seems aimed at the West African community here, others are people keeping in touch with their Sub-continent family. So there maybe one with good rates back to North America.
And as far as where do you go - just go to one of the stores of one of those providers listed when here. Even if you run into problems with say your phone not working when you buy a sim here, you can always just get a cheap burner (I think like 10-15 pounds) from one of the providers.
The easiest ones, as they have stores you can easily see, are Vodafone, O2, 3 & EE. Not coincidentally, they are also the ones that own the networks. :D
Did a quick look for Canada pay as you go and each of the providers. Only O2 gave me a quick hit and their international pay as you go is 2p a minute for calls back to Canada. SIM requires minimum 10 pound initial top-up.
Maybe pick a cheap phone from Carphone Warehouse, as they've high-street stores and typically sell unlocked phones, so you could get a value tri or quad-band phone and take it home with you to use in Canada.
Where do you find such stores? Are you likely to find a kiosk at the airport for example?
Quote from: Barrister on June 02, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
So Mrs B and I are heading to your fair country in a couple of months. We want to stay in touch with our kids (who aren't coming). You can buy overseas access through our Canadian wireless provider, but the costs would be outrageous.
What I think I want to do is buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card for while we're in the UK. I know that's a thing, but any idea how I go about doing that? Where would you go in the UK?
We went to London a year ago. There were many telecom stores at the airport. We paid like 30 pounds for a SIM card, asked the staff to insert it into our iphones, and that's it. There are other plans available. You can pay more for more more data, or vice versa.
Quote from: Barrister on June 02, 2016, 09:22:09 PM
Where do you find such stores? Are you likely to find a kiosk at the airport for example?
One all the main streets like mobile providers are in NA. Google them.
Your could try and figure out how to do at airport but probably more trouble than it is worth. From what Monoriu posted sounds more expensive but I don't buy that many sims. :D
Quote from: Barrister on June 02, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
So Mrs B and I are heading to your fair country in a couple of months. We want to stay in touch with our kids (who aren't coming). You can buy overseas access through our Canadian wireless provider, but the costs would be outrageous.
What I think I want to do is buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card for while we're in the UK. I know that's a thing, but any idea how I go about doing that? Where would you go in the UK?
Given that the places you'll be staying at most likely have wifi, do you really need a SIM card? They could still reach you anytime on your Canadian SIM in case of emergency.
The advantage of buying the SIM card at the airport is so that we have immediate access to useful things like GPS. Makes the trip from the airport to the city and hotel a bit easier. Most major airpots nowadays have multiple telecom stores. The telecom stores at the airport are usually more tourist friendly. In our Germany trip we only bought the SIM card when we reached a city, but the store people had no idea how to install the SIM cards onto our mobiles. The clerks at the airports generally know how to help tourists, even those from another continent.
Another route which we sometimes use is to rent a wifi hotspot that is advertised to work in the destination country prior to leaving Hong Kong. The up side is there is no need to find a telecom store and waste time on lining up. Those stores are usually very popular. The downside is that these hotspots aren't as reliable as the SIM cards. They work well in the big cities, but if you plan to travel in the countryside, they may go offline.
Oh and, using a hotspot means you need to carry it around, and that's yet another piece of electronic equipment that you need to recharge every night etc.
Quote from: Maladict on June 03, 2016, 03:00:11 AM
Given that the places you'll be staying at most likely have wifi, do you really need a SIM card? They could still reach you anytime on your Canadian SIM in case of emergency.
We tried that approach but it doesn't always work. Having a local SIM card or wifi hotspot offers much better reliability. Sometimes you just HAVE to have access to the interent THIS MINUTE to find this hotel/museum/restaurant etc. Not everywhere has free wifi. A lot of places like Starbucks restrict wifi use to customers. They only let you use their wifi if you buy coffee first.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 03, 2016, 03:04:13 AM
The advantage of buying the SIM card at the airport is so that we have immediate access to useful things like GPS. Makes the trip from the airport to the city and hotel a bit easier.
You don't need to be online for GPS to work. Just download google maps of the area you are going to be in (which now days google will in one go download about half of London - did it with my mother) and you can have your phone in flight mode and still get around (even will search some basic things). Combine that with marking in google maps locations of where you are going (save spots) - no need for SIM. Makes sense given that you don't actually pay for data to use a GPS unit.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 03, 2016, 03:04:13 AMMost major airpots nowadays have multiple telecom stores. The telecom stores at the airport are usually more tourist friendly. In our Germany trip we only bought the SIM card when we reached a city, but the store people had no idea how to install the SIM cards onto our mobiles. The clerks at the airports generally know how to help tourists, even those from another continent.
And you will be paying a significant mark-up. Knowing how to put in a SIM won't be hard for shops in Central London. Certainly not those on Oxford Street.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 03, 2016, 03:04:13 AM
Another route which we sometimes use is to rent a wifi hotspot that is advertised to work in the destination country prior to leaving Hong Kong. The up side is there is no need to find a telecom store and waste time on lining up. Those stores are usually very popular. The downside is that these hotspots aren't as reliable as the SIM cards. They work well in the big cities, but if you plan to travel in the countryside, they may go offline.
Wouldn't recommend this as London has a lot of free wifi.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 03, 2016, 03:07:59 AM
Sometimes you just HAVE to have access to the interent THIS MINUTE to find this hotel/museum/restaurant etc. Not everywhere has free wifi.
I guess. I'm quite happy to be disconnected while out and about, and I use a paper map and/or ask people if I need directions.
edit: and as garbon suggested, sometimes preloaded maps on my phone.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 03, 2016, 03:07:59 AM
A lot of places like Starbucks restrict wifi use to customers. They only let you use their wifi if you buy coffee first.
You don't have to actually drink it.
Quote from: Maladict on June 03, 2016, 03:18:33 AM
You don't have to actually drink it.
Also most of said places have their wifi working outside their establishment as well. So you can easily use their wifi without going in.
London also has (though it isn't great if you have actually mobile data) The Cloud which is a slow wifi network that can also be reached outside of many restaurants. And many of the museums offer free wifi as well. As a tourist, I found no shortage of places to connect in.
Well, it is up to BB but a SIM card offers true independence. No need to ask for directions, just search on the phone. A lot of the so-called free wifi is password protected, and they only tell you the password if you buy something. Free wifi also tend to be slow or time-limited. You want internet access anytime, anywhere? Get the SIM card :contract: I think we paid 30 pounds because we needed it for 2-3 weeks, and it also worked in Scandinavia. If you use it for a shorter time period, the cost will go down.
Quote from: Maladict on June 03, 2016, 03:18:33 AM
I guess. I'm quite happy to be disconnected while out and about, and I use a paper map and/or ask people if I need directions.
edit: and as garbon suggested, sometimes preloaded maps on my phone.
London is also covered by the app citymapper which is pretty good at being hooked into all of the public transport. That also lets you set up journeys and then save those details so that when offline you have a step-by-step route.
*actually really nice with mobile data as it keeps up-to-date on when buses are due to arrive and takes into account any deviations currently caused by traffic or tube delays to give you best route for that particular moment.
**I see that they've expanded to a lot of key cities now in NA and Europe. Even some Asia.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 03, 2016, 03:30:17 AM
Well, it is up to BB but a SIM card offers true independence. No need to ask for directions, just search on the phone. A lot of the so-called free wifi is password protected, and they only tell you the password if you buy something. Free wifi also tend to be slow or time-limited. You want internet access anytime, anywhere? Get the SIM card :contract: I think we paid 30 pounds because we needed it for 2-3 weeks, and it also worked in Scandinavia. If you use it for a shorter time period, the cost will go down.
Oh, I'm not saying don't have a SIM - particularly if they want freedom to call home whenever, receive calls whenever.
That said virtually all of central london is stone's throw from a starbucks, mcdonalds or costa coffee (google map them, looks like an infestation over the city). All of which have legitimately free wifi. You don't have to talk to anyone to get it.
Plus there's also this app that works offline yet will still tell you tons of information about what might nearby you (attractions, restaurants, shops, etc.) - http://www.triposo.com/loc/London Worked great when I went to Lisbon before I had my own smartphone (so used the companies in offline mode).
Quote from: garbon on June 03, 2016, 03:36:13 AM
You don't have to talk to anyone to get it.
:D
I sometimes wonder why people travel at all.
Quote from: Maladict on June 03, 2016, 03:49:39 AM
Quote from: garbon on June 03, 2016, 03:36:13 AM
You don't have to talk to anyone to get it.
:D
I sometimes wonder why people travel at all.
Well certainly I wouldn't come traveling to London in the hopes of chatting up strangers. How rude! :P
But really, I just wanted to note the ease of using wifi at those places. No need to get a password from an employee (who would then check if you've actually purchased something).
Quote from: garbon on June 03, 2016, 04:52:53 AM
Quote from: Maladict on June 03, 2016, 03:49:39 AM
:D
I sometimes wonder why people travel at all.
Well certainly I wouldn't come traveling to London in the hopes of chatting up strangers. How rude! :P
But really, I just wanted to note the ease of using wifi at those places. No need to get a password from an employee (who would then check if you've actually purchased something).
I didn't mean you, but I also didn't want to single out mono :)
I'm certainly aware that free wi-fi is a thing, and many of the places and hotels we're staying at are supposed to come with wi-fi. But remember that most of our trip is traipsing around the scottish highlands, so that little lifeline of cellular service is one I'm happy to pay 30 pounds for.
Mono thanks for confirming we should be able to get that done at the airport.
Quote from: Barrister on June 03, 2016, 09:38:30 AM
But remember that most of our trip is traipsing around the scottish highlands, so that little lifeline of cellular service is one I'm happy to pay 30 pounds for.
Oh right, missed that part.
Quote from: Barrister on June 03, 2016, 09:38:30 AM
Mono thanks for confirming we should be able to get that done at the airport.
:lol:
Just found out about this. If affordable (depends on the country you're visiting) it could be a great deal. And certainly much easier.
http://www.bitebird.com/
Seems a bit pricey (paying for device and then whatever local data rates are) and doesn't allow you do make regular calls (only webcalls like FaceTime and whatsapp), no?
Quote from: garbon on June 24, 2016, 06:07:24 AM
Seems a bit pricey (paying for device and then whatever local data rates are) and doesn't allow you do make regular calls (only webcalls like FaceTime and whatsapp), no?
I didn't look at prices much, but yeah it seems like it's more about convenience and security.
Not being able to make regular calls should not be much of an issue these days, though.