EuroTrash

I tried Simyo because it looked like a good deal but I had 2 problems with it - first was that I have a dual sim phone and it somehow played havoc with the settings, which might have been my fault cos I'm not good at these things, but it kept blocking me from either network and insisting on me entering the pin for the Simyo sim before I could make a call. It made me scream if it was an urgent call I needed to make. I've never had this problem with any other sim card. Second problem was the amount of spam messages I got on it, about stuff I had not interest in and no idea where they came from because I didn't keep it long enough to give anybody the number.
Having said all that, this was several years ago when simyo was new on the market and I don't think my simyo was an expat special so maybe it's different now.

InVinoVeritas

A dual sim phone can be a bit of a challenge when it comes to finding two sims which are happy to co-habit the same phone. A question of trial an error really as neither of the operators nor the phone manufacturer have the slightest interest in resolving any compatibility problems.

EuroTrash

Ah, I didn't know that. It's actually the only time I've had a problem, out of all kinds of combinations. On the French side I've had orange (too expensive), Leclerc (I keep flirting around but end up coming back to it), B&You (waste of space, could never get a decent signal), Lycamobile (a right faff getting credit on it, totally disfunctional website and kept having to contact customer services, then they changed the T&Cs to swallow up unused credit so that got slung out), Simyo, and I forget what else. On the UK side I've had Orange (phone got nicked and I couldn't figure out how to get the sim replaced, you can't seem to contact them if you don't have an orange sim!), Sainsbury's (couldn't work out how to put credit on it) and currently alternating between Vectone (god knows what that is but the sim was free and it seems to work) and new orange UK sim that I use when I'm in the UK because they have a cheap tarif for calls to France.
And the only bolshy one in all that lot has been the simyo.

InVinoVeritas

It depends if you want each sim to roam when it's in the "other" country, that's where I've had problems. If you just want to able to use the "home" sim without having to change phones or sim cards then I think that is somewhat less challenging for the phone.

EuroTrash

Mine have to 'work' in both countries, to the extent that I need for UK clients to be able call or text my UK number, and French clients to be able call or text my French number, and all get through to me whichever country I'm in. Not sure whether that counts as 'roaming', or whether 'roaming' means being able to use them for outgoing calls? As it happens I can and do make calls on both sims wherever I am, but it wouldn't bother me too much if I couldn't. Not missing calls or messages, is the main point.

davidinspain

Sainsbury's is what I use in the UK, the credit doesn't run out as long as you send a text every 60 days

EuroTrash

Sainsbury's seemed like a good deal, I can't remember exactly what went wrong but I think I tried to top it up via the automated menu using my UK bank card and it kept telling me that my card had been declined. No other way to top up as I rarely see a Sainsbury's store, so that was the end of that.

davidinspain

Been a while but it seems that you have to register your card first, I did mine by phoning customer services,which very surprisingly is free from abroad.

InVinoVeritas

Can't really ask for more and when they work they're bloody great.

davidinspain

Got a LycaMobile the Sim was free, for a 2.99 bundle you get 60 minutes of calls and 60 texts you can top up online by card, and if your away and forget you have 120 days before your Sim is "recycled"