Briefly, I need a Spanish phone number and to add one to the particular make and model of the phone I have, it has to be an eSim. I have a NIE, Spanish bank account and own property in Spain. I used to be with Lowi but I cancelled with them (foolishly). Can't figure out a way to sign up with them online again. I was in Spain last week but didn't have the time to get it sorted. Not back for 5 weeks and ideally would like it up and running before I go back. Can anybody recommend how/if I can do this online from the UK? Who is easiest to sign up with online etc? Most of the websites I have come across (eg Vodafone ES) ask you to give a Spanish phone number to complete the proforma to proceed to the next page once you have chosen your preferred package. I don't have one, that's the point.

As always, thanks in advance folks.

Try this one:

https://esim.lebaraspain.es/es

Steve

Thanks for the link. Looks like a Lebara eSim is only compatible with various phones. There is a list of them on their website. Doesn't look like my Motorola is, unfortunately.

Have you thought of getting a local "virtual" phone number in Spain that isn't a mobile number? Skype used to offer a local number in various countries that you could use for people to call you, and there must be loads of other companies that offer the same now that Skype has been shut down by Microsoft.

Have a look at https://www.simyo.es You should be able to do this online and they support eSim. Usually if a phone is eSim compatible any eSim will work with it. The lists of devices are rarely exhaustive simply because there are so many compatible devices now. The other plus of Simyo is that you can change your commitment month by month. Simyo runs on the Orange network.

Thanks for the replies above, folks. Will try both and let you know how I get on.

Might be easier and better to purchase a cheap dual sim phone which will take your UK sim and send for a Lebara SIM which will give you a Spanish number.

Steve

Success!!! (I think). I signed up with my address, NIE, IBAN etc with Simyo. They sent me a link to a Spanish WhatsApp I still have (it's linked to the old Spanish number I had which no longer exists but does still works as a 2nd WhatsApp (business) number on my phone which I always thought was a bit odd. Anyhow, I followed the instructions and they then sent me an email with the new number and the QR code to install the eSim on the phone. Only issues is looks like I have to be in Spain and connected to their network for the number to be installed correctly as it was just spinning instead of installing. Hopefully should be able to finish the job at the end of next month when I get back to Madrid.

Thanks for all your advice.

Good call on getting onboard with Simyo! They have the best app in Spain and if you manage multiple numbers (family, etc.) they are a joy to deal with.

Even if you're outside of Spain for extended periods of time you can just change your monthly prepaid plan (auto-renewed if you like) to 1 Euro/mth and always keep your number active.

The website account area is quite good, but customer service isn't so much.

I couldn't get WiFi Calling to work on two phones which they sell, and they couldn't either. When I called them they tried to sell me a call or data bundle instead, and when I contacted them by email they told me to use a phone which is on their list, but if they'd read my email they'd see I explained both phones were on their list.

I'd rather stick with a provider which uses Orange's coverage, but the rest look more expensive... I guess you get what you pay for.