Spanish mobile use in UK
 

We're going to Devon late September on the Santander-Plymouth ferry, to see the grandchildren.
My wife will take her mobile, contracted to Jazztel (orange).
I'm not a big fan of mobiles, but she does need hers.
Does anyone have any tips about 'roaming' charges? I assume they depend on your network provider.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

You may need to change the sim settings.
Check with the supplier.
But orange may just accept the sim when you get to the UK.

We went with Lobster as you get almost unlimited roaming to most EU (and the Uk) included for free.

But earlier this year on the way from Bilbao to Portsmouth I had phone reception from France, Jersey and IOW (i got those silly text messages) but data would not connect until i changed one setting in the sim....

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

List of Jazzel roaming charges here and here.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

Gracias a todos.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

Assuming you do not wish to change provider permanently and do not want to pay high roaming charges (if thats the case for your provider) then theres also the option of an e-sim which works on most newer devices. There are a few companies out there such as Airalo which you just download an app, follow the instructions before you travel and will have a second sim temporarily which is contracted to where you are going. Its often much much cheaper than paying roaming charges ie. a few euros vs hundreds of euros. Something you may wish to look into.

One caveat is that you must follow the instructions it gives you to the letter to ensure you don't accidentally use the wrong sim when abroad and of course know how to remove it/toggle it back off when you are back in Spain. Another caveat is that its only for mobile data, so internet/whatsapp etc and not for phone calls and traditional SMS.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

Many thanks for that. Sounds a little complicated but I'll look into it.
The woman in the Orange shop in Durango said the cheapest way was to buy a pre-paid SIM in England.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

My wife has a payg sim with Masmovil it costs 5 euro per month for that she gets 100 minutes spanish national and mobile mins. 100 international minutes which imcludes uk landline and mobile numbers . Free roaming in UK and 6GB of data . She has used it in the uk no problem .
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https://www.masmovil.es/tarifas-prep...tarifa-prepago

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

If you go down the route of a UK PAYG sim, then the link below would be useful:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mo...-go-sim-cards/

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

Thanks everyone.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

I have been using Smarty for atleast three years prices from £5 for 5 gbts of data plus unlimited calls.
The only time I had a problem was in a recent visit to Ceuta when on a boat trip I ended for a short while in Moroccan territory. But didn't need my phone which retuned to Gibraltar which is my second sim.
Even my calls in Gib are made from the Smarty sim especially if they are to places from which I expect
long air times

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

Thanks Fred.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

In short, some mobile plans here include roaming in the UK and some don't.

But if you (also) need a prepaid UK SIM then the best one to go for is the Lycamobile eSIM (most new phones can handle eSIMs) as you can order it online and install it without having to get your hands on a physical SIM once in the UK. And if you actually want to keep it for repeat visits to the UK then they have an option to pay 5 Pounds for annual validity.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

Sounds interesting. Thanks.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

No prob. :) Just to be clear I was referring to Lycamobile UK (not the Spanish one): https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/bund...ls/#best-value



The sSIM is easy to purchase and install (nothing physical) and for peanuts you have a local SIM to use in the UK. iPhones allow you to have two SIMs active at once (1 physical SIM + 1 eSIM -OR- 2 eSIMs) which might also be helpful if you need to carry both numbers with you.

Re: Spanish mobile use in UK
 

I wouldn't say eSIM support is that common, for Samsungs it has to be from the S range which is their flagship model. Also iPhones and Pixels, again not cheap or even mid-range prices.