 Poster: A snowHead
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I got back in touch with them. Was told that France was a "feel at home" destination but that when you were neither in France or the UK, that was different. So I asked what network I would have been picking up, when I was charged, given that my phone was unlikely to be accessing a satellite (thanks to the advice above.....). The woman then said she would refer the query to a Higher Authority and it might take 72 hours to get a reply. So I am now waiting.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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We stayed a long way from any ships. About a mile, briefly, was about the closest, crossing the shipping lanes.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@pam w, did you ever get an answer from them?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Ah, good question. They tried to ring me, and I was not available - I should get back to them. Had forgotten!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Started looking at my mobile options and 3 seems best bet. They tell me there is no limit to the amount of time I can use my minutes, etc abroad (likely to be 6 months+), is that others experience. EE now do the same deal but my EE signal at home in the UK is poor. Carphone Warehouse also do their own offering using 3, but more expensive, more minutes etc but I don't need that much.
Need to sort as I need to pay up rest of Tesco contract and transfer number etc before I leave in late November.
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@Claude B, unless things have changed recently, I thought there was a limit to the duration (1 month?) you were able to roam under the Feel At Home service before you either returned to the UK (or visited another country) or started to be charged for roaming services.
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Looks like it's two months. This from their T&Cs:
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| If you use your allowances exclusively in a Feel At Home destination for any 2 complete months in a rolling 12 month period, we may suspend international roaming on your account, which means you’ll no longer be able to use your device or allowances abroad. We’d let you know if this were likely to happen first. If you spend a full month abroad but some of that time is spent in a destination that isn’t included in Feel At Home, this restriction won’t apply. |
Also, I don't think local calls, e.g. ringing French phones while you are in LDA, aren't included in your free roaming allowance.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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No, local French calls aren't included. I wish I could switch SIMs on my phone - that would be the answer. Having two is just too much! I don't think you'd get away with using the Feel at Home service for 6 months and it doesn't work to pop into Switzerland or Italy either.
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Three doesn't let you use the inclusive calls/texts for local use - only for calling UK numbers (even if they're roaming). It looks like you get 8GB tethering on the unlimited SIMO plans.
CPW's iD network works in the much the same however tethering is not support; as usual they *probably* won't notice unless you're abusing it or doing it very regularly. I'll try find out some more regarding this... Turns out I have some insider info 
I've got an EE contract with inclusive EU calls/txt (which does let you call local numbers) my plan was to move that SIM into my spare phone and then pop in a three SIM while away for data usage instead of paying for wifi at our apartment in my main handset. For Tignes at least, the seasonairres FB page highly recommend Three!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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They have told me its OK. Doesn't seem totally clear, will clarify before committing. Will have French landline too with calls to French numbers and UK fixed lines. Will use for calls etc up mountain, txts and some data. Most call back to UK from French landline. Calls to daughter's mobile from mobile. Minefield tbh  Really only want one phone/number.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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What network do they generally use in France?
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| Claude B wrote: |
| They have told me its OK. |
Wonder if they realise that their T&Cs say something different? I'm not away in any single trip long enough to trigger their time limit, so couldn't say whether they would suspend your service after a couple of months. Will you return to the UK for a brief visit during the winter months? I think you only need to connect to your home network in order to reset the time limit for another trip.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Claude B wrote: |
| What network do they generally use in France? |
I mainly used to connect to Bouygues (although I think there might have been a second provider that I could connect to) but last year Three seemed to change to the Free telco service in France.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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It varies. It works a lot better now they've fixed their spat with Bouygues
Will be in France next week and will report back
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
What network do they generally use in France?
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Generally they seem to connect to Free as a first option however it is possible to manually connect to others, Orange FR, SFR etc. Not normally needed for voice calls but sometimes better for data.
They do detect and automatically block any tethering attempts when abroad on the unlimited data plans.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I got clobbered for 60 quid when using dfds in the summer. Once the ferry is 2 miles off shore they switch on the MCP network which if your phone is on roaming it will automatically connect to. I took 3 photos and that bill was for data used however the charge for calls is also horrific. My advice would be stick your phone on flight mode while crossing the channel by boat.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Had another trawl around shops in Peterborough today
Spoke to the manager in 3 and he confirmed it's only 3 months in 12 and was concerned I'd been told otherwise in his branch.
Guy in EE confirmed that you can use uk plan for as long as you want for calls and texts but not data which still has roaming charges.
Carphone Warehouse now seems the best bet. With their Takeaway plan all phones cost about the same £25 with varying amounts of calls/texts/data. A Samsung Galaxy S5 would come with 600 minutes, 5000 txts and 1GB data. Useable as much as you like currently in 22 countries (not Croatia though where I was last week). Uses 3 network.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Claude B wrote: |
| Spoke to the manager in 3 and he confirmed it's only 3 months in 12 and was concerned I'd been told otherwise in his branch. |
On three occasions I've tried to find out about service plans in shops (once in an O2 shop, couple of times in a Three shop) and on each occasion the staff were clueless. Didn't seem to know anything beyond was was listed on the POS displays around the shop. I'm not surprised that you were fed duff advice on the finer details of the Feel At Home plan, it was one of the things that the Three staff in my local store were clueless about.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
pam w
super-snowHead
Posts: 46205
Location: le Beaufortain, France or Chichester Harbour
No, local French calls aren't included. I wish I could switch SIMs on my phone - that would be the answer. Having two is just too much! I don't think you'd get away with using the Feel at Home service for 6 months and it doesn't work to pop into Switzerland or Italy either.
_________________
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
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3 feel at home does work in both Switzerland and Italy
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| kevinraine wrote: |
| 3 feel at home does work in both Switzerland and Italy |
It does, but visiting those countries from another Feel At Home country such as France does not 'reset' the time limit for a single trip away from home.
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Exactly, and that's why it doesn't work to "pop into" those countries.
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Worked fantastically in the 3 Valleeys Last year 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Am hoping for a useable service in the Alps from next week, rather than the sketchy, at best 2g, signal I could get last Christmas.
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Incidentally, the girl in the shop told me they might well not notice if I used the phone to tether to a laptop - but judging the comments above, the girls in the shops are not too reliable! As I'm travelling by car I might take the laptop (which is a big hefty heavy one) anyway. It'll also be useful if I decide to embark on writing my new novel....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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They noticed my tethering immediately , even iphone to ipad (i.e. still ios/Safari). You need to be reasonably technically sneaky to get through the tethering detection.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
You need to be reasonably technically sneaky
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 I don't think anybody would call me technically sneaky
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I have used 3 for the last 2 years, I live in Europe and only go back to the UK maybe 1 week per year. I have had unlimited calls, texts and data in France and Italy for those 2 years with no issues at all, also tether to my laptop frequently.
Lottie
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You know it makes sense.
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I wish I got decent service from 3 in the UK. MrHL is on ER and gets 4g all the time. I struggle to get an H signal
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@holidayloverxx, my 3 signal round home isn't good - particularly bad in chichester. But I use my wifi at home and don't use the phone much out and about. I have the 3 service largely for travelling - this next French trip is it's last chance to perform!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I've had poor signal at home with Vodafone, but it has suddenly picked up to 4G, although one of my work places gets no data signal at all, and we have no wifi. My phone pings constantly on the 5 minute journey home.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Am now in the Alps. Three connected to Orange but slow 2g only. 3g shown on list but can't connect to it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I'm almost certainly going with idmobile which is carphone warehouse using 3 network. £25 a month with a Samsung Galaxy S5 600 mins, 5000 txts and 1000 MB which is plenty for me. Unlimited use in about 100 countries. Might however have sim only for first year at £15, only 12 month contract too.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| On many occasions I've tried to find out about something they are selling in shops and on each occasion the staff were clueless. |
FIFY! 
Actually there is one long established electrical and electronic components shop in my home town of Derby where all the staff do have a detailed knowledge of the products that they sell. It's such a refreshing change to find a shop like that!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| pam w wrote: |
| No, local French calls aren't included. I wish I could switch SIMs on my phone - that would be the answer. Having two is just too much! I don't think you'd get away with using the Feel at Home service for 6 months and it doesn't work to pop into Switzerland or Italy either. |
I believe that there are some phones that are Dual Sim...although not sure how and in what way :S
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@SnoodyMcFlude, yes, there are dual sim phones but mine's not one of them. @Claude B, try to find out what sort of network the carphone warehouse arrangement would give you in LDA
There are much better networks here than the measly three Feel at home system is letting me connect to.
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@pam w, thanks I think it's the same, best of a bad bunch I think, 12 month sim only then.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Claude B wrote: |
| I'm almost certainly going with idmobile which is carphone warehouse using 3 network. £25 a month with a Samsung Galaxy S5 600 mins, 5000 txts and 1000 MB which is plenty for me. Unlimited use in about 100 countries. Might however have sim only for first year at £15, only 12 month contract too. |
I am interested in plans that include roaming and currently use Three which has been mostly great.
Where do you get the "100 countries" from? Their website says 29:
"You can roam at no extra cost in 29 countries"
Also in the T&C:
"10.2.3 TakeAway Plan is only available to UK residents on holiday or business trips abroad. You must use make a call, send a SMS or use data once every 30 days to maintain use of your TakeAway Plan. If you use your entire inclusive allowance whilst roaming in any 2 months within a 12 month period, it may affect your roaming services and prevent you from using roaming in the future."
Not entirely clear. So you'd have to use a you full allowance of everything or your allowance of either call/text/data? Whichever, something to bear in mind if you're going to stay abroad 6+ months. Those plan (and Three's) are designed for holidays and business trips, not for expats.
Use abroad aside, ID is still more expensive than Three. I pay £15 for unlimited data/text and more calls than I'll ever need. At that price on ID mobile I'm tied to a 12mths contract and only 1GB data.. On 4G, 1GB is easly eaten...
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@Kruisler, Thanks, I've been told in 3 different Carphone Warehouse stores that it's unlimited  They also told me, 99 countries I think and I did find that online too. Are you quoting from idmobile? I'll investigate further too. I agree its more expensive, if I have sim only 4GG data use isn't an issue as my phone is only 3G. Certainly none in the Alps.
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FAQ
