Alpinemist

Thanks Quillan I just called Orange helpline but was told they don't deal with satellite, only internet and phone so we have to call a TV technician. Strange we bought the package from Orange but they can't send a tech to install a new dish. I have no objection to paying to get things going. I think the dish is probably the wrong one.

To assume I didn't need a phone line isn't that stupid. where we lived previously we had a modum plugged into the mains then a linksys and that was that. Wireless Internet you could take anywhere. Anyways back to my problem. Danny etc where am i going wrong. We now have internet and phone service. The phone guy came out and activated a phone line that was in the garage but had never been used before. So now we just don't have TV. I have the yellow cable from Decoder into yellow socket on the Livebox. Bought a new cable going from sat dish to a new wall socket and then into decoder. Both type F connectors (screw ones) and a HDMI cable going from decoder to HDMI plug 1 on the TV. All as per the instruction manual. Checked all connections and they seem good. Sat dish is at least 8 years old, hasn't been used in 6 years but was working then. What trouble shooting can I do? Many thanks, please be kind I have spent many hours on this and have missed all Le Tour which I love.

Thanks Everyone Looks like we will be without TV for a while. At least we know what's wrong. Thanks for all your help.

No we don't have any phone sockets, must admit I thought it was all done via wireless internet. We have a satellite dish with the wire coming through the wall. Nothing connected to it yet if that helps. Have we just wasted our money getting Orange ? Any options available at this stage?

Hi Sid, Nice thought but no i don't use outlook. The Livebox @ symbol is flasing Red quickly which I think means that we have connected to the livebox but the livebox isn't connecting to the internet. Do we need a telephone socket in the house for Orange Livebox to work?

If it helps, we paid 19 euros for them to set it up but looking on the laptop I can't see what they set up. The only Orange program on there is Orange Internet Anywhere which i think relates to the Dongle I'm using at the moment. Sooooo confused. How can it say connected but not be able toload a web page? I hate being beaten by computers.

Hi Danny I put the number in and it came up connected. I then tried to open IE and it came up as web page not available. Tried to do the manual set up but I don't have a phone jack in the house so I got confused. Think I might have to wait a week to get a technician out, one is coming for the TV next week. Thanks for helping.

Hi Danny The Orange shop took our laptop for 10 mins and said they set up the Livebox for us, which I assume meant they installed it. When I try to connect it's asking for a Network Password to connect to the Livebox.

Thanks Martin You would think they would send them by e-mail. The postman doesn't know us yet and there's no house numbers round here so hopefully it will arrive, I'll try the number though. Can I buy any telephone and plug it iin or does it need to be some Orange specific thing.

To follow on from my previous post, we went to the Orange shop and they were excellent. Very little English but between my bungled french and their professionalism we got through. So I have the Livewire package TV, internet and phone and a technician is coming next week to set us up. However I have received an e-mail to say that it is ready for connection so I plugged in the Livebox to the wall and pressed connect on my laptop for the internet and it asked for a password. I don't have one. Where do you get the password from ? Double checked the e-mail they sent and it's not on there. Long drive to shop so not going there for a few days, anyone else have experience on where they got theirs from. Many thanks

Excellent - Thanks Danny and Jon

Hi All Been away for a while sorting things, but finally making the permanent move to France this Sunday. I've been trying with no luck to get hold of Orange (English speaking) to set up internet/TV and Phone. I googled to find they have a shop in Thonon which is close to us. We live in 74430. Anyone know if you can easily set up the package via the orange shop. Thinking of Livebox Star package (anyone have comments on this package?) Also any idea how long it takes to get set up and also if Orange for our area is any good. Lot of questions but want to get internet and phone asap, hard nowadays to survive without it. Many thanks

I did re-read my old thread before posting to make sure i wasn't duplicating. It was purely about when to declare to pay the tax. (thanks Coop for coming to my defence). To answer questions, I got a LHD for the same price as RHD. I'm on the old paper license as I've been out of the UK so long.  

So we ended up ordering a new car from a dealership in the UK (LHD). It was an OK deal so we decided against 2nd hand route. The question, when we move permanently to France and drive the car off the Ferry/Train do we need to register the car at customs or can we register in the next couple of days locally so we then get asked for the tax. We need to change driving licenses etc (we want to do everything properly). When we initially arrive the car will be loaded plus me, OH and dog so I'm sure it will be chaos. If we can avoid customs for that one day it would be good.      

Thanks Claire, it was an Apple store in th UK that told us that. Oops.

Virginia - I have been told that you can't download itunes music or movies direct onto the ipad. You mentioned that you download books, music etc. Is this person wrong or where do you download from? Also can you watch You Tube on it?  

I think also if you live in it as a primary residence for 3 years it bcomes CGT free. I'm another vote that there shouldn't be any CGT if you've owned it for 20 years. That's a long commitment. Didn't I read that this year they are also going to tax 2nd homes in France so you'll end up with a yearly tax and CGT when you sell if you stay a UK resident.

Thanks everyone. It seems that the wireless works so that's the main thing. I'll have a look at the Air and Ipad.  

In my defense I did try to delete the other one but it wouldn't let me...... Okay I'm just stupid for putting it in the wrong place the first time.  

So I'm thinking that on our impending move to France it might be worth buying an Apple IPad. That way we can keep google translation with us wherever we go. Visit the neighbours, Marie etc. So the question is: I understand you can change the keyboard to any language you want, so is there any benefit to buying one in France or in the UK. Does an english one pick up french wireless if your in the local hardware store for example or do you need a french one for this? Any benefit either way ? Techies, please advice a novice how this works.

I've thought for many years that the state pension would probably be abolished / reduced. Although it would be very nice to have it I've always planned as though the state would give me nothing, (It's looking more like that will be the case when we get there). We're just trying to break away from the grind of being tied to work to pay for things and enjoy life whilst we can, but it's surprising how it tries to drag you back in. We'll persevere and I'm sure it will be worth it in the end. We just decided if we don't try we'll never know. It will certainly help if we can get on the state health asap though !          

Thanks Coop That looks like a possibility. I'll have a better read over the weekend. I've fancied doing a small business but with no pressure of having to go through all the beaurocracy.

Thanks, I'll look into being an Autopreneur. No doubt I'll be back with questions on this :-) I'll head back over to your health site.  

I'm just a little disappointed in the whole thing. I'm the sort of person that looks on the bright side but feel this is just plain wrong. As it's a legal requirement to have health insurance the insurance companies can inflate pricing as they know you have no choice. My example - I am 41 years old and my wife 45. Both in good health. We purchased in France prior to this law coming into effect in 2007. The quote I just got back from Amariz $592.00 euros pm. How on earth can people pay that amount for 5 years. As I've worked outside the UK for so long I assume I don't qualify for an E121 ? so would have to pay 35,520 euros over 5 years if i chose that policy. That's a lot of money. That's as much as most peoples mortgages but at least you get equity back for paying a mortgage. I can't remember the last time I went to the doctor. It's sad, but must admit if I didn't already have a house in France I would probably choose somewhere else to live. Coop - Do you know any way of reducing / avoiding some of this health insurance cost. It's just insanely high. We just don't know what to do at this stage.  

No problem. I've tried to plan as best I can and read tons on this forum but know that in 2 months I will have loads of questions and will be picking your brains.