Free Mobile.

[Chiefluvvie]

LOL - I know how you feel Chancer - lots of examples!

Most recently I also transfered to Free on their unlimited deal - between Virginmobile and Free they managed to 'loose' my original mobile number - one I've had for 7 years!

Highly inconvenient and, guess what? All my fault !! After all - I'm ONLY the customer......

Chiefluvvie

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]LOL - I know how you feel Chancer - lots of examples! Most recently I also transfered to Free on their unlimited deal - between Virginmobile and Free they managed to 'loose' my original mobile number - one I've had for 7 years! Highly inconvenient and, guess what? All my fault !! After all - I'm ONLY the customer...... Chiefluvvie[/quote]

Did you forget to use your RIO?[I]

[pachapapa]

[quote user="NormanH"]I am going to 'attack' the Free helpline today, but my workaround for the moment is this:

I send SMSs to the UK vie Skype. You can buy £10 of credit which lasts (unlike the Free cards which were advertised as having 3 months only validity)
On Skype you can indicate the mobile number to which you want the reply to be sent, so I put my 2€ Sim number.

The disadvantage of this is that you have to be somewhere with Internet access to send by Skype...
[/quote]

Quote from comments 7th feb from link below; might be worth bookmarking the site.

Paul03

Poste a 2012-02-07 09:33:13

Aujourd'hui 7 février, la hotline de Free, que je viens d'appeler, est incapable de nous dire à quelle date sera activer l'option d'avance 5 € pour les forfaits à 2 € option qui permet de téléphoner et passer des SMS à l'étranger ! ! !
Quelqu'un a-t-il une petite idée ? ? ? ?

http://www.freemobileasso.com/forfait-2-60min60sms/469-le-forfait-free-mobile-a-2-euros-avec-1h-dappels-et-60-sms?pageNumber=3&pageNumber=0#udjaCommentsWrapper

[Chiefluvvie]

pachapapa wrote : Did you forget to use your RIO?

 

Now don't be silly pachapapa ! I used my RIO, did everything as per the website and between Free and Virgin it got screwed up. Long, long boring story of fairly typical French customer dis-service. Eventually decided to give up, change my number and get on with my life. Peasants! 

Chiefluvvie

[NormanH]

Thanks pp...

I had used that site before; but had lost the URL .

Looks like it will be possible to send SMSs and call the UK, but not yet...

[Kong]

forfait 2€, overseas calls etc.

I'm a patient man - we'll see if and when.

jk

[Chancer]

My free Free (€2 but not to me) carte sim arrived, I activated it on the website but the phone is asking me for a PINcode which I have never used on any other simcards, something else to forget, will i get an e-mail from Free with it?

A bit of an anti climax as i thought i would be up and running by now.

AAAAGHHHH!!!!!

I recalled that I did indeed have a pincode on one of the previous cartes, it was my standard one, so i tried it and the phone simlocked, it then asked me for the PUK code, I entered the one for the Free carte sim, it then asked me for a new pin, I enetered one, then asked for confirmation, did it again, now when it asks me for the pin and I enter it the phone just switches off every time.

Why does life have to be so bloomin complicated!

Any ideas or suggestions?

[pachapapa]

The default code is probably 1234 at least that is the default code for my Samsung 3D Plasma 127 cm TV set with internet connection; same thing for my sans-fil telephones and whole lot of other things but not my electric toaster.

Afterwards in conjunction with your on line subscriber page you can change the PIN code number and validate with Free.

I strongly recommend doing this as I NOW KNOW YOUR PIN NUMBER.[:D][:P][6]

http://www.google.fr/search?q=Free+%E2%82%AC2+SIM+code+PIN&rls=com.microsoft:fr:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7MEDA&redir_esc=&ei=WPo0T_brKaqO0AWFtNigAg

[pachapapa]

The Leveson Inquiry shows that 999/1000 celebrities use 1234 as a PIN.[:-))]

[NormanH]

I think it is written on the back of the card.

Both mine were indeed 1234, although I have also had 0000 previously [:)]

[pachapapa]

My Leclerc fidelity card was "0000" but I changed it to "1234" to be more secure.[:D]

[Salty Sam]

[quote user="Chancer"]

My free Free (€2 but not to me) carte sim arrived, I activated it on the website but the phone is asking me for a PINcode which I have never used on any other simcards, something else to forget, will i get an e-mail from Free with it?

A bit of an anti climax as i thought i would be up and running by now.

AAAAGHHHH!!!!!

I recalled that I did indeed have a pincode on one of the previous cartes, it was my standard one, so i tried it and the phone simlocked, it then asked me for the PUK code, I entered the one for the Free carte sim, it then asked me for a new pin, I enetered one, then asked for confirmation, did it again, now when it asks me for the pin and I enter it the phone just switches off every time.

Why does life have to be so bloomin complicated!

Any ideas or suggestions?

[/quote]

Has your phone been unlocked to allow you to use 'Free' or is it still locked to your previous service provider?

How many times have you tried entering the Pin? You may have exceeded the permitted number of attempts before the phone decides enough is enough. Usually 3 attempts allowed.

From what you describe, it sounds like your PUK code is now blocked, together with the Sim, and you'll need to contact Free.

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Salty Sam"][quote user="Chancer"]

My free Free (€2 but not to me) carte sim arrived, I activated it on the website but the phone is asking me for a PINcode which I have never used on any other simcards, something else to forget, will i get an e-mail from Free with it?

A bit of an anti climax as i thought i would be up and running by now.

AAAAGHHHH!!!!!

I recalled that I did indeed have a pincode on one of the previous cartes, it was my standard one, so i tried it and the phone simlocked, it then asked me for the PUK code, I entered the one for the Free carte sim, it then asked me for a new pin, I enetered one, then asked for confirmation, did it again, now when it asks me for the pin and I enter it the phone just switches off every time.

Why does life have to be so bloomin complicated!

Any ideas or suggestions?

[/quote]

Has your phone been unlocked to allow you to use 'Free' or is it still locked to your previous service provider?

How many times have you tried entering the Pin? You may have exceeded the permitted number of attempts before the phone decides enough is enough. Usually 3 attempts allowed.

From what you describe, it sounds like your PUK code is now blocked, together with the Sim, and you'll need to contact Free.

[/quote]

[Tuto Pour Les Nuls] Activation, carte SIM, code PIN et code PUK chez Free Mobile…

7

Conso-acteur 09 février 2012 Dossiers

FreeMobileActu reçoit de trop nombreux courriels portant sur des questions très simples qui se posent aux nouveaux abonnés Free Mobile n’ayant pas l’habitude des termes barbares (SIM, PIN, PUK, etc.). Ce mini-tutoriel pour les nuls ne sera donc pas inutile, même en 2012 .

1. Comment activer votre ligne:

Il vous suffit de vous rendre sur http://mobile.free.fr/moncompte puis entrez votre identifiant et votre mot de passe disponibles dans votre mail de confirmation. Ensuite, cliquez simplement sur:  » Vous avez reçu votre carte SIM? Cliquez ici pour l’activer » (zone rouge ci-dessous). Il faudra parfois attendre quelques minutes avant l’activation.

2. Comment découper votre carte SIM: 

Si vous avez un téléphone classique, votre carte sim doit-être découpée de cette manière:

Si vous possedez un iPhone, votre carte SIM doit-être découpée de cette manière:

Si vous vous êtes trompé, il vous faudra acheter un adaptateur micro-Sim (Prix sur internet: de 1 à 5 euros):

3. Quel code PIN? 

Le code PIN est simplement 1234. Il est inscrit sur la carte que vous avez reçu. Si vous vous êtes trompé en tapant 3 fois un code erroné (souvent 0000), il faudra entrer votre code PUK.

4. Le code PUK 

Votre code PUK est unique et se trouve sur le support de votre carte SIM. Il ne faut donc pas jeter cette carte à la poubelle. Si votre téléphone est vérouillé, il vous demandera ce code. Entrez le, puis entrez le code PIN 1234.

[pachapapa]

Due credit & merçi.

A propos de l'auteur

Freenaute certes, mais pas fou. Conso-acteur est un pseudonyme choisi à dessein, car FMA (Free Mobile Actu) n'est pas l'agence de presse de Free Mobile. Le genre de rédacteur qui n'aime pas la duperie, la doxa, les crédits (revolving) et qui le dit.

[pachapapa]

Google map of Free 3G emetteurs.

http://maps.google.fr/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=209003653872065395695.0004a1c1102ba69c6075b

[Chancer]

I found that site PPP and was amused by the cheeky *******s writing :

FreeMobileActu reçoit de trop nombreux courriels portant sur des questions très simples qui se posent aux nouveaux abonnés Free Mobile n’ayant pas l’habitude des termes barbares (SIM, PIN, PUK, etc.). Ce mini-tutoriel pour les nuls ne sera donc pas inutile, même en 2012 .

Up to now I had said that their communications were excellent but they slipped up on the instructions to activate the sim cards by making no mention of the PIN, also all the numbers printed on the card were tinier than the small print in an SFR contract!!

I still have the problem but have narrowed it down to my phone itself, its a very curious state of affairs, I will try to summarise briefly.

As Salty Sam said I did indeed lock the thing up and had to use the PUK code and reset the PIN, that is when it really started to deconner it  would ask for the PIN but either not recognise it or shut down, sometimes cycling between switching and and shutting down so i put the phone on charge and tried using my spare mobile.

Spare mobile (Nokia 3310) works with Lebara, Asda and the Free sim cards [B] and recognises the PIN I chose, I finally set the security to no pin required.

The mobile I prefer to use as it has all my contacts on it is a Nokia 2310, it is set to not require a pin code, perhaps its the sim not the phone but in any case the Free sim does not ask for a pin on the other phone, it works fine for both the Lebara and Asda sims but if I use the Free one (which works fine on the other Nokia) it just powers up, then shuts down and keeps cycling between the two.

Does anyone have any ideas please? Thankyou.

I now have free calls but from a phone that does not have any numbers in its tiny memory and at the moment cant see how to get them onto the Free simcard, if we resolve the phone/sim problem I may create a seperate thread for this as having my numbers on both the UK and French simcards has always been impossible for me to achieve, all I ever manage to do is to duplicate them on the one simcard [:(]

[pachapapa]

Glad you are half way home. Dont know anything about mobiles but I am going to migrate internet to Free soon and I shall then convince someone to change their iPhone4 for an iPhone 4S.[:)] But I am following the free Free SIMstuff with interest; right with you on the virtual learning curve.

[Salty Sam]

[quote user="Chancer"]

I still have the problem but have narrowed it down to my phone itself, its a very curious state of affairs, I will try to summarise briefly.

As Salty Sam said I did indeed lock the thing up and had to use the PUK code and reset the PIN, that is when it really started to deconner it  would ask for the PIN but either not recognise it or shut down, sometimes cycling between switching and and shutting down so i put the phone on charge and tried using my spare mobile.

Spare mobile (Nokia 3310) works with Lebara, Asda and the Free sim cards [B] and recognises the PIN I chose, I finally set the security to no pin required.

The mobile I prefer to use as it has all my contacts on it is a Nokia 2310, it is set to not require a pin code, perhaps its the sim not the phone but in any case the Free sim does not ask for a pin on the other phone, it works fine for both the Lebara and Asda sims but if I use the Free one (which works fine on the other Nokia) it just powers up, then shuts down and keeps cycling between the two.

Does anyone have any ideas please? Thankyou.

[/quote]

As you've managed to achieve a connection using one phone but not another, are you sure the Nokia 2310 is actually unlocked to all network providers ?

[Quillan]

When you say it works with other SIM's is that on past experience or now. I ask this because it might be something simple like the battery. My experience of putting the wrong SIM in a blocked phone is that it comes up with some sort of message like it can't recognise the SIM.

For moving contact details around from one phone to another or from phone memory to SIM memory you may find Nokia's "Nokia PC Suit" helpful. This is an older program rather than use the newer OVI Suite which is useless with older phones.

[Salty Sam]

After looking up your phone Chancer, and reading Q's contribution, I have to agree it does sound more like the battery which is causing the problems you're now experiencing.

It looks like the phone is quite an old model, and I'd be very surprised if the battery - if original, was still capable of holding a charge.

[Chancer]

Thanks for the replies, its my most modern phone and like my car I dont want to replace it with a newer generation one.

It is definitely unlocked on all networks, I have been using it for a few years on Asda, NRJ, Lebara etc.

Whilst the battery appears good, it will last a couple of weeks on standby and if I recieve a long call (I never make them!!) it doesnt seem to affect the remaining battery life, it did deconner a bit recently which could be battery related and hence I bought a spare phone from E-bay, I thought it was the same model but I slipped up and bought the older 3310, this is fine for a standby but it doesnt have an internal memory.

The problems I had with the 2310 was that I left it out in the car in sub zero temperatures, perhaps the battery disharged fully at that time, the display did not work although when charging I could see a faint charging symbol, once charged it did not beep when switched on and the display was dead, hence ordering the spare phone, however once it had been in the warm a few days it sprang back to life and the battery still appears to be very strong and unaffected, I left it out one more time by mistake and the same thing happened although it recovered in hours not days.

Now the problem phone, the 2310 has the internal memory with all my numbers on it, it works faultlessly with both the Lebara and my Asda simcards, with the Free one it does this switching off and rebooting thing which I agree does suggest either a weak battery or a massive instantaneous discharge but only with the Free sim, using this phone I have copied all my contacts onto both the Lebara and Asda sim cards and checked them in the other working phone, the Lebara just being a back as the sim is no longer active, the problem I have is that I want to use the Free simcard but it has no numbers on it, it wont work in the phone that has them in its memory and I cant copy them across, I have to carry 2 phones one to retrieve the numbers the other to dial from!!!

Yes I could manually copy them but life is too short my eyesight not great even using the larger Nokia.

I may have a spare battery (in the cold car!!!) so will put that on charge and try it, this afternoon I will visit a friend and hopefully using one of his old phones (which will all be newer than mine) we can copy the data from one sim card to the phone and then to my Free sim card, if no-one has any suggestions I will then buy another Nokia 2310 with battery from E-bay, I really have no need for a smart phone, I like Nokia because they are uncomplicated compared to others I have tried, I was lent a newer but still very old Ericsson and I could not even work out how to make a call!!!

I want to stick with the 2310 because it has lasted very well, its very compact yet I can still just about make out the text figures on the keys and read the display.

[Quillan]

If you look around for a copy of the Nokia software I mentioned and assuming you have a cable for the Nokia phones you have (might be a micro USB port if your really lucky) you can copy all the contacts down on to your PC from either memory or the SIM on all or any of the phones, manipulate them how you want then you can upload them to either the SIM or phone memory. Better still you will have a backup, if you have to buy a 'new' phone from EBay again you simply plug it in and download, nice and simple, I have given a link below. There is a list of phones that it works with and I believe both your phones are on it. What have you got to loose? [;-)]

http://europe.nokia.com/support/product-support/pc-suites/compatibility-and-download#

By the way if you leave them on the charger for long periods of time you can possible experience 'memory' battery problems with older models bit like you used to get with older video cameras and alike. I normally find that from flat after about five minutes you can operate the phone while it's still charging. You can also try it without a SIM it will probably come up with a message to the effect that SIM is not installed (as a test). With cold weather it's normally the battery and display that gives problems, the chips etc will probably be OK which explains why you got a feint display.

 

[Chancer]

I dont have a cable although to my surprise there does appear to be data port on the newer phone, it is not listed amongst those for the software, its just a basic phone and for me it does everything that I could want of it and could not be improved on, I was gobsmacked to see how many models they have developed since, it just shows what a throwaway world we live in.

Not many years ago we were blissfully ignorant of the existance of or need for a mobile phone, then came the first bricks and we gradually realised that yes they could be an advantage at times and gradually became owners and many were seduced into keep changing their phones for ever more must have features, as far as I am concerned this phone is final and best evolution, there is nothing that i want or need beyond it, I dont want to take photographs, I have a camera, I dont want to send or recieve picture messages, I dont want to order a pizza or anything else on line from my phone, I dont need any apps whatever they are, I am sure their are loads of other things that I am blissfully unaware of.

There that feels better!! [:D]

P.S. Even with the software and lead were it to be compatible with the phone I would still not be able to ge the numbers onto the Free simcard.

Of course a few years ago I would not even be bleating about the problem, when I got a new phone I would have to pick up my address book and manually enter all the names and phone numbers, I also would not have relied on the phone to store all the numbers they would have been written down in said address book so I guess I am the master of my own misfortune!

P.S. Yes the phone without any simcard brings up the message, to recap it behaves with the other simcards its just the Free one causing the problem but only on that phone.

[Quillan]

The only thing I can think of is the age of the phone and that the SIM is more 'modern' than the others.

So to recap the SIM works fine in all your other phones except this particular one which unfortunately happens to be the phone with all your contact details in.

So perhaps one question to ask is the other phones 'newer' in model terms than this one?

I do have a more modern phone, basically a Linux phone or more popularly called Android. There are lots of little goodies I do use like timers, time zones, diary (so I can see if I have a free room when somebody phones me away from home) and few other things but I also am not very keen on SMS.

[pachapapa]

Is it possible that the free €2 SIM can only be functional in one mobile due to the one per foyer restriction; whereas the paid €2 SIM might be more transferable.