Using your mobile phone at home

[PossumGirl]

I've never really been able to use my mobile from home (not here, not in L.A.) because the signal just never seems to be good enough to get through the walls.  There are times when it would be useful to have a second line (not a Skype or similar) that I can use if Mr. Possum is on the first one.

We're with FT/Orange and have a Livebox (that has never given us any trouble) and I decided to look into their new product UNIK.  For 10€ a month, your phone links with  your Livebox via wi-fi, so it is using your internet connection rather than the cell towers.  This takes care of the issue of no signal inside the house (as long as you get good wi-fi signal within your home) and lets you use your mobile with no problem.  You get unlimited calls to all landlines in France.  They have a couple of other plans that will let you call mobile and Europe/North America as well.

You DO have to get one of the Unik compatible phones, however I was in need of a new phone anyway, and had plenty of points, so it cost me about 10€.

PG

[Jc]

When I first used my mobile in France,I used to have to hang off one end of my balcony to get a signal but enough people complained and we now have local aerials.

[Martin963]

I've just had a vision of an entire village up in arms at the Mairie,  complaining about a Brit hangin off one end of their balcony!

Lovely that, made me smile.

[cooperlola]

We had the same problem with Orange but Bouygyetel (sp?) works perfectly. We tried out UK mobile in the house to see which French network it picked up, then subscribed to that one.  No more hanging out of the window in suicidal positions to get a signal now!

YourUNIK thing sounds good, P/G.

[Mayennaise]

My cousin has recently purchased a house in a small hamlet about 25kms from us. As he is using it as a holiday home until he retires in a few years, he is not interested in a connection to FT yet. Problem is, the hamlet is in a very bad signal area. He has found that by standing on the kitchen cupboard , he CAN get a signal!! It makes me smile when he rings here, I have a picture of him standing on said cupboard and I have trouble holding a serious conversation with him. The last one was along the lines of " Ask Kev (MOH) how I turn off the well pump as I've got a leak!!" I hasten to add that MOH used to be an engineer and loves the Boys Toys in my cousins' sous-sol, so has acquainted himself with their workings!

[Clair]

Before the new mast was installed, we could only get a signal by standing on the third step close to the centre post of the stairs and facing south... [blink]

true! [:D]

[PossumGirl]

It's actually very funny here sometimes to see people wandering around the village looking for a place where they can get a signal.  Before we got our French mobile when we moved, we checked with a few people to find out which company had the best coverage in the area and it seems to be Orange.

So far, I really like the Unik set-up. I'm going to call today and pay the extra 5€ per month for international calling though, because both Mr. P and I always seem to want to call someone in the States at the same time and Skype (or Yahoo Messenger) just aren't always convenient.

PG