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Smartphone contracts in France


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A little advice please. Up until now oh and I have managed very nicely using a retro Nokia phone as a mobile phone. Basically we only needed it in the car "just in case". It caan't be used in the house as the walls are too thick to receive a signal. The writing is now on the wall that banks etc are wanting extra checks for online banking and wish to send codes etc to access as required. This means it is probably time for a smartphone. My daughter will give us one of her old phones but I imagine we need some sort of basic contract in France. I also want to know whether our wifi means that the smartphone can be used indoors (unlike the old phone). Additionally advice on how one sets up some sort of basic contract with the aim of keeping costs low. By the way our main phone is with orange but we have a router and not a livebox (if this is relevant).
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these people seem to give a good summary of what is available:

https://en.selectra.info/broadband-phone-france/providers

If your land line/internet is with orange then it may be useful to look at what bundles they offer

https://en.selectra.info/broadband-phone-france/providers/orange/mobile

Others may be able to guide you about how good different providers are for your particular area.

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Thanks so much Richard - I'll have a look at this. Strange really as we're both so well adept at using the internet but have, to date, avoided the smartphone because we never felt we needed to it. My trick with Nokia is to buy 2 months renewal but to keep the code and not to activate it unless we're travelling a distance. This means that I can spend just 75 euros a year for 6 months actual usage.
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Minnie: you might be shocked to discover that your"just 75 euros a year for 6 months actual usage" is actually very expensive compared to available smartphone deals.

If you just want, say 5Gb of data: enough to do the little you seem to need, then there ar deals available with introductory offers for as little as €2.99 a month. Even when they revert to non-promo prices, there are deals at €7.99 and 9.99 per month.

(ETA: all the prices quoted are for "forfaits sans engagement" so they don't tie you into a contract)

https://alloforfait.fr/mobile/comparatif-sans-engagement

The above take no account of bundled deals available from your internet provider (you might find Orange have a bundle for you as an existing customer that beats the above).

Your main consideration will be to find a provider whose signal allows you to use it at home. That's something nobody can advise you about. Your best bet may well be to ask friends with smartphones to pop round and see if they can get a good signal in, or close to, your house.
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A smartphone can do things that a non-smartphone can't, but in terms of being a phone, ie receiving and sending SMS and making and receiving calls, it is exactly the same. If it doesn't get a mobile signal then it won't do any of those things.

In some people's houses where there is next to no signal, I have discovered certain places I can put my phone and it will find one. Usually these tend to be leaning up against a certain window that has a clear view with no trees etc obstructing it.

FWIW a friend of mine has a prehistoric, absolutely hideous Motorola phone, horrible ringtones, held together with sellotape, it is an abomination. I'm not a poser but I would die of embarrassment if it was mine. And it's a constant source of amusement to him that his phone will pick up a signal where my nice new smartphone can't. I do wonder whether phones that are nothing but phones, are actually better at being phones than the ones that multitask.
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Definitely. However, if you want a phone that is a computer and can access tinternet, you can't avoid having a phone that does lots of things. I spend most of my "phone call" time in France outdoors regardless of weather, because the house has many black spots. I bought a Bouygues dongle a few years back when the price was attractive and roaming charges were still high....only to find that although at that point my phone had indicated the best signal was Bouygues, a month later it was Orange. In my house, my UK mobile alternates between those two networks, picking up the strongest on the day. This also means that its constant search for the best signal drains the battery faster than a very fast thing, unless I disable mobile data and roaming.which somewhat defeats the object.
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My S4 handed down from OH (S6 ATM) and youngest son (S8 ATM) does. My older phone was probably slightly younger than Minnies variety and did get wifi at home.

Kids don't have old phones nowadays!!! And are tech savvy - even for older people with academic qualifications in physics.
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Minnie I have a contract with Coriolis, a side kick to orange. I get 4g, free sms to French mobiles and it picks up the WiFi very well. I have my phone set to 4g when not in range of a Wi-Fi signal.

It costs just under 14€ a month, most of the time I don't use anything like that as I get WiFi.

I'm sure I've used my phone when I've been at your house so that possibly answers the question of getting a signal or 4g.

To contact most family and friends in the UK and Spain I use WhatsApp, which is free.

Good luck
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That's what my husband wondered. We're fairly internet savy but have no experience of smartphones. Worst case scenario my little nokia (with orange mobicarte) will pick up a signal at various points in the garden so assume that smartphone would do likewise. On balance and having weighed up the advice here I think that the cheap orange package will do us well. Thanks everyone for your contributions.
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Am I missing a trick, or has this thread got a bit at cross purposes.

There are wifi signals, and there are mobile phone signals.

As I understand it, Minnie wants to be sure of getting codes sent by her bank by SMS.

SMS come via mobile phone signals. They don't come via wifi signals.

Having a smartphone isn't necessarily going to make any difference to the ease of receiving SMS, is it? You can have full on wifi but if there is no coverage from your mobile operator, you can't make or receive calls or send or receive SMS. Or has my brain gone soft?
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[quote user="richard51"]My oh has a contract with 3. she cant get a signal in a lot of places in the UK and its krap totally in france. My O2 no problem.

No point talking to them, even in France - change.

Simple.[/quote]

I'm more than happy for now. I have found that the ability to use my data etc. unrestricted in France for three months of the year, as well as being able to make unrestricted use of my phone when on holiday in places as far afield as Vietnam and Sri Lanka has served well. Not to mention the fact that for now they're the only mobile company to say unreservedly that they'll maintain the current roaming arrangements post-Brexit.

I check my alternatives monthly by means of an online tool, and I can't get a better deal from any other mobile provider. So, thanks for the advice but I won't be taking it.
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Ha Ha.

Could you not get Wifi where you were staying abroad. Especially in the tourist areas. Americans demand it. I know.

Three sales people are good if you believe that it will remain the same post Brexit - have you got it in writing?

Has your OH got O2 and is the signal better in your house in France?

Minnie - glad you are sorted.

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ET has made the important point; banks send codes by SMS which uses one of the channels on the mobile signal. It does not arrive via messenger or any of the other Apps that can be accessed by WiFi. When I need a code from my bank it arrives on my iPhone that it connected to the mobile phone data and my WiFi, not by my iPad that is connected only to the WiFi. (it’s a bit confusing because a SMS message sent from an Apple device is received by both)

The important thing is that a smartphone will be no better for receiving SMS messages sent from your bank (or Amazon, or Dominos, or ...) than your current Nokia. If you have a French SIM card in your Nokia and put it somewhere that you know it will pick up a signal it will work fine. Your best bet for a SIM card will be from either Free or Leclerc if you just want a basic deal.

My 11 year old smartphone picks up WiFi as well as my 18 month old one. I have a Tesco SIM in it because my U.K. bank needs a U.K. mobile number and although it rarely gets used for much else, it can be used through my WiFi like any other smart item.
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Are you talking about "picking up" WiFi as in automatically using your home(or any available) WiFi signal to make calls if your 3/4G signal is too weak? Or are you talking about being able to link your phone to the internet? Curious. Do you get a small symbol that looks like a combination of a telephone handset and a WiFi logo when you're making calls?

I suggest reading this:

https://www.4g.co.uk/news/ee-o2-three-and-vodafone-which-networks-offer-wi-fi-calling/

It explains which networks offer the service and which telephones are compatible. As you will note, nothing prior to the Samsung S6 works. Mine is a very early S6 so it won't. Nothing to do with the network or operator.

I'm pretty sure you're not referring to the above when describing how you can phone using your household WiFi, however I await your further explanation.

Of course, I can connect my telephone to any WiFi and use that to make calls using WhatsApp for example.

Oh, and https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/02/mobile-firms-not-ruling-out-roaming-charges-after-brexit/amp/

ETA: Just to be clear. My point is that as ET points out (and BB , later, reiterates), you need a phone that will receive SMS on the mobile network. If your mobile signal is rubbish, the SMS won't come through either. Having wifi connection to your phone changes nothing, because wifi still won't deliver the SMS. if your phone is newer, then it will make and receive calls and SMS over the wifi network. Connecting your phone to wifi is not the same thing.
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Of course I was referring to a wifi connection to a computer and not being able to get a sms signal that route.

I was not aware of wifi-calling on compatible modern smartphones but it would not be much extra benefit to me if there is no wifi around on ones travels. Perhaps in a few years time.

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