french sim in uk mobile

[Meo]

I'm moving to France for eight months and was wondering whether it's possible to simply buy a French sim card for a few euros (no handset) for use in my uk mobile. I've checked the websites of the the major french network providers, and everything seems to involve purchasing the whole caboodle.

 

[Quillan]

Yes you can but the first, and most important thing you must do is get your phone un-blocked and if you contract is under a year this might be difficult or cost you a lot of money.

After that you can buy a French SIM like from Orange (as an example) on Pay as You Go and use that but then you need to watch out that the number does not expire as you can't top it up in the UK even if you take a PYG pre payment card with you, I know I tried a few years back.

[Ecossais]

You can see the costs of French Pay As You Go SIMs on Carphone Warehouse’s French chain website – http://www.phonehouse.com

 

Have a look at this section: http://www5.phonehouse.fr/commerce/servlet/frfr-knowledgebase-Main?FOLDER=NETWORKS&NODE_ID=3092

 

An Orange “Mobicarte” (Pay As You Go SIM) is €30.  There used to be information on the

http://www.orange.fr website in the PAYG phone section but only way to get any info at the moment seems to be by typing “mobicarte” in the search box on the homepage.

 

If you have a UK PAYG mobile it will most likely only work with the UK network’s SIM cards.  As Quillan says you will need an “unlocked” handset to be able to use a French SIM.

 

Try a different network SIM in your mobile – if it works, your phone will work fine with a French SIM.  If it doesn’t work with the other SIM, you’d be best getting your mobile unlocked in the UK before you go.  Your network can provide you with the unlock code for around £25 - £45.  Alternatively a “back street” phone shop / repairer should be able to unlock your phone for around £10 - £15.