Using iPhone in Spain (Cheap data plan??)

[156457]

Hi,

I'm going to Spain in just under a week and was wondering if anyone could advise me on the cheapest, short term/PAYG data plan for iPhone so I can pop it in my phone when I arrive? I plan on taking my microsim out and using the spanish one in it so I can access web etc as I used this more than calls, but I'm only going for a week so I need something like a €10 topup for 500MB of data (similar to how O2 bolt-ons work)...

Anyone have any ideas?

Cheers

(PS. I go to Spain fairly often, 3-4 times a year, so this would be very helpful.)

 

[Chocolatemilty]

Is your iPhone unlocked or did you buy it from AT&T? If it's from at&t it's probably locked, and if you haven't saved the 1.59 baseband (your modem firmware under Settings>General>About) you'll have to use the Gevey SIM solution. You can find that in the iPhone Hacks section in this forum. If it's factory-unlocked, then you can pop a Spanish microSIM right in and use it there.

If you don't have a factory-unlocked iPhone and you mentioned you go to Spain 3-4 times a year, I'd highly suggested you sell your iPhone 4 and use that cash to buy either one online that has the 1.49 baseband preserved or a factory-unlocked one. The upfront cost is steep ($649/$749), but they'll be great savings with using overseas carriers instead of AT&T.

 

[elie.fares]

^ I think he's from the UK so his phone is unlocked.

I'm not sure about Spain but I contacted Orange FR since I'm going for a couple of days to France and a few days in Spain next month and I know French, not Spanish.
They said that you can get a microsim for 5 euros. You fill it up with whatever credit you need and you can use that credit for browsing, texting and calling.

 

[lukefinch]

Hi,

I'm going to Spain in just under a week and was wondering if anyone could advise me on the cheapest, short term/PAYG data plan for iPhone so I can pop it in my phone when I arrive? I plan on taking my microsim out and using the spanish one in it so I can access web etc as I used this more than calls, but I'm only going for a week so I need something like a €10 topup for 500MB of data (similar to how O2 bolt-ons work)...

Anyone have any ideas?

Cheers

(PS. I go to Spain fairly often, 3-4 times a year, so this would be very helpful.)

I was also wondering about this as i'm going on my first holiday without my parents to Mallorca next year and it would be very useful to be able to use google maps on my iPhone when i get there without it costing a small fortune.

Am i right in presuming that a spanish micro sim would work in Mallorca, a spanish island? And where would i get one from?

 

[156457]

Is your iPhone unlocked or did you buy it from AT&T? If it's from at&t it's probably locked, and if you haven't saved the 1.59 baseband (your modem firmware under Settings>General>About) you'll have to use the Gevey SIM solution. You can find that in the iPhone Hacks section in this forum. If it's factory-unlocked, then you can pop a Spanish microSIM right in and use it there.

If you don't have a factory-unlocked iPhone and you mentioned you go to Spain 3-4 times a year, I'd highly suggested you sell your iPhone 4 and use that cash to buy either one online that has the 1.49 baseband preserved or a factory-unlocked one. The upfront cost is steep ($649/$749), but they'll be great savings with using overseas carriers instead of AT&T.

Yup, in the UK, iPhone is unlocked. Thanks for the info though!

^ I think he's from the UK so his phone is unlocked.

I'm not sure about Spain but I contacted Orange FR since I'm going for a couple of days to France and a few days in Spain next month and I know French, not Spanish.
They said that you can get a microsim for 5 euros. You fill it up with whatever credit you need and you can use that credit for browsing, texting and calling.

Hmm, hopefully they'll do something similar in Spain.

I was also wondering about this as i'm going on my first holiday without my parents to Mallorca next year and it would be very useful to be able to use google maps on my iPhone when i get there without it costing a small fortune.

Am i right in presuming that a spanish micro sim would work in Mallorca, a spanish island? And where would i get one from?

Yep, Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza all fall under 'Spain', so yes it would work. You could probably get one from any Telefonica, Orange, Movistar or Vodafone shop. But I'm just wondering if any do a good deal etc. Who offers best MB/€.

Cheers