Requirements to
use a Spain SIM card.
What
do you need to use a Spain SIM?
All you need to be
able to use a Spanish SIM card is an
UNLOCKED GSM (European standard for digital cellular telephone service)
cell phone.
UNLOCKED
(also
known as "SIM FREE") means that your cell phone is not
locked into any one single cell network and hence it will take any SIM
card you put in it. For example, if you got your phone from T-Mobile
U.S.A. on a contract plan and the price of the phone was low because you
signed a 1 year + contract, odds are the phone is LOCKED into the
T-Mobile network. You will need to have it
UNLOCKED
before you can
use any other SIM card in it.
To be compatible with
Spanish (and/or other European) GSM networks, the handset (phone) needs to
be able to work on the 900/1800 MHZ frequencies used in Europe and needs
to be UNLOCKED.
- _____
- Q: How can I tell if my phone
itself is GSM compatible?
- A: The best way to do this is
to do one (or more) of the following...
- · Look on the box and/or
documentation that came with it.
- · Ask those who sold it to
you (the store or those at your cell carrier) if it is GSM
compatible for Europe and UNLOCKED.
- · Go online and look up
your brand and model to see if it can handle the 900/1800
MHZ frequencies.
While we can not
possibly know if your phone in
UNLOCKED
from here, we can help you to know
if it is European GSM compatible. Please feel free to contact
us with the brand and model so we can look it up.
_____
Q: How can I tell if my phone
is UNLOCKED?
A: Try
putting a SIM card from another cell network into your phone and
turning it on.
For example:
· If
you are in UK and on, let's say, the "Orange" network, try
to put an "O2", "BT Cellnet", etc... SIM into
your phone and see if it works when you turn it on.
· f
you are in USA and on the "T-Mobile" network, try to put a
SIM chip from "Cingular", "ATT",etc... into your
phone and see if it works when you turn it on.
If
you are able to make calls your phone is unlocked and you need to do
nothing more.
If when you turn on the phone
with the other networks SIM card in it and get a message on screen
saying “Wrong SIM card” or similar, you will need to have your
cellphone unlocked.
- _____
- A: We unlock most phones for
a fee of 30 Euros but can not unlock most models remotely. We need to have the
phone for an hour to do this so it is not your best option.
-
- If you have a European
compatible but LOCKED phone, you should ask your current cell
carrier to UNLOCKED
it for you. Often times simply telling them
that you are moving overseas will do the trick, especially if you
have been a customer and had a contract plan with them for at least
6 months (maybe more or less depending on the cell company).
-
- Depending on how far into
your contract you are at the time, your cell company may or may not
charge you to UNLOCKED
the phone.
-
- Depending on the country you
live in, you will also be able to find a lot of 3rd party services
(via either a physical shop or the web) that will be glad tounlock
your phone for a fee.
-
- AGAIN,
WE CAN UNLOCK
PHONES (SOME REMOTELY AND SOME AT OUR
OFFICES IN MADRID) BUT WE CHARGE 15-30€ (EUROS) DEPENDING ON THE
MODEL.
-
-
FOR
MORE ON OUR UNLOCKING SERVICES, CLICK
HERE.
_____
- HELPFUL WARNINGS/TIPS
WE HAVE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS:
-
- 1) "Cingular" does
not NORMALLY lock its world phones. This does NOT MEAN THAT WE ARE
SAYING THAT IF YOU HAVE A CINGULAR PHONE IT IS UNLOCKED. It is up to
you to be sure your phone is not locked.
- 2) "T-Mobile" locks
every phone they sell (and then some!!!) and are infamous for giving
their clients the run-around when asked if they can unlock their
phone for use with another SIM card that is not their own. Be sure
to get the "subsidiary" or "secondary" password
and unlocking sequence from T-Mobile before you count your chickens.
-
- IF
YOU DO NOT HAVE AN UNLOCKED GSM PHONE FOR USE HERE, WE ALSO SELL
PHONE+SIM PACKS (BOTH DUAL AND TRI-BAND), CLICK
HERE
FOR MORE.
