Moving abroad with Pay and Go

[Anonymous]

Hi.

I'm moving abroad in September - a long-term move, and was just wondering what is best to do with my phone. I'm currently on Pay and Go.

I will be moving to Spain, and have heard that O2 have an equivalent/sister company in Spain. Is it possible to change my phone on to that network? Or should I get a new sim card out there? Is it worth keeping my current O2 sim card for any time I visit the UK again, or will it be cancelled?

Thanks for any help you can give. I've tried to chat on live chat to an O2 expert but no one has responded, so thought I'd check here! 🙂

[Cleoriff]

Hi @Anonymous I spent half my life in Spain...I am there at the moment. I have a phone on O2 which is fine whilst I am on holiday. I have friends who have moved out here. They buy a spanish phone and a local sim ...MUCH cheaper. The main network is Movistar and is excellent.

One of my friends has 2 phones...she lives here in Spain but goes back to the UK often...Uses a Spanish phone and sim whilst here...an O2 payg phone for when she is back in the UK...She has the best of both worlds

Also it is a good idea to keep your o2 phone....as long as you use it once every 6months it will remain active if it is topped up...

I will also add Spain has a massive amount of WiFi..bars restaurants hotels etc etc etc. You can go anywhere and use free wifi and save yourself a fortune (I recently had WiFi installed in my apartment...best investment I ever made)

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

Just get a new sim for your phone when in Spain.
If you need to unlock your phone for this new sim to work do it now whilst you are still in the UK.
Details here http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Other-Products-Services/Unlocking-an-O2-phone-to-use-a-different-SIM-ca...
If you want to keep your O2 sim active you need to make a chargeable call at least once every 6 months and top it up once every 999 days.

[jonsie]

If your phone has been on O2 for 12 months (unless iphone and doesn't apply) then get your phone unlocked and use a Spanish sim. O2 Travel rates are fairly good if you want to use the O2 sim but you will need a UK debit/credit card to top up.

If the number isn't one you wish to keep then there is no benefit in keeping it if you decide non a local sim. You would have to make a chargeable call with the UK sim every 6 months to keep it active.

Good luck in the future with your move to Spain.:smileyhappy:

[Cleoriff]

I wouldn't want to argue with our two forum seniors.......but if I was moving to Spain and going back to the UK frequently...I would have the two phones personally.....It's just I have so many friends who live here and do just that and find ultimately they are better off....

Matter of choice really....:smileywink:

[jonsie]

To a certain extent I would agree but being P&G a sim can be picked up anywhere on a visit to the UK.

[Cleoriff]

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@jonsie wrote:

To a certain extent I would agree but being P&G a sim can be picked up anywhere on a visit to the UK.

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Well you see as soon as they land..... they text or call immediately on the UK phone...for someone to come and collect them from airport (so they already have the O2 payg phone ready to go)....:smileywink:

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone!

Really helpful information and advice!

I think I will keep my O2 sim for when I come back to the UK. Just need to remember to stop my bolt ons!

In Spain, is Movistar good, or someone else like Lycamobile? I've seen recommendations for Lycamobile.

[MI5]

Movistar gives very good coverage in Spain and I think Lyca uses the same network anyway, so it will come down to a price decision for your usage.

[Bambino]

The only reason to keep the UK Pay & Go sim active would be if friends in the UK knew the OP's UK number, and the OP wanted to keep that number. If that's not a priority there's no point in having to remember to make a call every six months or keep the P&G sim topped up.