Help needed with iPad abroad

[ellabella]

Hello, sorry to seem ignorant, but I have just returned from abroad and was unable to go on the net with my 32G iPad. I have a rolling 3G contract with Orange. I allowed roaming when away, but the iPad did not find any wireless or internet connections. I thought all I would have to do was set it to Roaming and it would find the net. What am I missing out on doing? Do I have to contact Orange? What do I need to do to be able to access the net and check my emails. Please help me as I will be going away again in the near future and the info would be really useful. Thanks to the forum in anticipation.
ellabella

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Yes - you need to contact Orange before you travel. Although you have enabled ‘roaming’ on your iPad, Orange accounts are not, by default, ‘roaming enabled’. On a copy of your latest invoice you’ll find the number to call. Have the account number or mobile number of your microSIM available when you call. It’s slightly more complex for the iPad because you cannot call Orange from the iPad, so they can’t ‘see’ your mobile ID like they could if the microSIM was in an iPhone.

I’ve used my Orange account overseas on many occasions and there’s no problem once the account is updated. On a ’phone you get warning text messages if your roaming charges exceed a certain threshold - clearly that’s not possible on the iPad, so be careful. I reset the data volume indicator under ‘Settings’ before I leave to keep track of how much I’m using! Another option, of course, is to purchase a local pre-paid microSIM in the country you’re visiting to avoid roaming charges - though they’re not too bad in Europe.

Enjoy your trip!

Tim
Scotland

 

[ellabella]

Thank you Forum especially to Tim!

Thank you Tim, I will get in touch with Orange straight away, I knew I was doing something wrong!!!
ellabella

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

If Orange give you any hassle post again! I know some guys in Orange who can sort this out if the ‘Call Centre’ is not ‘iPad enabled’...

Tim
Scotland

 

[ellabella]

Not 'roaming enabled' on Orange

Hello again Tim,
Contacted Orange and after 15 mins of hanging on as the person checked this and that, I finally cut off the call. Retried again and a more helpful person basically told me that the iPad is NOT 'roaming enabled' with Orange. Went onto the Orange website and it actually does say that in the small print. Now I am doubly stumped, can't connect it to the wireless system and it appears that Orange that does no 'roam'. As you have the iPad what settings have you set it to go get wireless abroad. Mine is set to search automatically, it just keeps searching and does not give me any choice as to which to choose. Am I doing something wrong there. When I am here at home and travelling it finds free wireless and if there isn't one free lets me know which one to choose. Is yours set to anything different.
Sorry for the long winded post but I would like if possible understand where I can go from here
Ornella

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

'Settings', 'Cellular Data', 'Data Roaming', 'On'

See whether you've got that set up - OK, you almost certainly have - but it's worth a try....

Tim
Scotland

 

[ellabella]

Cellular Date 'ON'

Hi Tim,
Thanks for replying, and yep I have the cellular data switched On. I might take my iPad to the Apple store and see what they say.
I am disappointed with Orange not allowing roaming on iPad! I might need to change supplier even though Orange came out best on costs.
Any other advice you may have would be gratefully received.
ellabella

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Hi Tim,
Thanks for replying, and yep I have the cellular data switched On. I might take my iPad to the Apple store and see what they say.
I am disappointed with Orange not allowing roaming on iPad! I might need to change supplier even though Orange came out best on costs.
Any other advice you may have would be gratefully received.
ellabella

I don’t quite understand what is happening here. I have a ‘business’ rolling monthly contract with Orange and I have no problem.

Just to be clear, you say you have ‘Cellular Data’ -> ‘On’, but do you have ‘Data Roaming’ -> ‘On’. You almost certainly meant to imply this, so please accept my apologies, but I just wanted to be sure.

Again - I’ve used my Orange account in the USA, Austria, the Netherlands and Italy with no problems at all. So I can’t understand why they’re telling you they don’t allow roaming!

Tim
Scotland

 

[Alexh]

Hi Tim and ellabella,

I have been reading this thread as I have just been on the phone to Orange after noticing that my account was not enabled for overseas roaming. I was categorically told that orange were not allowing roaming for iPads overseas! I have already been on line to order an O2 sim card, which I am hoping might be more use.
I have the so-called 'pay as you go' account with orange and I wonder if this is the reason they are so reluctant?

If you have better contacts in orange Tim, it would be really useful if you are able to give a number to call to get this resolved...

Regards
Alex

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Hi Tim and ellabella,

I have been reading this thread as I have just been on the phone to Orange after noticing that my account was not enabled for overseas roaming. I was categorically told that orange were not allowing roaming for iPads overseas! I have already been on line to order an O2 sim card, which I am hoping might be more use.
I have the so-called 'pay as you go' account with orange and I wonder if this is the reason they are so reluctant?

If you have better contacts in orange Tim, it would be really useful if you are able to give a number to call to get this resolved...

Regards
Alex

I don't understand this because, for sure, I use my iPad overseas - USA, Italy, Austria, Norway. I'm not sure how the OP got on with Orange, because I didn't hear from her again.

Just a thought - is your iPad one that was bought from Orange? These are carrier locked, so there might be an issue there. My iPad was SIM-free, so I can use a variety of SIMs - normally I only use my UK SIMs briefly in the country I'm visiting before purchasing a local SIM so as to avoid roaming charges.

Tim

 

[Alexh]

Thanks for your post Tim. I bought my iPad on the Internet direct from apple. You can also order a free sim card through the apple site, which is what I did and I chose orange because they seem to have the cheapest pay as you go plan. Hopefully that means the iPad is unlocked and I can use a sim card from any other company. Purchasing a local sim card seems like the most sensible thing to do.
Alex

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Thanks for your post Tim. I bought my iPad on the Internet direct from apple. You can also order a free sim card through the apple site, which is what I did and I chose orange because they seem to have the cheapest pay as you go plan. Hopefully that means the iPad is unlocked and I can use a sim card from any other company. Purchasing a local sim card seems like the most sensible thing to do.
Alex

Yes -- absolutely for sure, if you bought it from Apple, it's not SIM-locked, so you're good to go with any SIM card. If you're going to be using it abroad, you might want to check in advance whether the local service provider has microSIMs readily available, they're not that common yet. I usually take a SIM cutter with me (see Amazon) in case I get stuck somewhere that I can only find a regular SIM. The difference between a regular SIM and a microSIM is only the trimming off of some excess plastic and a SIM cutter (they're quite cheap) has a slot into which you can fit a regular SIM and then, in one go, it guillotines off the excess plastic and trims it down to size. The advantage of getting a cutter is that you also get an adaptor with the cutter that the microSIM can fit into that takes it back to a normal size, in case you want to use that SIM in another device that doesn't accommodate microSIMs.

Tim