Want to use my IPAD in Italy

[godcape]

Hi godcape. You back from Sicily? Was curious if you had any problems getting your SIM from 3 and how well it worked for you during your trip?

Hi I am back to UK from Sicily.

Report about my mobile SIM:

There are Vodafone shop and 3(Tre) shop in airport in Rome.
They speak English, so you do not have any problem.

First my Vodafone SIM for iPad I bought before in Rome in Italy, was perfect.
Very good connection and work OK.
I have "Internet Day" package €2/day which very cheap and only they charge for the day €2 when I use for the day.
Also there is Vodafone Italy app for iPad called "My 190"
Please download it, you can see all Vodafone shop near to you and you can see how much you spend, how much you left, usage, and your package etc..
I did top up at the shop and very easy.

House we stayed west side of Sicily which is near Trapani called Scopello, signal for all phone call signals include TIM, I WIND, 3, Vodafone was not strong because all high mountains.
Even mobile phone was very difficult to use.
But my vodafone iPad signal was OK all the time!!!!! Better than mobile phones.

I went 3 at airport you can get SIM very easy with your passport.
My vodafone iPad SIM was good at Airport, so I did not buy iPad 3 SIM.
Instead I have bought pay as you go SIM for my WiFi Key router at 3 shop in Rome airport for all my friends to use.
This worked very well at Airport in Rome, but not at house in Scopello, no signal.
Summer time WEB €3/week. This one is not for iPad SIM, for USB dongle.
Pay as you go, but rolling every week. You can stop this from web site, if you create account in the Italian site.
But this SIM I could not use in Scopello. Signal was very weak. Only the place I stayed.
When I went back to Rome this card was OK.

My iPad was perfect!!!! I was very happy.

In my opinion, I go to Italy time to time, so Vodafone €2/day is perfect and work OK for me.
I have still my top up left and I can use this for next trip again in italy.

I cannot do the top up from web site for both 3 and vodafone, even I made account to login.
Because I do not have Italian credit card with Italian address.
But I can do the top up from Bancomat (cash machine) or Tabaccheria or mobile shop.

Again iPad was perfect.
Speed of Vodafone internet in my iPad was very good.

 

[fab138]

So it sounds like vodofone worked better for the locations you were in. I did some additional research and it looks like they may be better for the locations I'm heading to as well.

You went with the "Internet Day" package €2/day. Since we are going to be there for 12 days I was thinking that the €15/month package would be better for us but wasn't sure if it was contract free like the "Internet Day" package at €2/day? Would you be able to help me out finding out what the difference is between these two packages is?

I also looked at the "My 190" app and its all in Italian so I'm not sure if that will cause me problems? My hope is that I can get the €15/month package for one month with cash and not have to worry about recharging it.

Lastly is the APN setting to vodofone "web.omnitel.it"?

 

[p&p]

I also looked at the "My 190" app and its all in Italian so I'm not sure if that will cause me problems? My hope is that I can get the €15/month package for one month with cash and not have to worry about recharging it.

Lastly is the APN setting to vodofone "web.omnitel.it"?

Hi fab138,

they are both contract free. You have to specify it when you will buy it: "internet facile sempre ricaricabile per iPad".

The rechargeable one has 5 euro default traffic inside too.

APN is correct.

Bye.

p&p

 

[godcape]

Yes, P&P is right.
Both No contract. Pay as you Go.
You have to tell them when you order which package you want.
P&P helped me a lot. and now I have 3 and vodafone both pay as you go.

 

[BReynolds]

Hey everyone thanks for all of the great info.

Ill be moving to Italy from Japan in a week and will be living there for a year or two. Does anyone have any idea what the connection speeds are like in Italy? And does anyone have a service provider recommendation for someone living in Italy and not traveling?

Thanks again!

 

[p&p]

Hey everyone thanks for all of the great info.

Ill be moving to Italy from Japan in a week and will be living there for a year or two. Does anyone have any idea what the connection speeds are like in Italy? And does anyone have a service provider recommendation for someone living in Italy and not traveling?

Thanks again!

Hi BReynolds,

You would have to tell us where you will stay in Italy, in this manner you can know if you are covered by adsl connection.

In that case you can choose the provider. I think the "best" could be Telecom.
But there are other providers: libero, fastweb, vodafone....

Telecom is the owner of the hardware and rent it to the other...more or less.

If you are not covered by adsl you have to choose internet by sim and here the biggest are tim (telecom mobile), vodafone, 3 (the fastest if coverage is ok).

Hope to be clear.

Bye.

p&p

 

[polwirtz]

Select the RIGHT provider !!

Hi all,
I am also going to Italy once a month for about a week.
Over the last two years I have tried Tre "3", Vodaphone and TIM. They are all pretty complicated to re-charge but I recommend you find yourself a shop that sells them all and become their regular client.,

My experience in Como and around Lake Como, only TIM works properly. Tre hardly at all!

I am not saying get TIM, buit make sure you get a provider with decent coverage in the area where you spend most time!

Pol

 

[jtcurran]

Hi everyone,

I have just returned from Florence and had great success with the 3 SIM. I didn't bring a computer (I love the iPad) and had a great connection throughout my stay. I have returned to the UK. The important question: 3 on the iPad offers free roaming in a number of European countries including my home of the UK. My problem is I can't figure out where to go to recharge the SIM. Amazingly, I can roam in the UK at a better rate than with a UK SIM!

Any help greatly appreciated.

Best,

John

 

[robynls]

Hi everyone,

I have just returned from Florence and had great success with the 3 SIM. I didn't bring a computer (I love the iPad) and had a great connection throughout my stay. I have returned to the UK. The important question: 3 on the iPad offers free roaming in a number of European countries including my home of the UK. My problem is I can't figure out where to go to recharge the SIM. Amazingly, I can roam in the UK at a better rate than with a UK SIM!

Any help greatly appreciated.

Best,

John

If you haven't already done so, you might like to try the 3 Italy web site. Most providers cater for recharging via the web

Robyn

 

[xochipillitzin]

Thank you for this useful thread,

I was in Italy last year and returning in February. I'm impressed with 3GB a month for a dedicated iPad plan from 3! Looking forward to buying and using it.
As far as I remember, 3 has poor coverage, being Tim and Vodaphone thé most reliable, but since you get what you pay for, I'm willing to give them a try.

I will keep you posted, Ciao!

 

[robynls]

I have just returned from 6 weeks in Firenze (Florence). I bought prepaid SIM cards for both my iPhone and iPad from WIND. I am very happy with the service that I received from their representatives and for the product. I used the store in the street near via Cerchi.

Ciao,
Robyn

 

[xochipillitzin]

I have just returned from 6 weeks in Firenze (Florence). I bought prepaid SIM cards for both my iPhone and iPad from WIND. I am very happy with the service that I received from their representatives and for the product. I used the store in the street near via Cerchi.

Ciao,
Robyn

Robyn,

Can you please tell us about Wind rates for iPad?
any other info about your internet experience would be appreciated,

Thank you

 

[4rugal]

we're going next week!

my wife and i are going next week with a tour. we are going to Rome, Florence, and Venice. I was thinking of using Tre... is it at the airport in Rome? thanks!

 

[xochipillitzin]

You may find a Tre store nearby if not at the airport.

As I promised, this is my report:

I checked other options including Vodafone, Wind and Tim and finally decided to buy the Tre for iPad microSIM. It was a painless procedure but i did buy a plan they have that works like this: You pay €33 and you get SIX months of service with the first month FREE. I'm in Italy for just three months, but I got it anyway knowing that I will spend all the money on Roaming and 'over the limit' charges.

You have to start using the chip until the next day to start otherwise they start eating up your money. The plan gives you 3GB of use monthly at 100MB a day increments.

When your daily 100MB run out, you're charged .60€ a MB. This can get expensive fast.

The coverage is very good in cities and very sketchy in rural areas, I'm happy with it.

The roaming costs also .60€ a MB, you can read your consumption on the General
settings tab and allow roaming if you wish.

Keep in mind that using text will never consume your 100MB a day limit, but excessive pictures and music downloads or voice appplications like Skype will.

I'm in Florence and I travel north and south of italy and coverage is reliable.

Hope you enjoy your stay in this beautiful and amazing country.

 

[fab138]

My wife and I went to Italy about 9 months ago. We flew into Rome and couldn't find a tre shop in the airport but if you take the main train into Rome there is a tre shop on the lower level of the station. They were very helpful. I had printed out the webpage from the tre website both in English and via googles translator so that I had the one in Italian as well as English. We purchased a sim for 5 euro and it lasted the full two weeks we were there. We spent time in Rome, Florence, Pisa, cinque Terre, Sirmione, and Venice and never had a problem.