I've checked my manual and tried "Tools" as well as "Phone status". Can't seem to find how much time (euros) is left on the TIM card. I have a RAZR V3. Anyone know? thanks very much.

Tim and Vodafone both have numbers that you dial and the company sends you a text message telling you how much you have remaining on your SIM. The number for Vodafone is 404. I don't remember what it is for TIM. You could check at a TIM store or maybe find it on the TIM website. Or ask on the Italy forum.....

I assume you're still in Italy.

Bill

It's 4916 for TIM but I have only had luck dailing this number when in Italy.

aoelian goddess,

Did you ever get an answer to your question?

H

thanks for asking.

I'm back in the US and the 4916 number for TIM isn't working here. I get an error message.

I went to the TIM website but it was in Italian and didn't translate into English so I gave up.

It will be a surprise for next time I use it in Italy I guess.

Altho most people here may know this, be aware that you must add time (money) every so often or else your number will expire. This just happened to a friend of mine, and it also happened to us once when we put €100 on the phone. The money lasted so long, but one day we discovered we couldn't make a call! Luckily we could still receive calls, and when a friend called she was able to contact TIM for us and get our service restored.

I don't remember what the time period is, but perhaps someone else will.

Thanks. It would be good to know the time frame.

I plan to give the phone to my daughter when she goes to school for a semester in Italy in January 2008.

I put 30euro recharge on the card when I was in Italy and last used the phone in mid July 2007. It would be nice to keep the same number because (miracle) everyone in the family actually remembers it!!!

I would like to know as well how long the TIM minutes are valid for.

I just loaned my phone to a friend and they thought they were doing me a favor by returning it with E65 on it!!! I gave it to them with E10.

Maybe they felt guilty for losing my little plastic information card for the phone BUT.... I made a copy of all the information before she left with it!

How can you do this on line from the US????

Thanks

Doug,

My Italian TIM minutes last 1 year from the last time you added minutes. If you have a reverse U.S. adapter, you can plug in your phone to charge it (we used to wait until we got to Italy to charge it there, then bought this handy little thing, and my phone is charged and ready to use when I stop off the plane if need be), and press the "SEND" (or green) button. It will tell you how many Euro are left.

Palma,

That's what I needed to know and I should have no problems as we hope to be back before they expire.

I do have the reverse charger so we are good there.

Thanks!

What a reverse charger? Our Italian cell phone is Nokia, very similiar to the one we had when we lived in the states. When I'm in the states I just charge my Italian cellphone using the old (U.S.) charger, then it's ready to go as soon as I step off the plane. After quite a few trips back and forth, it's never been a problem.

When you are in Italy, you can set up an online account for your TIM number, so that you can check it via the web when you are back in the US. You could also add money online if your card were about to expire and you wanted to keep it active. But you have to be in Italy to set it up, because they send you a password via text message, and you probably can't get the text message in the US.

I think the web site is mostly in Italian though, so you might need to know a little Italian in order to set it up. (And of course have access to a computer in Italy.) Or possibly someone in a TIM store could help you, if there is an English-speaking salesperson.

- Roz

For TIM and Wind the SIM prepaid credit expires after 12 months since last recharge. For Vodafone it's 11 months.

aoelian goddess

If you would like we can try to walk through the procedure that works well in the area of the US where we live. This procedure will give you the credit balance remaining and the expiration date of that credit. Required is your unlocked quad phone, service available in your area from T-Mobile and your TIM SIM card.

Let me know if you want to try.

H

aspndesign, thanks that is very thoughtful of you.

T mobile doesn't service my area.

But it will be OK in the long run because my daughter can take the phone and TIM/SIM to Italy in January. And the number will still be active because I just recharged the time(euros) and used it last month. so it won't have expired by then.

It seems easier to check from Italy and we'll remember to do that before we leave Italy next time.

a g,

Sounds as if you will be in good shape and getting back to Italy and a working 4916 before your year is up.

Keeping up w/ TIM credit & expiration and recharging from this country is not an exact science but I find it can be simply and effectively done using T-Mobile. Does not work in my area w/ Cingular even though T-Mobile and Cingular both have roaming agreements w/ TIM.

If something should change I do have some spare Ricaricards wherein you could try a recharge and expiration extension w/ Cingular and keep your number.

Hope things work fine in January.

H

You can send an SMS register to check your TIM card balance online. You should be able to do it from the US; at least I was able to do it from the UK on Orange's network.

Send an SMS with the text "TIM xxxxxxxx" (where xxxxxxxx is an 8 digit pin code of your choice. I suggest the first 8 digits of your SSN) to 49001.

If you get an SMS back (from "i.box") then go to the website www.tim.it

On the right hand side, under "119", type in 3347922520 in the "User" box, and your 8-digit pin code in the box with dots in it, Then click the "Entra" button next to it.

Your balance will be shown under "il tuo traffico" on the page that comes up.

Just a quick note. Backinlondon's 119 method is a super way to stay current with your TIM SIM card's current status including expiration date. Once you get registered w/ TIM your cell phone's SIM card information and Ricaricard recharges are available to you from anywhere as long as you have internet access. Just one caveat, after registering, enter your personal SIM card (phone) number in the "user" field and not the one shown above.

H