I have a mobile phone with an Italian SIM last used (in Italy) in November 2006. As I understand the situation, my SIM card has now expired.
I have plans to travel to Italy in about three weeks. How should I proceed to get a working phone once I've arrived there? Do I just go to a TIM store and buy a new card? Is there any way to keep and reactivate the old card, thus keeping my phone number? Can I keep my phone number with a new SIM card?
Finally --- I've read all the threads and FAQs, but it is not at all clear to me that I can reactivate (as opposed to refill) a phone with an expired SIM while in the US. Right? I can't do it from here?
I linked this thread to the Italy forum so we can get a larger exposure.
I think once a SIM has expired, your only option is to purchase a new SIM. I let my US SIM with T-mobile expire while I was in France. I just purchased a new SIM when I wanted to reactivate the US phone. It happened that I did want a new phone number because my previous number was long distance from my home phone so I wasn't too interested in keeping my previous number. To me that is the biggest disadvantage - not having an Italy number to give out before you leave.
When in Torino I tried to do exactly what you were suggetsing - reactivate an old TIM card. I was told that I couldn't do it. I bought a new card which they quickly had activated for me. Even better - they changed all the settings on the phone (and the TIM ones as well) to English.
Jerry
The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. ~G.K. Chesterton
Hmm. I've had the same Italian cell for about 6 years. I just go to the local tabbaci and buy more time. Now I can't remember if it's a Tim or the other big company so maybe it's not the same system.......But even if you just have to get a new card, that should be easy enough I would think...
Marian, if your Italian cell phone works in the US (i.e., if it is tri or quadband), you might want to do what someone suggested to me in another topic here. Once you have got your new SIM card, buy a Ricaricard before you leave Italy, and you can then add time for the phone from the US and keep the number active.
The law was changed last year [I think last year it was before the election] to require companies to reactive cards and up to some point return any remaining credit.
When did you last top it up? If it was Nov 2006 it would have expired Nov or maybe Dec 2007 so I think you should be able to get it going. Problem is I can't see this being a quick thing. Most likely they want to mail you a new card
Spending 5 Euros for a new card would be easier if you don't have lots of credit on it.
Does anyone know if it's possible to recharge an Italian cell phone from another European country? It will be more than 13 months between our Italian vacations (alas!), but we will be in Frankfort soon, and I have a Riccaricard that I could use.
Posts: 256 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 24 April 2003
I probably did have lots or Euros left from my last top up (which was in November 2006). If the TIM store at FCO is not too crowded, I'll try to take care of it there. Otherwise, I'll wait until I check into my hotel and try a tabacchi there.
I used the same phone in Israel, with an Israeli SIM that I bought on e-bay. But with this one I'd rather wait and check out the phone once I'm in Italy.
Does anyone know if it's possible to recharge an Italian cell phone from another European country?
Yes, if you have a Ricaricard. If it's a TIM card you can do it by text message. Send SMS to 4916 as follows: RIC XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (where XXX... = code number from Ricaricard)
Don't know about other phone companies, as I have only used TIM.
Originally posted by Marian: I probably did have lots or Euros left from my last top up (which was in November 2006). If the TIM store at FCO is not too crowded, I'll try to take care of it there. Otherwise, I'll wait until I check into my hotel and try a tabacchi there.
I doubt a tabacchi shop could do it. A real TIM shop would be your best bet.
Originally posted by JeanneM: Thanks, Roz. I guess you're saying that dialing 4916 (with a TIM/SIM phone) works outside of Italy?
Yes, it works IF your phone gets a signal in the US with the TIM card in place. If it was a cheap dual band phone purchased in Italy, it won't work, because it has to be at least a triband.
If it does work in the US, it will probably be roaming on the T-mobile network so you have to be somewhere you can pick up T-mobile. We recently did that recharge with ours from the US.
Is that confirmed from experience about 4916? I used my family's TIM phone in Amsterdam, made a couple of local calls, then called 4916. Instead of giving my balance, as it had done in Italy, it gave me a pitch (from TIM) to sign up for something that gave a better deal for roaming in Europe. I think I had the opportunity to sign up on the phone, but didn't; I wanted to have the full terms with any downside in front of me. I turned the phone on at Minneapolis airport and got no signal.
Yes, we actually did add 5 euro to our TIM card by calling 4916 from the US. In fact, we used the voice prompts. Someone had sent me very explicit instructions, so I was able to follow along. Then later I found the instructions for how to do it via SMS which would have been much easier! I did send an SMS (again from the US) to check that the transaction had gone through and got back a message saying that the amount had been added and when it would expire.
By the way, I also found this note, which I still haven't tried. Maybe someone else can tell me if they have: To change the voice prompts on your phone to English, send a text msg to 4916. In the message type in the words Lingua ing
You might have to change something on your phone to get it to pick up the US network. I remember on my first phone, there was something that had to be changed in the preferences. Or, of course, Andrew, you could have been in an area where the US roaming didn't work.
Well, my cell phone was purchased in Italy and is not a triband, therefore doesn't work in the U.S. My question was whether I could recharge that phone from Germany with a Riccaricard. From Andrew's answer, I'm guessing the 4916 number that one usually uses to check minutes and recharge won't work. Does anybody have any other ideas? Is there perhaps a prefix that one uses to reach TIM in Italy from another European country?
Posts: 256 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 24 April 2003
And for all I know, maybe a second call to 4916 from Amsterdam would have worked normally. Even though the phone doesn't have a signal now, the text messages received during that stay still show, and there's one inviting to call 48391 for more information on using the phone while roaming in Europe.
Slow Travel Talk 
