Orange Pre-Pay SIM Card

I don't normally write reviews, but in this case, I wanted to outline procedures for people who are looking to buy this SIM Card prior to travel to the United Kingdom. This is accurate as of mid-2013.- I ordered this card off of Amazon. It arrived in a small box, which contained the SIM Card (standard size, not "iphone" size, as well as a Credit Card-style "Top Up" card (more on that later).- The SIM loaded fine into my cheap, unlocked, quad-band phone. It found a signal from T-Mobile, and I soon started getting text messages from Orange... welcoming me to Orange, giving me the mobile's Phone Number, telling me where I was, etc.- After reading other reviews, I didn't even bother trying to pre-load credit before leaving the US. However, knowing the phone number in advance was my main reason for purchasing this card instead of waiting for arrival in the UK (I like to know that everything is ready to go, and wanted the Taxi company to be able to call me, or me them.- Note that UK numbers are a bit different. The full number is 44 (0) #####-#####. If you're calling from the US, you leave out the (0)... if dialing in the UK, you leave off the 44. Just google "how to call abroad" and it has more details.- I went to the Orange website (orange.co.uk), and I was able to register my mobile number. I was also able to register/link the Top Up card to my mobile number. Note that due to time zone differences, it always seemed that the Orange site was down, or not completely working, when I was trying to do things in the evenings/weekends. If you encounter this, it's not an issue with you, or your computer... just their site.- VERY IMPORTANT: Orange "Pay as you Go" plans have changed a bit, and the sales information here on Amazon isn't necessarily up-to-date. Every new number registered is on a plan called "Orange Starter" --- which has some pretty miserable rates. Orange names their plans after animals (Dolphin, Monkey, etc.). If you're looking to buy this card while in the US, with the primary goal of being able to call back to the US from the UK, as well as to call around the UK, then definitely log into your Orange account and switch to the "Camel" plan. Camel is intended for those that call abroad a lot. Basically, it ends up being 10p/min (that's "pence" per minute... current exchange rate makes that about 16 cents/min) to call from the UK to any US number... and 25p/min to call numbers in the UK. Incoming texts are free... outgoing depends on where you're sending them.- Upon landing in the UK, I turned on my phone, and it instantly found signal. Next, I got a text message from my taxi company saying that my taxi was on its way, so I knew for sure the phone worked.- I went to the newsstand store after exiting customs, and walked up to the register. I simply handed the cashier my already-registered Top Up card, and 20 GBP, and she rang it up. As she was handing me the receipt, my phone beeped with a new message, saying that I had just topped up with 20 GBP. By registering the card, it makes it super-easy to top up like this, virtually anywhere. I could have used my credit card as well (if you read other reviews, it warns that it's near-impossible to get the Orange folks to accept a non-UK credit card over the phone or online... but it's no problem when in-country).- A cool thing about the "Camel" plan is that when you top up, your "special gift" is free International Calling minutes. By topping up with at least 15 GBP, I got 120 free international minutes. If I had topped up with 30 GBP, it would have been 240 free minutes. That further increased the value of having the card.- Signal strength was great everywhere I traveled... literally, the connection was better than my personal cell phone calling another cell phone in the same house.- You have to perform an account action every so-many days (I think it's 90) in order to keep your number and account active. I still have about 5 GBP in my account. The easiest option while in the US is probably to just send a text message. Doing anything while in the US is a bit expensive (exact rates available are on the site), but anything to keep the account going.Overall, I had a great experience with this card. As I said, the product information, and even the information on the Orange site, left things quite vague. I had to do A LOT of research to fully comprehend how everything worked, and the difference between Orange Starter, and the Camel Plan. You definitely want the Camel Plan. Also, I can't comment as to how data services worked. The cheap phone I bought for this purpose does calls and text... it's not a smart phone, so I didn't bother trying anything data-related. I think it would work fine, but I can't guarantee the costs.I'm happy to pass on my knowledge of this stuff to save others from the confusion!

I bought the sim card before a trip to UK, hoping to preload them in order to have a working phone once I land there. Unfortunately, it was not possible to load credits on the phone from USA. First of all, Orange's website requires an UK address. Even when I entered the hotel address, that didn't work ... apparently, they don't accept US credit cards. Then my credit card was also locked by Amex and they froze it due to a fraud alert!! I patched things up with them, but even after this, was not able to load the SIM.So, I ended up in London with a phone that could only receive calls.Even in London, was not able to load it using credit cards.The ONLY way to load the sim, was to go to any store and buy prepaid vouchers.The per minute rates are very high, and DON'T bother trying to use the Internet ... just loading Google Maps once ate up 5 pounds which is like 8 dollars!!Call quality - not too good. Kept dropping my calls frequently.So, bottom line -- just buy a phone once you land in London.

In the package: One SIM card and one generic Top-Up card. The card I received fit the regular and micro SIM size. It has the punch-out perforations for the micro. The phone number has 1pence credit on it.One: The phone you plan to use the card in MUST be GSM AND unlocked. Go no further until you have verified this point.Two: When you try to activate the card by placing it in your phone, there MUST be good GSM service in your area. (ie: AT&T or T-Mobile). No GSM service, wont work.I put the card in my unlocked AT&T, Quad Band, phone and about 2 minutes later got the following text message:"We've updated your settings to bring you the latest services. To activate please switch your phone off and on again. See orange.co.uk/help for more details."Re-started phone.Next text message received, about 1 minute later:"Hello. Welcome to Orange and thanks for joining us Your new mobile number is 0797XXXXXXX. You can start using it straight away."Next text message received:"Hi from Orange. Here's your 4-digit I.D. code XXXX. Keep this safe as you may need it when you call us so that we can confirm your details."From your computer, go the Orange web site noted above, create a login, with password, and register your SIM card with the information you were sent above.When registering online, they will text you a Security Code. Make sure that your phone is on, with the SIM card in, so that you can get this security code.Having accomplished that, click on Manage/Add Swipe Cards. Here you will enter the number on the generic swipe (top-up) card that you were sent. This will associate that card with your phone number. You MUST do this or the card is useless.To add money to your card, call, (From the US, 011 44 797 310 0450, this is NOT a free call), during UK business hours.To Top up card from US, you MUST use an American Express card. Also, first, notify American Express that you will be making a Out of Country charge, or they may refuse the charge (fraud protection). Dial the above number, select option 1 to top up, then option 5 to talk to an operator. The operator (in India?) will ask for your phone number and the security code that was texted to you.Tip to save money. Keep phone in Airplane Mode, but turn on WiFi.The other option is to top up at a vendor when you reach a UK airport.Online voucher $eller$ may add $ervice fee$ to $ell you their product.