SFR version of the prepaid SIM while traveling in France: purchase, settings, usage, etc.

This is a story as of May 2013.

This was the first time I used a local prepaid SIM and it was a great success. Even though it was limited to 2.2GB of data, I used it for almost 2 weeks and had no problems using it normally without videos, and it was only about 40 euros.

It is very cheap compared to X-Com’s rental WiFi (I remember there was a case of information leakage…) and international packet flat rate.

So I would like to summarize and record this experience for future reference.

Before we get into the details, a quick overview

I’ll write about it in detail below, but first I’m writing a quick overview to confirm the direction.

「必要なもの」

• プリペイドSIM代9.9ユーロ + （必要なら）追加チャージ代（ちなみに僕は2GBで30ユーロ）
• SIMフリー端末（僕はD25HW）
• （上記SIMフリー端末がモバイルWiFi的なものであれば）PCとかMacとかiPhoneなど

「使用する上でのポイント」

• Buy a prepaid SIM from SFR (€9.9)
• Purchase at any SFR store in town (passport required)
• Only SIMs for calls & SMS are sold at airport kiosks.で（ネットを使うための）データ通信用のSIMはなかった
• Orangeや他のキャリアではなくSFRにしたのは入店直後に店員がすぐに話しかけて要件を聞いてくれたから
• Purchase at the SFR store, the process purchase usually takes less than 30 minutes.
• 使用したSIMフリー端末は、イーモバイルPocketWiFiで使っていたD25HW
• プリペイドSIMを使用するためには端末（D25HW）の設定画面にログインする必要があるので渡航前にきちんと調べておくこと
• 合わせて万一に備えて端末（D25HW）の初期化方法も知っておくとよい
• 端末（D25HW）の設定方法はとても簡単
• To check the remaining charge, just browse to a specific URL while connected to SFR.
• 追加チャージ（2.0GBを選択）はネットからはできなかったのでこれまた街のSFRで実行
• 追加チャージはお店でしたからなのか、手続き後即チャージされた
• 追加チャージは可能であればプリペイドSIM購入時にしておいたほうが楽
• データ使用量は1日あたり120MB前後
• Data usage totals about 1.2GB over 18 days
• 結局料金は2.2GBで39.9ユーロ、気兼ねなく使えるレベルで他社とも遜色ない値段だと思われる
• Communication status of SFRは、都会＆主要高速ならだいたいよくて田舎だとほとんどダメ

Buy a prepaid SIM from SFR (€9.9)

I bought a prepaid SIM from a carrier called SFR.

There are also these instructions, but they were all in French….

I think I can decipher (or translate) it if I work a little harder, though.

You’ll also get a purchase receipt like the one below, so be sure to save it. (I utilized this when I did an additional charge at the store.)

Purchase at any SFR store in town (passport required)

Well, where did I buy it? I bought it at a carrier shop in town = SFR shop.

(It’s also true that the place of purchase is Bastia in Corsica, lol)

There was a certain amount of language barrier, but somehow I was able to purchase it.

You will be asked to present your passport as identification, so please make sure to carry it with you.

Only SIMs for calls & SMS are sold at airport kiosks.

Actually, before I went to the Bastia store, I tried to buy one at a kiosk in the Paris airport, but apparently these stores only sell SIMs for calls & SMS, not for data (to use the internet).

There may be some places that do, but in any case, you should be aware that there are SIMs for data communication and others that do not.

Why SFR instead of Orange or any other carrier?

By the way, I found many information about Orange carrier on the net (probably because of the price?). I don’t think there were so many information about prepaid SIM from SFR, which is familiar to Softbank users.

So why did I buy a SFR prepaid SIM?

それは、お店の対応がわかりやすかった、入店と同時に店員さんが要件を聞いてくれたから、これにつきます。

At first I went into the Orange store, but I couldn’t get any further because they were either dealing with someone else or I had to talk to them, so I eventually gave up and left.

After that, I found an SFR shop in another place, so I went there and the shopkeeper took care of me right away, so it took some time, but I was able to buy it.

I barely managed to find someone who could speak English. Maybe because the place where I bought it was in Corsica, English was not understood well. If you are in a larger city, you may be able to communicate more easily and buy more easily.

Purchase at the SFR store, the process purchase usually takes less than 30 minutes.

It depends on how crowded the store is, but it took me less than 30 minutes this time to actually enter the store, tell them I wanted to buy a prepaid SIM, wait my turn a bit, go through the purchase process including ID inquiry, etc., and actually receive the product.

Maybe it wasn’t as long as I thought it would be.

It depends on the place of purchase and the time of day, but we hope you can use this as a guide to how long it will actually take.

By the way, the opening time of the shop depends on the place, but I think it opens at 9:00 in the morning and finishes around 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening. I think it is better to adjust the time according to your travel schedule.

Terminal used

If you don’t have a SIM free device in the first place, you’re stuck with it. The model I used is this one.

D25HW, it’s the first Pocket WiFi model released by EMOBILE a few years ago. This one is SIM free, right?

Things you should check before you go to Japan How to log in to the device settings screen

This is essential as you will be setting up to connect with the prepaid SIM you have purchased.

This may not be a big deal for people who are used to it, but most people probably don’t mess around with the settings screen of their WiFi device much.

I think it is wise to look into the manual at the time of purchase or « D25HW setting screen login » before you travel by searching Google.

Incidentally, in D25HW.

User name: admin

Password: WEP Key of the factory default setting (see p.1 of the User’s Manual)

It was.

I really think you should change your ID name from admin after logging in with this ID once. (I didn’t do that.)

How to set up your device (D25HW)

After logging in to the settings screen of the device (D25HW) according to the above method, go to « Settings », « 3G Settings », « Connection Mode Settings », and then click

When you get to this screen.

• プロファイルリスト　→　とりあえずそのまま
• プロファイル名　→　（任意だけど）websfr
• 接続番号　→　（どうせ入力できないので）そのまま
• ユーザ名　→　ブランクのまま
• パスワード　→　ブランクのまま
• 認証方式　→　PAP
• APN →　スタティックを選択し websfr と入力
• IPアドレス　→　ダイナミックを選択

and set it to

This should be fine.

To check the remaining charge, just browse to a specific URL while connected to SFR.

As the name suggests, prepaid SIMs are pre-purchased data usage. So, it is very important to check your remaining data allowance.

This is very easy.

SFRのSIMを利用している時に、http://moncompte.sfr.frにアクセスするだけでOK。

The remaining usage amount is displayed in the upper center of the screen.

Another thing you should check before you travel How to initialize your device

In my case, I lost my device once during a trip. I couldn’t connect to it anymore, even after entering the exact password.

What I did there was « initialization of device », and in D25HW I was able to do it as follows.

This saved the day.

Knowing this may be useful in case of emergency.

How to charge extra I couldn’t do it online for some reason.

As expected, 200MB was going to be used up in no time, so I tried to do an additional charge from the Web Site.

Webから追加チャージを行うには、残チャージのときと同様http://moncompte.sfr.frにアクセス、

If you click the Rechager button in the upper right corner and go ahead, it seems that you can follow the instructions.

I took the plunge and opted for an additional charge of 2GB, 30 euros.

And it was good so far, but I couldn’t go ahead well on the screen to input the card information, and it switched to the following screen.

Apparently, once this goes out, you can no longer make additional charges on the web.

I heard that I should call the phone number written here, but the device I’m using is mobile WiFi, and my iPhone5 is SIM locked, so I can’t change it to iPhone and call.

I had no choice but to go to the SFR shop later.

How to add charge OK at the store, successfully added 2GB for 30 euros! But I had some difficulties.

When I arrived in Toulouse later in the day, I decided to go directly to the SFR store and try to get an additional charge.

But I had a little trouble. I took a screen shot of the above website and showed it to them and explained in poor English, but they couldn’t understand me at all.

But somehow I managed to get this store to understand that I wanted to make an additional charge? I took it to the place where they understood that I wanted to charge it, and I was able to charge it successfully.

By the way, you should bring the documents you received from the shop where you bought the prepaid SIM.

The conversation went smoothly.

Now, the important charge, there was a card for additional charge displayed in the shop, but I had prepared this screenshot on my iPhone, and I was able to purchase it safely by presenting it.

How to add a charge Maybe it was because it was a store, but it was charged immediately.

That’s right – I could use it soon.

If you look at the internet, you will see that it takes 48 hours after the procedure, but in my case, it was already reflected when I checked right after I left the store. But in my case, it was already reflected when I checked it right after I left the store. I wonder if it was because it was an additional charge at the store. In any case, it was very helpful.

Additional charge method It’s easy to do it at the same time when you purchase.

In addition, it might be a good idea to do the additional charge when you buy it at the first time.

If you don’t have confidence in your language skills, I think the iPhone screenshot strategy is effective as I did.

Communication status of SFR

It was not so good in the country after all. But in the city, there is no problem at all.

I was a trip around the countryside, but I think you can use it without a problem if you stay in the city, major tourist attractions.

Data usage per day is around 120MB

Here’s a bullet list of the main uses per day, broken down by degree of data usage.

「使用量意外と少なめかも」

• 移動中のGoogle Map ナビと検索
• 今ココなうによる現在地発信
• Twitterのタイムラインの確認
• iOSまたはTwitterクライアントからTwitterへの写真投稿

「使用量ちょっと多めかも」

• iOSからFacebookへの写真投稿
• （やや控え気味だったけど）ウェブブラウジング
• 10枚（10MB）程度のPicasaへの写真アップロード

I thought that the amount of data usage of browsing was more than I thought. I think it is better to be conscious a little when using it.

On the other hand, what really helped me was how little data Google Maps used! I was surprised by this.

The search doesn’t take much usage either. I’m sure you can use it all without worry. Excellent!

Data usage totals about 1.2GB over 18 days

In the end, I used 1.2GB during the trip. I think it was because I became a little cautious about using it, and because the communication situation was not so good in the latter half of the trip in many rural areas.

Even though it was a bit of a waste, if I had stayed in an area with a slightly better signal, I think the additional charge amount would have been appropriate.

After all, the price is 39.9 euros for 2.2GB, a level that can be used without hesitation and is comparable to other companies.

Depending on how you use it and how much data you use, it might have been rather more affordable than Orange’s mobicarte?

あまりフランス語も理解できていないので不正確かもしれませんが、Orangeのウェブサイトを見る限りでは、

The cheapest prepaid SIM itself, which is for data communication and also for internet, is 20 euros.

But that would only use 150MB, so I’d have to buy an extra charge.

If you want to add 1GB, it’s 20 euros, if you want 2GB, it’s 40 euros, hmmm, that’s expensive. I wonder if I’m misunderstanding something?

In any case, the shop was not very helpful and Orange was not very good, so I think SFR was the right choice for me.

However, there is a rumor that Orange is easier to connect, so I would like to try it next time I go there.

Prepaid SIM Summary

Again, I’ll post a bullet point summary in this post one last time.

「使用する上でのポイント」

• Buy a prepaid SIM from SFR (€9.9)
• Purchase at any SFR store in town (passport required)
• Only SIMs for calls & SMS are sold at airport kiosks.で（ネットを使うための）データ通信用のSIMはなかった
• Orangeや他のキャリアではなくSFRにしたのは入店直後に店員がすぐに話しかけて要件を聞いてくれたから
• Purchase at the SFR store, the process purchase usually takes less than 30 minutes.
• 使用したSIMフリー端末は、イーモバイルPocketWiFiで使っていたD25HW
• プリペイドSIMを使用するためには端末（D25HW）の設定画面にログインする必要があるので渡航前にきちんと調べておくこと
• 合わせて万一に備えて端末（D25HW）の初期化方法も知っておくとよい
• 端末（D25HW）の設定方法はとても簡単
• To check the remaining charge, just browse to a specific URL while connected to SFR.
• 追加チャージ（2.0GBを選択）はネットからはできなかったのでこれまた街のSFRで実行
• 追加チャージはお店でしたからなのか、手続き後即チャージされた
• 追加チャージは可能であればプリペイドSIM購入時にしておいたほうが楽
• データ使用量は1日あたり120MB前後
• Data usage totals about 1.2GB over 18 days
• 結局料金は2.2GBで39.9ユーロ、気兼ねなく使えるレベルで他社とも遜色ない値段だと思われる
• Communication status of SFRは、都会＆主要高速ならだいたいよくて田舎だとほとんどダメ

I hope you find it useful, even if only a little.

次回以降も引き続き利用をしてみて、情報の更新を随時行なって行きたいと思います。