Tuenti SIM for Data
 

I'll be in Spain for about four days in about two weeks and it seems like Tuenti offers the best value for my needs. I'll only be needing a micro-SIM for my Note 2.

I'll be arriving in San Sebastián first before heading towards Barcelona. Is the SIM really for free and I just need to add in €6 of credit to get the 1 GB data? Is activation instant?

Hello

from what I've read Tuenti SIMs can only be bought in a very few places such as Telecor shops. Most people order them on the web site and you must pay 10 euros in order to activate the 1 Gb data pack (6euro + 21%Vat= 7,26 euro). The sim itself is free.

Regards

I see that Movistar is now advertising Tuenti tariffs on its web site with equal prominence to its own Movistar-branded tariffs.

I have a question though. The SIM card costs €10 which includes a 1GB 1-month bundle of €6 (€7.26 incl 21% VAT). When does this 1GB 1-month bundle start?

• When you order the SIM card?
• When you first use the SIM card?
• When you decide at a later date?

It's not clear from the web site.

I visited Spain during July and found this thread extremely useful. The Tuenti card was excellent - better than previous options I have tried in Spain. I went to a Movistar shop in Santander, and they sold me the card for €12 with enough credit for 1GB for one month. I'm still not sure how exactly the cost breaks down - because the data tariff only appears to cost €6 for the month, and I assume that the minimum top-up is €10. However, I am happy to pay €12 for 1GB - and I used some of the spare credit for voice calls. If you were in Spain for more than 1 month, I suppose you could rollover the spare credit?

The coverage and speeds were generally excellent because the Movistar network is the best in Spain.

I was able to use Tethering, VOIP, Skype, Viber etc.

The purchase/activation procedure in the shop was pretty exhausting. The sales assistant was fairly competent and had just dealt with a tourist with exactly the same requirements in the queue in front of me. Nevertheless, the whole process still took about 20 minutes, and involved making copies of my passport and signing forms in duplicate! Not quite as bad as France, but still ridiculously complex. Also, I was not given the APN, although I had made a note of it before going to Spain, so I was able to set this up manually.

Tuenti SIM - Howto
 

1.) Find a Movistar store (One of the Spanish networks). The Store locator is not too helpful but gives a rough orientation. All or most Carrefour stores seem to have a Movistar store. But in all their three lacations of Palma de Mallorca the Tuenti SIMs were sold out when I tried.

2.) You need your ID and EUR 12 and an E-mail address. The shop assistant will ask for your Spanish permanent or semipermanent address but you do not need one to buy a Spanish SIM.

3.) Note: Tuenti has three different sizes of SIM cards missing the the new one with the micro SIM to break out from the standard SIM. So be sure to get the size your phone uses. In the Movistar where I bought my SIM the two smaller sizes were sold out.

4.) After the registration process (in the shop) the connection is active immediately. You get confirmation text messages with your phone number, the chosen tariff and a link to register in tuenti.com.

5.) When you chose the 6 Euro (+ VAT) package (1 GByte, voice calls: 3 cent per minute) the remaining credit is 4.74 Euro.

6.) All managing is done by web access except the usual GSM codes to activate and deactivate voicemail inbox. If you use the card for short term holidays do not forget to deactivate "auto renewal". To keep the connection in function you need to load EUR 5 every 6 months. International roaming is activated by default.

7.) Callback calls work.

On their web site, I see that it costs €10 including VAT. It sounds as if it's 20% more in a shop.

I see on the tariffs page that out-of-bundle usage is charged at €0.0363/MB including VAT. For a short stay, I might not want to buy a whole gigabyte as it could be cheaper to pay this higher out-of-bundle rate. When buying on the web site, it forces you to buy the gigabyte bundle. Do I have to buy a whole gigabyte if I buy it in a shop?

Can I order it on the web site for delivery to my hotel? Or would this cause complications with having to produce ID in person at some stage?

I went to Barcelona for two nights this week, so I went to Movistar's largest shop in Barcelona at Plaça de Catalunya to buy a SIM card. Before travelling, I had tried to phone the shop at least thirty times but they never answered the phone; I expected a telephone company to be better at using telephones. When I got there, they sent me to the local tourism office, which was oddly located upstairs on the first floor of the Movistar shop. They had sold out of SIM cards and sent me back downstairs. I was then told that the entire shop (despite being the largest in Barcelona) was out of stock of Movistar nano-SIMs and that in any case they refuse to supply nano-SIMs to prepaid customers. The guy suggested Tuenti but they were out of stock of Tuenti SIM cards too. I had been considering Movistar rather than Tuenti (also owned by Telefonica) because of the short duration of my stay and I didn't want to buy a whole gigabyte. Anyway, the guy then sent me across Plaça de Catalunya to Fnac, where there is another Movistar shop upstairs, but there was luckily a girl on the ground floor selling Tuenti SIM cards at a temporary stall. I therefore bought a SIM card for €12. She was extremely helpful and gave me detailed instructions on how to set up my online login to specifically the mobile section of Tuenti's web site. Without these instructions, I would have struggled as it was far from obvious how to do this, and I would have probably only set up a profile on Tuenti's social network. It was not possible to opt out of the 1GB initial bundle and pay €0.0363/MB from the outset and I eventually used 200MB during my entire stay, which would have cost the same at the pay-as-you-go rate. SIP services seemed to be blocked. The balance, after buying the 1GB bundle for €7.26, was €4.74. This means that the €2 higher cost of buying the SIM card in a shop (€12) compared to online (€10) is reflected directly in €2 more additional credit.

As many iPhone users know, when you put a SIM card into an iPhone anywhere in the world, it sends an SMS to Apple's iMessage and FaceTime activation servers which are hosted by Vodafone UK on eleven possible numbers, +44 7786 205094 and +44 7537 4102*1 (where * can be any digit). Although many networks suppress charges for these activation SMS in their SMSCs, Tuenti charges a whopping €0.73 for each message. If iMessage and FaceTime activation doesn't work the first time (which is often the case), your iPhone will send multiple SMS to these numbers, causing a significant balance deduction, which in my case halved my residual balance. When I queried the charges with Tuenti's e-mail support, they told me that they would refund them as a one-off but would not do so again. They even suggested to me that I should not activate iMessage and FaceTime in future - not a very helpful suggestion.

Thanks for the report on Barca/Spain NFH.

This is one of the reasons why I switched to using a EuropaSIM about 18 months ago for my European travels.

The new offer of 500MB + 25m incoming/outgoing calls per day for 3 euros is pretty unbeatable, and the data speed drops to 32Kbps when you go over.

Obviously if you plan to stream video etc., whilst in your hotel room, then it pays to consider using WiFi, but 500MB will give you a few hours of standard YouTube definition video easily.

I used to buy specific country SIMs on eBay/Amazon, but the networks tightened up on the ID requirements for this, so the deals available have decreased a lot, whilst prices have gone up :)

Single country SIMs are useful, though, if you travel infrequently.

Good report / thanks / Steve :)

I have just spent two weeks working in Spain, in Barcelona and Madrid. My two Spanish colleagues are on Vodafone and Orange, and there were many places, both at work and elsewhere, where I had a signal and they did not. In fact, with Tuenti (running on Movistar), there was not one place where I experienced no coverage. Even on the 300km/h AVE train from Barcelona to Madrid, I had my laptop tethered to my iPhone and the connection didn't drop out once during the whole journey, even in tunnels.

I was told by Spanish colleagues that Movistar is well known to have the best coverage and Orange the worst, and that this is reflected in each network's prices. However, in the case of Tuenti, you get the cheapest price and the best coverage.

One downside of Tuenti is its charges for inserting its SIM cards into iPhones. Whenever a SIM card is inserted into an iPhone, it sends one or more hidden SMS messages to +44 7786 205094 or +44 7537 4102X1, even if FaceTime and iMessage and turned off. Tuenti charges for these messages at €0.73 each. Other networks zero-rate SMS sent to these numbers because the customer did not choose to send them, including other Telefonica networks and MVNOs (for example Movistar Spain, O2 Ireland, O2 UK, O2 Czech Republic and MVNO Giffgaff UK). After getting irrelevant responses from Tuenti such as "we don't support FaceTime", I have complained to Tuenti but I am still waiting for a response after two weeks, despite them logging it as a formal complaint.

What speeds did you get with Tuenti?

It was typically around 6Mbps downstream, around 1-3Mbps upstream. At 300km/h, it was well under 1Mbps, but FaceTime worked well.

New report: Hard to find Tuenti SIMs/Changed conditions for foreigners
 

In the region northern from Barcelona we tried to get a Tuenti SIM card. Firstly I collected the store references of our residental town and surrounding places from the Tuenti homepage.

At the first four places (all Movistar stores) they did not offer Tuenti (any more?). In the fifth Movistar store all the three kinds of SIM cards (Mini, Micro, Nano) were available. The shop assistent hat good knowledge of English language. But when it came to registration (prepaid tariff) she first found out that Tuenti did not accecpt the 1 Gigabyte + 75 mins tariff for customers not beeing residents of Spain. Later she told us introducing price of the remaining 1 Gigabyte was EUR 25.

I suppose she did a mistake in typing in the customer data and we were classified as a non EU overseas nationality. Unfortunately I have no proof of this theory because we left the store without Tuenti SIM card.

Will there a Tuenti store at Madrid airport? Thanks

According to http://www.movistar.es/particulares/...or-de-tiendas/ there don't appear to be any Movistar shops inside the airport. Search for Provincia=Madrid and Dirección=Barajas.

Thanks a lot.

From the link, there is a shop at Sol. May be I can buy the sim here.

If you're willing to wait until you get as far as Sol (the most central square in Madrid), then you can walk from there to Telefonica's flagship store in Gran Via. Sol metro station has been renamed "Vodafone Sol", along with Vodafone logos everywhere and a large Vodafone shop in the square outside the metro exit.

Thanks again. Sol metro stat action has been renamed? The hotel we will be stayed is close to Sol. So, I can walk to a Sol after check in.

Hi. i used the TUENTI sim card 2 yeras ago when i went to menorca.
The sim was free back then. But you could only have it shipped to a spain address.
Now i hear the sim is no free anymore. Is it true? Plus, they only ship with spanish credit card.
WHat about this limitation for people not spanish?
Is it true that the option of 1 GB is no more avaibale for foreign people? can somebody help?

You can still buy it in shops in Spain, where you can pay with a non-Spanish credit card. And the 1GB bundle is available to all customers, irrespective of nationality.

thanx for the quick answer. just wondering, here they say that there is a 25 euros surcharge for foreign people during activation.

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Spain

S"urcharge for foreigners
Legally they are not allowed to discriminate at least EU citizens. That's how they do it anyway: Beginning 2014 they imposed a 25 € surcharge for registrations with a passport in shops. You can use your passport ID or Spanish ID cards (called DNI and NIE) online and pay with a credit card or cash-on-delivery. You send it to your hotel."

I'm puzzled.

I bought my Tuenti SIM in 2014 in a shop in Spain and I was not surcharged €25. This might be for those with non-EEA citizenship, but even then it would be a dubious practice.

I ordered a Tuenti card on-line last Thursday for a forthcoming trip to Spain starting this Wednesday. I gave my hotel as the delivery address. I got confirmation today that it has been delivered. €10 for 1GB. No surcharge for being a foreigner and no problem using my credit card which is not Spanish. It suggested 4-5 days delivery, and it got delivered in 4 including weekend.

A useful tip - Spanish people have two surnames - so I was able to use the additional surname field to put my arrival date as additional identity info to the Hotel! (I had to use Roman numerals for the date number - as numbers are prohibited in a name field!). The hotel said they could work off my name - but some hotels might need your arrival date as well.

In my experience, Spain has one of the most bureaucratic processes for signing foreigners up for SIMs in shops (worst place after France!). I have been embarrassed in the past at how the queue grows and grows as they try to process my circa €10 SIM purchase. I can understand that Spanish operators might want to charge a €25 surcharge to discourage foreigners from causing queues in their shops! However, it is probably illegal to discriminate against other EU citizens, so they may only get away with this charge for non-EU. Signing up online now means I don't have to find a phone shop and waste an hour trying to get a SIM.

Hi.
The article about the 25€ surcharge was based of my personal experience.

But on the WIKI, I recently received first reports about ordering the SIM online. For this, you have to send it to a Spanish postal address, as usual. This seems to be without surcharge as I've checked the ordering process. As a downside, it may not so convenient if you are not sure about your schedule or accommodation places and whether the staff will hand out your mail. Generally, this way has some disadvantages, but seems to be free right now..

Tuenti a.k.a. Telefonica has renamed Zerolimites into VOZDigital and limites or charges for this VoIP service which used to be free unlimited. But its still a good deal. Interestingly, Telefonica has not tried to introduce it to any other market, neither in Europe nor Latin America

More on part 2:

UPDATE:
I did some research on the tuenti móvil surcharge.

There is actually a pretty recent thread in their forum where this surcharge is discussed:
http://www.soportetuentimovil.com/in...p?topic=7654.0

In this thread some foreigners are telling similar stories. But the "official" statement of tuenti by the administrator in the last post gives some explanation (of course only in Spanish):

En tienda fÃ*sica y para pasaportes, las tarjetas de prepago tienen un PVP de 25€. La única tarifa por defecto que podrás tener será la de 7€ y la diferencia estará disponible en forma de saldo (18€). A partir del siguiente ciclo podrás escoger la tarifa que quieras.

Translation: In physical stores and for passports, the prepaid SIM Cards have a recommended price of 25 EUR. The only tariff option which can be chosen is the 7 EUR package and the difference is given as a balance of 18 EUR. From the following month, you can choose any tariff option you like.

So I will change the article about tuenti again. Foreigners are not overcharged. But for some mysterious reason, their choices are somewhat more limited than for Spanish nationals. By having a mandatory balance of 18 EUR, tuenti seems to force PAYG customers to stay for longer. Well, this is Spain!

My brother ordered a spanish Simyo SIM card to a hotel in Spain some time ago. The person delivering it did not want to hand it over to anybody else without seeing the original ID of the addressee. So the starter pack has been returned to the access point of the delivery company to be picked up there. As there was a weekend in between and the place was far away, he got the SIM two days before leaving.

I don't know whether the procedure is less complicated in the case of tuenti. It might depend on the person delivering the package.

thank you for so many replies.
this is bizarre. so if you buy it in the shops... they will make this difference if you are not spanish... BUT... if you buy it online it's all ok?

Just an update....I arrived in Spain yesterday evening and my Tuenti SIM card was waiting for me at my hotel. There was no problem with the delivery even though I wasn't at the hotel to receive it. I put it into the phone and it is working fine.

The only issue I have is that they seem to be blocking VOIP. My Irish VOIP service is not working over Tuenti. The Tuenti card comes with its own VOIP service - but I haven't tried using it yet. I think when I was last here in 2013 the Tuenti service allowed all VOIP. Not a major problem for me, but some users might need to know.

It's not really that strange - the length of time taken to purchase a €10 SIM card in a shop in Spain is probably about the same as signing up a new Bill-pay contract - for which they might earn €1,000 or more over the life of the contract. I suspect that a lot of the process is forced on the Operators by the Police or other Security authorities. By ordering on-line and delivering to a physical address, the police may be happy that they know where the SIM has gone - hence they don't need the lengthy procedure.

I might be wrong, but in my experience Tuenti doesn't block SIP but throttles it so heavily that it is hardly usable.

Strange...I've never heard of this €25 surcharge! Maybe I just found a good shop :)

so basically you suggest to buy it online... do you think you can buy more than one sim? i need two, one for me and one for my friend.

I dont remember seeing a quantity field on the form, but I dont see what would stop you submitting the form twice. There is no postage charge so you wont pay any more to get two SIMs delivered separately in the post. Worst case put your friends name on the second delivery.

i was having a look at the form right now.
there was a HELP chat at the bottom. i asked.
They told me I CANNOT use the italian prepaid card. but only spanish.

Can you confirm you used your foreign credit card?

Yes - I used my Irish Credit Card - no problem.

ok then i just need to sort out where i can have it sent. because i'm not going to a hotel, but i rent a flat. and i dont know if the people who are renting would be so kind to have the sim sent at their address.
this is all so boring. i don't see the reason of so many problems. why not send the sim abroad? they have my passport, they have my credit card... what's the matter???

May I suggest to use another operator??? Why tuenti?
In every Orange store, you get 1 GB for 9€ (Mundo SIM).
Or with Vodafone you get in their stores 750 MB for 10€ and 1.5 GB for 15€ on 4G/LTE, which is not open on tuenti.
Or you can go to other MVNOs: Lycamobile sells 1 GB for 3.75€, about 1/2 the price of tuenti (but no tethering).

OK. I absolutely disapprove tuenti's policy of different rules for foreigners too and made it public :chair:
But I will not call this "surcharge" anymore. It's more a form of "bondage".

"Why not send the SIM abroad?"
Because: No network operator does this. All operators only send SIMs domestically. That's their market after all.
Not even MVNOs, except very few in the EU like Mobile Vikings.

Go ask TIM, Vodafone Italia, Wind or Tre in your country. :???:

In this respect Spain is more relaxed than Italy by the way.
In Spain some merchants like http://www.simcardspain.es or others sell it on Ebay and other platforms and send it abroad for a fee.

In Italy you have to go in person with your condice fiscali, (a number nobody outside of Italy has ever heard of) to a shop in Italia.
No chance to get it out of Italy by mail.
I would have liked TIM's "in viaggio pass" or Vodafone's "smart passport" - the best EU roaming options on any EU market right now.
But no way, if I don't show up in bella Italia in person.:o

So tuenti/Telefónica is in line with all operators not sending their SIM cards abroad.
But the different rules for foreigners are still scandalous and very unusual!!!

I totally agree with you.
It's the same for italy, you cant get a sim before your arrival.
On the other hand, i have to say that in italy there are really A LOT of shops where you can get a sim card. I mean, by person, of course. But there is a shop providing a phone card in every corner. Even in small towns. In my little village there are at least 10 shops. Imagine in big cities.

As far as it concerns selling sims online, some operators started it. But they didnt have success.

We are way far from UK, where you can get your sim cards for free, prior to your arrival!
Same for france. I could get my joe mobile sim card in advance. And the service was fantastic too.

As far as it concerns Tuenti, i'm looking for it, for the only reason that in the small island of Menorca, i tried it 2 years ago and the service was amazing. Incredibly cheap and the service was fantastic. You had fast data connection even in the loneliest beaches. Fantastic.

Probably Italy and Spain are different markets.