Vectone SIMs do not work abroad

[Pierre B]

For anyone considering moving to Vector, whilst working well in the UK, DO NOT expect it to work abroad like any other network provider. It simply has never worked for me on my travels.

 

[Hadron]

I've never heard of them (despite being British). Do they not support international roaming? Have you checked with customer service that it is enabled for your account?

(Another question would be which phone and which country, but most phones work in most countries these days. Though there are exceptions, so if this is a Chinese import and you have been travelling to North America then that may be the answer).

 

[Pierre B]

Thanks to auto-correct my title is wrong... It should read VECTONE sims

 

[Hadron]

I'd seen that in the thread title. Not heard of them either way though.

 

[Pierre B]

I'd seen that in the thread title. Not heard of them either way though.

They are similar to gif gaf or Lebara and their packages are impressive such as unlimited calls including international ones, SMS and data for around £10/month which works really well in the UK but despite advertising international roaming as per European regulations their SIM does not seem to connect with many or any European providers. So if you plan a trip in Ireland, France or any other european country, you are best advised to get another pay as you go sim card like Three for your trip. The only place I got my Vectone SIM to work was in Germany.

 

[Hadron]

OK, the fact that your problems were with European roaming rules out a technical cause - it's the same frequency bands and protocols everywhere, so if it can work on one European network (including UK) it can work anywhere. And the fact that it works in Germany would seem to indicate that international roaming is authorised.

Nevertheless I would try speaking to their customer services: there may be some glitch in their systems they can resolve. If not I'd be curious to hear what their explanation is (because if they are advertising Europe-wide roaming and not providing it that has legal implications).

 

[Pierre B]

I have contacted their customer support on every occasion but they are not really any use on this issue, I don't think they encounter issues relating to usage abroad very often. So the advice is same every time: set SIM to outside UK, take SIM out of phone and restart the phone. This has never worked yet, I even had a replacement SIM sent without success... Luckily my phone is a twin SIM and I use my alternative during my trips, but I felt it was important to warn other potential users of this issue before signing up to VECTONE if they intend to use it on their travels.
I am not a technician but this issue seems to me as relating to a network partnership in the international roaming world?

 

[mikedt]

I'd never heard of Vectone until I read this thread. However I have used Lebara and Lycamobile SIMs bought in the UK, and had no problem with roaming on those networks, in China and Russia.