Cell Phone Options

I don't know about using cellphone numbers from overseas but I would like to share an experience from 2024 after arriving in France, buying a house and trying to get both cellphone numbers for myself and my wife and, most importantly, a fibre optic Internet connection froma service provider to our house. When we first arrived we went for a cell number and connection with Orange (formerly France Telecom). We moved into the new house - never occupied before which had fibre optic cable available in the road outside - already in use by our neighbours. Having already a cell phone with Orange we thought to use them for everything so we went to their branch in Ales to arrange the fibre optic connection for the house. After we gave them the address they went to their computers and they use Google Maps/Earth for location. They looked at our address and said -

We cannot connect to your house because it does not exist.

What had happened was that the house had been built since the last time the Google satellite had passed over the  area - so as far as they were concerned they couldn't oblige because they couldn't see it so therefore the house (according the their system) did not exist! It did not matter to them that we told them we were already living in the house - their system was so stubborn and inflexible that they refused to even send a team to look! When we insisted that it did in fact exist they became very rude and aggressive and virtually threw us our the door. Later, thanks to advice from a neighbour, we went to SFR and they were just the opposite and incredibly helpful- they sent a team within two weeks and we were connected. Since then I would NEVER, EVER have anything to do with Orange. Be warned.

The Google solution sounds like a botched job to me and probably won’t satisfy you in the long run.

In my experience, people are very reluctant – if they answer at all – to pick up calls from foreign numbers. This is partly because many French mobile plans charge for incoming international calls, and partly because there are so many marketing and scam calls that protection apps block foreign numbers to prevent them.

So, if you can’t do without a US number, use it only for calls relevant to the US and take out a simple, no-commitment mobile plan in France – one without a fixed contract term.

With Lebara, I was able to do this back then (about three years ago) without having to prove I had a bank account in France, which is usually required by most other providers.

There are some interesting plans on offer that include unlimited texts and calls, along with generous data allowances – even within the EU – all at an attractive rate.

I was able to get a plan like this with Bouygues, featuring unlimited calls, texts and a large data allowance (> < from all EU destinations and beyond), which also covers Switzerland – something that’s otherwise hard to find, except when calling from Switzerland to your country of residence. Unfortunately, this offer no longer seems to be available; there are only similar ones, but with reduced scope (apart from the data allowance – though who really needs that much anyway!).

cordialement

Thom

The Google solution sounds like a botched job to me and probably won’t satisfy you in the long run.
In my experience, people are very reluctant – if they answer at all – to pick up calls from foreign numbers. This is partly because many French mobile plans charge for incoming international calls, and partly because there are so many marketing and scam calls that protection apps block foreign numbers to prevent them.
So, if you can’t do without a US number, use it only for calls relevant to the US and take out a simple, no-commitment mobile plan in France – one without a fixed contract term.
With Lebara, I was able to do this back then (about three years ago) without having to prove I had a bank account in France, which is usually required by most other providers.
There are some interesting plans on offer that include unlimited texts and calls, along with generous data allowances – even within the EU – all at an attractive rate.
I was able to get a plan like this with Bouygues, featuring unlimited calls, texts and a large data allowance (> < from all EU destinations and beyond), which also covers Switzerland – something that’s otherwise hard to find, except when calling from Switzerland to your country of residence. Unfortunately, this offer no longer seems to be available; there are only similar ones, but with reduced scope (apart from the data allowance – though who really needs that much anyway!).
cordialement
Thom - @Thomix

When someone calls your French (+33) number from abroad, you pay nothing to answer it; the person calling you pays their own provider's international rates.

@realfitpug4life

If you have a dual phone that can take two sim cards keep your USA SIM in one and get a Lebarra card if you dont want a contract.

@realfitpug4life
If you have a dual phone that can take two sim cards keep your USA SIM in one and get a Lebarra card if you dont want a contract. - @Ian Woodward

Or eSIM