NOTE: While I reference a couple of commercial entities in this email, I am not advertising for them. I am posting this solely as assistance for anyone trying to figure out how to get GiffGaff working on their US phone.
I will be travelling to the UK in May, and decided I wanted my iphone capable of using cellular data, not just wifi. Additionally, I wanted to do it inexpensively, and I wanted it set up ahead of time so I didn't have to mess with it when I got to the UK.
After some research, I decided to go with GiffGaff. The prices were right, and the reviews were good.
I had already gotten my phone unlocked. That's a process not covered here. You'll need to check with your own provider.
Here's what I have done:
1) Obtained a free SIM card by requesting one at:
http://giffgaffgsimabroad.wufoo.com/forms/get-a-free-giffgaff-sim-abroad/
The card I received included a bonus £5 credit. When I later did a £10 top up, I received a total of £15 actual credit.
There are other people who will send SIMs to the US besides the one I list. Some googling will turn them up. This is kind of a win-win situation. These people in the UK get a £5 credit for the referral, and the person receives the card gets a £5 credit as well. You don't even have to pay for the postage.
2) Card arrived here in Texas a little over a week later. Included was a nice letter letting me know I can email if I have any questions or issues with the card.
3) Read the advice from the GiffGaff user community on what to do before you activate your SIM:
http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Tips-Guides/Before-you-activate-your-Sim/td-p/2095847
4) Obtained a top-up voucher from:
http://www.mobiletopup.co.uk/giffgaff
When you get your top up from these folks, they deliver it right there and then, in the web browser. A code appears, and you use that code during activation. You can also use vouchers that you buy in stores in the UK -- but I'm not in the UK yet. Since GiffGaff runs on top of the O2 network, O2 vouchers are supposed to work in addition to regular GiffGaff vouchers.
I got a £10 topup voucher. There is a £0.99 service charge. I used a credit card that doesn't charge anything for foreign transactions (thank you, Capital One). Total on my credit card statement was $16.28 USD.
If you don't trust giving them your credit card info, you can use paypal.
4) Removed the SIM from the bigger card it shipped with.
5) Inserted card into my phone.
6) Phone accepted the SIM and connected to the AT&T network.
7) I then did the activation procedure at GiffGaff:
8) Shortly after I received a text message announcing my new UK +44 phone number and giving me a link for configuring the phone's internet settings.
9) I switched off the cellular (entered airplane mode, and turned on Wifi).
10) I went to the URL for configuring the settings, and the phone recognized that a new profile was being installed and walked me through it.
11) All done!
I have not yet gone to the UK so it remains to be seen if everything did indeed work as it appeared. I will update this post after I do.
Also note: as with any other provider, you should spend some time on the GiffGaff website understanding their offerings. It basically works like this: you can load your phone with credit and just use the credit. HOWEVER, if you are going to be doing data, you are best served by >also< obtaining one of their "goodybags" which are bundles of free-UK-minutes/data/tests priced very reasonably. These last for only one month, and I've decided upon which one to get, but have not yet selected one. You can select one from the website, using the credit that you used to top up the phone. The £7.50 3G goodybag will fits my needs leaving me with plenty of extra credit for calling the USA. (And they have great prices for calling the USA.) I'm only going to be there for a few days. If you will be there longer, then one of the slightly more expensive goodybags offer far more minutes and data.
https://giffgaff.com/goodybags-3g
Hopefully all will go well when I arrive in the UK. We're taking Eurostar from Paris to London. I'll probably swap my French Sim for the GiffGaff after we enter the tunnel.
