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Using a smartphone in Morocco
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<blockquote data-quote="TimCullis" data-source="post: 234" data-attributes="member: 412"><p><strong>OBTAINING A LOCAL VOICE/DATA CONTRACT</strong></p><p>The best solution, however is to get a local SIM card on a prepaid contract. Mobile coverage in <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293730-Morocco-Vacations.html" target="_blank">Morocco</a> is excellent with 4G in most urban areas. Because a high proportion of the population lives in the more remote areas, you will also find coverage in places you wouldn’t normally expect. There’s three mobile operators, Maroc Telecom, Orange and Inwi (Maroc Telecom is also called IAM, Orange took over what used to be Meditel). Service, coverage and costs are broadly similar from the three suppliers. If you purchase a SIM or eSIM from any other company offering coverage in Morocco, you will invariably pay much higher charges for the service.</p><p></p><p>First of all, before you leave home, make sure your phone is not irrevocably locked to your home contract, as you can only use other contracts if your phone is unlocked. If you are not sure, swap out your SIM card for a friend’s card on a different network; if it works OK your phone is unlocked. If you have an iPhone you can find out if it is locked by going to Settings > General > About. If "No SIM restrictions" appears next to Network Provider Lock, your iPhone is unlocked.</p><p></p><p>Visitors with the US-model iPhone 14 introduced in 2022 may have some problems due to its lack of a SIM card slot and reliance on eSIM technology. eSIMs are not widely adopted at the time of writing this post, so bring an earlier model iPhone if possible (see later discussion of eSIMs).</p><p></p><p>The Moroccan SIM cards are free, you just add a plan. If you are arriving at <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293734-Marrakech_Marrakech_Safi-Vacations.html" target="_blank">Marrakech</a> airport, all three companies currently have booths after you go past the customs and leave airside but just before you go out of the terminal. At <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293732-Casablanca_Casablanca_Settat-Vacations.html" target="_blank">Casablanca</a> airport, all the phone companies have booths as you come off the escalator after the customs exit. <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293731-Agadir_Souss_Massa-Vacations.html" target="_blank">Agadir</a> airport has Orange and Inwi outlets before customs and Maroc Telecom after customs. Other airports may be similar, but if not, visit their shops in town. Marrakech has a Maroc Telecom in <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293734-d318058-Reviews-Gueliz-Marrakech_Marrakech_Safi.html" target="_blank">Gueliz</a> opposite McDonalds. Tanger has a big Maroc Telecom shop plus an Orange boutique near the railway station. Often there are students working for the company standing outside of these stores who will assist you.</p><p></p><p>You are likely to need to show your passport to have the SIM registered against your name and will need to pay in cash, so change some money first. Most short term visitors get a 5GB plan which typically costs 50dh. If you are here for more than a week, get a 10GB plan (100dh). This will last for up to 30 days from the date of purchase. If you are pressured into buying a 200dh 20GB plan just walk to another booth, you will get called back and offered 10GB. If there are two of you, you could get one SIM and then tether the other person’s phone to the Moroccan SIM personal hotspot.</p><p></p><p>You will be given a card with the SIM information on it including the password for the SIM card. The first thing I do is to remove the password. Ask for the default language for top-ups to be changed from Arabic to French. Sometimes changes need to be made to the configuration, such as the APN (Access Point Name) settings. Also make sure tethering (personal hotspot) is enabled if you need this. If your home SIM has been removed, put it somewhere safe. Do not leave or pay until you are sure the new SIM is working for both voice and data.</p><p></p><p>All SIMs come with a Moroccan phone number. You get a small amount of local calls with the card, but most people will use WhatsApp for phone calls. You can top up the plan by buying scratch cards from a local shop. A 2GB top up will last for up to a week, a 5GB for up to 30 days.</p><p></p><p>iPhone phone contacts are stored in the smartphone memory, so no need to worry about not being able to access them when swapping out a SIM card. Android offers the choice of where to store contacts, so you should check where they are stored and if necessary move them from SIM to phone memory. Once you are operational, you may get a message saying ‘carrier changed, do you want to register with a new phone number?’ Although it doesn’t state who the message is from (!), it’s actually WhatsApp. I always decline as I will be going back to my home number later. When you remove your home SIM you will of course no longer be able to make or receive voice calls on your usual number (though WhatApp will still work).</p><p></p><p>I solve this having my UK contract on an eSIM which leaves the physical SIM slot free to fit a Spanish Lobster SIM or a Moroccan IAM SIM, giving me access to two networks at once. More on dual SIMs and eSIMs in a post further down.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TimCullis, post: 234, member: 412"] [B]OBTAINING A LOCAL VOICE/DATA CONTRACT[/B] The best solution, however is to get a local SIM card on a prepaid contract. Mobile coverage in [URL='https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293730-Morocco-Vacations.html']Morocco[/URL] is excellent with 4G in most urban areas. Because a high proportion of the population lives in the more remote areas, you will also find coverage in places you wouldn’t normally expect. There’s three mobile operators, Maroc Telecom, Orange and Inwi (Maroc Telecom is also called IAM, Orange took over what used to be Meditel). Service, coverage and costs are broadly similar from the three suppliers. If you purchase a SIM or eSIM from any other company offering coverage in Morocco, you will invariably pay much higher charges for the service. First of all, before you leave home, make sure your phone is not irrevocably locked to your home contract, as you can only use other contracts if your phone is unlocked. If you are not sure, swap out your SIM card for a friend’s card on a different network; if it works OK your phone is unlocked. If you have an iPhone you can find out if it is locked by going to Settings > General > About. If "No SIM restrictions" appears next to Network Provider Lock, your iPhone is unlocked. Visitors with the US-model iPhone 14 introduced in 2022 may have some problems due to its lack of a SIM card slot and reliance on eSIM technology. eSIMs are not widely adopted at the time of writing this post, so bring an earlier model iPhone if possible (see later discussion of eSIMs). The Moroccan SIM cards are free, you just add a plan. If you are arriving at [URL='https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293734-Marrakech_Marrakech_Safi-Vacations.html']Marrakech[/URL] airport, all three companies currently have booths after you go past the customs and leave airside but just before you go out of the terminal. At [URL='https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293732-Casablanca_Casablanca_Settat-Vacations.html']Casablanca[/URL] airport, all the phone companies have booths as you come off the escalator after the customs exit. [URL='https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g293731-Agadir_Souss_Massa-Vacations.html']Agadir[/URL] airport has Orange and Inwi outlets before customs and Maroc Telecom after customs. Other airports may be similar, but if not, visit their shops in town. Marrakech has a Maroc Telecom in [URL='https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293734-d318058-Reviews-Gueliz-Marrakech_Marrakech_Safi.html']Gueliz[/URL] opposite McDonalds. Tanger has a big Maroc Telecom shop plus an Orange boutique near the railway station. Often there are students working for the company standing outside of these stores who will assist you. You are likely to need to show your passport to have the SIM registered against your name and will need to pay in cash, so change some money first. Most short term visitors get a 5GB plan which typically costs 50dh. If you are here for more than a week, get a 10GB plan (100dh). This will last for up to 30 days from the date of purchase. If you are pressured into buying a 200dh 20GB plan just walk to another booth, you will get called back and offered 10GB. If there are two of you, you could get one SIM and then tether the other person’s phone to the Moroccan SIM personal hotspot. You will be given a card with the SIM information on it including the password for the SIM card. The first thing I do is to remove the password. Ask for the default language for top-ups to be changed from Arabic to French. Sometimes changes need to be made to the configuration, such as the APN (Access Point Name) settings. Also make sure tethering (personal hotspot) is enabled if you need this. If your home SIM has been removed, put it somewhere safe. Do not leave or pay until you are sure the new SIM is working for both voice and data. All SIMs come with a Moroccan phone number. You get a small amount of local calls with the card, but most people will use WhatsApp for phone calls. You can top up the plan by buying scratch cards from a local shop. A 2GB top up will last for up to a week, a 5GB for up to 30 days. iPhone phone contacts are stored in the smartphone memory, so no need to worry about not being able to access them when swapping out a SIM card. Android offers the choice of where to store contacts, so you should check where they are stored and if necessary move them from SIM to phone memory. Once you are operational, you may get a message saying ‘carrier changed, do you want to register with a new phone number?’ Although it doesn’t state who the message is from (!), it’s actually WhatsApp. I always decline as I will be going back to my home number later. When you remove your home SIM you will of course no longer be able to make or receive voice calls on your usual number (though WhatApp will still work). I solve this having my UK contract on an eSIM which leaves the physical SIM slot free to fit a Spanish Lobster SIM or a Moroccan IAM SIM, giving me access to two networks at once. More on dual SIMs and eSIMs in a post further down. [/QUOTE]
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