In I'm sure the answer to this question is obvious to most travelers but I have never clearly understood when one does or does not drop the 1st 0 in a French phone number. I would be dialing the number from my US mobile phone, which I understand means I would be dialing from the US. Does this mean that I should always drop the 1st 0 when the French phone number has a 0 (they do not all seem to). I'm trying to set up a contact list on my mobile phone and want to make sure I enter the correct number.
Posted by
Paris
9550 posts
Hi Kay -- say the number you want to save is
06 12 34 56 78
Enter it in your phone like this:
+33612345678
And it will work perfectly!
Posted by
Chicago
8038 posts
And if your phone doesn't take the +. you can also precede it with 011 and then the number dropping the preceding 0. I could not get the + to work from my hone but the 011 worked in its place.
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2501 posts
Does your contact list have an option to choose the country from a drop-down list - for example, Google Contacts does.
So all you do is create a contact, choose France from the drop-down for the phone number, and add the phone number with the zero at the beginning. You don't need to worry about adding the + symbol, the country code, or deleting the zero. It will dial the correct number automatically whether you are in France, in the US, use a US sim or use a French sim.
Posted by
OP
Berkeley, California, US
612 posts
Thanks everyone! I've now been able to enter the contacts.
Posted by
Panguitch, Utah
2542 posts
Set up all of your numbers with the + then country code. This way, no matter where you are, your calls will always connect. +1 212-123-4567 always works, no matter from where it is dialed.
Be careful using 011 from within France, as all calls so dialed will attempt to connect to a Paris fixed line (01). If you want to dial the US from within France, use 001 212-123-4567 or the easier method +1 212 123 4567.
Posted by
Chicago
8038 posts
FWIW. the 011 workaround has worked for me dialing from a US mobile to French numbers. I can't seem to get the plus to work on my phone. I am sure there is a trick to it, but so far it hasn't worked for me. If anyone knows the trick to get the 0 to switch to + I'd love to hear it.
Posted by
PA, USA
67 posts
Janet, press the 0 and hold it and you'll get the plus sign.
Posted by
Chicago
8038 posts
Thanks I'll try that. I pressed it but didn't hold it and thus reverted to the 011 which did work but apparently doesn't always.
Posted by
OP
Berkeley, California, US
612 posts
Janet, I had the same problem with holding down the 0. On my iPhone if I hold down the "0" the keyboard changes and there is a 123 where the +* # was before. Where the 0 used to be is now a +. I press that and it seemed to work. This from just thrashing around trying desperately to convince my phone that I am 40 years younger than I am!