How to extend validity of sim card with AIS , DTAC and True

[Ed Setra]

12 hours ago, bangna said:

Presumably you can only extend from outside Thailand if your phone is set up for international roaming?

If you are in the UK and turn on your Thai sim (or load it in a single sim phone) see what happens after a few minutes. If you get a SMS from DTAC or whoever with Welcome to UK and listing roaming charges etc then you should be able to extend in this way. If you don't get the message then I assume you're not eligible for roaming and need another method.

Edited January 13, 2021 by Ed Setra

[Ed Setra]

On 12/01/2021 at 21:10, bangna said:

Presumably you can only extend from outside Thailand if your phone is set up for international roaming?

OK so yesterday I gave this a try.

*113*90*9# Call

Couple minutes later I get a message: Day give away service has extended 90 validity days and 9.00 Baht fee is applied.

No end date in this message so I logged onto my DTAC account online and all is as it should be. Expiry now in 15 January 2022 and balance of 513.12 Baht.

 

[Nummer1]

On 01/11/2020 at 07:59, johnlb said:

If you have plenty of credit  you can trade some balance for time extension by using the Mao Mao 30 days code,  *500*9#

it will use around B30 off your balance and give you another month.  AIS.

Cheers, Johnlb.

Do you know if this can be applied multiple times? I have over 1.5k balance now as I keep buying via the K-mobile app each month (I used to think you have to do at least 100 baht to get extended so I charged it up like an idiot).

I don't wanna loose the number so just wanna extend like a year so I don't forget one month and have hassle with it being disabled.

I'm good now until end of Feb, but I think smarter this way then keep pouring money into it, so I'll try it next time.

[johnbro]

Does anyone know a DTAC Call Center email or phone number. I am out of the country and lost my SIM and need a replacement and I need an actual phone number, not 1678 which I can not call, without my SIM card.

Any help is much appreciated. 

[rhodie]

13 hours ago, Nummer1 said:

Do you know if this can be applied multiple times? I have over 1.5k balance now as I keep buying via the K-mobile app each month (I used to think you have to do at least 100 baht to get extended so I charged it up like an idiot).

I don't wanna loose the number so just wanna extend like a year so I don't forget one month and have hassle with it being disabled.

I'm good now until end of Feb, but I think smarter this way then keep pouring money into it, so I'll try it next time.

You can do it as many times as needed to extend up to a year at a time.

[talung66]

On 22/10/2020 at 17:02, gaplem said:

 

Why not do it alone with a code to extend ?

My mate in  Australia has same issue with TRUE and has some important bill to pay.
A lesson to learn turn on global roaming before you leave.

Unfortunately he cant turn it on as he needs a OTP to activate a account for the  APP to work 

i have AIS it on already so i never turn it of 

[jpduggan1]

On 22/10/2020 at 10:44, bangna said:

Sorry, you may need to top up 12 times but you have no idea which DTAC sim I have. I would not make a claim if it was untrue.

I do it every trip to keep my number.

So which sim do you have. I'm interested in getting the same as yours. Regards.

[bangna]

3 hours ago, jpduggan1 said:

So which sim do you have. I'm interested in getting the same as yours. Regards.

Unfortunately I do not know what package I have. I'm in the UK now and cannot connect to DTAC because I cannot receive the OTP. Phone is not set up for international roaming.

Several years ago, I went to the DTAC desk in Big C Extra and asked if I could have a sim with longer life as I visit twice a year. They went to great lengths to warn me the charge per call/minute would increase by 50% which I agreed then they made some changes via their computer terminal. Call charges something like 1.5 bt per minute but I rarely make voice calls. Ever since, I top up just before I return home to maintain the number. I may have to ask a friend to top up if the current restrictions prevent return before Sept 2021.

Interestingly, my phone was stolen in Vietnam, when I returned I went to DTAC desk at Suvarnabhumi airport and explained the situation. Within 5 minutes I had a new sim card coded to my number and they confirmed the balance available.

[Trevor]

I extend my DTAC from the UK via their App.....I just connect the phone to my WiFi. Hit the Jaidee Service and then Day Giveaway. As mentioned above the cost recently went up from 2 to 3 bhat per month extension.

Maybe this method will be possible for those who don’t have roaming enabled?

[Pattayaphrik]

On 21/01/2021 at 02:31, johnbro said:

Does anyone know a DTAC Call Center email or phone number. I am out of the country and lost my SIM and need a replacement and I need an actual phone number, not 1678 which I can not call, without my SIM card.

Any help is much appreciated. 

Dtac call center are on the Line app also. I used this successfully when i was in the UK and my sim lost it's signal. Very quick service.

[ronthebrummie]

I’ve an AIS sim and pay 40bt a month to top up, but seriously thinking of letting it go, I’m not going to be there till at least Nov this year probably Feb next year.

Most hotels and bars have WiFi so is there any need for a number?

Thoughts?

[wadman]

25 minutes ago, ronthebrummie said:

I’ve an AIS sim and pay 40bt a month to top up, but seriously thinking of letting it go, I’m not going to be there till at least Nov this year probably Feb next year.

Most hotels and bars have WiFi so is there any need for a number?

Thoughts?

Finally...!  Someone has asked the obvious question: what exactly is the point of extending a Thai sim if you are not in the country, have not been for a long time, and likely will not be for another long time.  The only reason I could come up with is if you have a Thai bank account, and your number is linked to it.  Or something similar to it.

In terms of being online while in the taxi from the airport to Pattaya, talk to your driver.  Ask him to put his phone as a hotspot, and offer him 50-100 baht for it.  Good chance he has an unlimited data (or close to it) SIM and it costs him nothing.

[pasta man]

3 hours ago, ronthebrummie said:

Most hotels and bars have WiFi so is there any need for a number?

Thoughts?

Try it and decide for yourself? I personally never use hotel wifi now that data sims are cheap. Much more consistent connection. Also google maps when walking around is nice. And grab. And line when meeting people. I don't know how people survived back in the early 2000s. :)

[Nummer1]

On 01/11/2020 at 07:59, johnlb said:

If you have plenty of credit  you can trade some balance for time extension by using the Mao Mao 30 days code,  *500*9#

it will use around B30 off your balance and give you another month.  AIS.

Cheers, Johnlb.

Thanks mate, this worked for me, but it's kind of confusing.

First I tried their app, logged in with OTP, under top up found Mao Mao 30, it does state get 30 days of extra validity, but when I try to buy it comes back saying something like "PackageID not in list".

Then I tried *500*9# I got an SMS back saying:

"เหมาๆจ่ายเพียง 30 บาท ได้รับวันใช้งานเพิ่ม 30 วัน และโทรฟรีทุกเครือข่าย 36นาที โดยใช้ 36 นาทีนี้ได้ภายใน 5 วัน นับจากวันที่สมัคร"

which Google translates to

"Pay only 30 baht, get an additional 30 days of validity and free calls to all networks 36 minutes using this 36 minutes within 5 days from the date of application."

I read that as just an info about the package, didn't think it applied it as normally (when I top up) I immediately get an SMS saying what the new validity is. So then I tried

*777*30# which also seems to be Mao Mao 30, I get a slightly different message, but basically the same, no info about new validity date.

But when I logged back into the App it does say new validity is 17 April 21, so it seems both the codes did actually work.

Anyways, maybe helpful to some

 

[johnlb]

5 hours ago, Nummer1 said:

Thanks mate, this worked for me, but it's kind of confusing.

First I tried their app, logged in with OTP, under top up found Mao Mao 30, it does state get 30 days of extra validity, but when I try to buy it comes back saying something like "PackageID not in list".

Then I tried *500*9# I got an SMS back saying:

"เหมาๆจ่ายเพียง 30 บาท ได้รับวันใช้งานเพิ่ม 30 วัน และโทรฟรีทุกเครือข่าย 36นาที โดยใช้ 36 นาทีนี้ได้ภายใน 5 วัน นับจากวันที่สมัคร"

which Google translates to

"Pay only 30 baht, get an additional 30 days of validity and free calls to all networks 36 minutes using this 36 minutes within 5 days from the date of application."

I read that as just an info about the package, didn't think it applied it as normally (when I top up) I immediately get an SMS saying what the new validity is. So then I tried

*777*30# which also seems to be Mao Mao 30, I get a slightly different message, but basically the same, no info about new validity date.

But when I logged back into the App it does say new validity is 17 April 21, so it seems both the codes did actually work.

Anyways, maybe helpful to some

 

I  follow up with a Balance check, *121# .   I do all these from the phone, takes a couple of mins to establish the full ROAMING connection.  You can also switch your account to English and received texts will be readable. There is a code for that too,  *700# and follow the prompts.

Cheers, hope this helps.

[bestmate]

On 26/01/2021 at 21:04, ronthebrummie said:

I’ve an AIS sim and pay 40bt a month to top up, but seriously thinking of letting it go, I’m not going to be there till at least Nov this year probably Feb next year.

Most hotels and bars have WiFi so is there any need for a number?

Thoughts?

You can top up 25bht for 3 months at https://mobiletopup.com/

So basically do that 4 times and you paid 100bht for 1 year validity.

[cbmgolfer]

On 26/01/2021 at 15:36, wadman said:

Finally...!  Someone has asked the obvious question: what exactly is the point of extending a Thai sim if you are not in the country, have not been for a long time, and likely will not be for another long time.  The only reason I could come up with is if you have a Thai bank account, and your number is linked to it.  Or something similar to it.

In terms of being online while in the taxi from the airport to Pattaya, talk to your driver.  Ask him to put his phone as a hotspot, and offer him 50-100 baht for it.  Good chance he has an unlimited data (or close to it) SIM and it costs him nothing.

Absolutely necessary if you have a Thai bank account.

[spider0064]

On 20/10/2020 at 20:53, davidge said:

Reviving this thread:

FYI

I have a True SIM that was going to expire in January 2021. I have a lot of credit on it.

I used the True Live Chat today and once I’d got through to an agent, took an hour, she quickly extended the validity for a further 180 days for 12 baht 45 satang taken from my credit.

Wonder if you can help, was that on live chat over the internet on there home page ? 

Reason I ask is I have 300bht which is valid till 28/3/21 and is my belief that once this expires I will be disconnected or loose the number I have, I tried the sim but it's not connecting from here in the U.K. So expect roaming has been turned off.

Didnt expect to out of Thailand for so long so wouldn't be an issue but as I've used this number for the past 6 years or so I'd like to keep it if I can.

Any advice greatly appreciated 

[davidge]

10 hours ago, spider0064 said:

Wonder if you can help, was that on live chat over the internet on there home page ? 

Reason I ask is I have 300bht which is valid till 28/3/21 and is my belief that once this expires I will be disconnected or loose the number I have, I tried the sim but it's not connecting from here in the U.K. So expect roaming has been turned off.

Didnt expect to out of Thailand for so long so wouldn't be an issue but as I've used this number for the past 6 years or so I'd like to keep it if I can.

Any advice greatly appreciated 

Yes, it was the live chat in English from the website.

As I said, it took over an hour for someone on their side to join the chat but it was dealt with quickly once she had.

[jocky king]

I always keep an eye online AIS .. I don’t like changing phone numbers. . Still has Thai SIM card on my 2nd iPhone . My online read like this , also had SMS from AIS but confusing due to Thai written . Until I see my AIS in English , more clearer . I Must top up before 14th of June this year to keep my number going .

Edited March 23, 2021 by jocky king

[spider0064]

3 hours ago, davidge said:

Yes, it was the live chat in English from the website.

As I said, it took over an hour for someone on their side to join the chat but it was dealt with quickly once she had.

Thanks I'll give it that a try.

[Bazle]

19 hours ago, spider0064 said:

...... I tried the sim but it's not connecting from here in the U.K. So expect roaming has been turned off.

I had that problem with an AIS SIM card. I asked AIS by email (callcenter@ais.co.th) and they replied:

I'd like to suggest you turn off then turn on and manually select the network provider below
- EE
- O2 UK
- Vodafone
- Three UK

In other words, turn off the "auto connect" in "Mobile networks" (in Settings) and manually connect to one of the networks mentioned.

I had to connect to EE. It is not brilliant, though - tends to lose connection.

 

[Hollander]

On 23/03/2021 at 11:46, spider0064 said:

Thanks I'll give it that a try.

 

How did it go?

[ronthebrummie]

Update from my earlier post, I’ve just upgraded to a dual sim phone, my 02 is my primary UK and my AIS secondary both sims are in and working the Thai obviously on WiFi. So my Thai will take over as and when I arrive

Also found out my Thai sim can top up monthly 10bt - 25p  can also put a data pack top up day or so before I fly so no messing about at big C, so happy as Larry 

[spider0064]

On 07/04/2021 at 13:48, Hollander said:

 

How did it go?

In the end I contacted a girl and asked her to get me 2 x50bht  credits but really don't know as I don't have roaming on the sim, just have to wait till I get back now as I don't know how long that will last till, had the number since 2015 so don't want to loose it as it's linked to my kasikorn a/c and a number of friends over the years.

Also not sure how long before they reallocate the number