Mobile Phones! NewBie Issues :)

[bryan.wall]

Have my second trip booked out to LOS on January 29th.

 

When i went last time i did not use a mobile phone over there, to be fair didnt have many contacts and sorting the sim over there i was a bit lost.

 

This time im taking my Notebook and going to setup a mobile phone, i was thinking of taking my old blackberry curve 8900 its not 3G think its still only 2G.

 

How do i go about getting a sim card that will work in there whats the best network?

 

What if i put it in the phone and it does not work? Do i need to get it unlocked somehow?

 

Is it cheaper to just buy a phone over there?

 

How do you go about topping up? Average costs ?

 

Any information greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks !

[neill]

Bryan, i use my old BB 8900, with no problem, just go into the nearest 7-11 or familiy mart and pick up a sim card, about 100Baht, my preffered is DTac but others may disagree, if the shop worker is not busy, she will get it going for you, if not just ask any bar girl

 

 

found mine to be unlocked already but if not get to Tuc com where you can get it unlocked cheaply, i top mine up regularly and despite only going twice a year, have managed to keep the same sim and all the contacts!!

[bryan.wall]

Cheers for the info,

 

Whats tuc com is there one in pattaya?

 

Sounds easy enough, D tac i shall go for.

 

Whats it cost to text someone over there? and someone in the UK?

[localguy]

Tuk com - an electronics shopping mall about 5 minutes walk along South Pattaya Road away from the beach.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=12.926352&lon=100.8819366&z=16&l=0&m=b&show=/1825543/tuk-com-IT-City&search=pattaya%2C%20thailand

[MrLek]

Hey just another query here rather than starting another thread. I have an Iphone 4 that is locked to the network i bought it through in Australia. Will Tukcom be able to unlock it pretty easily? If they can then i would be able to just buy a thai sim whilst there and use that in my own phone?

[CrazeeHorse]

Unlocking (officially, factory, etc) an iPhone is something which can only be done by Apple via the network providers. This request is made by the subscriber to the network which then asks Apple...

 

At Tukcom, you can buy what is known as Turbo-SIM and this housing can be used with the local SIM card (Thai) to sort of confuse the iPhone and run a different SIM whilst remaining officially locked to the original network provider. In short, you can use local SIM but need to buy a small widget. It is likely to be cheaper to buy this widget in your home country. Last time I checked, Tukcom wanted something like £20 whilst I could buy the widget online for £4.

 

Let me know if anything is unclear.

Edited December 8, 2011 by CrazeeHorse

[zilly]

Bryan, i use my old BB 8900, with no problem, just go into the nearest 7-11 or familiy mart and pick up a sim card, about 100Baht, my preffered is DTac but others may disagree, if the shop worker is not busy, she will get it going for you, if not just ask any bar girl

 

 

found mine to be unlocked already but if not get to Tuc com where you can get it unlocked cheaply, i top mine up regularly and despite only going twice a year, have managed to keep the same sim and all the contacts!!

 

some of the mobile shops on the first floor of Big C mall will also unlock. An alternative is just to buy a cheap phone already unlocked. A basic nokia is under 1000Bt

[Batoche1885]

hey there Bryan.wall

I am starting my second trip on the 31st....meet for beer?

cellphone issues same for me...someone should pin a cellphone thread hint hint mods

[bryan.wall]

Hey,

 

Definatly up for a beer Pal!

 

Always good to meet fellow members! I have few girls i need to contact out there so definatly got to sort the phone out.

 

Wonder how much is to unlock weather cheaper to just buy one

[Batoche1885]

yeah I am thinking it may be cheaper to buy a disposable phone from tukom rather than bring one from home.

 

I will pm you when I return to the kingdom of Thai for that beer...regards

[999Baht]

I have an Iphone 4 that is locked to the network i bought it through in Australia. Will Tukcom be able to unlock it pretty easily? If they can then i would be able to just buy a thai sim whilst there and use that in my own phone?

What company are you with?

I was told by Telstra when I was buying my phone under contract that I could just phone them before my trip and tell them I was travelling overseas and wanted to use a foreign sim and they will unlock it for me.

I have not tested this yet but am hoping to use my iPhone on my next trip if true.

I'll look into the turbo sim also as an alternative.

[singalong]

What company are you with?

I was told by Telstra when I was buying my phone under contract that I could just phone them before my trip and tell them I was travelling overseas and wanted to use a foreign sim and they will unlock it for me.

I have not tested this yet but am hoping to use my iPhone on my next trip if true.

I'll look into the turbo sim also as an alternative.

 

The turbo sim (actually called a Gevey sim) is a SIM interposer that works in most countries that use 112 as a emergency call number and involves making a call to emergency.

The legality of that aside, it's not a very user friendly process and requires you to carry through some pre-determined actions every time your phone reboots or loses signal completely - not for the faint hearted...

 

Your best bet would be to ask your provider to unlock your phone for you - most would do it for a small fee with the exception of AT&T...

[ProudAussie]

Hey,

 

Definatly up for a beer Pal!

 

Always good to meet fellow members! I have few girls i need to contact out there so definatly got to sort the phone out.

 

Wonder how much is to unlock weather cheaper to just buy one

 

I bought a cheap phone for Thailand cost me 900 baht I put a True Move sim in it and never had a prob with it .

[bryan.wall]

yeah I am thinking it may be cheaper to buy a disposable phone from tukom rather than bring one from home.

 

I will pm you when I return to the kingdom of Thai for that beer...regards

 

Yeah pal taking my notebook over so pop me an email can grab a beer look out the pussy!

 

:)

I bought a cheap phone for Thailand cost me 900 baht I put a True Move sim in it and never had a prob with it .

 

Yeah think might do that, if they can't unlock the blackberry. Either way thats me sorted!

 

Going to be intresting taking my phone and notebook this time!

 

Hope they dont get me in trouble mind!

[999Baht]

When i went last time i did not use a mobile phone over there, to be fair didnt have many contacts and sorting the sim over there i was a bit lost.

 

How do i go about getting a sim card that will work in there whats the best network?

 

How do you go about topping up? Average costs ?

 

Hi mate I found a great website about all the different phone companies etc in Thailand.

It has all the info you will need.

 

http://thaiprepaidcard.com/