hey guys,

I may be switching providers here in the States to T-Mobile. This is goodness as now I can unlock phone when overseas and use it. Being the cell phone neophyte that I am, perhaps someone can answer the following questions:

Any particular model work better than other brands in terms of cell phones?

How much is the card + minutes cost in Thailand?


Any gotchas?


Anyone using tmobile here in the states that carries it with em overseas, I would love to hear from ya and get some feedback on their service.


TIA,

DM

New SIM card from 1 2 Call is 700 baht which includes 300 baht initial load. After that you buy recharge cards as you need them. The cards from 1 2 call are 300 or 500 baht denominations. Calls are charged at 3 baht per minute.

All models are about the same in terms of quality of service. I have used Nokia, Motorola ,Sony, and now have a Samsung camera phone which I like the best- small with great quality. Same models sold in Thailand as in US so it does not matter where you bought it.

Good reception almost everywhere in major cities. No problems with the neighborhoods objecting to cell microwave towers in LOS. They don't bother to ask. Therefore few dead spots as have cell towers everywhere.

I found DTAC really easy to use. Instructions in English, and customer service agents and operators who also speak English.

Although I have a Sony now, the Nokias are easier to unlock yourself. You can unlock a Nokia with just a code, but you actually need a specific cable to unlock a Sony (as well as the code). Nokia codes are available for free from some websites.

Of course, you could always just get your phone unlocked at MBK.

I'm pretty sure my Verizon Wireless phone WON'T work in LOS. Does anyone have advise about how to get a phone for while I'm there (maybe rent)?

Just the opposite advice than that given for pooying-- buy don't rent. Phones are dirt cheap at MBK. You can get very nice used Nokias for 2-4 K baht depending on model. You'll have it for future trips as well.


BTW You are correct about your Verizon phone not working unless you have it unlocked.

Verizon is a CDMA network and not GSM. It won't work period. You can buy cheapy/used one at MBK once you arrive or you canb buy one in the states before leaving. I also have my recently retired sony-ericson. PM if intersted.

Thanks for the advice. I know I can buy the phone. But what about establishing some type of service for when I visit?

DM, Instant msg me the model # and asking price. I may very well be interested.

MBK will also sell you the SIM card -- 700 baht for the card with 300 baht already loaded. You can choose your cell phone number from one of hundreds of vendors. They have the available numbers posted in their booths.

Rastaman, if you find the cell phone area in MBK you'll be surrounded by so many phones and SIM cards you might need a map to find your way back out.

KM - What's up with all the lists of numbers posted everywhere in there? Are they phone numbers that are available or something? Are Thais that picky about their phone numbers?

One more bit of advice - get the person at the cell store to put in the SIM card and activate it. I bought a Thai SIM card for my phone (a Motorola v60), and didn't put it in until I got back to my hotel. The phone recognized the card, but then asked for some password I apparently didn't have. Worked fine in my Thai gal's phone, so I ended up giving it to her rather than go all the way back to MBK.

I wonder if my phone needs to be "unlocked" to work with Thai SIM cards?

>Anyone using tmobile here in the states that carries it with em overseas, I would love to
>hear from ya and get some feedback on their service.

DM, my T-mobile phone worked in BKK (you have to specifically request international service be added to your account). Biggest issues were cost (something outrageous like $1.50/minute) and availability of international lines. I sometimes had difficulty getting a line back to the US. I never did get a line that could reach Mexico. And make sure you know the 800 number for retrieving your voice mails before leaving the country, as dialing 123 to reach voicemail won't work outside the US.

So, just to make sure I understand:

If I buy a GPS capable phone from the US, I have to pay to have it unlocked for Thai SIM cards in most cases. Some mfgs (Nokia) are easy and some (Sony Ericson) are more difficult to do this on. The Thai SIM card will give me a phone # and time to call and can be recharged. There is no monthly charge for the number -- so I can buy it once, keep it and use it whenever I cross the lake to Thailand. The cost for doing all of this is not really that much (2-4K for the phone if I buy it in Thailand and 1K for the SIM card/number). If I brought the phone from the US I'd have to obviously pay for the phone here, plus pay to have it unlocked so it might just be best to do it all there.

Am I correct?

Phoenixguy
That's exactly what the numbers posted are. Those are the SIM card phone numbers they have for sale. Thais like Chinese are into lucky numbers. You may have noticed some numbers cost way more than others. Regular numbers are 700 baht but really lucky numbers can go for between 1,000 to 10,000 baht .

Yeah - if it was your US cell phone it will not work in Thailand unless unlocked. I have T Mobile but my phone from US does not work with Thai SIM card. The phone I bought in Thailand also does not work here with T Mobile SIM card even though it is unlocked, The US SIM card does not recognize the phone for some reason.

Rastaman --- Almost all correct. The SIM card has an expiration date unless you continue to recharge it. When you add the minutes the message tells you when they expire. If you do not add new minutes before then the SIM card expires as well.As long as you keep recharging the SIM- generally about every 2-3 months it seems, the number stays active. If not you just pay 700 baht for a new one on next visit.

Got it! Thanks!

Rastaman, etc...

You can rent phones from the Bangkok airport. The service is the same, but you'll need to put a hefty deposit (B15K-B20K) for the handset.

Thanks, Senator!

One little note about SIMs expiring. If I recall correctly, with my DTAC SIM, every time I added 200B, the expiration date got extended another 20 days.

On our last trip, my buddy's SIM had "expired" about two months prior. However, he was nevertheless able to add load to it without any problems. I think only the load expires on the expiration date. The SIM (and the number) continues to be operational for sometime after the expiration date. I would assume, though, that at some point they will deactivate the SIM and put the number back to be recirculated.

I think the expiration of the SIM card is similar to Russian Roullette. I do not know of any exact time the old SIM gets de-activated and put back on the market.It'supposed to be the expiration date of the baht load, but it's all in Thai time-- i.e. whenever they get around to it. Certainly once the load expires you face the chance at any time the card will expire as well. I have treid on several occasions to use an old SIM and have never been able to do it. This last trip in Nonember curiously I was told by the message that my baht did not expire until May 05. Never got that kind of time before. I'll let you know in February if it still works.

It will work just fine, at least mine has...

Khun_Mor, after this thread I decided to ping TMobile tech support about getting my phone unlocked. Took a few emails back and forth, and they've got a whole bunch of "must be's" and "must haves", but basically if you've been a customer for several months, and have an account in good standing, they'll get you the unlock code - no charge. I'm waiting on them to get mine now.

They also stated they only provide one unlock code per line, so I guess if I ever lose that phone I'm on my own.

Phoenixguy

Most of the unlock codes can be obtained by the shops in Asia. If you buy your phones here (as I do), then there's no problem as they're already unlocked.

KM

When you add load, it tacks 30 days onto your SIM viability. Right now, because I've not topped up yet, My Thai SIM is only good until 12/27/2006. I'll add another 500 today bringing that up to todays date. I can be away for 1.5 years (a DREADFUL thought) and still have a valid SIM and load. Next time you're here buy a SHITLOAD of 200-300B cards and load up. Your card will be good for a LONG time!!

E

Phoenixguy
Actually what I'm trying to find out is how to use my Thailand cell phone on T Mobile system. My Thai phone is better than the phones they offer on T Mobile. It's a Samsung slider phone new in LOS have not seen here yet. My T Mobile is an older Samsung model so I know they can use Samsung phones on their system.

Epi-- That has not been my experience. When I add a new baht load the expiration date changes by only 1-2 days sometimes. Never seems to be constant number of days or months.

KM-- U can use your LoS phone or any other unlocked GSM phone on the T-mobile network. You have two options; 1) buy a sim card and pay as you go (expensive-- i beleive they charge 50 bucks for a sim card, and minutes are around 10c/m) or you sign up for one of their plans and have them drop the SIM card in your phone.

KM/Epi-- My experience is the same as KMs... the time added when you add a load is variable. Sometimes I get a couple days, sometimes a week. I just keep adding them till I'm comfy with the expiration date.

Does anybody know what phones to buy in bangkok that also work in the US for ATT? My friend was in the Phillipines and bought a phone that also worked in the US for ATT.

Any triband phone will work. However, ATT/CING is largely building out on the 850mhz network, so SEA phones will NOT be ideal.

Coconuts-

I second that note by DM, I've got an import Chinese phone that's Triband, but it's not all that great. Get alot of dropped calls with Cingular as my provider.

You could always purchase phones from Ebay sellers, triband GSM sim phones that are unlocked.

Areas that were built up extensively by Cingular, before their merger with AT&T, carry complete coverage on the 1900 band. Here in Los Angeles, I get better coverage with my Cingular 1900 service then any of my friends on competitors (Verison, Sprint, NexTel).

E

I am still a bit confused about this whole deal. So I go to MBK (?where ever this may be). I can buy a phone and a SIM card with number. Get the guy to activate the card/phone. I can get a 'pay as you go' setup so I just keep loading more time into the phone as needed. If I don't use the thing for three months I will lose the number and have to do this all over again.

Do I have choice of service? What is the best? How much should I pay for the phone so I don't get suckered (probably not a real word).

So in about 36 hours I should be hitting my first Thai lady and I won't really care about phones

ok, here's the gameplay DM style:

arrive in LoS at 11PM, go to visit Dave the Rave, kick back, and have yourself a singhaaaaaa

buy dave a drink and check out the lineup/ask dtr's input when you see one that floats yur boat.

barfine her, pay the tab, take her to get some soup along sukhumvit

go to the hotel, shower, shag, shower/shag again, sleep

wake up, get some eggs thai style and some nam som. Over food, ask her to take you to mbk for a cheap used phone, hop on the skytrain.

After absorbing all the cuties in mbk, buy a cheapie nokia and a 1-2 call sim with 300 baht or so.

Your number is good for some time, and your load will expire depending on how many credits you have amassed (2+ months to several years).

Ask for her phone # and call her phone # immediately so she can caller ID you and give you your #. Add it to yur address book!

Give her a nice tip and a kiss on the cheap-- perhaps ask if she's hungry...

go get yourself a foot massage, smile, and think how wonderful life is.

Knockkneedman,

MBK is short for Mah Boong Krong, big shopping mall (but not quite like ones you might envision coming from the U.S.) near Siam Square. To get there, most taxi drivers will know if you say MBK, but if you say "Mab Boong Krong", they'll know for sure. Alternatively, you can take the Skytrain (http://www.bts.co.th/en/map.asp), which is quite easy to get around, and get off at the National Assembly stop. As soon as you get off, head east and MBK will be immediately to your right; in fact there is a walkway from the first skytrain level platform directly into MBK through the Tokyu Department Store. Access the mall by going in and heading toward the left once you're inside.

The IT Mall is on the 4th floor of the MBK, and most of that floor is probably booths selling phones, although other electronics and computer goods are available there. I'd recommend buying on in Thailand. You can pick up a decent phone for less than 4000 baht (>$100 US) and there are a lot more options to choose from than in the U.S, plus you can get your SIM card from the same place and make sure they work together right there and not worry about having a locked phone. If you want to save money, you can pick up a used mobile phone (good if you're coming for a one time visit) for less than 2000 baht, and can select from many name brands. When you get a SIM card and activate it is initially good for 3 months or so, extending each time you recharge it. If you use it a lot, the extension time gradually gets longer, maxing out to a year, at least for 1-2-Call cards they do. I use 1-2-Call as they have English language directions as well as Thai (plus I've kept my number for 2 years now and have grown attached to it!), but I think most SIM cards do as well. The other big companies are Orange and DTAC, although 1-2-Call is the largest in Thailand. You're now supposed to register your SIM card (i.e. give your passport number) although you might find someone who can give you a card without registration, if that is a concern for any reason. Most people I know, including the ladies, use the prepay service, where you buy time by buying recharge cards. Ask the guy you buy the sim card from how to do it. When your card expires, you lose your number.

You might think you don't care about a phone when you get there, but if you decide to partake of a broad menu of ladies, you'll want a way to get back in touch with them, and maybe even have them get back in touch with you, and mobile phones are a relatively easy and cheap way of doing this. The ladies also like to use text messaging a lot (because it's cheaper than calling) so that provides a way to keep in touch with the ladies you like (and with caller ID, avoid answering the ones you don't like)

Soj--

my plan sounds a hell of a lot funner than yours...

DM
One potential downside to your plan is that a guy new to Thailand is prime meat for a BG getting the latest shiny new model cell phone as payment for services. They can be very persuasive to a newbie, as we all know. Hell I still get suckered in more than I like to admit, but maybe that's just my soft heart. Jaidee maak- ie ATM.

I am completely "technologically challenged." I am not sure I understand all of the conversation here, but I have a simple question. I have a fairly new motorola cell phone that I don't use. Wouldn't it make sense to take it with me to Bangkok and have it "unlocked" if needed and a new SIM card placed in it? I would then use it as my Thai phone when travelling in the area. I would appreciate your counsel.

As long as your Motorola phone is GSM and not CDMA you can get it unlocked and use it in Thailand .If it has a SIM card it is GSM. Make sure it has 900 and 1800 mhz bands as you will need those in Thailand . Primarily 900 mhz I believe.

Simple enough to figure out alv-- what carrier do you currently have/get the phone from?

verizon-- your shit outa luck-- cdma
att/sing-- GSM, but your limited to the 1900 band unless you got a quad band phone (unlikely)
tmobile-- good to go anywhere (well cept the states!)
sprint-- sucks-- quit your contract-- shit outa luck

DM, If I get a Tmobile Nokia 6010 what's the cheapest way to get it "unlocked"? MBK?

According to http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6010 the Nokia 6010 operates GSM/GPRS 850/1900 MHz. Will these frequencies work in LOS? What about Europe?

Thailand is 900 and 1800 mhz if I recall correctly. The 1900 mhz band is T Mobiles proprietary band useless anywhere except for T Mobile in US.
Buy a phone in Thailand - guaranteed to work in US as it's unlocked already. I got the Motorola V3 razor last trip- quad band (850,900,1800,1900)works great with T Mobile - although the display says it's connecting on Cingular - they must share a network.

senny--

Tmobile will unlock your pohone for free after 3 months of initiating the service contract.

KM--

Actually, tmobiles network is very much non propietary, which makes them a great option for using them while on the road. Meanwhile ATT/SIN rely mostly on the 850 network, which is only in the US for them.


If all this is a bore, the easy way to avoid thinking, is just buy a QUAD band phone (every band) either in the US as part of your plan and get it unlocked, OR pay $$$ in SEA for it and be free to do what you want with it. Any quad phone phone will work with any GSM provider.

Thailand is a weird case. Most of the country is covered by both 900 MHz AND 1800 MHz and my duel band T-Mobile phone roams almost anywhere in the country on 900 MHz but AIS artificially disabled 900 MHz sometime last year for One-2-Call prepaid SIMS even though the AIS network has 900 MHz coverage throughout the country. Thus 1800 MHz is the only viable option in Thailand unless you are roaming.

just bout every tri band has the 1800 coverage--

Sooooo.... even though DM says, "tmobile-- good to go anywhere (well cept the states!) " DON'T get their Nokia 6010 because it won't work in LOS, right?

senny, tmobile doesn't sell ANY triband phone w/ 850 mhz band-- Quad is another matter as 850 will be tossed in their as one of the 4. Duals-- not on my radar.


The comment I made about tmobile being good to go, is vs. att and the 850 vs. 900 network with tri phones (vast majority). For example, if you buy a tri at att you get the 850, 1800, and 1900. At tmobile, 900, 1800, 1900-- which is much more portable when traveling.

If you want to use a phone in the states and plop a sim in any other country, your looking at tri and quad phones. My comments were not in direct response to your potential mate of the 6010 as that is a not the best choice of phones for the intended purposes (put lightly).

I see the following phones on http://www.t-mobile.com/prepaid/starterkits.asp (Tmobile prepaid has the best deal out there right now for a prepaid phone).

$49.99 Nokia 6010 - GSM/GPRS 850/1900 MHz according to http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6010

$79.99 Siemens CF62T - GSM 900/1800/1900MHz according to http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2004Nov/bpd20041111027370.htm

$99.99 Samsung x495 - Tri-band (850, 1800, 1900 MHz) according to http://www.phonemag.com/index.php/weblog/read_more/08022005t_mobile_on_time_with_the_launch_of_the_samsung_x495/

$149.99 Motorola V330 - Bands : GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz according to http://direct.motorola.com/ENS/Web_full_specs.asp?Country=USA&language=ENS&productid=29544&strPrimaryOption=FS&lSecondaryOption=-3

I appreciate the reponses to my inquiry. However, I am still not sure what is best for me to do. I have two phones - one is motorola flip phone with a sim card and the other is a treo 600 with a sim card of course. They are both with cingular wireless. I was thinking that maybe I would use the motorola for my international travel and get the cards changed as need be. Or maybe it is best that I just buy an inexpensive phone for use in the places that I travel, mainly Thailand and Brazil. I am primarily concerned with giving the "family" back home an easy and relatively inexpensive way to reach me.Thanks for any help. alv

Simple bring both phones, get a SIM for your destination country, and try in both phones. If it doesn't work then the next time you're in MBK buy a cheap phone and leave the other two in the hotel safe.

Thanks Senator. Do I buy the sim card in the states or in my destination country?

The Treo 600 GSM will DEFINITELY work in Thailand or just about anyplace on the planet. Many "Motorola flip phones" will as well, but you need to be more specific about the model. If it is a Cingular phone it will also need to be unlocked first. To test this borrow a T-Mobile SIM from a friend or coworker, put it in and see what happens. If a T-Mobile SIM works in a Cingular phone, the phone is unlocked. If it says "wrong SIM" or some such thing, it is still locked. Call some local cell phone shops in the yellow pages asking if they can unlock a GSM phone or know someone who can and you should be able to find someone to unlock it locally for ~$10-$20. Or take it to Thailand and try your luck finding someone to unlock it there. A little more iffy but certainly there are people who know how to do it and it will cost much less than $10-$20 for the service.

Definitely buy your SIM once you get there. In Thailand there are many places to buy them. Just ask some people or look for One-2-Call logos in store windows.

Thanks friend

Alvjac - buy the SIM card when you get there.