Mobile phones and SMS in Thailand

[H 0]

try +66 no zero 12345678

 

You can only get the + with mobiles

[valentinoxxx 4]

Aproximately 10 months ago I tried a 0ne 2 call sim in my sharp gx10i.It didn't work and the shop couldn't fix it. I had an old sony t68i that worked perfectly so just thought maybe it was too new a model. The second time the sim wouldn't work either and I had given my 68i

away. Had an expensive Vodafone bill that holiday.

 

Can anyone tell me if they now work and if the new sharp video phone works too.I have an upgrade in januaryand if I upgrade to the sharp I will only be coming with 2 sharp phones.One for my english sim and one for a thai one.If I have the same problem I'm thinking of upgrading to a

sony instead.

 

If anyone can let me go that would be great.

 

cheers

 

Sparkey

 

It comes down to whether they have the software to unlock the telephone yet.

 

Try unlocking it in the UK, to save yourself the hassle of carrying it around if they can't unlock it in Thailand.

 

For casual LOS use, pick up an second hand model at MBK, for 1000 baht or less.

[ellobo 0]

I have a question with a little different twist.

 

But first I would like to thank Valentinoxxx for all of his effort and all of the others who have contributed to this thread.  It is a great thread as can be witnessed by the number of hits.

 

My situation.  With this thread and some of my own research, I thought that I pretty much had this thing figured out.  So in the US I have AT&T, and low and behold, they do not use SIM cards.  They are hard-wired in the phone.  I went to my att guy and the tri-band phones that they have available are 1900, 1800, and 850.  Not suitable for SEA.

 

My contract is up in a couple of months so I will be switching carriers to someone who has phones with SIM cards, the right frequencies, and still works well in the area in which I live.  (That was the main reason for att in the first place.)  

 

I live on the outskirts of Sacramento, CA.  Anyone have any suggestions as to what carrier to which I should switch?

 

Thanks for your help.  Again, a great thread.

 

EL

[Crackpot 2]

Cant recomend a provider in the US but for Thailand I would just recommend going into MBK and getting a used phone and simcard deal

Velly cheep

[ellobo 0]

Thanks me Lord.

 

But often when I go to LOS I stop over in LA for a week or so and I want to have a phone there.  I do not want to take my US phone and then have to carry it back and forth and have it useless in LOS.  The convince of a tri-band would be very helpful.  Hell, isn’t that why they make the damn things?

 

EL

[Soi7 1]

El,

 

I just bought a Siemens S40 from a seller on ebay triband and unlocked 58.00 good price. It will work there also. But the guy is full of shit about ATT phones not working there ATT here in my area is offering a Siemens M55 which is Triband GSM phone and a really good phone and will work with out a problem there I think what he ment was that it will not work there because it is locked to ATT but getting it unlocked is no problem A guy in SF can unlock any Phone and he charges 15.00 good price. You can find someone in your area that can unlock it also of have it done in LOS.

 

Also ATT GSM phones do use sim cards but you will have to switch plans.

[Macumba 0]

Ellebo, look into T-Mobile. I just bought a Nokia 6610 from Intelenet.com, 70 US$ with coupons for 125 cashback.

It is a tri-Band that will work in Thailand. I just got it unlocked myself with the help of software purchased from ebay, cost me 1 US.

I will be in Thailand in less than a week and will know for sure if it allows local SIM cards.

[sparkey1 0]

Val

 

"It comes down to whether they have the software to unlock the telephone yet.

 

Try unlocking it in the UK, to save yourself the hassle of carrying it around if they can't unlock it in Thailand.

 

For casual LOS use, pick up an second hand model at MBK, for 1000 baht or less. "

 

Thanks for that , but I've always brought Vodafone hand sets with me and have never had to have them unlocked yet.

 

It just seems a bit daft too buy a Thai one , regardless of how cheap,when I already have two .

 

I'm a bit of a mobile snob and don't really want a 2nd hand Nokia.

 

Does anyone or is anyone using a sharp handset in Thailand at the moment??

 

Cheers

[stiffler 0]

Anyone who is having trouble with their mobile phone! and want it de-barred or chip or whatever! try the second level at Big C! its a phone shop located near the black canyon coffee shop! my TG had a  mobile phone de-barred which I gave her! it was barred from the uk! but they managed to do something to de-bar it! and to convert it to a Thai network for her!

Hope this is of help to somrbody?

 

Stiffer

[Imacze 0]

Thanks me Lord.

 

But often when I go to LOS I stop over in LA for a week or so and I want to have a phone there.  I do not want to take my US phone and then have to carry it back and forth and have it useless in LOS.  The convince of a tri-band would be very helpful.  Hell, isn’t that why they make the damn things?

 

EL

 

El,

 

Try the Sony Ericsson Triband GSM. I use mine on AT&T network. Had the instrument tinkered with to accept any SIM card now. Absolutely no probs. You can use the phone with your US SIM card until you leave and replace it with a Thai SIM when you reach LOS.

 

Works great for me.

 

Cheers

Ian

[BobSJ 0]

Hello All

 

I also have a Nokia 6610 that I purchased on my last trip to Pattaya at Big-C.  I did a lot of homework before I made my purchase only because the last time I made a purchase the sales staff assured me that my mobile would work back home which it did not. It was a dual band only and they said that it was a tri-band.

 

So if you plan on buying a tri-band, read the manual first to make sure what you are getting. I found it easier to buy my mobile in Thailand and use it back home. So far I have not had any problems with my Nokia-6610 back home.

 

For the guy in Sacramento, once your contract is up with your current carrier,  stay on with them on a month to month basis and ask other people in your area about the carrier they are using. I live in San Jose and I still do not have a clue who is better. Shop around for the best deal and see if they are willing to sign you up for a one year plan. What ever you decide do not sign up with  anyone for their so call "International Plan", You will only be wasting your hard earned money.

 

BobSJ

[valentinoxxx 4]

I have a question with a little different twist.

 

But first I would like to thank Valentinoxxx for all of his effort and all of the others who have contributed to this thread.  It is a great thread as can be witnessed by the number of hits.

 

My situation.  With this thread and some of my own research, I thought that I pretty much had this thing figured out.  So in the US I have AT&T, and low and behold, they do not use SIM cards.  They are hard-wired in the phone.  I went to my att guy and the tri-band phones that they have available are 1900, 1800, and 850.  Not suitable for SEA.

 

My contract is up in a couple of months so I will be switching carriers to someone who has phones with SIM cards, the right frequencies, and still works well in the area in which I live.  (That was the main reason for att in the first place.)  

 

I live on the outskirts of Sacramento, CA.  Anyone have any suggestions as to what carrier to which I should switch?

 

Thanks for your help.  Again, a great thread.

 

EL

 

Can't answer the US question as I am from the UK. I can say that the 900 and 1800 frequencies are in use

in Thailand, so as long as the mobile has either of those there will be no compatibility problems there.

 

Refer to the first post of the thread for compatible networks.

[VoxVader 1]

A buddy of mine bought a tri-band phone at MBK (used) for 3200THB.  Back in the US he can use a T-mobile SIM with it.

 

-Vox

[ellobo 0]

Time for an up-date.

 

I went back to AT&T, this time the main, and I think a real AT&T store, and yes they have a couple of Tri-bands but the ones they had available had cameras and I did not want a camera in my phone.   So I decided to hit E-Bay.

 

I did a lot of research and decided on the Nokia 6610 from about four that met my criteria.  I noticed that a couple of other members have these also.  I purchased one for $178.50 US, new, unlocked, in the box with all of the accessories, and shipping and insurance.  That is about 6960 baht at today’s rate.  BTW, I picked up a flyer from Tesco Lotus just before I left Los in December and they have the same phone, new, for 11,000 bhat ($282 US).  I know you can get one cheaper over there by shopping around, bargaining, or going used, but it was helpful to have something for comparison.

 

Ok, the new problem.  As I said above, my AT&T phone that I have now does not have a SIM card.  I went back to the AT&T store and they said that I would have to change plans to get a SIM card, the same as the Kid said above.  

 

This pissed me off because when I went there the last time the same guy said that he would get me a SIM card no problem.  Yeah, no problem if I want to pay twice as much for the same plan I have now.  The old bait and switch.  So I went over to Cingular and the lady took the SIM card out of her phone and put it in my new one and it worked perfectly.  So when my contract is up in Aug, I will switch to Cingular.  Hopefully they will have purchased AT&T by then and they will use AT&T’s antennas so I will get the same reception in my area.  Even if they do not, there is just one little area that is a problem with the other carriers.

 

In the mean time, I have an old 1-2-Call SIM card from Los in the phone.  I can not use it to call of course, but I can do all of my programming and number entering.  (I’ll have all of my girl friends’ numbers in the phone when the plane touches down in July so I can hit the ground running, as soon as I get a new SIM card that is.)  Until then, I have a $178. paper weight.  Maybe I can figure out how to use some of the features by then.

 

EL

 

Macumba, how did your phone work in LOS?  TIA

[turk56 0]

my phone i got unlocked at MBK works like a champ here in Thailand. It was Cingular locked before and now i contact some of the girls.

[valentinoxxx 4]

I have updated the original post with information on making International calls worldwide from Thailand.

[valentinoxxx 4]

I have added a partial update on GPRS use to the original post.

[Macumba 0]

Ellobo - The Nokia 6610 worked excellent in Pattaya. I bought the Happy DPrompt card for 400 baht which they included 200 of talk time (promotion).

I called a couple of times to the US and it only took about 35 baht for a 3 min call!

 

Back in the states, I am on T-Mobile, which is also excellent here in Florida.

 

If you wanted to give T-Mobile a try, you could get a Prepaid Sim Card from them, around 50 US. This way, you could test the phone and the network in your area.

On my 1 year plan, I get 600 anytime minutes plus unlimited night and weekends for just 40 US, that works out to be 20 Min. a day average, plenty for me.

 

Maybe I will see you in Thailand in the summer.

[Bazle 1,491]

Valentino

 

It's great to have recourse to someone obviously so knowledgeable in this area. Wonder if you can help on this one.

 

Like a few other posters, I'd prefer that where I am when I make a call is not necessarily known to the person I am calling. Could you (or someone) please tell me what comes up on the 'phone of the person I am calling if I make an international call. I am from the UK and use the 02 network and am willing to put up with their exhorbitant call rate if I call the UK when I am in LOS (not going to make many calls - not worth getting 'phone unlocked, buying second 'phone etc). So, for example, when I call the UK, does just my regular 'phone number show or is there a LOS prefix shown as well?

 

Similarly, if I dialled a landline in the UK and the person I called hit 1471 after the call, what number would they be told had just called them?

 

And what is the position on SMS?

 

Does dialling 141 before the number work in LOS?

 

I need to know so that I can get the story right!!

 

Thanks.

[valentinoxxx 4]

I don't know. It's too sensitive an area for theory.

 

The results can vary. Generally I would expect the UK number to be displayed or no number at all.(Don't take this as Gospel)

 

With SMS, I would expect the UK number to be displayed, as the message service centre stays the same.

 

141 is for UK landlines.

I think the International 'withhold' mobile number is or was, 131. I don't think the networks in Thailand support this.

You can, on some models of mobile telephone, set it to withhold your number. Again, you will have to check with DTAC/AIS to see if they support this.

[Bazle 1,491]

Valentino

 

Thanks. Looks like I'll have to check out the situation when I get there (Thursday ). If I get to the bottom of it, I'll post the answers when I return.

 

Bazle

[valentinoxxx 4]

Good luck

[valentinoxxx 4]

Added a little more info on GPRS internet connection.

[cowboy 0]

I was at IT center in the Big C shopping mall. several of the vendors had used mobile phones for sale. Phone and prepaid calling cards ranged from 2000 baht to 3500 baht depending on the phone. Phones included chargers and calling card U chose the calling card plan. Some of the prepaids had monthly charges if not used but charge is waived if you add money to the card. 4 baht per minute seemd to be about the average for the prepaid cards some higher some lower but with diffrerent terms.

[valentinoxxx 4]

Thai Pre paid SIM cards do not have monthly charges. They also do not have calling cards. They use SIM(Subsciber Identity Memory) cards, a chip about 15mm square.

 

I have made clear the charges for calls in the original post.

 

 

There was me thinking that the original post was clear and simple....