Best value SIM card for tourists

[Gawd Elpus 798]

I am off to Pattaya in a few days and will need a new SIM card. Will wait till I get to Pattaya and go to Tuc Com but what is the best SIM deal for a month ?

 

Lots of different choices these days it seems with combination of minutes, texts and data etc.

[teelack 9,574]

I am off to Pattaya in a few days and will need a new SIM card. Will wait till I get to Pattaya and go to Tuc Com but what is the best SIM deal for a month ?

 

Lots of different choices these days it seems with combination of minutes, texts and data etc.

Why go to Tucom? Sim cards are available in any convenience store. I note that many 7/11 stores also have boards with clearly printed cards with dozens of offers. Read them and take your pick. There are 2 caveats here. Does your hotel have good internet? If so you really don't need an expensive fast card. If however it doesn't then trying to use a slow card as a hot point is hard work. Seems to me also that unless you are travelling to the boonies most of the cards are much alike. If however you are going to be in the wop wops you need to take advice as to what card works best for your area. Bottom line is, it all comes down to your own wants and needs.

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[too_mutt 10]

I thought one of the telecom kiosks at Swampy is the best bet if the lines are not long.

I plan to use an AIS sim and pop it into my iPhone and let them help me with any additional settings.

So I can a phone on the drive to Pats if needed.

[Butch 3,456]

Hi G

I always go to the stalls at Swampy located in the departures hall. They do a Tourist SIM which has several options and costs, i went for the AIS 1tocall 15 day SIM with Data and minutes for 1k baht last time, and didn't need to top up until after the first week, I was also calling the Philippines occasionally. The data never runs out, but it does slow down once you have used up the daily allowance.

 

 

The girls and guys there speak pretty good English and will give you the card to suit your needs, plus they install the SIM and transfer all your contacts over, then tape your old SIM onto the box (so don't bin it). They also tell you your new number and will block all those annoying marketing texts they send out if you ask them (tell them you want this before handing over the readies).

 

 

If you manage to hook up with a half decent mobile savvy Thai girl (stupid statement actually, they all know everything there is to know about mobile phones) then she will be able to work out the "package deals" you can buy for a couple of hundred baht to maximise your use.

[too_mutt 10]

Yep. I plan to pop out the nano SIM card, stow it in my container, and then carefully place the new SIM card in the holder and insert in the phone. The unwanted texts must be tied to the new SIM card, so definitely want those turned off.

Otherwise, that should be it. AIS is one of the better telcos in LOS,

[jacko 8,807]

People always mention transferring the numbers to the new SIM, but in reality you could just have them stored on the phone.

That might be useful as you could insert a Thai SIM without any contacts.and add 'ones you make' to it... to the SIM itself.

Then it can be chucked after copying any you may wish to keep down to the phone.

 

Most people seem to recommend getting sorted at the airport.

 

Also I don't know why Tuk Com is mentioned as if it is the only place in town.. for me it is a nightmare to get to and park, and I don't think it is all that good.

 

My package with AIS is 123 baht/week, includes some free local texts and MMS, all daytime calls, 1 GB fast data dropping to lower speed beyond that, and free Wi-Fi which seems to cover all the shopping malls. I have used it to hotspot to a laptop and it was useable.

[Irish boy 67]

I am off to Pattaya in a few days and will need a new SIM card. Will wait till I get to Pattaya and go to Tuc Com but what is the best SIM deal for a month ?

 

Lots of different choices these days it seems with combination of minutes, texts and data etc.

 

I take my UK SIM out on the plane, go straight to the DTAC stall in swampy, hand them the phone, 1 month unlimited data, most fast card (the difference in price is buttons), they hand it back all sorted in 2/3 minutes, done! All for next to nothing, anyway.

 

Stop being a tight cunt for once in your life!

 

Catch up with you on LK in a couple of weeks

[Gawd Elpus 798]

Last time, I went to one of the stands at the airport only to realise that the phone I handed to here was locked to Vodafone. They could not unlock it. Hence my reason for going to Tuk Com nearby where I was staying and they have lots of phone places there where I could get my phone unlocked and then buy a SIM deal, but cant remember what it was, but after a week I ran out of Data, I am assuming Wifi will be OK were I am staying but I will be using mini lap top for internet access .

[short 215]

Stay away from the TRUE carrier. Went with it by mistake this time and data was extremely unreliable in Pattaya. Seemed to work fine in Bangkok.

[Bazle 1,455]

All the information you need about data packages is summarised at this site:

 

https://thaiprepaidcard.com/3g-data-plans-for-12call-dtac-and-true/

[Gawd Elpus 798]

All the information you need about data packages is summarised at this site:

 

https://thaiprepaidcard.com/3g-data-plans-for-12call-dtac-and-true/

Ahh, thanks, that is what I was looking for

[keyman 1,402]

Last time, I went to one of the stands at the airport only to realise that the phone I handed to here was locked to Vodafone. They could not unlock it. Hence my reason for going to Tuk Com nearby where I was staying and they have lots of phone places there where I could get my phone unlocked and then buy a SIM deal, but cant remember what it was, but after a week I ran out of Data, I am assuming Wifi will be OK were I am staying but I will be using mini lap top for internet access .

 

 

Ask Vodaphone before you leave to unlock it for you.

[Gawd Elpus 798]

 

 

Ask Vodaphone before you leave to unlock it for you.

Already done that mate, would not make the same mistake twice and its free.

[Regyai 415]

Life is so much easier with a twin sim phone

[Odense 489]

Life is so much easier with a twin sim phone

Yes - but the cheaper dual SIM phones seem to use the space of the micro SD card for the second SIM card.

Which models can hold both 2 SIM cards and a micro SD card?

 

Sendt fra min WAS-LX1 med Tapatalk

[too_mutt 10]

I prefer to insert the new sim card myself, and then follow their directions to set it up.

I think they have a carrier access code the have to load for proper handshaking.

[teelack 9,574]

Last time, I went to one of the stands at the airport only to realise that the phone I handed to here was locked to Vodafone. They could not unlock it. Hence my reason for going to Tuk Com nearby where I was staying and they have lots of phone places there where I could get my phone unlocked and then buy a SIM deal, but cant remember what it was, but after a week I ran out of Data, I am assuming Wifi will be OK were I am staying but I will be using mini lap top for internet access .

 

Which only shows that a meaningful and sensible answer is only possible if the full information is provided at the outset.

[teelack 9,574]

Life is so much easier with a twin sim phone

 

This only applies if you don't lose your phone! Yes, it does happen. It happened to me and also to a friend of mine in Pattaya. Losing one sim is bad. Losing two is a disaster. In the long run I believe it better to have two phones. Personally I throw my home phone in the safe and start it up again the day that I leave Thailand.

[jacko 8,807]

Last time, I went to one of the stands at the airport only to realise that the phone I handed to here was locked to Vodafone. They could not unlock it. Hence my reason for going to Tuk Com nearby where I was staying and they have lots of phone places there where I could get my phone unlocked and then buy a SIM deal, but cant remember what it was, but after a week I ran out of Data, I am assuming Wifi will be OK were I am staying but I will be using mini lap top for internet access .

A bit late now but you can ask Vodaphone for the unlock code.

 

I did it once for O2 and they charged me £15, Vodaphone suggest it is free. They suggest sometimes in can be done within 24 hours, BUT some phones can be 10 days.

[thegrogmonster 109]

My wife and myself have had the same DTAC pre-paid numbers for over 10 years now. The plan is phone calls cost 1 baht a minute and every topup extends the validity for 12 months. Both numbers are registered for online services and this allows us to add data plans from Australia before we leave home.

 

My wife leaves for Thailand today so I put 1,000 baht credit on her phone from my Kasikorn bank account. I then added a 30 day 12G data plan to the phone for 799 baht.So she now has data for the month and 200 baht of credit left on the phone.

[firth1974 2,659]

A bit late now but you can ask Vodaphone for the unlock code.

 

I did it once for O2 and they charged me £15, Vodaphone suggest it is free. They suggest sometimes in can be done within 24 hours, BUT some phones can be 10 days.

 

o2 do the unlocking for free now. Takes around 3-4 days to do. They told me it was done, then when i place the new sim in the phone, to then send a text message with an o2 code to a certain number (from the new sim), and hey presto, bob's your uncle, my o2 iPhone now works on T-Mobile Austria!!

[Severn 109]

Some idea of AIS pay as you go package costs.

 

Sent from my ASUS_Z010D using Tapatalk

[keyman 1,402]

Are we scrabbling around chasing pennies here?

If you're only here for a few weeks or a month or so, does it really matter what scheme you use? All schemes will do text messaging and phone calls and pretty much all will do internet connection. Whichever you choose none of them will affect your overall budget for your holiday, so if you run out, just top up!

 

Just buy a sim card and stick it in!

 

KM

[TheFiend 1,181]

When my upgrade time comes along I always get my new phones from Carphonewarehouse.... the phones they supply are unlocked, so no problem at all with Thai sims.....

[jacko 8,807]

 

o2 do the unlocking for free now. Takes around 3-4 days to do. They told me it was done, then when i place the new sim in the phone, to then send a text message with an o2 code to a certain number (from the new sim), and hey presto, bob's your uncle, my o2 iPhone now works on T-Mobile Austria!!

Thanks, I may have seen that somewhere when I was in the UK (I take a Thai bought phone over there with me nowadays, which is of course not locked). I may also have read that you have to have owned the phone for a year before O2 will unlock it for free, or perhaps you get locked into a contract?