phone question

Sorry, I know some of this has been discussed before but..... After many visits to Pattaya over the last 20 years without a phone, this year I find myself needing a phone while there. In the past was always quiet happy NOT to have a phone. Interenet cafes served their purpose quite well and before the internet - the international phone booth on beach road always worked well for a 6am call to the US.
Unfortunately this year, I NEED to have a phone to call the US (illness in the family). Don't really require any extra bells & buzzers (not opposed to them, but not required). Just need a good dependable phone to call the US. I know I can walk in to Tuk and see thousands of phones, and any one I look at I'm sure will be - "Very Good - Good Price for You" - so anyone who has been there done that. Brand name, model #.
Thanks
NJ Jim

[gearguy]

I have the Siemans A70 and have been very happy with it. Basic phone, no bells and whistles, but has never been a problem.

I probably paid too much for it. I got it here in the US from www.telestial.com (http://www.telestial.com) a couple years ago with a Thai SIM card, and since I have been back to LOS several times a year have been able to keep the same number active. I liked the ideal of getting the number before I left the US, but if that is not what you care about, then wait till you get to Thailand to buy your phone and sim card.

The Thai cell phone companies could make $10-20 a year I think just from frequent tourists who want to keep their local thai numbers active, rather than have them expire. It;s better now as the number stays active for a year even if you don;t top it up (use to be three months) and if you have a Thai friend call them and top it up for you you can get around that as well.

All in all, having a phone and a local number is the way to go. I never travel anywhere now without getting a local number if I am going to be someplace for a week or two. SIM cards are cheap.

If you are on T-Mobile or ATT here in US, check with them to see of the phone you have can be unlocked and if it is the right band for Thailand (900 or 1800 for DTAC and AIS the most common carriers). USA is 850/1900, so you're phone may not work in Thailand. You should get a tri-band at a minimum, and better even a quad-band but they are more expensive.

See http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml for world-wide coverage info.

I wish the US would catch up to Asia and adopt open networks such as unlocked GSM/SIM cards. It's starting to happen. Both ATT and Verizon are making noise on that score but right now it's more hype; they don't want to really do it.

[yaraboy]

No need to buy new phone.............as long as yours is tri or quad band. Unlocking may be required. Any shop at MBK will do an unlock in 5 minutes for 300 to 500 baht. AIS (1 2 call) SIM $10 and with a recharge number is good for a year

[gearguy]

Yaraboy makes an excellent point that I had not considered. But only if you're current provider is a GSM provider. In the US, CDMA is used by a lot of providers (including Verizon). In which case, you will need to get a GSM phone. Also many of the GSM phones sold in the US thru ATT etc are dual-band only and won't work in Thailand.

If you are on ATT they just announced that they will unlock phones on request.

[bing]

I also have Siemans A-70 world phone. You have one phone number and can work it in 160 countries without a special sims card for each country. It is a long bunch of numbers to call you but having only one phone number to pass to friends is a nice thing. The calls are a bit costly, but you don't have any monthly charges when not using the phone. It is a travel phone and not a phone you use at home on daily basis. If you are interested go to www.mobal.com (http://www.mobal.com) This is the phone that Rich Steves of the travel channel suggests is his favorite. I have been very satisfied with it so far.

[billyhouston]

No need to buy new phone.............as long as yours is tri or quad band. Unlocking may be required. Any shop at MBK will do an unlock in 5 minutes for 300 to 500 baht. AIS (1 2 call) SIM $10 and with a recharge number is good for a year

Before the '8' was added to mobile numbers, my 12call number expired and was promptly resold in the 7 months I was away from Thailand. 12call SIMs now come with 6 months and, thereafter, each 300 baht card will extend the validity by a month.

[francois]

njjim, I suggest you buy an inexpensive Nokia in Thailand. Any shop at Tuk Com can fix it so your number does not expire for a year. You can call direct to the US at a reasonable cost. Enter 001-1- area code + number.

[gearguy]

What/where is TUK COM? Is that the big electronics place on S. Pattaya Rd?

I have AIS 12Call and when I check my minutes, etc, says valid till Nov 14 2008, I last topped up
on the Nov 14. So I am assuming my number will stay active then that date. Is that not
correct?

I;ve been back to Thailand at least once every six months the last two years so have not had a sitiuation
to see if it will stay active past six months. I';ve had conflicting info for several people, some say no, three months,
others I'm good for a year.

But I sure want to keep my Thai number.

Anyone know of a sure-fire way to keep the number active? I would pay AIS for that service.

Right now, the best I have is to make sure I travel to Thailand at least every six months (oh such hardship just to keep the
same number) or my friend makes a call when I remind him.

[jvt22222]

ON the second floor of Central Festival ...... commonly referred to as BigC on Second Road in North Pattaya ............. check the TeleWiz shop........... just yesterday when I went in to top up my 12Call service, I noted a couple of Nokia models (sorry did not get the model numbers, but expect they are four digit numbers starting with1 or 2) under 2000 baht ........ would be a cheap way to go and then you can give it to somebody when you leave.

[yaraboy]

Gearguy .you have answered your own question..Your AIS 1/2 Call is good for a year. You pay 2 baht a min and if you want a cheaper rate you do not get the year extension

[francois]

What/where is TUK COM? Is that the big electronics place on S. Pattaya Rd?


Anyone know of a sure-fire way to keep the number active? I would pay AIS for that service.

Right now, the best I have is to make sure I travel to Thailand at least every six months (oh such hardship just to keep the
same number) or my friend makes a call when I remind him.

Yes, Tuk.Com is the electronics place on S. Pattaya Rd between 2nd Rd and 3rd Rd. Or Big C as others suggested.
I think traveling to Thailand every six months just to keep the same number is overkill. 55555

Yes you can buy a SIM and have AIS put you on the 2 baht a minute plan with your money on the card being good for one year BUT: You must make one call every 90 days to keep your account active, if you pass 90 days and no movement on your account AIS will consider the account as inactive and snatch your remaining cash balance, after a further period of time without you contacting AIS they will cancel your number and your SIM will go dead. To make matters more difficult for you when you buy a new SIM you will find that you cannot make international calls for a period of 6 months, this happened to me about two years ago and I had to beg and plead with them for me to be allowed overseas calls, finally the agreed but still took a week before I was able too, they told me was something to do with security.

[Zyxel-old]

If you only want to make calls (and not receive calls) to the US, get yourself a small USB flash drive with Portable Skype on it. About 3 US$ cents per minute from any internet cafe or friend's computer. Some internet cafes have Skype loaded and you just log into your Skype account to make a call but you could leave a trace on their computer and somebody could later use your credit.

[jinks]

I got a new sim for my old phone 50 baht... top up card 300 baht.

Both from any 7 - 11 The phone is valid for a full month.

If you want to test it 08909 66643 How opportune this topic is :clown:

[krobbie]

... does that mean you get a Thai number when you buy a new SIM from 7/11? I have just bought a phone which is compatible and thought I would just buy a new SIM and get a Thailand number. Is it really that easy?

Please be kind when answering. As you can tell, I'm not all that savvy where these matters are concerned.

Cheers
krobbie

[jinks]

In a word.... YES.

A new number, if you want to keep the number, keep topping it up.

If you phone is locked take it to most phone shops and they will un-lock it.

[sattahip-old]

Phones get "lost" here a lot. If you have prepaid, at least 1-2-Call, you can register your Sim phone number on their internet site and have the same number back in the event of loss or theft.

Saves a bundle on new cards, advice to friends etc.

[yaraboy]

I had forgotten about the must use 90 day provision.......(I am in Thailand every 2 months now ) However when I was away for over 90 days I put the SIM card in my phone (in Canada) waited for roaming to set then dialed #121# for my balance and that reset the phone for another 90 days. One could also make a very short call when roaming to reset the phone...................

... does that mean you get a Thai number when you buy a new SIM from 7/11? I have just bought a phone which is compatible and thought I would just buy a new SIM and get a Thailand number. Is it really that easy?

Please be kind when answering. As you can tell, I'm not all that savvy where these matters are concerned.

Cheers
krobbie

Krobbie - Long answer, but here goes. IтАЩve had one of those 12Call sim cards bought from 7/11 for some time, perhaps two years, and kept the same number. If you ask politely, the guy (or girl) in 7/11 will install and activate it for you, saving you the trouble of having to read the fine print. ItтАЩs easy to do, but why bother when someone else will do it for you.

IтАЩve got several old handsets, so I keep the thai 12Call sim card in the same phone and leave it on all the time, whether in or out of thailand. You donтАЩt get a full roaming service, but you can definitely receive calls or sms from thai numbers when outside thailand, handy for those thai friends who want to contact you but donтАЩt want to pay international rates to your other (non-thai) number. They can call you or sms you for the cost of a local call. You can also use it to send sms to thailand from outside thailand, I do it all the time. IтАЩm not sure about using it for calls to thailand (or elsewhere) when outside thailand, never tried, but I suspect that wonтАЩt work from what my friends tell me. But you can always use your landline or other phone for that.

If youтАЩre going to be outside thailand for a while, stock up on the 300 baht recharge things from 7/11 before you leave, as you will be paying roaming rates to receive calls/sms from your thai friends and it will eat up your credit quickly. Supposedly you can add value through the 12Call website with your credit card, but IтАЩve never had any luck with that. The English version of the website is crap and I canтАЩt read thai.

In short, if you want people in thailand to be able to contact you and you donтАЩt have a spare handset, invest in a cheap basic model and keep your thai sim card in there. That way you can leave it on all the time, so you wonтАЩt miss any thai calls. Of course that means you have to carry two phones. This is what I do, and itтАЩs worked fine for me so far. Hope this helpsтАж

[/quote] You don├п┬┐┬╜t get a full roaming service, ........ I├п┬┐┬╜m not sure about using it for calls to thailand (or elsewhere) when outside thailand, never tried, but I suspect that won├п┬┐┬╜t work from what my friends tell me.
[/quote]

If you have 1-2-Call then phone the Call Centre (1175), or go to Telewiz and they will activate inernational roaming for you, free. Calls to / from Thailand do work but are very expensive for you, as the recipient, rather than for the caller who may not know you are outside Thailand.

[jinks]

Of course that means you have to carry two phones. This is what I do, and itтАЩs worked fine for me so far

Ditto...

I see called ID on my farang phone and return the call on my Thai one.

[gearguy]

anyone know of a site to send SMS text from a PC to a Thai mobile #?

I have found a few but never seem to be able to get it to work.

Yahoo IM is suppose to have this but I can't get it to work to anything
but an ATT number (or at least I can SMS to my ATT phone here in the US
but not to any of my Thai friends phone.)

anyone know of a site to send SMS text from a PC to a Thai mobile #?


I have sent an SMS to my thai friend's cell phone using Skype. Works well sending, but they can not reply unless they have a Skype account.

[Zyxel-old]

In Skype when you send an SMS you can choose the option so that it looks like it was sent from your mobile and then your Thai friends can reply to it easily.

Hi and thanks for all the useful information - I'll be buying a cheap mobile when in Pattaya but will also be going to SR at some point so I have a few questions 1) is there anything special I have to ask for when buying the phone so I know I can receive and make calls from SR 2) are calls from / to SR on local or international rates or do you actually pick up the Thai signal in SR?

3) when I have finished my holiday I'll be in Bangkok (about 21 March) - is there a resident who would like a free phone to do with as they please - ok I know I could just give it away to any boy.
4) do mobiles have to be fully registered in Thailand (I remember when the troubles in the South were more news worthy there was talk of restrictions being placed on buying pay as you go type mobile phones)

Final point - and it's not about mobiles - can one of you in Pattaya let Monty know that I have sent him a pm

Thanks
Brian

I have a few questions 1) is there anything special I have to ask for when buying the phone so I know I can receive and make calls from SR 2) are calls from / to SR on local or international rates or do you actually pick up the Thai signal in SR?

Those would be great questions for the telephone shop vendor. If they do not know, the one, two, go office or whatever sim card you buy should be able to answer those questions. I would be very interested in finding out the answers, as well. My guess is your phone would probably work with a Cambodia sim card (if there is such a thing), but that your Thai sim card would not work in Siem Riep. I could be wrong. When I was in Yangon, Burma, I took my phone with the one, two go sim card. I received two calls from Thailand but the connection was not good. When I arrived back in Bangkok, my 800 baht balance was zero.


do mobiles have to be fully registered in Thailand

There was a time when you were required to register you phone by such and such a date. I don't hear much talk about that problem anymore. Perhaps that was a passing crisis. The phone shops at Tukcom or the like, will most likely help you with all the required paperwork.


I know I could just give it away to any boy.

Most boys would be glad to have a free phone with a sims card. I am sure boy special will be very appreciative. I did have a boy that wanted a phone. When I offered him an extra Samsung E-105 that I had brought from home, the kid refused it. He wanted a Thai phone with all the bells and whistles. Needless to say, he went without.

you certainly wont pick up the signal from the Thai networks in SR - the range of the GSM signal is appromiately 30km from the base stations, and your handset would be unlikely be able to get back to a base station that far away.
You might be able to enable roaming with your Thai SIM in Cambodia, but roaming is an expensive exercise. The calls would be sent to Thailand at the caller's expense (regardless of where they are), then diverted to the network in Cambodia at your expense. Due to the cost of calls, most people tend to just use SMS when roaming (unless its a business phone).
As for getting a Thai SIM, I recently bought one at MBK for some friends visiting Thailand. No paperwork required, unless you count the 100 baht note.

[Hmmm]

anyone know of a site to send SMS text from a PC to a Thai mobile #?

I have found a few but never seem to be able to get it to work.

Yahoo IM is suppose to have this but I can't get it to work to anything
but an ATT number (or at least I can SMS to my ATT phone here in the US
but not to any of my Thai friends phone.)

Yahoo Messenger PC-to-SMS has been hit and miss to Thailand over the years for me. BF as two phones now. Old one with +66 860... number currently works fine for SMS. New one with +66 867... number, entered into Yahoo just last week, shows as 'Not supported for SMS messaging".

BF pays cost of a local SMS to receive / send. Free at PC end.

AIS (1-2 Call) and DTAC (only) 'should' work according to Yahoo ...
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/messen ... le-07.html (http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/messenger/messenger8/mobile/mobile-07.html)

[yaraboy]

Can not buy SIM card as short term visitor to Cambodia........Thai 1/2 call oK for expensive roaming