I'd like a 4G mobile plan with high download speeds and unlimited data.

[AseanLao]

 

Can some of the knowledgable members of this forum help me? Opensignal.com reports that Truemove have the highest 4G download speeds, but none of the "deals" on Truemove's website appear to offer unlimited maximum speed internet. I'd be willing to spend 2,000B - 3000B/month.

 

 

 

https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2021/05/thailand/mobile-network-experience

Edited November 17, 2021 by AseanLao

[scubascuba3]

Check Lazada, i got the True unlimited speed year sim, but max is 20mbps and inconsistent so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

AIS you can get 10mbps unlimited, which i also have

[AseanLao]

4 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Check Lazada, i got the True unlimited speed year sim, but max is 20mbps and inconsistent so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

AIS you can get 10mbps unlimited, which i also have

 

I'm looking on Lazada, but their search function is a bit useless. Could you post a link to True's 20mbps unlimited offering? Cheers ????

[PoorSucker]

I bought a TOT unlimited sim one year at Lazada for 1200 baht, apparently you can get it for 999.

At home I get 35-40 Mbps , at work 15 Mbps.

 

So I spend 100 baht/month

 

Link to same but 999 baht.

https://shopee.co.th/-เน็ตไม่อั้น-1-ปี-nt-wireless-net-Thunder-999-i.235326805.3979061813

 

I live on the Darkside Pattaya.

Check your TOT coverage ( now NT mobile )

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by PoorSucker

[AseanLao]

I'm in Phuket, which in theory should have decent 4G speeds.

 

Do I need to give these online shops my passport info to buy a SIM card?

[PoorSucker]

22 minutes ago, AseanLao said:

Do I need to give these online shops my passport info to buy a SIM card?

I didn't need to.

My card was pre activated by the seller and he had instructions (in Thai ) how I should configure my phone. 

Perhaps that was why I paid the 190 baht extra.

Edited November 17, 2021 by PoorSucker

[CLW]

Recommend you to check the AIS rates. If you pay yearly it's a good pricing.

 

[fdsa]

I do not recommend True.

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1236854-ais-vs-dtac-vs-truemove-true-h-technical-info-for-it-nerdsnolifers/

 

 

for such low speeds as you've mentioned - all three major providers do stable 10mbps up/down. The difference appears when you buy an "unlimited speed" tariff instead of "unlimited traffic" - then some of them will do only 20mpbs and some will get even up to 80mbps. I've had the best results with DTAC.

 

Note that your hardware must support Carrier Aggregation else the maximum speed you'd ever see is 10 or 20 mbps even with "unlimited speed" tariff.

[fdsa]

42 minutes ago, AseanLao said:

Do I need to give these online shops my passport info to buy a SIM card?

you do not need to give your passport to the online shop itself, but you must provide your passport & selfie to the mobile internet provider, either via internet provider's app, or by physically visiting the nearest branch.

The poster above was extremely lucky to get pre-activated SIM - as I've bought about 5 different SIMs on Lazada already and had to activate each of them.

Edited November 17, 2021 by fdsa

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, AseanLao said:

 

I'm looking on Lazada, but their search function is a bit useless. Could you post a link to True's 20mbps unlimited offering? Cheers ????

300mbps 70gb, of course you won't get that speed

 

https://s.lazada.co.th/s.Ue5wA

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, fdsa said:

I do not recommend True.

 

2 hours ago, fdsa said:

I've had the best results with DTAC.

One had to write it. This Opensignal might have done some technically correct test but it is against most reports here which I would believe much more.

 

[jackdd]

These tests are quite useless if you are interested in the speed at just one specific location.

It simply depends on how much capacity your local cell has and how many people are using it.

Maybe everybody in your neighborhood uses AIS, but hardly anybody DTAC, then DTAC might be the fastest provider for you, or it could just be the other way around.

The only solution is to try which one gives you the best speeds. The results might also vary by time of day and day of the week, depending on the usage of other people in your cell.

 

Usually when you buy a SIM card on Lazada or Shopee you have to take the SIM card to a shop of the respective provider to have it activated.

Edited November 17, 2021 by jackdd

[fdsa]

29 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

This Opensignal might have done some technically correct test

it is everything but a technically correct test. These marks indicate that they performed a single measurement - it's not even a range.

 

 

 

[Jonathan Swift]

Just did a speed test right now, I have AIS, my download speed just now  is 26 mbs. My plan promises up to 300mbs, but that is only theoretically possible. It very much depends on your location.  If I'm in a bad location it will suck, but that's Thailand, and it's a lot better than it was a few years ago. My plan "Serenade Max Speed 1099 Baht" is about 1200 baht/month, unlimited data, once a month autopay billing. AIS is supposedly 5g capable, but I'll believe it when I see it. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Jonathan Swift

[fdsa]

4 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Just did a speed test right now, I have AIS, my download speed just now  is 26 mbs. My plan promises up to 300mbs, but that is only theoretically possible. It very much depends on your location.  If I'm in a bad location it will suck, but that's Thailand, and it's a lot better than it was a few years ago. My plan "Serenade Max Speed 1099 Baht" is about 1200 baht/month, unlimited data, once a month autopay billing. AIS is supposedly 5g capable, but I'll believe it when I see it. 

why you pay that much every month if you get such low speed? you could get a 10mbps SIM for approx 1500 baht per year (~200 baht per month).

[IAMHERE]

17 hours ago, fdsa said:

Note that your hardware must support Carrier Aggregation else the maximum speed you'd ever see is 10 or 20 mbps even with "unlimited speed" tariff.

How do I know if my hardware supports Carrier Aggregation?  My smartphone, my wifi router, the nearby cell tower ?  

I use AIS  4MBPS unlimited data; 1400 baht for 6 months. Plenty fast for Netflix and Prime and Youtube. Had a guy set up my smartphone so it can be a hotspot that my laptop connects to.

[fdsa]

2 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

How do I know if my hardware supports Carrier Aggregation?  My smartphone, my wifi router, the nearby cell tower ?  

I use AIS  4MBPS unlimited data; 1400 baht for 6 months. Plenty fast for Netflix and Prime and Youtube. Had a guy set up my smartphone so it can be a hotspot that my laptop connects to.

For 4mbps tariff there is no benefit in CA because 3G/4G could give about 20mbps download speed even without CA.

The Carrier Aggregation information is somewhat hard to find as providers prefer to hide that information behind the marketing bullshít "you could get 300 mbps speed!". Yes, you could, but only if your hardware supports provider's network bands.

First you need to google your smartphone's supported bands (e.g. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,20,40 or "700 mhz", "800 mhz", "900 mhz", "2300 mhz", etc) and then google for your provider's CA bands (e.g. 1+1 or 3+40, or "900+1800 mhz", or "2300+2300 mhz", etc). And if your phone supports only "900+1800" bands but your provider does CA on "2300+2300" then you are out of luck.

Still most local phones support common CA bands, the most problems are with foreign phones (if you bring an American model to Thailand then with the high probability the network bands will be different (so you will have usual "LTE" connection not "LTE+" that works with the Carrier Aggregation), and 3G/LTE modems (USB modems or "3G WIFI router" devices) - most cheap modems and noname chinese 3G/LTE WIFI routers do not support CA at all, and more expensive ones support only 2x CA bands while modern phones support even 3x CA bands.

The cheapest modems are described as "category 4" (look for something like "cat4" in the description) - they do not support CA at all. 2x CA begins on "cat6" devices, and as far as I remember 3x CA begins on "cat9" devices.

 

 

It has nothing to do with the common wifi router.

Edited November 18, 2021 by fdsa

[scubascuba3]

6 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

How do I know if my hardware supports Carrier Aggregation?  My smartphone, my wifi router, the nearby cell tower ?  

I use AIS  4MBPS unlimited data; 1400 baht for 6 months. Plenty fast for Netflix and Prime and Youtube. Had a guy set up my smartphone so it can be a hotspot that my laptop connects to.

BTW you can get AIS unlimited 10mbps for 150 baht a month

[Searunner]

5 hours ago, fdsa said:

For 4mbps tariff there is no benefit in CA because 3G/4G could give about 20mbps download speed even without CA.

The Carrier Aggregation information is somewhat hard to find as providers prefer to hide that information behind the marketing bullshít "you could get 300 mbps speed!". Yes, you could, but only if your hardware supports provider's network bands.

First you need to google your smartphone's supported bands (e.g. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,20,40 or "700 mhz", "800 mhz", "900 mhz", "2300 mhz", etc) and then google for your provider's CA bands (e.g. 1+1 or 3+40, or "900+1800 mhz", or "2300+2300 mhz", etc). And if your phone supports only "900+1800" bands but your provider does CA on "2300+2300" then you are out of luck.

Still most local phones support common CA bands, the most problems are with foreign phones (if you bring an American model to Thailand then with the high probability the network bands will be different (so you will have usual "LTE" connection not "LTE+" that works with the Carrier Aggregation), and 3G/LTE modems (USB modems or "3G WIFI router" devices) - most cheap modems and noname chinese 3G/LTE WIFI routers do not support CA at all, and more expensive ones support only 2x CA bands while modern phones support even 3x CA bands.

The cheapest modems are described as "category 4" (look for something like "cat4" in the description) - they do not support CA at all. 2x CA begins on "cat6" devices, and as far as I remember 3x CA begins on "cat9" devices.

 

 

It has nothing to do with the common wifi router.

Thanks for that explanation - very clear. Has helped me make some decisions/changes.

[Bruno123]

On 11/17/2021 at 9:06 AM, AseanLao said:

 

I'm looking on Lazada, but their search function is a bit useless. Could you post a link to True's 20mbps unlimited offering? Cheers ????

All networks currently have a 20 Mbps unlimited package for 300 baht per month. AIS & DTAC can be applied via USSD code; Truemove H perhaps by an agent/call centre.

 

Run a speed test on the basic SIM before applying a pack; if you get 20 Mbps or close then apply the pack. If less than 10 Mbps; try another network.

[AseanLao]

1 hour ago, Bruno123 said:

All networks currently have a 20 Mbps unlimited package for 300 baht per month. AIS & DTAC can be applied via USSD code; Truemove H perhaps by an agent/call centre.

 

Run a speed test on the basic SIM before applying a pack; if you get 20 Mbps or close then apply the pack. If less than 10 Mbps; try another network.

 

That's a good call, I did in fact buy a Truemove SIM recently, and the helpful lady at the 7 put 300 baht on for me. Haven't tried it out yet, though. I plan on giving all 3 a test.

 

I wonder if I can get above 20 Mbps with Carrier Aggregation enabled, or is the 20 Mbps a hard limit?

 

[Odinrex]

On 11/17/2021 at 10:07 AM, PoorSucker said:

I bought a TOT unlimited sim one year

I have learned not to trust the word "unlimited", you sure about this? I consume about 200GB a month...

 

BTW, what is this ไม่สามารถใช้งานได้ที่ความสูงตึก เกิน 5 ชั้น

Doesn't work above 5th floor? TOT signals don't fly above a certain height, like mosquitos?

 

[fdsa]

6 hours ago, AseanLao said:

I wonder if I can get above 20 Mbps with Carrier Aggregation enabled, or is the 20 Mbps a hard limit?

It depends on the particular tariff and the provider. I had "10mbps unlimited" SIMs from Truemove and DTAC and my speed never went above 10mbps, however currently I use "10mbps 70GB/month" SIM from AIS and sometimes get 14-17 mbps however most of the time it stays at about 10mbps.

 

One problem with AIS speed I've found so far: youtube-dl downloads videos from youtube.com at 50kBps (400kbps) rate - very slow. I am not sure if Youtube detects that particular video downloader and limits its speed, or Youtube limits speed to all AIS IP addresses even if video is opened in the web browser. I think it's the latter, because just few weeks ago when I was using Truemove SIM the youtube-dl was getting honest 10mbps from Youtube.

Edited November 19, 2021 by fdsa

[AseanLao]

By the way, thanks for all the excellent replies in this topic. Very much appreciated.

[Bruno123]

On 11/19/2021 at 4:26 AM, AseanLao said:

 

That's a good call, I did in fact buy a Truemove SIM recently, and the helpful lady at the 7 put 300 baht on for me. Haven't tried it out yet, though. I plan on giving all 3 a test.

 

I wonder if I can get above 20 Mbps with Carrier Aggregation enabled, or is the 20 Mbps a hard limit?

 

Bear in mind that you can only apply the 20Mbps package within seven days of activating a new SIM.

[kevin612]

On 11/18/2021 at 4:51 AM, scubascuba3 said:

BTW you can get AIS unlimited 10mbps for 150 baht a month

Can you tell

me the info? Thanks 

[YorkshireTyke]

I have an elderly gentleman friend who is even less tech savvy than me who requires a second prepaid sim for his internet as the service in his condo is dire.

 

I've read different threads over the last year or so about buying these cheap on Lazada but how much can they be used every month? I don't think he will be downloading anything, just reading news, sending emails and Line and FB but we don't understand the jargon of 4 kbs or 10 mbs or whatever.

 

Will the one scubascuba mentioned above at 150 Baht per month work? Is that from AIS shop or Lazada?

 

Any help, especially a link to lazada, will be appreciated.

[Bruno123]

2 hours ago, YorkshireTyke said:

I have an elderly gentleman friend who is even less tech savvy than me who requires a second prepaid sim for his internet as the service in his condo is dire.

 

I've read different threads over the last year or so about buying these cheap on Lazada but how much can they be used every month? I don't think he will be downloading anything, just reading news, sending emails and Line and FB but we don't understand the jargon of 4 kbs or 10 mbs or whatever.

 

Will the one scubascuba mentioned above at 150 Baht per month work? Is that from AIS shop or Lazada?

 

Any help, especially a link to lazada, will be appreciated.

 

 

What is wrong with his first SIM? Which network?

[scubascuba3]

8 hours ago, kevin612 said:

Can you tell

me the info? Thanks 

It's an AIS deal they offer you when you call them. If you have an AIS sim already, unlimited data 10mbps 150 baht a month, 200 baht if you want calls

[banglay]

Just  travelled 4042 km  around Thailand and this  always pinged around the 10Mbps mark ..  only lost the signal a few times  in the more remotes areas .. I can recommend it , it worked for me 

 

 

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i2145760248-s7171392692.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1