Using A Thai Sim Card Outside Thailand

[russianrobert]

I have a Thai SIM card in my phone and i will be travelling to Europe. I arrive early hours of the morning and need to call friends when i get there. Will my Thai SIM card work? Do i need to place a minimum amount on it? How much?

Cheers

[webfact]

Only if you have international roaming with your provider

[MKAsok]

I'd talk to the network first and make sure it's activated for international roaming. My SIM (AIS), came activated already, but it seems pretty random. I know plenty of people who've left the country to find their Thai SIM hasn't worked. With AIS, even if it is activated, you can still only receive calls and send/receive SMSs. To make an outgoing call you need to use a code before dialing (at least this was the case with pre-pay). I believe this is *131*#. As I said, check all the details with your relevant network before you leave. No idea about minimum balance, but I'd have a fair bit on there. International roaming is generally expensive.

[kennkate]

I have a Thai SIM card in my phone and i will be travelling to Europe. I arrive early hours of the morning and need to call friends when i get there. Will my Thai SIM card work? Do i need to place a minimum amount on it? How much?

Cheers

Hey Ever seen A phone booth? I am sure if you Look around at the Airport you will see one.

Most if not all Airports in Europe will have a Public Phone with Credit Card Access No Cash required.

I doubt your Thai sim will work.

[Fatboysrule]

I have a Thai SIM card in my phone and i will be travelling to Europe. I arrive early hours of the morning and need to call friends when i get there. Will my Thai SIM card work? Do i need to place a minimum amount on it? How much?

Cheers

Hey Ever seen A phone booth? I am sure if you Look around at the Airport you will see one.

Most if not all Airports in Europe will have a Public Phone with Credit Card Access No Cash required.

I doubt your Thai sim will work.

God the arrogance of people on this website. Someone asks for some information and they get a snide remark like that. Hey, wise guy, ever tried to find a public phone-box that works, or had the right change, or been able to read the foreign instructions and calling code when you need a phone urgently. Give us a break and try to be more constructive in the future.

Edited June 5, 2009 by Fatboysrule

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I have a Thai SIM card in my phone and i will be travelling to Europe. I arrive early hours of the morning and need to call friends when i get there. Will my Thai SIM card work? Do i need to place a minimum amount on it? How much?

Cheers

Unsurprisingly, it would help you if you told us which network you are using in Thailand.

[haybilly]

I have a Thai SIM card in my phone and i will be travelling to Europe. I arrive early hours of the morning and need to call friends when i get there. Will my Thai SIM card work? Do i need to place a minimum amount on it? How much?

Cheers

I have a contract [ i.e. pay bill monthly] AIS Sim and when travelling to U.K. it hunts for the best local network and once that's located I can call and receive--I even use GPRS and this, surprisingly, is cheaper than my UK Vodafone GPRS usage--I always remind AIS to turn on Inter Roaming and I prime my account with a few thousand Baht. AIS offer various Roaming packages--SMS, GPRS etc so ask them before you go.

[longball53098]

I have a Thai SIM card in my phone and i will be travelling to Europe. I arrive early hours of the morning and need to call friends when i get there. Will my Thai SIM card work? Do i need to place a minimum amount on it? How much?

Cheers

I have a contract [ i.e. pay bill monthly] AIS Sim and when travelling to U.K. it hunts for the best local network and once that's located I can call and receive--I even use GPRS and this, surprisingly, is cheaper than my UK Vodafone GPRS usage--I always remind AIS to turn on Inter Roaming and I prime my account with a few thousand Baht. AIS offer various Roaming packages--SMS, GPRS etc so ask them before you go.

If you have a monthly contract why are you "priming" the account? Did you need to input this code before the number?

My AIS sim worked in the US a few years back so I would think nothing has changed too much. I do believe the roaming needs to be active and there is a code that needs to be input first.

[Gary A]

I don't have roaming activated. I took my phone and AIS SIM card with me to the US. I thought that I would at least have a signal but there was no signal in N. W. Ohio.

[GreenSnapper]

I have a DTAC card. you have to enable roaming while in Thailand, then you can use it in many countries. tested in Europe.

[Lite Beer]

For DTac/Happy you can register for international roaming for free.

http://www.happy.co.th/en/low/06_gointer_index.php

[Carmine6]

With prepaid AIS, I had one card that automatically was activated so I could use it in the US. It worked fine, but cost a ton. On the card I bought a couple months ago, I got back to the US and roaming wasn't activated.

It can be done online, however they send an SMS with a temporary PIN to use online, so should be done before you leave Thailand. I did manage to do it by email. They asked me some questions to make sure it was my card, like when did I last add value and how much was it and maybe 1 more question.

[Pash]

Just to put things in perspective:

Receiving calls is expensive as you are paying international rates - from Thailand. From local

phones in the country you are in. Some countries not (Singapore for example) - they have a form of LCR.

Local outgoing calls from your mobile to other local numbers are not much more expensive than if

you were using a "local" mobile or phone. You will pay a surcharge of course.

Roaming must be turned on and it is a hit & miss method. The Thai provider will have an agreement with a local service

provider one of the most frequest of which is usally Vodafone or the "cheapie" in the city / country you are in. Again it can

become a hot & miss scenario.

[ballpoint]

Forget all the "It'll never work, you'll need a code, use a phone box" posts. If you have a monthly paid account, rather than prepaid 12call etc, then go along to an AIS branch and ask for international roaming to be enabled on your number. You only need to do it once. I did this around 7 years ago, and use my phone, with Thai Sim card, everywhere in the world. What may be confusing some people is that the features of your phone, rather than the Sim card, will determine whether or not you can get a signal in some countries. It's therefore a good idea to get a multi frequency, 3G enabled phone if you regularly want to use it abroad. In fact, with 3G, it can even be used in that last bastion of incompatible mobile systems, Japan. Ironically, with that same Thai Sim card, when out of the country you can also make full use of the features on your phone that are useless in Thailand, including high speed internet access and video calls. If you are going to be away for a while, it's also a good idea to either get your account paid automatically, or put it in credit before you leave, or they may cut you off until the bill's paid.