Taking A Thai Iphone Abroad?

[dsprtliving]

So, I'm headed home to the States this summer for about 4 weeks in July and was wondering if anyone has any experiences to share? The girl at the True shop told me to turn off data roaming and only use WiFi, but that's not always convenient when one is traveling. It would be nice to use the GPS and Maps features when i visit Manhattan, for example, without being charged an obscene amount of money for it when i return to the Land of Smiles. Do the phone companies offer a "Pay as you go" plan in the States, like they do here with One-2-Call? This will be my first experience taking the Iphone with me outside of Thailand, so really any experiences would be valuable if anyone wants to share.

Thanks

[NHJ]

simply buy an AT&T simcard and enjoy all communications/features at local rate.

[dominique355]

My Missus went to the USA last summer and took her iPhone with her. It worked so well, that upon her return AIS presented us an invoice over 20'000 THB.

Now you would say, that's your own fault, you should have .... etc.

I knew that, which is why we had called AIS before and subscribed to a data roaming package, but when we complained about the high price, they had no record of us calling for the data roaming.

We refused to pay and made a really big fuzz about it and after several months and many unkept promises to call back we settled for 8'000 THB.

If possible, try to buy a pre-paid SIM card in USA and do not use your Thai SIM. Don't forget, if someone calls your Thai No while you are abroad, YOU pay the long distance fee and they charge like hell for that. So simply take out your Thai SIM and tell your buddies in Thailand by WhatsApp about your US number.

[fatfather]

My Missus went to the USA last summer and took her iPhone with her. It worked so well, that upon her return AIS presented us an invoice over 20'000 THB.

Now you would say, that's your own fault, you should have .... etc.

I knew that, which is why we had called AIS before and subscribed to a data roaming package, but when we complained about the high price, they had no record of us calling for the data roaming.

We refused to pay and made a really big fuzz about it and after several months and many unkept promises to call back we settled for 8'000 THB.

If possible, try to buy a pre-paid SIM card in USA and do not use your Thai SIM. Don't forget, if someone calls your Thai No while you are abroad, YOU pay the long distance fee and they charge like hell for that. So simply take out your Thai SIM and tell your buddies in Thailand by WhatsApp about your US number.

The Thai Sim is ok to recive SMS in the States, for calls out use the mentioned US prepaid Sim. With the Thai Sim you have to block DataRoaming and for calls with AIS SIM you have to dial *131* country code and number. It's called "call home service" slightly cheaper than no package but not really chaep. Calling via SKYPE by WIFI and navigation via satellite is the deal.

fatfather

[rogerdee123]

Similar thread here with several suggestions about two weeks ago. I guess the OP did not do a search.

Anyway .... lots of US pre paid sim cards for phone and data on Ebay ..... also a website called telestial (telestial.com).

You can also walk into an AT&T shop there and buy a PrePaid (Pay as you go) package. However if you tell them it's for an iPhone you may have problems. Many foreign iPhone users report that AT&T USA won't sell them prepaid sim cards or data packages for iPhones because AT&T has had the monopoly in US on Iphones which came with an AT&T phone & data package. And if you didn't buy your iPhone from them some of their staff won't sell you the sim & data package.

iPhones sold in the USA have been locked to AT&T until recently (now they are locked to AT&T and Version).

However it seems to be the luck of the draw and depends upon the AT&T person you talk to in the shop. Some of them have actually traveled abroad and have heard of factory unlocked iPhones (as opposed to jailbroken) and if you are a foreign resident, some AT&T staff can be convinced to sell you one of their short term sim card/packages.

Some people on the web say that when you try to activate an AT&T sim card in your iPhone (not purchased from them), their system can know this (from the iPhone info sent to them when you activate it) and it won't activate. Other people say they didn't have this problem. Maybe depending upon location where you activate. But if this happens to you, the work around (theoretically .. I haven't tried it) is to activate the sim on another phone and then move it to your iPhone after activation. BTW there are similar complications re iPad 2 with 3G, in that some 3G data plans (usually the unlimited ones intended for phones) won't activate on an iPad (or computer) but you can activate it on a phone and then move it to iPad (computer) for use.

Phone monopolies drive everyone mad ..... same same Thailand :jap:

T-Mobile is alternative to AT&T .... but AST&T supposedly has the better data plans and coverage although these seem to change periodically.

if it's for an iPhone, I suggest you buy a sim card on EBay or from telestial.com in advance and buy the top up amounts at the supermarkets and drug stores.

[KamnanT]

The suggestion to use a local (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile) SIM with a data package is a good one BUT remember that if you purchased your iPhone in Thailand through a Thai service provider (True, DTAC or AIS) you probably have a phone that is locked to that provider. My iPhone 3GS, purchased from True, will only work with a True SIM card in it. Of course, jailbreaking is always an option.

[rogerdee123]

The suggestion to use a local (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile) SIM with a data package is a good one BUT remember that if you purchased your iPhone in Thailand through a Thai service provider (True, DTAC or AIS) you probably have a phone that is locked to that provider. My iPhone 3GS, purchased from True, will only work with a True SIM card in it. Of course, jailbreaking is always an option.

Bull Malarkey.

I have an IPhone 3 purchased from True and it works fine with AIS. I have an iPhone 4 purchased from AIS and have used sim cards from three different countries in it.

[rogerdee123]

The suggestion to use a local (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile) SIM with a data package is a good one BUT remember that if you purchased your iPhone in Thailand through a Thai service provider (True, DTAC or AIS) you probably have a phone that is locked to that provider. My iPhone 3GS, purchased from True, will only work with a True SIM card in it. Of course, jailbreaking is always an option.

Bull Malarkey.

I have an IPhone 3 purchased from True and it works fine with AIS. I have an iPhone 4 purchased from AIS and have used sim cards from three different countries in it.

[wpcoe]

As I understand it, if you want to use an AT&T SIM in an iPhone4, you first have to activate it in a non-iPhone4. If you simply buy the SIM, put it in the iPhone4 and try to use it, AT&T recognizes the IMEI (or some other data) from the phone that identifies it as an iPhone4 and won't activate. But, if you first activate the SIM in another phone and subsequently transfer it to the iPhone4, AT&T never verifies the IMEI data after initial activation.

(I'm not sure if it's just the iPhone4 that's restricted that way, it may also be other iPhone models. I just remember reading about it when I was thinking of bringing my iPhone4 on my next US visit.)

[NHJ]

The suggestion to use a local (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile) SIM with a data package is a good one BUT remember that if you purchased your iPhone in Thailand through a Thai service provider (True, DTAC or AIS) you probably have a phone that is locked to that provider. My iPhone 3GS, purchased from True, will only work with a True SIM card in it. Of course, jailbreaking is always an option.

iphones in thailand like the ones in HK or european countries(if bought our of a plan) are sold factory unlocked

[2008bangkok]

If your on True network using 00600 then you can call all US numbers including mobiles for 1 baht per minute, just have divert on to the US numbers then you will only pay 1 baht per minute, i was looking at international data roaming charges the other day and couldnt believe the prices!!

[phuketrichard]

as i posted on other thread, get a sim card before u go.

roaming will kill ya!!!

Sims

[lomatopo]

Here's a great how-to: http://wpjrnl.com/2010/11/07/activate-att-prepaid-sim-card-with-3g-for-iphone/

You do NOT want to use your True SIM.

And...AT&T dropped their data prices about a week ago. New prices are:

10MB - $5.00

100MB - $15.00

500MB - $25.00

As in the past, these are good for 30 days, and unused data will roll over if ANY data plan is added before expiration (i.e., you can add the $5.00 plan to extend the useful life of any data balance). For example, you can buy the 500MB initally and if you use only 150MB in a month, then renew on the $5.00 plan... Only limit is that you can't add a plan that would have your balance exceed 1.5GB.

Calls are 10 cents/minute by default, and there are other voice plans available like a $2/day unlimited calling plan.

SIMs are relatively available on eBay or in any AT&T store (which are plentiful in most cities).

There are a lot of Youtube videos -->

Edited May 17, 2011 by lomatopo

[boney]

Assuming you have brought the unlocked iPhone and can use any sim card?

Just buy any sim in any country you are going to.. Do not use the Thai Sim.

Simple

[nikster]

The suggestion to use a local (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile) SIM with a data package is a good one BUT remember that if you purchased your iPhone in Thailand through a Thai service provider (True, DTAC or AIS) you probably have a phone that is locked to that provider. My iPhone 3GS, purchased from True, will only work with a True SIM card in it. Of course, jailbreaking is always an option.

That's just false information.

Thai iPhones are always factory unlocked, whether you buy yours from True, DTAC, or AIS. I should know as I have one which I have used all over the wordl

The problem in the USA is to find a prepaid sim that offers data. Thanks to AT&T it's not that easy. A store can sell you a sim and register it with an imei of another phone, then you can get the rather expensive but at least working pay as you go plan data package. I made the mistake of calling them and telling them I had an iPhone, and from that point on data didnt work anymore. You will have to fill in the APN info manually

Other option is to use another prepaid sim from another provider. Last time I used Simple - worked ok but was also rather expensive, around $100 including activation and unlimited Internet for 1 month. And it appeared to be running on top of tmobile, so no 3G.

[Phil Conners]

My Missus went to the USA last summer and took her iPhone with her. It worked so well, that upon her return AIS presented us an invoice over 20'000 THB.

Now you would say, that's your own fault, you should have .... etc.

I knew that, which is why we had called AIS before and subscribed to a data roaming package, but when we complained about the high price, they had no record of us calling for the data roaming.

We refused to pay and made a really big fuzz about it and after several months and many unkept promises to call back we settled for 8'000 THB.

If possible, try to buy a pre-paid SIM card in USA and do not use your Thai SIM. Don't forget, if someone calls your Thai No while you are abroad, YOU pay the long distance fee and they charge like hell for that. So simply take out your Thai SIM and tell your buddies in Thailand by WhatsApp about your US number.

Not only that, remember to remove your Thai SIM card while you are still in Thailand. If you bring the phone to US and then remove the SIM card, you will be charged for calls made to the phone, redirected to the US and then redirected back to Thailand to your voice mailbox.

[lomatopo]

My Missus went to the USA last summer and took her iPhone with her. It worked so well, that upon her return AIS presented us an invoice over 20'000 THB.

Now you would say, that's your own fault, you should have .... etc.

I knew that, which is why we had called AIS before and subscribed to a data roaming package, but when we complained about the high price, they had no record of us calling for the data roaming.

We refused to pay and made a really big fuzz about it and after several months and many unkept promises to call back we settled for 8'000 THB.

If possible, try to buy a pre-paid SIM card in USA and do not use your Thai SIM. Don't forget, if someone calls your Thai No while you are abroad, YOU pay the long distance fee and they charge like hell for that. So simply take out your Thai SIM and tell your buddies in Thailand by WhatsApp about your US number.

Not only that, remember to remove your Thai SIM card while you are still in Thailand. If you bring the phone to US and then remove the SIM card, you will be charged for calls made to the phone, redirected to the US and then redirected back to Thailand to your voice mailbox.

Sorry but I have to say this is not in line with my experiences on ~ 50 trips over the past seven years using both One-2-Call and True roaming onto T-Mo and AT&T networks. If someone in Thailand calls my mobile number via 0899999999, and I am in the U.S. it will ring through. If I answer it I will pay ~ 75 baht/min (One-2-Call, True is a bit higher), while the calling party will pay their normal tariff, ~ 1 baht/min. If the call rings through and is unanswered it gets dropped. There's none of this bouncing back and forth. In fact I would highly recommend you enable roaming, and use a second handset to monitor incoming (from Thailand) calls and SMSes, then answer SMSes from that handset, or your U.S.-SIM enabled handset. Any calls should be returned using the U.S. SIM-enabled, perhaps in conjunction with an inexpensive calling card. If someone in Thailand sends an SMS to my Thai mobile via 0899999999 they will pay 2 baht, or whatever their plans stipulates for SMSes.

For the OP, I could pick up an AT&T 3G SIM in the U.S., activate it, then hand it off to you back in Thailand. I think I can get AT&T SIMs for ~ $5; I'm thinking of getting several. My next trip is June 29 - July 6, so if leave after say July 7 let me know (via PM).

[Phil Conners]

As I mentioned, the problem occurs the moment you have a voice mailbox enabled here in Thailand, i.e. the call is answered. Of course if you're sure your call is not being picked up it doesn't matter.

[lomatopo]

As I mentioned, the problem occurs the moment you have a voice mailbox enabled here in Thailand, i.e. the call is answered. Of course if you're sure your call is not being picked up it doesn't matter.

I have voice-mail enabled on both my One-2-Call and True lines; your initial statement is still untrue/incorrect, not sure why you keep prattling on about it? Any Thailand-initiated local call to an 08x number roaming in the U.S., and thus directed to a SIM in the U.S. would be terminated if not answered. It would not be transferred back to Thailand for voicemail, that's just plain stupid to claim.

[Phil Conners]

I don't keep "prattling" on about it anymore than you do. I used to work for a mobile telco and this is how I have learned from the inside, how it works.

I am not here to argue so this is where it ends for me. I've told you what I know, in order to be helpful and save people some unnecessary costs. If you think this is "plain stupid" there isn't much more I can add.