Sawasdee Khrup,

Please note: this post is only about an internet access Sim: no telephony required, thanks.

Two American friends, proud possessors of a new iRetina iWonder iPad (unlocked), will arrive in late January in Bangkok; they'll stay less than a month.

I've been trying, unsucessfully, to find a True pre-paid Internet-access-only Sim card for them. Finally, I spoke with a manager at the big True store in Airport Plaza, in Chiang Mai: he said Bangkok had not sent them any for a month.

I'd really like to have a usable Sim ready-and-waiting for my friends at their Bangkok Hotel the minute they arrive; I certainly don't want them to have to go someplace like Mahboonkhrong and wade through the circus, there, to find one

I visited Happy DTAC, my mobile service provider, and could not get an intelligible answer from them as to whether or not they had any Sim suitable for an iPad.

I also visited at least fifteen other mobile shops: some had True post-pay Sims, but none had pre-paid. I was told by the manager at the True store that to get and use a post-pay Sim, I'd have to show a work-permit. No go: I have a retirement visa.

Appreciate any suggestions !

thanks, ~o:37;

In my experience True shops do not sell pre-paid SIMs, they direct customers to channel partners like the seventy-three million mobile phone shops, or twenty-two million 7-11's.

Do you want to buy SIMs in Chiang Mai or Bangkok? I honestly don't think you'll have any issues buying a TrueMove H Net SIM 3G+ or DTAC/Happy SIM in Bangkok. Ultimately the SIM isn't so important, other than that it need to be a Micro SIM (Assuming these are IPad 4's rather than Minis or iPhone 5's which use Nano SIMs).

I bet your friends could even buy a TrueMove H or DTAC/Happy SIM at Suvarnabhumi-Bangkok International AIprort (BKK) upon arrival, level 2, just outside Customs where DTAC, TrueMove and AIS all have shops.

I purchased a TrueMove H Net SIM 3G+ from a counter shop in MBK for 99 baht.

http://truemoveh.tru...บเล็ต

http://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/newhappy-smartphone.html

Sawasdee Khrup, Khum Lomotopo,

That's a very helpful, and thorough, reply, thanks. I have visited many 7/11's here in Chiang Mai, and at least fifteen mobile shops (not True shops) here, and have yet to find a pre-paid True sim. Both the True shops did say they did carry them until they ran out of stock.

I got on my mobile phone to True support in Bangkok yesterday, and slowly worked my way across the barbed-wire mine-fields to get to speak to a supervisor: she advised me the whole company was out of stock of them.

Of course, that doesn't mean, that I might wander into a different 7/11, here, tomorrow, and find one

If there's any place I would expect to find anything related to mobile tablets, and phones, it would be MBK, but I'm hoping to spare my friends, a visit there, given how crowded and noisy it is.

It would be very interesting to know what might be in stock at Suvranabhumi !

Again, thanks for your time !

~o:37;

The iPad 4 uses a micro SIM. You can use any provider. Don't give yourself a headache looking for a particular SIM. Even cutting down a standard mini SIM will work. HAPPY or One2Call will be fine, coverage permitting.

The iPad 4 uses a micro SIM. You can use any provider. Don't give yourself a headache looking for a particular SIM. Even cutting down a standard mini SIM will work. HAPPY or One2Call will be fine, coverage permitting.

In Chiang Mai, AIS/One2Call isn't even close to the coverage OR reliability of TrueMove H at this time. I have both. At this time my 3G signal from AIS has a hard time to keep its signal inside Chiang Mai city.

MSPain

I walked around MBK today and saw thousands, maybe tens of thousands of TrueMove H and DTAC/Happy pre-paid SIMs. I honestly do not understand what the challenge is, and find it hard to understand why it is not possible to find these in Chiang Mai? I guess there could be some sort of temporary regional shortage but not sure why this would affect both DTAC and TrueMove H simultaneously, and why it couldn't be remedied with a shipment from Bangkok in one single day? Maybe it is some kind of communication issues? Personally I wouldn't confuse people with mentioning iPads, rather I'd simply ask for a pre-paid SIM, in the Micro SIM format. Once activated any promotion/plan can be added to the SIM.

Both the Happy Smartphone SIM and the TrueMove H Net SIM 3G+ come in duo-cut format, allowing the uSIM to be snapped out.

http://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/newhappy-smartphone.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=happy+smartphone+sim&hl=en&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=T2XyUJXEEYSckAXKi4GoDA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAA&biw=1704&bih=931

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/product/detail/317/NET_SIM_3G_%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9C%E0%B8%B9%E0%B9%89%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%89%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B0%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%9A%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%95

http://www.google.com/search?q=truemove+H+net+sim+3G%2B&hl=en&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=gmXyUOiPNY6okgWlioCIAw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAA&biw=1704&bih=931

Here in Bangkok, in True Shops, they do not sell pre-paid SIMs (for TrueMove or TrueMove H) - they direct consumers to channel partners like mobile phone shops, 7-11's etc.

any sim should do. I have my standard dtac sim from 5 years ago connecting to 3g no problem. if u can't find micro, any shop will cut standard sim down for u, or buy a razor and do it urself.

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