Buying a Cheap Phone and SIM at Suvarnabhumi Airport

[gavin310]

My mom decided to take a trip out here to visit me and have some R&R. I'd like her to buy a cheapo Nokia (simply meaning an old, durable phone) in Bangkok before flying to my province. She'll have an 8 hour layover at Suvarnabhumi. Are there phone shops inside the airport where she can buy a cheap phone and SIM card? How cheap can she expect the phones to be?

Edit: I should add I want her to buy the phone in Bangkok because if she buys it in the US she may run into problems with SIM card size, the phone not being an international phone, etc. Plus it'll give her something to do at the airport.

Edited June 15, 2013 by gavin310

[rubberduck]

Far ad I know at Swampie no place where they sell pnones, sims you can get at the magazine shop near the exit. In the province there are lots of phone shops. In Thai they don't sell fake phones, just beware with second hand ones because Thais absolutely don't care and let phones fall out of there hands en into water. Most used ones have issues, some are new outside but old inside as covers has been changed.

[rubberduck]

<profanity removed> basic nokia cost 500-600b.

[uptheos]

If she's just visiting you go into Tesco or somewhere....anywhere really and pick up a new Samsung or Nokia for 600 Baht. Buy a 12Call Sim and away you go,

Edited June 15, 2013 by uptheos

[gavin310]

If she's just visiting you go into Tesco or somewhere....anywhere really and pick up a new Samsung or Nokia for 600 Baht. Buy a 12Call Sim and away you go,

The main reason for the phone is so she can call me when she's at the airport and once she gets into my town so I know when to come pick her up. Once she's with me it's not as big of a deal.

[gavin310]

Far ad I know at Swampie no place where they sell pnones, sims you can get at the magazine shop near the exit. In the province there are lots of phone shops. In Thai they don't sell fake phones, just beware with second hand ones because Thais absolutely don't care and let phones fall out of there hands en into water. Most used ones have issues, some are new outside but old inside as covers has been changed.

Thanks rubberduck, maybe then it will be best for her to get once in America.

[uptheos]

If she's just visiting you go into Tesco or somewhere....anywhere really and pick up a new Samsung or Nokia for 600 Baht. Buy a 12Call Sim and away you go,

The main reason for the phone is so she can call me when she's at the airport and once she gets into my town so I know when to come pick her up. Once she's with me it's not as big of a deal.

There's public phones at the airport, last time I tried they worked OK.

Otherwise nip into a shop and pay 4-5,000 for an overpriced phone.

[rubberduck]

In the tax free area they do sell phones btw, I forgot to mention that expecting you will be at the other side.

Why not simply inserting a Thai simcard inher American phone ?

Sent from my ME371MG using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited June 15, 2013 by rubberduck

[uptheos]

In the tax free area they do sell phones btw, I forgot to mention that expecting you will be at the other side. Why not simply inserting a Thai simcard inher American phone ? Sent from my ME371MG using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I'm sorry but I don't understand these two sentences together.

Are you simply saying 'Why not simply insert a Thai simcard in her American phone?

What's the mularky on the end all about... letting us know that you use a ME371MG.....whatever that is?

[gavin310]

In the tax free area they do sell phones btw, I forgot to mention that expecting you will be at the other side. Why not simply inserting a Thai simcard inher American phone ? Sent from my ME371MG using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I'm sorry but I don't understand these two sentences together.

Are you simply saying 'Why not simply insert a Thai simcard in her American phone?

What's the mularky on the end all about... letting us know that you use a ME371MG.....whatever that is?

uptheos, that line about which phone he's using is actually automatically added by the Thai Visa mobile app. Kinda stupid that they'd add that, in my opinion. There's probably a setting to remove it. Not sure though.

[gavin310]

In the tax free area they do sell phones btw, I forgot to mention that expecting you will be at the other side. Why not simply inserting a Thai simcard inher American phone ? Sent from my ME371MG using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

As far as I know Thai SIM cards are a different size then American SIM cards. Plus I just don't know if her phone will work with a Thai SIM card. It's an old Motorola Razr (the thin flip phone, not the new ones). Does anyone know if those should work in Thailand?

[Lefty]

Buy a 4 band cell phone online or Walmart. I have never had a Thai sim NOT work in an American phone.

Lefty

[UbonOz]

Buy a Thai sim, DTAC/12Call or whatever.

Then, if you have sufficient time mail it to her and she can test it, before arriving.

[WhizBang]

To the best of my knowledge, there are only two sizes of SIM cards.

The mini-SIM as used by Apple, and the full sized as used by pretty much everyone else.

I have bought phones in the USA and the Thai SIMs fit them just fine. Just make sure what you buy will work in Asia/Thailand.

Edited June 15, 2013 by WhizBang

[gavin310]

To the best of my knowledge, there are only two sizes of SIM cards.

The mini-SIM as used by Apple, and the full sized as used by pretty much everyone else.

I have bought phones in the USA and the Thai SIMs fit them just fine. Just make sure what you buy will work in Asia/Thailand.

Thanks. I didn't realize that.

[gavin310]

Ok, does anybody happen to know if the old Motorola Razr V3 phone from America will work in Thailand?

[lemonjelly]

Gavin, do the decent thing and go and meet your mum off the flight at Swampie..... and buy her a phone too.

[gavin310]

Gavin, do the decent thing and go and meet your mum off the flight at Swampie..... and buy her a phone too.

She has a connecting flight to my province. There's no need.

[pomchop]

Far ad I know at Swampie no place where they sell pnones, sims you can get at the magazine shop near the exit. In the province there are lots of phone shops. In Thai they don't sell fake phones, just beware with second hand ones because Thais absolutely don't care and let phones fall out of there hands en into water. Most used ones have issues, some are new outside but old inside as covers has been changed.

Thanks rubberduck, maybe then it will be best for her to get once in America.

I'm no phone expert but I would be very careful about buying a cheap phone in usa and expecting it to work in Thailand. I have tried several usa phones and never was able to get any of them unlocked to work in Thailand.

[vivek130205]

Far ad I know at Swampie no place where they sell pnones, sims you can get at the magazine shop near the exit. In the province there are lots of phone shops. In Thai they don't sell fake phones, just beware with second hand ones because Thais absolutely don't care and let phones fall out of there hands en into water. Most used ones have issues, some are new outside but old inside as covers has been changed.

are you serious about what u posted. I can show u 10000 selling all kind of fake phones.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[GooEng]

Ok, does anybody happen to know if the old Motorola Razr V3 phone from America will work in Thailand?

Looks like it will as its a quad band handset.

http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_razr_v3-853.php

Just make sure it's not locked to a US network.

[Qman]

Many US phones are CDMA which does not utilize SIM cards and all are locked to carriers as people get the phones discounted with 2 year contracts. Part of the deal is that it is locked and cannot be used on other networks. You can buy factory unlocked phones but they are essentially the same price as Thailand. It should be noted that when you have a locked phone jail broken it may revert to locked each time you do a software or system upgrade. To be safe you should buy one which it FACTORY unlocked but hard to tell if you do not know what you are looking at. Better to buy something in Thailand which should work well.

[payanak]

Yes an old Motorola Razr will work here. I have one of the originals, purchased in 2005, with a dtac sim card. No problems ever.

[stoli]

Buy a 4 band cell phone online or Walmart. I have never had a Thai sim NOT work in an American phone.

Lefty

I had a Wal-Mart cell phone when I arrived here. It could not be opened to put a new Sim card in. Had to buy another phone. They can unlock iPhone and such, but not the cheap Wal_mart phones. No interest in unlocking a 650 baht style phone.

[keeniau96]

I had the same Moto Razr for years here, good phone no problems. She can get a free SIM card in the luggage area at arrivals in Suvranabhumi. It has a minimal credit on it but should be enough for phone call to you. The SIM will fit in her Moto no problem.

[Saan]

As far as I know Thai SIM cards are a different size then American SIM cards. Plus I just don't know if her phone will work with a Thai SIM card. It's an old Motorola Razr (the thin flip phone, not the new ones). Does anyone know if those should work in Thailand?

My Motorola Razr worked perfectly well in Thailand until I knocked a glass of water over it.

Recently at the airport I could not get a signal on either my 12Call or True sim cards. Pretty annoying as I had a 4 hour wait between flights and wanted to use the phone.

I'd tell mum to bring her phone and try a sim card she can buy from a row of booths on the ground floor against the outside wall.

[gavin310]

As far as I know Thai SIM cards are a different size then American SIM cards. Plus I just don't know if her phone will work with a Thai SIM card. It's an old Motorola Razr (the thin flip phone, not the new ones). Does anyone know if those should work in Thailand?

My Motorola Razr worked perfectly well in Thailand until I knocked a glass of water over it.

Recently at the airport I could not get a signal on either my 12Call or True sim cards. Pretty annoying as I had a 4 hour wait between flights and wanted to use the phone.

I'd tell mum to bring her phone and try a sim card she can buy from a row of booths on the ground floor against the outside wall.

Thanks for the specific information

[dddave]

Many US phones, even pre-paid ones won't work in Thailand. Unless your Mom is pretty tech savvy, forget about her buying a phone there. I have not seen any phones for sale in the arrivals area. There are kiosks from all the major carriers (AIS, DTAC, TRUE) where she can buy a SIM.

Easiest solution is for her to call you on a pay phone and you give her a cheap Nokia when she gets to your place. Otherwise, she could take a taxi from the airport to Mega-Bang Na, (Ikea)where there is a BIG-C with a large selection of cheap phones. Cab fare to and from would be around B150-200 + B50 airport fee.