unlocked thai phones

[bubbles]

Hi

The wife requires a new phone as the old one is on its last legs, she'll moving to UK with me in a few months though, looked at the main providers in Thailand and the phones (iphone, samsung) are cheaper than UK sim-free by as much as £100-£150, if we brought in Thailand, I guess their is no sim lock, or other reasons they wouldn't work when you put a UK sim in, right?

[casualbiker]

Non at all.. the only company that lock phones in Thailand are True but that's only the few branded ones (as reported on some Thai sites)

What phone is she thinking off?

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[casualbiker]

Double post

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Edited January 19, 2014 by casualbiker

[bubbles]

Non at all.. the only company that lock phones in Thailand are True but that's only the few branded ones (as reported on some Thai sites) What phone is she thinking off? Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

looking at the Samsung Note 3, S4 or the S5 when it comes out.

Judging by your response, I guess buying "pay & go" from DTAC or AIS would be way to go?

[casualbiker]

Just check out the best price. Look at places like Tesco Lotus as well. You may be surprised .. gotta ask. In the UK are you going monthly paid or PAYG?

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[bubbles]

Just check out the best price. Look at places like Tesco Lotus as well. You may be surprised .. gotta ask. In the UK are you going monthly paid or PAYG? Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

PAYG, but with giffgaff. I could go pay monthly but the phone is locked so she couldn't put a Thai sim in if she has to return home & your paying for it for 2 years. May as well pay up front, looked at the prices in the UK for sim free and the prices in Thailand are a good 4000/5000 baht cheaper.

[wooloomooloo]

I guess their is no sim lock, or other reasons they wouldn't work when you put a UK sim in, right?

That's a good question as you do not want to end up with a brick.

You really need to find out the model number of the phone you are buying and checking it out prior to purchase as there are certain models that will not operate correctly in the UK, particularly with 4G.

I purchased an iPhone 64GB 5S in LOS last month (model A1530) and it works fine on 4G in UK but not all models will.

[bubbles]

I guess their is no sim lock, or other reasons they wouldn't work when you put a UK sim in, right?

That's a good question as you do not want to end up with a brick.

You really need to find out the model number of the phone you are buying and checking it out prior to purchase as there are certain models that will not operate correctly in the UK, particularly with 4G.

I purchased an iPhone 64GB 5S in LOS last month (model A1530) and it works fine on 4G in UK but not all models will.

I know the iPhones have different version numbers, I think A1530 is the HK version but uses the same bands as the UK version. I think any phone that is quad-band should be ok here, its just the unlock side of things, as you say, no point coming back here with a brick.

[casualbiker]

Check out MSN Telegroup on Facebook. It will give you an idea of MBK prices

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[wooloomooloo]

The unlocked side of the question is fairly straightforward.

You're obviously not tied to a two-year contract and can opt for PAYG or a SIM only deal (usually twelve-month initial contract then rolls monthly).

I would recommend a SIM only deal as they can come in far cheaper than PAYG.

[bubbles]

The unlocked side of the question is fairly straightforward.

You're obviously not tied to a two-year contract and can opt for PAYG or a SIM only deal (usually twelve-month initial contract then rolls monthly).

I would recommend a SIM only deal as they can come in far cheaper than PAYG.

exactly, I don't want to get tied down with extended contracts, looks like we'll be paying a visit to the AIS/DTAC store when I get back

[casualbiker]

Op. If you are in the UK now. I would take a look at the Motorola Moto X. Lovely phone with some excellent features .

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[jocko]

Look on e-bay for unlocked phones.

You might be lucky

[casualbiker]

Look on e-bay for unlocked phones.

You might be lucky

Why? All phones in Thailand are unlocked!!!!!!

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[jocko]

Look on e-bay for unlocked phones.

You might be lucky

Why? All phones in Thailand are unlocked!!!!!!

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Because i got a unlocked phone on e-bay UK cheaper than i could get it here that was 18 months ago

[casualbiker]

Look on e-bay for unlocked phones.

You might be lucky

Why? All phones in Thailand are unlocked!!!!!!

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Because i got a unlocked phone on e-bay UK cheaper than i could get it here that was 18 months ago

Really! what phone?. was it one that was not available here as in a grey import?

[jocko]

I need to buy a unlocked phone to use when I come to Thailand so I had a look at shop prices etc and looked on e-bay there was someone selling a Samsung brand new phone that he didn't need I could see it was cheaper than the shop price in the UK so I bought it I had not checked Thai prices when I got here a month or so later I noticed the price was a bit dearer here so I as happy about that .

As it appears that the OP is in the UK I thought he might get lucky as well and have the phone all ready for his GF when she gets there.

As it happens on my trip home I left the phone in a small bag at Bangkok airport so not so happy

[briley]

For those going to the UK both carphone warehouse and fone4you (or something like that) will sell you a PAYG phone that is highly subsidised by one of the mobile operators, up to 75% of the price. In exchange you have to buy some airtime, maybe £10 worth. This still gives you a phone at a fraction of the Thai price - my last one cost me £10 or around 2,000 Baht in Tesco Lotus.

The interesting point is both these companies generally refuse to sell locked phones as they would then have to carry 5 times the stock levels. So ask in their shop and you will be clearly told if the phone is locked or not. And slip in the GiffGaff SIM for their great service.

[NeverSure]

If you can get a Google Nexus 5, do it. It is worldwide unlocked, takes a sim, and will work with any technology/frequency out there including LTE. It's 4G.

I paid $249 US (8000 bht) each, and bought 2 of them; one for traveling.

[casualbiker]

If you can get a Google Nexus 5, do it. It is worldwide unlocked, takes a sim, and will work with any technology/frequency out there including LTE. It's 4G.

I paid $249 US (8000 bht) each, and bought 2 of them; one for traveling.

You mean $349 right... cos that's the price on Google Play.

Nexus 5 or Motor X would be my choice. Both similar prices. Both have excellent features.

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[mataleo]

Is it ais iphones still comes unlocked?

[casualbiker]

Yes

[sfokevin]

If you will be going back and forth between countries you might look into some of the dual sim phones like the Asus Zen or some of the i-mobile phones... I think the IQ Slim is a sweet phone for the price...

http://www.siamphone.com/spec/en/asus/zenfone_5_(a500kl).htm

http://www.siamphone.com/spec/en/i-mobile/iq_x_slim.htm

Edited November 4, 2014 by sfokevin