Can I re-activate my Thai sim

[AhFarangJa]

Greetings everyone,

I have trawled through previous posts ref this subject, but can find no definitive answer.

My Thai sim ( 1-2-call) expired on 5th. October,(my fault) and I am not in Thailand at the moment. There is 1000 Baht credit still on it!

Does anyone know if I can get it re-activated or get my money back when I return next month?

Many thanks for any input, and please all have a great weekend there.

[PiPiFFS]

Normally if you have 1000 baht credit it gives you a years validity. Are you sure it is not working ? have you tried sending a text ? did you call the customer service number to activate roaming before you left Thailand ? if not then when you return it will just activate as normal.

[AhFarangJa]

Hi PiPiFFS,

Thanks for your questions, I have had the number for years and years, In August I asked my wife to e-mail me two top up numbers for 200 Baht. I put my sim on roaming, topped it up, and had a message to say balance was 100 Baht and expired on 5th. October. due to a bereavement I had to go to England two weeks ago , and forgot about the sim. I have tried putting it on roaming here ( Saudi), but get a message it is de-activated, so I cannot use it to call the help centre.

[topt]

Hi PiPiFFS,

Thanks for your questions, I have had the number for years and years, In August I asked my wife to e-mail me two top up numbers for 200 Baht. I put my sim on roaming, topped it up, and had a message to say balance was 100 Baht and expired on 5th. October. due to a bereavement I had to go to England two weeks ago , and forgot about the sim. I have tried putting it on roaming here ( Saudi), but get a message it is de-activated, so I cannot use it to call the help centre.

Presumably your wife is still in Thailand. Can you not get her to put some money on to reinstate it?

If not ask her to call them and find out how to get it resolved...................

I also do not understand if you put 200 baht on why it said your credit was only100?

[Bountyhuntr]

You don't even need call credit on it to be still valid. Mine was over a year old and could still be used, the number is still registered to my SIM

[Bountyhuntr]

Mine lasted over a year with no credit on it, still has the same number registered to it.

edit: double post due to forum errors

Edited October 17, 2014 by liamstevens111

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Hi PiPiFFS,

Thanks for your questions, I have had the number for years and years, In August I asked my wife to e-mail me two top up numbers for 200 Baht. I put my sim on roaming, topped it up, and had a message to say balance was 100 Baht and expired on 5th. October. due to a bereavement I had to go to England two weeks ago , and forgot about the sim. I have tried putting it on roaming here ( Saudi), but get a message it is de-activated, so I cannot use it to call the help centre.

You need to get your wife to call them ASAP. Send her the numbers on the back of the SIM card, in case they need them for the purpose of identification. For the future, it's better to buy 50 baht topups. As each gives you 30 days of validity.

[Bountyhuntr]

Hi PiPiFFS,

Thanks for your questions, I have had the number for years and years, In August I asked my wife to e-mail me two top up numbers for 200 Baht. I put my sim on roaming, topped it up, and had a message to say balance was 100 Baht and expired on 5th. October. due to a bereavement I had to go to England two weeks ago , and forgot about the sim. I have tried putting it on roaming here ( Saudi), but get a message it is de-activated, so I cannot use it to call the help centre.

You need to get your wife to call them ASAP. Send her the numbers on the back of the SIM card, in case they need them for the purpose of identification. For the future, it's better to buy 50 baht topups. As each gives you 30 days of validity.

That 30 days is false, mine stayed valid for over a year.

[DiDiChok]

For a 1-2-Call sim up to a year old (I think, or it may be five years), you can reactivate it by typing *552*nnnn# then press 'send', where nnnn is the 13 digit number on the sim card. You should then get an SMS message and you'll have to send another message *211# then press send. I think this only works inside Thailand and not when roaming. Roaming (e.g. use in the UK) can only be enabled by *125*1# once you've got a number and registered it.

You will then get a new phone number free for your old sim card. You should get another sms to tell you what the number is, but you can always do *545# then press send to find out.

When abroad, the cheapest way I've found to keep my phone active is by doing *500*9# which gives another 30 days service credit for ฿30 and I think also gives you some odd minutes you won't be using.

If that's all too much for you, ring 1175 which is the AIS call Centre and they'll help you out with any phone related problems. Use the web too: http://www.ais.co.th/12call/en/service.html

Read about old sim card reactivation here: http://www.ais.co.th/12call/en/service-welcome-home.html

I think the OP will probably have to ring the call centre to get them to do everything as he doesn't want to lose his ฿1,000 credit.

Edited October 18, 2014 by DiDiChok

[hkt83100]

Try to do a call to

*500*9#

This should add 30 days of validity (Mao Mao Promotion) to your card. Since you still have credit on it, it should work. Good luck!

[DiDiChok]

Er, I think the OP can't do *500*9# at the moment because he won't be able to register his sim via his home network as it's roaming now, and expired as far as 1-2-Call is concerned. I won't be surprised if he's lost all his credit too!

There's a helpful list of USSD codes for Thai operators 1-2-Call, DTAC and True here: http://thaiprepaidcard.com/ussd-keypress-codes/

[lomatopo]

Every SIM/promotion/plan has different terms and conditions re: expiry.

The NBTC does want operators to keep all numbers active, but they need to recycle expired numbers as they are running out of numbers. The time-frame for recycling varies quite a bit by operator, but is in the 45 - 90 day range, once the expiry date has been met, and/or the balance reaches zero.

It is unclear what exactly is affecting the OP as there are many, many variables. And it is not clear if the OP ever transitioned from AIS/One-2-Call to AIS/One-2-Call/2100 MHz (AWN)?

Assuming you have a roaming signal (and note that this specific issue may be related to international roaming, rather than account expiration), what is the reply to *121# send?

Could you ask your wife, or someone in Thailand, to sort this out for you in person at an AIS/TWZ shop?

Could you send an email to [email protected], explaining your situation and asking for resolution?

If you are unable to do any of these it may have to wait until you return; based on what little information you've provided I'd say there is a good chance you can retain/revive your number/SIM as long as you sort this out as soon as possible when you return.

Edited October 18, 2014 by lomatopo

[jacko45k]

Hi PiPiFFS,

Thanks for your questions, I have had the number for years and years, In August I asked my wife to e-mail me two top up numbers for 200 Baht. I put my sim on roaming, topped it up, and had a message to say balance was 100 Baht and expired on 5th. October. due to a bereavement I had to go to England two weeks ago , and forgot about the sim. I have tried putting it on roaming here ( Saudi), but get a message it is de-activated, so I cannot use it to call the help centre.

You need to get your wife to call them ASAP. Send her the numbers on the back of the SIM card, in case they need them for the purpose of identification. For the future, it's better to buy 50 baht topups. As each gives you 30 days of validity.

That 30 days is false, mine stayed valid for over a year.

It depends on which network and also which 'package' you have.

[maswov]

You can reactivate 12 Call sims but I don't remember how much it costs. Also I think it can only be done during normal working hours. Easier and cheaper to get a new sim.

[hkt83100]

Er, I think the OP can't do *500*9# at the moment because he won't be able to register his sim via his home network as it's roaming now, and expired as far as 1-2-Call is concerned. I won't be surprised if he's lost all his credit too!

Mine had been expired before, but it would still accept incoming calls. A call to *500*9# revived it. The credit is kept for a good while, and the call would just cost 30 Baht of credit. Better try it...

[nithisa78]

www.keepcalling.com , you can charge you mobile online. small fee. accumulate phone minutes for international calls based on credits built up from charging mobile. It works also for true and others, all over the world. above average customer service.

[Suradit69]

My Thai sim ( 1-2-call) expired on 5th. October,

What year? I just topped up my 1-2-call balance and an SMS balance check shows it's good to October 2015.

[Estrada]

I had a similar problem with my True prepaid International SIM. In the past Thai Mobile phone companies have been able to take back your number and keep your monetary balance with impunity. However the Law was changed around a year ago and now they must record the address of the owner of the SIM (anti-terrorism), and they cannot cut you off and keep the balance of the monies.

In my case they cut me off without warning. I went to the True Shop and they at first said they could not find the number, reactivate the card, or give me my money back. I then told them about the new law, which only one of them was vaguely aware of, and eventually the restored my SIM and refunded my money with a B500 bonus. They did explain to me that although there is a new law in place, their computer system is still geared to delete prepaid numbers not in use for 30 days and keep the money. So in your case you can get your money back and your phone reactivated, when you return to Thailand and go to your phone provider.

[Fallangpakwan]

I just top up our phones "online" from my BBL bank account

[Janne1949]

Yes you can reactive the simcard I have done that but your 1000 bath will be gone!

They will tell you that you cant reactivate but after pushing them they made some phonecalls and than all ok

Good luck

[thejcb]

I am so happy I am not there

[stoli]

Hi PiPiFFS,

Thanks for your questions, I have had the number for years and years, In August I asked my wife to e-mail me two top up numbers for 200 Baht. I put my sim on roaming, topped it up, and had a message to say balance was 100 Baht and expired on 5th. October. due to a bereavement I had to go to England two weeks ago , and forgot about the sim. I have tried putting it on roaming here ( Saudi), but get a message it is de-activated, so I cannot use it to call the help centre.

You need to get your wife to call them ASAP. Send her the numbers on the back of the SIM card, in case they need them for the purpose of identification. For the future, it's better to buy 50 baht topups. As each gives you 30 days of validity.

That 30 days is false, mine stayed valid for over a year.

Careful of what you claim to be false. I live here, and have two phones, both with True. One I did not use for 45 days. When I went to use it, it said the SIM had been de-activated for lack of use. I had to go to the True office to get it re-activated, and my credit back.

[AhFarangJa]

Many thanks to everybody for your input.

TOPT...Sorry that was a typo ref money, it should read 1000Baht.

ESTRADA.... many thanks, I was not aware of the law change, and yes it is tantamount to theft to keep my money.

To everyone else, lots of useful information, again my profound thanks for your time. I cannot call any of the numbers yet as it will not activate on roaming. Also my wife is here in Saudi with me, so will have to wait until November to try all your different codes. When I was topping the sim up I was getting one month validity for 100Baht, I guess that is the norm.

Again, many thanks and will let you know how I get on next month!.

[AhFarangJa]

DiDichok, Thanks for the links, have them all noted now

[JacChang]

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Many thanks to everybody for your input.

TOPT...Sorry that was a typo ref money, it should read 1000Baht.

ESTRADA.... many thanks, I was not aware of the law change, and yes it is tantamount to theft to keep my money.

To everyone else, lots of useful information, again my profound thanks for your time. alt=wai.gif width=20 height=20> I cannot call any of the numbers yet as it will not activate on roaming. Also my wife is here in Saudi with me, so will have to wait until November to try all your different codes. When I was topping the sim up I was getting one month validity for 100Baht, I guess that is the norm.

Again, many thanks and will let you know how I get on next month!. alt=thumbsup.gif>

Do you have online banking?

I was in the same situation as you were in, late for that top off to extend it another 45 days. A week after that deadline, I received an sms from DTAC saying, it will be deactivated and no signals on my phone. Because the signal has already been cut off, any topping off or attempt through that sim will not work.

What you do immediately now is, no need to even call anyone. Simply log on to online banking of kbank or whatever, go to top off for your sim card. Mine is happy dprompt. So I top off 50 baht, and I get another 45 days. I forgot if I immediately got the signal back, or within 1 day. This is what you should do.

Hope this helps.

[AhFarangJa]

Thanks JacChang,

Internet banking is another on my urgent to do list!! Last time I was home I went in with the boss to Kbank where we have several accounts, the girl told my wife no we do not do internet banking!! we were in a hurry then so could not argue the point, but next month hopefully!!!

[harrry]

Try to do a call to

*500*9#

This should add 30 days of validity (Mao Mao Promotion) to your card. Since you still have credit on it, it should work. Good luck!

This is a good one as as well as the 30 days it gives about 60 minutes of calls within 5 days.

[lomatopo]

With some/many/most AIS/One-2-Call/2100 MHz 3G pre-paid SIMs, you can simply make 12 top-ups of 10 baht (with the fee, 12 baht, so a total of 144 baht) at a free-standing to-up machine - these are pretty much everywhere - which will max out the expiry at 365 days. I manage a number of AIS, DTAC and TrueMove H SIMs for friends, family, colleagues.

It seems like expiry is the more important attribute, rather than balance, for the OP, but that's just a guess based on what he's said in this thread. It doesn't sound like he is using the phone when traveling in other countries, which might require a significant balance, or the ability to add value?

Personally, I'd drop an email to AIS and explain your situation - just tell them what you want, including perhaps enabling IR, or I'd ask someone who is in Thailand (friend, colleague, boss, wife's family) to pop round an AIS/TWZ shop to sort this out pending a return to Thailand.

Is your primary goal to retain the number? Recover any remaining balance? Both?

You can register for AIS'es eServices platform, and perhaps better manage your SIM/number/account?

https://aiseservice.ais.co.th/eServiceWeb/

They also have a decent iPhone/Android app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ais.mimo.eservice&hl=en

Edited October 18, 2014 by lomatopo

[Fallangpakwan]

As Estrada was pretty-well saying earlier at least with TRUE it all depends which TRUE office and who you talk to there; half the time you get wrong or no info back at all; I asked for weeks at various places could I top up online, it was always NO; then I finally found some guy who rang a number someplace and came back saying maybe yes; when I asked how? the answer was "ask your bank"; I asked at my BBL branch and they said "cannot". I emailed BBL help centre and they came back with the info immediately and I've topped-up online ever since. Would say it's typical of Thailand.

[Fallangpakwan]

Thanks JacChang,

Internet banking is another on my urgent to do list!! Last time I was home I went in with the boss to Kbank where we have several accounts, the girl told my wife no we do not do internet banking!! we were in a hurry then so could not argue the point, but next month hopefully!!!

K'Bank does internet banking; I went through the hassle of setting it up a year ago but never use it as it's a pain in the butt compared with BBL which is real easy.