Pay As You Go Sim Cards.

[richb2004]

I have a pay as you go SIM card. I says '12CALL Freedom' on the back of the SIM. I am not sure if that is the network. I have only had it six months or so. I recently went away to work for three months or so. Now I have returned and switched back on my mobile. It says 'SIM card registration failed '. My wife says that its because I havn't used it for so long. This seems a little severe. I never used my UK SIM for almost two years and it still works now. Does anyone have knowledge of this? If it is correct can some one recommend a SIM that doesn't have this annoying feature?

Thanks.

[britmaveric]

Prepaid all have expiration dates 1mo extended time for 300bht or so. All prepaids work this way, so not just 12Call. Best bet is to keep topping it off or pay mind to the expiration date and throw some dosh. Mine is curently good until 7/08.

[calibanjr.]

12Call is the AIS network. Shouldn't have expired in that period of time. If you care about keeping your number, then go to Telewiz shop and see what they can do, otherwise just buy a new sim card at any shop, 200-400 THB including some call time. You can pay more if you want a "vanity" number. Also your freedom plan (the default) is pay as you go 4 THB/min. Ask the Telewiz people about plans. I do the "kui mai an" plan, 6am-4pm unlimited 400THB per month, outside hrs 5THB ist min, 1THB thereafter. They have other plans.

[johng]

DTAC "Simple" SIM 200 baht for the SIM...( 50 baht call time included)

put 2 lots of 50 baht top ups in

then call 1678 ( call center ) and ask for the expiry date to be extended to one year..soon after you should get an SMS confirming the expiry date of the SIM in a years time

[Heng]

For 1-2 Call (not sure which my backup phone is under... Freedom or regular), it's 1500 Baht per year -no need to scratch cards or anything, you just do it at Telewiz-. Kind of like my own personal visa run hassle.

I only use it to answer calls, so that's all I need.

[Totster]

I have a pay as you go SIM card. I says '12CALL Freedom' on the back of the SIM. I am not sure if that is the network. I have only had it six months or so. I recently went away to work for three months or so. Now I have returned and switched back on my mobile. It says 'SIM card registration failed '. My wife says that its because I havn't used it for so long. This seems a little severe. I never used my UK SIM for almost two years and it still works now. Does anyone have knowledge of this? If it is correct can some one recommend a SIM that doesn't have this annoying feature?

Thanks.

Like the early PAYG tarifs in the UK, for your account to stay active you must keep service time on the account. This is added whenever you top up your credit.

The service time is added accumulatively, so if you put on bt300 per week for a month you would get four months service ( assuming of course that you get one month/30 days for bt300 topup)

If you did not have enough service time to cover the time you are away from Thailand... I can confirm that the sim card will have expired and be useless... you will not be able to use that number again.

totster

[calibanjr.]

For 1-2 Call (not sure which my backup phone is under... Freedom or regular), it's 1500 Baht per year -no need to scratch cards or anything, you just do it at Telewiz-. Kind of like my own personal visa run hassle.

I only use it to answer calls, so that's all I need.

Hi Heng,

What does the 1500 THB/yr. plan get you? Haven't heard of it.

[Heng]

For 1-2 Call (not sure which my backup phone is under... Freedom or regular), it's 1500 Baht per year -no need to scratch cards or anything, you just do it at Telewiz-. Kind of like my own personal visa run hassle.

I only use it to answer calls, so that's all I need.

Hi Heng,

What does the 1500 THB/yr. plan get you? Haven't heard of it.

Caliban, it's just 1500 baht phone credit valid for one year. Exactly the same thing folks who top up at 300 Baht, getting 30 days of validity (which is 3600 a year if you top up month to month).... but getting instead a full year. A slight advantage in that it buys you more time. Good for folks who mostly accept calls, but don't make so many calls.

[lomatopo]

One-2-Call has a promotion, which ends today (31 July), whereby you get double the validity on top-ups.

No matter how many times I top up my One-2-Call pre-paid SIM I am unable to extend the expiration date beyond 366 days.

I think the following is still valid for One-2-Call:

300 Baht adds 30 days

500 Baht adds 50 days

800 Baht adds 100 days

And evidently, 1,500 baht adds 365 days?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

New regulations will soon nullify the expiration dates.

[Phil Conners]

DTAC has something similar and isn't owned by Toxin

[libya 115]

One 2 Call if you top-up regularly can give upto a years validation. Also (in the Pattaya area) AIS (12Call) Internet GPRS has become fast and reliable recently. However only upto 5 hour monthly packages are available now for 53 baht per month, then it's back to 1 baht per minute. But I have no complaints.

I am getting speeds of 87 Kbps when I check with testmy.net

However the connection shows 460.8 Kbps ??

Plus during August AIS 1-2-call are giving 50 baht bonus on top-ups of 300 baht or more.

[smartecosse]

true move at the moment 99 baht sim card inc 70 baht credit

1 baht per hr day time 5 bht 1st min 1 bht thereafter at night.

[Hiro32]

Does the 1-2 call prepaid sim card work in Siem Reap (Cambodia)?

Thanks

[flodis]

Can I just ask: is it possible to recharge the 12call sims abroad? Can you use *#code# or similar to topup?

What about the validity periods now? Someone in this thread said they will be nullified soon?

[nitehawk56]

I also have the 12call Freedom sims card, exp. date 10/2007, is there a web site where you can recharge your sims card on-line. I am working in Iraq, my girlfried purchased a 12call recharge

card and sent me the recharge number, my put my sims card in my phone and it said it was deactiavated, when I arrive in Thailand next week will I be able to add minutes to my phone without having to buy another sims card?

[gosompoi]

FYI - I just topuped my 1-2-Call mobile phone number with 1500 baht card to my surprise it was not one year but only 7 months 18 days. My expire date before topup was 01/01/2008 and now 19/07/2008. I thought it was one year for 1500 baht but as I see it is not. I also topup my wife's phone today with 800 baht and her expire date only changed to 15/04/2008 for a gain of 4 months.

[TCA]

Does anyone know if there are any AIS 1-2-Call SIM cards currently on sale which don't have this payment for service days nonsense? Or other networks even (with cheap calls)? I'm having trouble deciphering from the AIS website but I'm tending to think there isn't. My girlfriend is forever paying for "days" (she has a 1-2-Call Freedom SIM) and ends up using my phone more than hers because her credit is eaten away by paying this service charge.

I also have a 1-2-Call Freedom SIM, which is admittedly about 2.5 years old, but I just pay for calling credit and that's it. I last added 50 baht credit at the start of this month and that is valid until February next year. My calls to another AIS phone are charged at 1.50 baht for the first minute and then 25 satang per min after that, which I think is pretty good. I think I'm 1 baht per minute to all other networks.

Can anyone recommend a non-service charging SIM (from any supplier) with decent call charging?

Thanks in advance.

TCA.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

You can take any HAPPY SIM. Their SIMPLE SIM at 49 baht automatically tops up to a year for any voucher top up. But if you want to choose another tariff, you can choose the best for you and use the option to top up airtime at 2 baht per 30 days. You can even do it online and from abroad if you activate Roaming before you leave.

[monty]

Does anyone know if there are any AIS 1-2-Call SIM cards currently on sale which don't have this payment for service days nonsense? Or other networks even (with cheap calls)? I'm having trouble deciphering from the AIS website but I'm tending to think there isn't. My girlfriend is forever paying for "days" (she has a 1-2-Call Freedom SIM) and ends up using my phone more than hers because her credit is eaten away by paying this service charge.

I also have a 1-2-Call Freedom SIM, which is admittedly about 2.5 years old, but I just pay for calling credit and that's it. I last added 50 baht credit at the start of this month and that is valid until February next year. My calls to another AIS phone are charged at 1.50 baht for the first minute and then 25 satang per min after that, which I think is pretty good. I think I'm 1 baht per minute to all other networks.

Can anyone recommend a non-service charging SIM (from any supplier) with decent call charging?

Thanks in advance.

TCA.

Doesn't make sense. None of the simcards actually "charge" for days. You put in 300 Baht you get 30 days, but you can completely use those 300 Baht for calls!

Finish the 300 Baht in less then 30 days, and you cannot call anymore but still receive calls. If you do not finish the 300 Baht in 30 days, then you cannot call anymore (even though there is still money in), top up with another 300 Baht, you can call again for 30 days and your call credit will be what was left from the first 30 days plus the new 300 Baht.

If she have to use your phone, that means she actually calls more then what she put's money in!

[TCA]

Doesn't make sense. None of the simcards actually "charge" for days. You put in 300 Baht you get 30 days, but you can completely use those 300 Baht for calls!

Finish the 300 Baht in less then 30 days, and you cannot call anymore but still receive calls. If you do not finish the 300 Baht in 30 days, then you cannot call anymore (even though there is still money in), top up with another 300 Baht, you can call again for 30 days and your call credit will be what was left from the first 30 days plus the new 300 Baht.

If she have to use your phone, that means she actually calls more then what she put's money in!

Thanks monty. Sounds like I've got the wrong end of the stick then. It must be the fact that she tops up by small amounts. I think 50 baht gets her 1 week, so that's where my confusion arose. Still sounds a bit crap that if you don' t use your credit up after x amount of days, you still have to top-up to use it. It's certainly one way for them to continue to get money from customers.

Thanks also to Jiu-Jitsu for the Dtac suggestion. I'll check it out.