Hello,

i just had my 2nd Smartphone dying on me within 1 week and need a quick, cheap, temporary relacement.
I saw the True mobile Smartphones at 7/11 are just 1.990 Baht including a True SIM.
Are those Phones SIM-Locked or can i just take the SIM out and put my own SIM in it???

Cheers guys

What network you with?

AIS do a nicer range of phones called Lava

Edited January 9, 201511 yr by casualbiker

DTAC have their own brand either, starting at similar prices me thinks. not sure about SIMlock, but there is always staff on hand who can give information and speak proper English, whereas the other too providers couldn't care less about FALANG

What network you with?

AIS do a nicer range of phones called Lava

I got an AIS Lava 4.5 the other day for 2,690 bht. Great phone ! Really happy with it. I have AIS on contract 3G. Tethered it last evening as the place I was in had no wifi and it was excellent for browsing on my gaypad.

So, you can take the SIM out ... its not "built-in"?

But you can only replace it with a SIM of the same network provider?

So do i understand it now ...

Oh, and 7/11 staff here on Koh Tao has no bloody clue ;-(

Some True phones were reported as being locked a year or so back. I don't know now!

The AIS Lava phones are superior and unlocked.

There is a nice looking 5 inch smartphone for sale in 7-11, think under 4k, good specs

Which one? It needs to have minimum 1g ram, 8g rom/storage and a 720p screen (about 300pixels) ohh and running Android 4.4.

Edited January 10, 201511 yr by casualbiker

Which one?

I couldn't see a model number on it but it's in-store and the only one that's 5 inches.

There are better cheaper phones out there

There are better cheaper phones out there

What would you recommend for a good value 4G phone? 5 inches or less ideally 2 Sims, I'm thinking not Samsung etc as they will be top end and I can get those back in the UK

What's your maximum price? Also I'm guessing you want it for Thailand and UK, right?

Edited January 10, 201511 yr by casualbiker

Thailand forbids providers from selling sim locked phones. But a phone could have a very limited number of bands it works with, making it not work with every other provider's service.

What's your maximum price? Also I'm guessing you want it for Thailand and UK, right?

Probably in Thailand 10,000 baht, and yes needed for UK, I use Three which has 4G in UK. I've still got an S3 which works fine but is H+ not 4G.

What's your maximum price? Also I'm guessing you want it for Thailand and UK, right?

Probably in Thailand 10,000 baht, and yes needed for UK, I use Three which has 4G in UK. I've still got an S3 which works fine but is H+ not 4G.

Ok. For Thailand you need 4g 2100mhz band 1. Luckily Three also use band 1 as well as 1800mhz band 3 (which Thailand will use in the future)

Lenovo do a decent range of low cost LTE Phones. The Honor 3c LTE is one. But for overall value I think the Benq F5 @ 5,995b from Lazada in the best (reviews have been mixed but generally good) it's a decent LTE phone for not a lot of money.

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=benq+f5

Edited January 10, 201511 yr by casualbiker

Lenovo do a decent range of low cost LTE Phones. The Honor 3c LTE is one. But for overall value I think the Benq F5 @ 5,995b from Lazada in the best (reviews have been mixed but generally good) it's a decent LTE phone for not a lot of money.

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=benq+f5

Thanks for the info, you certainly know your stuff.

But a cherry snap 2.0 on sale now for 990

I just got one and it is fine

Good for calls

SMS

Use it on wifi in condo and speed is ok, can watch videos on youtube much to my surprise

Response time is a little slow on the the typing pad but you get used to it

But a cherry snap 2.0 on sale now for 990

I just got one and it is fine

Good for calls

SMS

Use it on wifi in condo and speed is ok, can watch videos on youtube much to my surprise

Response time is a little slow on the the typing pad but you get used to it

Horrible, horrible phone ..but if you are ok with it then fine.

http://www.siamphone.com/spec/en/cherry_mobile/snap_2.0.htm

Edited January 10, 201511 yr by casualbiker

If your going to spend ~4K baht... go and check out an iMobile shop... all there phones are unlocked... many with dual (2) sim capability

Lenovo do a decent range of low cost LTE Phones. The Honor 3c LTE is one. But for overall value I think the Benq F5 @ 5,995b from Lazada in the best (reviews have been mixed but generally good) it's a decent LTE phone for not a lot of money.

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=benq+f5

the only problem is its cash on delivery, im staying in an apartment and im sure it will be a problem me waiting in. Can they deliver it to a store for pickup? or another way of doing it?

Lenovo do a decent range of low cost LTE Phones. The Honor 3c LTE is one. But for overall value I think the Benq F5 @ 5,995b from Lazada in the best (reviews have been mixed but generally good) it's a decent LTE phone for not a lot of money.

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=benq+f5

the only problem is its cash on delivery, im staying in an apartment and im sure it will be a problem me waiting in. Can they deliver it to a store for pickup? or another way of doing it?

If your staying in an apartment why not leave the money in an envelope with the building reception.

Lenovo do a decent range of low cost LTE Phones. The Honor 3c LTE is one. But for overall value I think the Benq F5 @ 5,995b from Lazada in the best (reviews have been mixed but generally good) it's a decent LTE phone for not a lot of money.

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=benq+f5

the only problem is its cash on delivery, im staying in an apartment and im sure it will be a problem me waiting in. Can they deliver it to a store for pickup? or another way of doing it?

They call me when they are close to the house... I live in a small soi and have told them to meet me at the nearby Wat... Not a problem...

Lenovo do a decent range of low cost LTE Phones. The Honor 3c LTE is one. But for overall value I think the Benq F5 @ 5,995b from Lazada in the best (reviews have been mixed but generally good) it's a decent LTE phone for not a lot of money.

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=benq+f5

the only problem is its cash on delivery, im staying in an apartment and im sure it will be a problem me waiting in. Can they deliver it to a store for pickup? or another way of doing it?

LAZADA has a "Counter Payment" option...when you place your order, take the receipt to any 7-11 and you can pay there, the phone will then be delivered to the address you specify.

If you just want an inexpensive LTE phone, the TRUE branded ones for under B4000 will do the job and are warrantied by True so easy to deal with if a malfunction. Same with the AIS "Combo" phones. Very decent really. I saw some pretty decent sub B3000 phones in Tesco the other day but most not LTE.

Edited January 13, 201511 yr by dddave

Lenovo do a decent range of low cost LTE Phones. The Honor 3c LTE is one. But for overall value I think the Benq F5 @ 5,995b from Lazada in the best (reviews have been mixed but generally good) it's a decent LTE phone for not a lot of money.

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=benq+f5

the only problem is its cash on delivery, im staying in an apartment and im sure it will be a problem me waiting in. Can they deliver it to a store for pickup? or another way of doing it?

LAZADA has a "Counter Payment" option...when you place your order, take the receipt to any 7-11 and you can pay there, the phone will then be delivered to the address you specify.

If you just want an inexpensive LTE phone, the TRUE branded ones for under B4000 will do the job and are warrantied by True so easy to deal with if a malfunction. Same with the AIS "Combo" phones. Very decent really. I saw some pretty decent sub B3000 phones in Tesco the other day but most not LTE.

As far as I'm aware the True and Ais phones that are Sub 4k are not LTE.

PS : I didn't know about the counter pay. Thanks.

Edited January 13, 201511 yr by casualbiker

The True phone at 7-11 is in fact simm locked, no matter what the law says.

I just tried to put in a dtac simm into the phone, and the screen flashed a message

to insert a True simm and it flashed a message to put in a True card.... Not sure

if there is a work around for that,,

The True phone at 7-11 is in fact simm locked, no matter what the law says.

I just tried to put in a dtac simm into the phone, and the screen flashed a message

to insert a True simm and it flashed a message to put in a True card.... Not sure

if there is a work around for that,,

I think you need to contact True and ask if it can be unlocked!

It maybe that you need to keep it 3 months before they will give you the code. If it's a new phone (within 7days of purchase) I would just take it back for a refund.

The SMART 4.0 honee from 7/11 IS in fact SIM-Locked to TRUE SIMs.
Took me bloody 8h to unlock it ;-)
Now its working fine with my DTAC SIM ...

^^^^^ how?