vinny5443
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Post at 3-2-2013 01:36  Profile P.M. 
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Help with China SIM Cards

What are the best options for China SIM cards with an iPhone? Is China Unicom my only choice? How are the prepaid rates with data? I can't seem to find any information in english on the China Unicom site. I can't even find any mobile information on the china unicom site.

Thanks in advance!

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TonyToro   3-2-2013 15:20  Acceptance  +1   just because you have an iPhone...
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Petay_1283
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Post at 3-2-2013 11:00  Profile P.M. 
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Reply #1 vinny5443's post

I recently bought a sim card from China Mobile.

I just went into the shop and asked about it. I paid 55RMB and for that I got the sim card + 100mb of data. It lasted me around 10 days. I also received free sms & minutes, although I cannot remember how much.

Off Peak I pay 0.12 RMB per minute and around 0.15 during peak times. I paid 35RMB for a phone card worth 100 RMB from a shop. I use this to call Hong Kong numbers, then it charges me local rate rather than more money.

You can pay more and receive more data if you want though.

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vinny5443   3-2-2013 23:28  Acceptance  +1   Thanks




'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.'
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kaleu
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Post at 3-2-2013 15:48  Profile P.M. 
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Please do a search for this info.  It gets asked every month or so.  I wish it could get stickied.

The big question is... you want a contract or pay as you go?

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vinny5443   3-2-2013 23:28  Acceptance  +1   Thanks. I agree it should be stickied!
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asurada00
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Post at 3-2-2013 17:04  Profile P.M. 
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pay as you go china mobile = 3.8hkd (or 4.2, dont remember) per 1 mb, but capped at 48hkd per day, example: use 5 mb a day = pay 5 X 3.8hkd. example2: use 500 mb in a day = pay 48 hkd. this card is only available in 2g (no 3g)

feel free to post other network pay as you go fees.

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vinny5443   3-2-2013 23:29  Acceptance  +1   Thanks!
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sitonmyface69
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Post at 5-2-2013 07:43  Profile P.M. 
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Sorry I know this thread is about china SIM cards but I like to know about taiwan's SIM card as I be going there this week
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Petay_1283
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Post at 5-2-2013 11:02  Profile P.M. 
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Reply #1 vinny5443's post

Also the good thing that I found out is that you can call China Mobile and inform them you are going to HK and they will allow your number to work there for 2RMB a day, just make sure you call and cancel it when you come back.




'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.'
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haomaru
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Post at 5-2-2013 20:52  Profile P.M. 
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For Taiwan you if you want data and voice calls, maybe renting at the airport is a good choice, a bit expensive thought, but convenient.

Otherwise just go to any 7-11, Far east telecom, or Chungwha telecom, and ask them for prepaid cards.

Not sure if those have data, you will need to ask.
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bonkers89
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Post at 11-2-2013 15:11  Profile P.M. 
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China UNICOM is your only choice if you want fast 3G data.

China mobile does not have a 3G network whatsoever, but you can still get data from them via 2G (quite slow)

China mobile is by far the bigger company, so coverage is better across the country (but that depends on if you'll be going all over the place)

Pricewise, they should be similar.
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Petay_1283
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Post at 13-2-2013 13:19  Profile P.M. 
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Reply #9 bonkers89's post

Very true,, when I asked about 3G they said because I did not buy my phone through them I could only have 2G...

But I was expecting it to be shit slow! it is actually OK for apps such as whatsapp or WeChat, plus there is wifi everywhere these days anyway.




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bonkers89
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Post at 16-2-2013 06:57  Profile P.M. 
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Oh, I know a guy bought an iphone outright and has been using it on Unicom for the past few years.
I've never heard of carriers refusing to offer 3G on a phone that was not sold by themselves.

I've never used Unicom myself, but I do plan to switch over.
I have used 2G on China mobile too, and everything is ok for those non-data intensive things like whatsapp, email, etc.
But my main beef is MAPS - you need the fast data plan to utilize the maps. And with the amount of time I get lost in china, I sorely need it!!
I heard with Unicom  its about 36 rmb for 1 gig of data.
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vinny5443
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Post at 19-2-2013 10:52  Profile P.M. 
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Thanks for all the info. I ended up getting a Unicom card for $80 rmb and it included data at $20rmb/month for 300mb. I think calls are .1rmb. I'm not in China much, mostly HK, so I figured it wasn't that bad of a deal. I usually roam with my HK sim at $68/day, so I figured that spending $80 is just like 2 days and I'll get it for 4 months of mongering.  
The only downside about not roaming with HK sim, is that I don't have access to facebook and other banned sites while in China. When roaming, all the banned sites worked.
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bonkers89
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Post at 19-2-2013 23:42  Profile P.M. 
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where did you buy it from? I will need to get something similar next time I go.
And when u said "20rmb/month", do you mean they deduct automatically 20rmb every month from your account for data? but your plan is still pay-as-you-go, right? how does that work?
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Petay_1283
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Post at 20-2-2013 10:27  Profile P.M. 
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Reply #12 vinny5443's post

My father is over for a few weeks now. We were out walking around Shekou over CNY. I found a couple of streets that sell very high quality knock off gear...

Clothes
Shoes
Phones

All kinds of things. My father loves buying things like this and selling them back in the UK ha ha ha

But what surprised me is we went into a store and there was every phone going - I picked up a Samsung Galaxy S3 - I swear I could not and still cannot tell the difference between this phone and the real thing, it is damn perfect! I only paid 900 for it. My dad loves, I have tried all of my sim cards in this phone and they all work!




'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.'
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greypath
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Post at 22-2-2013 18:50  Profile P.M. 
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I too have been seeking info on china sim cards this link spells it out quite well.

http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?ID=LSIM-CN01

Cheers Greypathhttp://forum.sex141.com/eforum/images/smilies/thumb.gif
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bonkers89
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Post at 23-2-2013 03:16  Profile P.M. 
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Reply #15 greypath's post

Good find Bro. Very convenient.

But to be honest, those rates are still considered pretty high.
I just haven't tried, but with just a little bit of effort in china - all you need to do is walk into a china unicom store - you can get yourself setup for much less and prob better service.
for the amount I call and receive, those rates will add up to hundreds of USD per month. There are cheaper options.
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vinny5443
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Post at 25-2-2013 11:38  Profile P.M. 
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Reply #13 bonkers89's post

Actually I'm not sure how it works. Haha. In pretty sure it does it automatically, so I don't know what happens when you make calls.  It's .10 per minute.  So maybe I won't get 4 months of data, only 3 since I used some call minutes  that is unless I get a charge card. I got it from a china Unicom store and asked for the least data per month.  I'm not sure if there is a pay as you go data plan available. I don't speak chinese so communication was a little difficult. One of the hg I visited in shenzhen helped me to get it and therefore I wasn't able to get all of the details asked due to translation issues. Anyway I've been up to china a couple of times this month and it has worked fine. If I only get one month of data it is worth me paying the china daily roaming fee for 2 day so it is worth it.
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bohica
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Post at 27-2-2013 04:36  Profile P.M. 
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Data Roaming

I went to on a trip to Asia last year and in retrospect, should have bought a nominal data plan.  If you needed to check something online on your phone then you could burn a lot of remaining minutes if you forget to turn off the "data roaming".




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bonkers89
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Post at 27-2-2013 04:58  Profile P.M. 
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Reply #18 bohica's post

yes, i hear even when you are not using the web, that somehow there is trickle data going thru. Maybe other apps are pulling data in the background too.
Someone I know from USA went to china for a few weeks and came back to the states to receive a bill for a few hundred US$ in roaming fees even tho she had never used the web while in china. She eventually discussed it with the phone company and luckily got the charges dismissed.
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forbiddenkid
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Post at 28-2-2013 00:35  Profile P.M. 
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What I use is pay as you go from China Mobile. Although the 3G is not compatible with the 3G iphones use I just use edge for my basic wechat and whatsapp. If you are here for a longer term like me I recharge my phone with 100 rmb every month. With my pay as I go I get 15mb of data which is more than enough and free receiving calls.
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