# Phone in Asia



## vnfilm (Nov 6, 2012)

Hello,

I need your expert opinion again,

We will travel to Thailand and Cambodia. I need to get a phone on hand over there. We are thinking to get a phone at the airport after landing . I am unsure can we do that and would it be more expensive to buy a phone at the airport or we should get one in the Bangkok mall later .

 I don't need to buy an expensive phone, just a good phone which I can put in a sim card to use in Bangkok and in Cambodia later. Which phone do you recommend and how much you think it cost . 

Someone at work tell us to buy a At &T Iphone3 or Iphone 4 on Craiglist, and have it unlock to use over there. I look for information, but unable to find a trusting source to do. And unsure how and if that can be done .We don't want to end up spend a lot of money and end up  buying a phone in Thailand later because it does not work .

Thank you


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## Passepartout (Nov 6, 2012)

Unlocked phones are easy to get, inexpensive and plentiful on eBay. You are not tied to any carrier and when you get to Asia, you can get a sim card at any phone kiosk, put it in your phone and it will work. I think you can get cards that are pre-loaded with minutes and can be reloaded by credit card. I would not recommend getting it at the Bangkok airport, only because everything is expensive at airports.

Have a great trip. Bangkok and Thailand are wonderful places.

Jim


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## Dori (Nov 7, 2012)

The first time we went to South Korea, our son (who was teaching ESL there) had an extra phone, so we used that. On our second visit, we rented a phone from the airport. I think it was about $50 for two weeks. We are headed back in April for the birth of our grandbaby, and not sure what we will do this time. maybe we will look into getting an unlocked phone.

Dori


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## zinger1457 (Nov 10, 2012)

You should first check if you can get your existing phone unlocked from your current carrier.  I have t-mobile and they will unlock your phone as long as you have been under contract for at least 18 months.  They did it for me with my Blackberry and I just purchase a SIM card in Bangkok for 50 baht. You can pick one up (and buy minutes) at any 7-eleven, which are on just about every street corner in the city.


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## vnfilm (Nov 12, 2012)

Any more inputs from experts here???

We are using Sprint service for our cell phone .  I still try to look for a good cheap phone to buy before my Asia trip or may get a phone whan get there. Anyone has experience where to buy and what kind of phone is good to use in Asia, please give me your advices. Thanks


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## Passepartout (Nov 12, 2012)

vnfilm said:


> Any more inputs from experts here???
> 
> We are using Sprint service for our cell phone .  I still try to look for a good cheap phone to buy before my Asia trip or may get a phone whan get there. Anyone has experience where to buy and what kind of phone is good to use in Asia, please give me your advices. Thanks



Have you called Sprint (call 611) to see if your current phone will work there? Do you want it for local use (calling phone numbers where you are) or to call back to USA? Have you looked for an unlocked phone? Where? Your English tells me you might be Asian, what kind of phones do your family/friends in Asia use? Are they satisfied with them? If so, get what they use.

If it was me, if Sprint tells me my current Sprint phone won't work there, I'd wait until I was in Bangkok and go to a phone store and get a pay-as-you-go phone there. That way you will know it works and have someone who will answer your questions.

I seriously doubt anyone here will simply tell you which phone to buy and which service to sign up for. And if they did, and the thing doesn't work, who are you going to call to make it right?

Jim


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## cd5 (Nov 18, 2012)

vnfilm said:


> Hello,
> 
> I need your expert opinion again,
> 
> ...


I went to Thailand about 3 years ago and used my own (unlocked) phone from Canada with a sim card purchased in Bangkok. My phone was a Nokia but what is important is that it be Quad Band GSM unlocked phone. You can pick one up quite cheaply on ebay before you leave and once there, at any of the large malls like "Central" for example, you can purchase a pre-paid SIM card at a phone company kiosk or store for cheaper than at the airport.


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## vnfilm (Nov 25, 2012)

Hi,

Thank you for your inputs.  We are Sprint customer for 8 years. I just discover on Sprint website that they will unlock Iphone for their customer . We are looking into that option when our contract expired . It seems they only do that for new contract only.

Recently, I purchased an unlock Iphone 4 (Tmobile) on Craiglist . I will bring this iphone with us to see if it works in Asia (using Thailand / Vietnam/ Cambodia Sim cards) . I hope our new Iphone will work at those places . If not, I plan to purchase a basic phone to use temporary when we are there .

We don't have any friend or relative in those countries to ask for help and advise. We travel there as tourist . I will update about the phone service / Sim card in detail after my trip . If any of you have inputs regarding sim card purchase and how to use it, please share. 
Thank you


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## persia (Nov 25, 2012)

All iPhones are quad band GSM, so assuming the iPhone is unlocked it should work fine.  The 4 uses a normal sim card, the 4S uses a micro SIM card and the 5 uses a nano sim card.  Basically a normal sim card can be cut down to micro and nano sizes and there are all sorts of trimmers available, you can check Ebay.

Sprint uses CDMA, which is only used in North America, they do not use the SIM card slot, and from what I've heard they are willing to unlock it for trips outside the USA.  In other words your phones IMEI will be locked to Sprint, but the software lock on the SIM card slot will be removed.  That is enough to work on any pay as you go network anywhere except in the US and possibly Canada...


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