Shanghai Expat

Technology Issues - Chinese SIM Cards
BrianMennis - July 03, 2009 - 05:21 PM
Post subject: Chinese SIM Cards
Last time I visited China a couple of years ago I bought a China Mobile SIM card, no fuss no delay which worked well for voice and SMS in China.

However, I did have two problems:

1. I arrived in Kunming and bought the SIM card there. I ended up in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, and since the cash reserve on the card was getting a bit low, I thought that I would top it up. After much discussion at a China Mobile shop with a Chinese interpreter in tow, I was told that it could not be done, different province! Luckily, it held out until we went home.

I wonder if that is still the case.

2. I tried sending an SMS message back to Australia. I had abaolutely no joy in doing this. Is it possible to SMS overseas from a basic SIM card? And, perhaps more to the point, getting SMS into China.

I now have an Australian NextG phone, which is really 3G. I was not planning on trying 3G from any of the Chinese companies because of the different standards which were pointed out in an earlier post, but just getting a GSM SIM card, since my phone is tri-band. I also have an older Nokia that is GSM only so I could throw that into the bag as well "just in case".

Thanks,

Brian.
Cylon - July 03, 2009 - 05:33 PM
Post subject:
1) Yes the "national roaming" still exist, however for many cards you can now top it up in other provinces. Make sure when you purchase the card to use get one that could be charged elsewhere. I think the China Mobile "Gotone" is one of those.

2) This depends of the operator, the only way to confirm this is to try. And I think for some it works sometimes and other times not. So there is no definite answer to this.
yu888 - July 04, 2009 - 02:47 AM
Post subject:
Buy a China mobile card and make sure you get it at China Mobile so you can confirm it can be topped up in another location. Also need to confirm the card allows overseas calling.
tanyeewei - July 04, 2009 - 03:11 AM
Post subject:
"I was told that it could not be done, different province!"
I was flabbergasted the first time too. For China Mobile, i managed to get this sorted by buying prepaid credit top-up cards at convenience stores. So far, i have not met any nasty surprises doing that.

I use the China Mobile prepaid package called 神州行 (shen zhou xing), it's fine for text messages overseas. Costs 1 RMB for each 140 character message (which got me by surprised- where I come from, each message is 160 characters. No wonder i depleted my credit so quickly: my 160 character messages were charged as two messages)

The 神州行 setup package can be purchased in Shanghai without identification papers, and already comes with domestic roaming enabled. However, this might not be the case in other provinces. In Tianjin and Suzhou, i had to provide a photocopy of my passport when i made the purchase. The card purchased in Tianjin will not work in any other province without some activation process for domestic roaming.

In short, it's a mess.
yu888 - July 04, 2009 - 06:41 AM
Post subject:
Quote:
I use the China Mobile prepaid package called 神州行 (shen zhou xing), it's fine for text messages overseas. Costs 1 RMB for each 140 character message (which got me by surprised- where I come from, each message is 160 characters. No wonder i depleted my credit so quickly: my 160 character messages were charged as two messages)


You gotta be kidding. where i am from SMS messages are alost 2rmb each so it was a relief to see the 1rmb rate, and come on 20characters? I justswitched over to CHinese characters when possible to get more efficiency. Very Happy
yu888 - July 04, 2009 - 06:43 AM
Post subject:
As fo rth emess, the reason is that all the regional mobile companies operate under the "China Mobile" umbrella in name, but their accounting systems are not all linked yet. Most the large cities, including Tianjin SHOULD be linked but ask your CHina Mobile retailer BEFORE you buy and preferabley via an actual CHina mobile outlet(one where you can pay your bills etc) not an authorised reseller (which usually only sells phone and sim cards)
BrianMennis - July 04, 2009 - 07:17 AM
Post subject:
Thank you for all this information. I will print it out and take it with me when I come to Shanghai in a couple of weeks. While I am tempted to buy my SIM card in Shanghai on arrival, I might leave it until I get to Changzhou a couple of days later to be sure. I will take the printout into China Mobile with the Chinese prepaid package and ask for that, or the GoTone one. However, I will get my friend to come with me to interpret to be sure I get it right.

I will be buying two cards, one for me and one for my wife, so that might make them a bit more interested in the deal!
yu888 - July 04, 2009 - 11:49 AM
Post subject:
^ no deals really, prices tend to be pretty darned fixed these days.
jeffinflorida - July 04, 2009 - 01:56 PM
Post subject:
I have these issues also. Sometimes trying to put money on a girlfriends phone when she is based in another Provence can turn into a nightmare. it can take an eternity and 3 people to figure it out to a 60 second transaction. No consistency at all. I found the best service I ever get is at an M Zone store on the university campus. They seem to have it down to a science there.

Even when I travel I make sure to top my card off before I leave just to make life easier.

For international service you have to request IDD either online or in a ChinaMobile store.

text message does work internationally but not at all cheap - like 1 rmb a text.

Definitely always buy a sim card an a real ChinaMobile store as they let you customize features and often choose a plan.

Once you do get a card make sure to register it so you can change features onine as well - it's in Chinese but you can change features etc by yourself online.
Adrienne - July 04, 2009 - 02:35 PM
Post subject:
Just another note. You can't send international text messages on China Unicom SIMM cards but you can recieve them.

China Mobile is the best for international text and domestic travel top ups.

Adrienne
BrianMennis - July 05, 2009 - 12:30 PM
Post subject:
One last question:

Could you tell me where to find a REAL China Mobile store in Shanghai? There would probably be one along Nanjing Road.

I have been trying to pinpoint such a store in Changzhou, but cannot remember. (After all, it is 5 years since we lived there.) There is one in the city centre, but whether this is a proper store or only an agent I am not sure.

So, maybe, if I could go to a real CM store in Shanghai, and perhaps hopefully find an English speaking sales person, I might be able to sort it out there.

Thanks again for all the assistance.

Brian.
jeffinflorida - July 05, 2009 - 12:44 PM
Post subject:
There are all over, but one I use is on West Nanjing Road on the corner near the Line 2 station.
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