Simm Card

[Thaime]

I need a little help.  I tried the search function and could not find info on buying a simm card in Pattaya.  I will be arriving next week for 10 days and I need to purchase a simm for my phone.  I checked with t-mobile and they said my phone will work in Thailand. Where in Pattaya can I purchase a simm and what are the prices?  Thanks in advance

[BAM]

You can get SIM cards everywhere in Thailand.. I use the 1-2-Call service from TH GSM.

What you have to worry about more is that your t-mobile phone is not SIM locked to the t-mobile SIM card... if this is the case your phone will only work with the t-mobile SIM card.  If this is the case you can get your phone "hacked" by many of the phone shops in Thailand however this can't be done to every phone and you also run the risk of your phone not working once you return back to the USA.

[Thaime]

Thanks for the quick response.  I will check with t-mobile before I leave to make sure my simm is not blocked.

[Guest]

phone should work even when you go back to the states just put original sim card back in.

[PigDogg]

An alternative is to get a phone just for Thailand.

I bought the chepeast new Nokia with a charger. They threw in a 1-2-Call Sim card all for 1800 baht. This was at TukCom on Pattaya Tai but I was in Big C today and the prices were similar.

Good thing about a cheap phone is u don't have to worry about losing it in a drunken stopor or it getting stolen.

[rxpharm]

You can also buy a used mobile phone for a few hundred baht as well. The used mobile phone shops will be located around the same area as the new shops.

[69billy]

You can get a LOS sim card at airport well...

[Guest]

Way simpler than that. You can buy a SIM card at any 7-Eleven.

[rxpharm]

ziggy, billy69 was trying to tell the OP that another option is to buy the sim card on arrival at the airport. This would be good advice if his phone is not locked by T-mobile and is a tri or quad band phone. He would be able to call right away from the airport instead of waiting to pick it up on his arrival to Pattaya.

By the way Thaime, don't forget to charge your phone before you leave, and check the charger is 220 V compatible. If not you can pick up an adapter in Thailand that will step down the voltage to 110, or another generic charger that will fit your phone will work too.

[divertwo]

great advice as I have an unlocked GSM I want a sim card for. Was going to buy one on Ebay but ran out of time for shipping so I'll get one at the airport. Probably cheaper too. (Ebay was $22/770baht and shipping from Thailand)

[rafepix]

Got a used Nokia at MBK center, on Socrates advice, in Bangkok yesterday with a SIM card and 500Baht credit for 1700 Baht ($60 Cdn / $50 US) total. I have made lots of calls here, home to Canada and Japan and it works great. Go to I think the 5th floor of MBK and you will see pretty near 200 different stalls all selling new and used phones, phone numbers, sim cards and talk credits. Its almost too much to choose from. I got tired of shopping around and just went with one guy who seemed knowledgeable and spoke pretty good english. The thing could go tits up tommorrow but who gives a shit; I've already got my monies worth and I'm sure if I'd made these calls from the hotel it would have been at least this and I still have 450 Baht credit left. MBK Centre is a shoppers dream; designer clothes, who knows if they're authentic, are a fraction of what they are in the west. Note I found electronics other than phones (E.g. cameras) to be about the same price as back home and probably there is no warranty. When I come back I'm going to bring my family and deposit them there for a week while I go fuck ladyboys. To get there from Nana take the skytrain to National Stadium station (you need to transfer at Siam station, look at the map on the train, you'll figure it out); it costs about 40Baht each way. Since being there I've noticed phone stalls here and there in the various back allies around Nana; they are probably everywhere in Bangkok.

[Snick]

MBK is the best place for mobiles - the biggest area is on the 4th floor ( 5th sells furniture ). If you have a 'locked' phone, then MBK is the place to get it unlocked.

Panthip Plaza is the best place for computer gear.

Camera and such are close to the price in USA, +/- 10% , warranties are an issue - make sure you ask if it comes with an international warranty. Also the 7% VAT Tax is refundable for tourists, but you have to ask the seller to fill out the paperwork for you.

[jhcal26]

Will any unlocked phone work that uses a sim card? I used to have T-Mobile/Cingular and got it hacked so I could use other providers. I'm assuming I can use a Thai sim card on these? Right now I'm using Sprint and it does not have a sim card so no good in Thailand.

[kahuna]

Any unlocked tri-band or quad-band GSM phone will work with a Thai sim card...and if it is locked you can get it unlocked for a few hundred bht in Thai....

[bickers]

What is Pantip Plaza like for fake software these days? Do they still have to disappear out the back to burn the or do they have them on display?
I am after Microsoft Project when I am there next week.