internet data pack while in China

[jadeqld1123]

my wife and i are travelling to china next month. we have used travelsim in the past for our mobile ph. and will use it again. can anybody suggest an internet data pack for us to us on our iphone. and or a mobile ph provider if their is one better than travelsim.

regards

jadeqld:shock:

 

[jetlagger]

Hi jadeqld,

I frequent China often, & use China Mobile for phone sim & data.

I know there are many others on offer, but I feel this has the best coverage, cost effective & ease of use in most parts.

Best regards,

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Getting a local sim card in China is not like Sing, Phils, Indo etc where you just roll up to any vendor and buy a sim.

You need passport identification and need to go through the whole identification process etc to get sim card.

If you intend to use 3G then only China Unicom is compatible with 3G in your Australian phone I think.

China Telecom recently started selling iPhones in China but I do not know if there 3G is compatible with iPhones from here - it wasn't previously nor was Chine Mobile - but do not really know as I have China Unicom sim.

 

[DeKa]

IPhoneTrip.com works in China. Also, because the APN is is the US, things like Facebook work.

 

[one9]

Getting a local sim card in China is not like Sing, Phils, Indo etc where you just roll up to any vendor and buy a sim.

You need passport identification and need to go through the whole identification process etc to get sim card.

This is not very correct. For China Mobile prepaid sims you can just goto any street vendor or small phone shop and buy one. No ID is necessary. However a lot less shops sell prepaid sim cards in China then other countries. Convenience stores etc don't sell them. There are small street vendor shops that sell them so you can ask someone like your hotel conceirge to point one out. There are also small areas in certain areas with many small mobile shops together. Most of the mobile shops there will sell them.

China Mobile is cheap and has good coverage but the Internet is 2G & not 3G.

If you want 3G, you need China Unicom, which has bad phone call coverage in many areas. If you goto a china Unicom store I think they will try and get you to fill in forms with ID etc.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

China Mobile is cheap and has good coverage but the Internet is 2G & not 3G.

If you want 3G, you need China Unicom, which has bad phone call coverage in many areas. If you goto a china Unicom store I think they will try and get you to fill in forms with ID etc.

Ah well when OP mentioned iPhone and data I assumed requirement was 3G - ie China Unicom only - ie ID only SIM card purchase in CU outlet - but I might have misinterpreted.

Now as for China Mobiles 2G network - always amusing watching Chinese users growing old waiting for the 2G service to download data.

Oh and I forgot to mention recharging SIM card. This can be the most confusing and frustrating part of all phone services in China.

I currently have CU 3G SIM which works perfectly in my Australian sourced iPhone. I purchased this SIM card in Tianjin which is a city of 8 mil pop 140 km SE of Beijing. It is a monthly plan just like here - I bought SIM in TJ cause they had no min bal reqt to retain inter roaming capability - ie provided at least a few RMB still in bal then SIM card will still work in other countries (don't ask long story)

BJ CU outlet wanted guarantee of min bal RMB1,000 in account to retain inter roaming capability - same company - diff city - 140km apart - identical plan - identical monthly cost - welcome to China.

Now the tricky part - I regularly get my #1 girl in Nanjing to top up SIM for me - she trots off to CU office and tops up with her Chinese CC and I reimburse her cash each visit - perfect except no FF pts for me - impossible to use foreign CC to top up phone.

I am staying in Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel in Chaoyang District with CU office right across street - I trot across street to office with RMB1,000 in cash in my hand to top up - after 10 mins arguing with staff there I leave with cash still in hand because they say is TJ number so they cannot accept payment to top up in BJ - WTF.

Had this many times with previous China Mobile SIM also - purchased SIM in BJ - many a time the top up cards purchased in CAN, PEK, HGH, NKG just we're not compatible - even bought China Mobile top up cards in BJ that were not compatible - funny thing was nobody could ever explain why this happens.

Sorry to OP for being long winded but China can trip you up so often - always expect the unexpected.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I bought a pre-paid Unicom 3G USB modem/SIM kit last year from a Unicom shop in Shanghai.

No ID required (I went with passport and everything just in case). Cost RMB1200 for one year (3G of data per month and 500MB of free data that they said could be used for worldwide roaming).

No top-ups required s paid for the 12 months in advance.