how to set up cell phone service? (summer 2015 near Minzu University)

[Wahed]

Here in the USA, I only have a flip phone. I have a couple of questions:

 

1. Is a smartphone a necessity in China?

^ I don't have a smart phone nor have I ever owned one. I am not on Facebook or any other type of social media. I find them to be a huge waste of time. BUT since my goal for this summer is to learn as much as Chinese as possible, if these apps really do allow regular people like me to meet new people then it is something worth considering. If this is definitely something that I should take advantage of then:

 

2. Should I buy a phone here OR buy a cheap phone in China?

^ All the smart phones that I have seen here are extremely expensive (at least over $200 plus they require a plan with them, no prepaid). Are they 'cheap' in China? If so, how 'cheap' are we talking? If I should buy in China then:

 

3. What's the process for taking care of this?

 

I hope I haven't missed anything, but if I have then please let me know. Thank you!

[Shelley]

I would go for a smart phone, then you can have pleco and wechat and you can keep up with things here on Chinese forums

 

I have a Huawei bought in the UK about £70.00, runs android and is a good size big enough to be useful not so big it won't fit in your pocket, good battery life.

 

You would have to do some investigating about tariffs in china but here I am on Pay as you go, don't use it for data (always use wifi) and its about £10.00 a month for texts and phone, but it all depends on how you use it.

 

Once you have a smart phone you will discover all the things it can do as well as being a phone.

 

If you are going to be in china for a reasonable amount of time 2-3 years it might be worth buying the phone in china.

 

 

I don't know anything about getting a phone plan in china, someone else here will probably be able to help.

[Flickserve]

1. Yes. It is quite possible to meet new people using social media. Whether you find the sort of people you want to meet, who can say?

 

2. Definitely buy the phone in China - when you travel cross country, some phones are locked to their country and you cannot use the another country's SIM card without a lot of hassle. I would suspect this is the case if in your country, all phones are sold on prepaid.

 

3. Buying a phone? Just walk into the shop, buy a phone and select a plan. Isn't that how most countries do it?

 

 

Shelley makes a good point about using Pleco. It is a seriously good, practical and convenient app to have.

 

Some apps are more useful than others. I tried one called Social Language. It's another method of connecting people thinking that they can learn Chinese/English through social media and delayed voice messages. It's now uninstalled as it offers nothing new (IMHO). There are quite a lot of students on that site but as I do not fit into those demographics, the utility is low for me.

 

I do have Wechat but only two people are connected to me! Both of them I swop languages with. One seems to have dropped of the radar. The other seems pretty committed to learning which matches my objectives. Note, I connected to these two by other means before connecting on Wechat.

[Wahed]

I also am only looking for a prepaid plan. I will only be in China for two months and I rarely use my prepaid phone here. For now, I don't see myself using it that much there either.

[Silent]

 

2. Should I buy a phone here OR buy a cheap phone in China?

It's up to you. Smartphones aren't that expensive sometimes about 30 euro's or less. Personally I dislike them for their poor batterylife. If you use them as an ordinary phone they may manage up to a couple of days which is ok. But if you want to take full advantage of all it's functionality and consequently use it intensively while traveling battery life is often less then a day which is a pain.

 

Apart from meeting people, a smartphone is a good means to stay in touch with people you meet in real life. So if you want to meet people and stay in touch to practice Chinese a smartphone has added value.

 

Where to buy depends on where you are and when you're leaving, but online is price wise not a bad place. Consider however that oftentimes you get what you pay for. A strong processor is worth paying for as it makes the use much more smooth and convenient.

[Wahed]

@Silent - You are referring to them not being expensive in China, correct? Because they are very expensive here in the USA where I am.

 

Another option that I just read on a site is I could just forego the hassle of getting a cellphone and simply use my Ipad. I already have Pleco on it and Wechat is also available for Ipad. For phone calls and texts, I can simply use Skype. Of course, I need to research what the best VPN is but I think that is all I would need to do regarding this.

 

Would this work perfectly or am I missing something? 

[Shelley]

If you had mentioned you had an iPad I would not have suggested a smart phone and you also didn't mention you would only be in China for 2 months so its hardly worth it.

 

As long as your iPad works in China and you buy a Chinese sim card for your phone, as long as it isn't locked to a network where you come from that should do, if it won't work,  buy a cheap phone in china that will make calls but doesn't need to be a smart phone as you can use your iPad.

 

Enjoy your time in China.

[abcdefg]

3. Buying a phone? Just walk into the shop, buy a phone and select a plan. Isn't that how most countries do it?

 

Take your passport.

[edelweis]

Is it for the SIM card or for the phone that you need a passport?

I recall buying a 神州行 PAYG SIM card at a convenience store without any formality [edit: I mean without a passport].

But then 神州行 is only for national calls if I recall properly.

[Wahed]

I just got off the phone with T-Mobile customer support. They sent me the code to unlock my 5 yr old flip phone, super easy. So, after I buy the SIM card in Beijing, how do I set up the pre-paid account like I have with T-Mobile now? Btw, I will only use the phone for calls in-country, of course.

 

I'm hoping it is pretty cheap. Currently, I pay $100 for 1000 minutes that do not expire for one full year. That is plenty of time for me. And I disable texts as well since that is what really eats up your minutes. But in China, I understand that everyone probably only texts so I may leave text activated while I'm there.

[ChTTay]

If you don't want any kind of 'deal' and just want a simple 'pay as you go' sim card ... then just walk into a shop or go to a news stand and buy one. They can be as cheap as 10 kuai. There are two main providers - China Unicom and China Telecom. It doesn't matter which you pick for this. Once you've got the sim card, buy a 'top up card' or 'voucher' for whatever amount you want. After that, follow the instructions on the card.

 

It's easy. Don't worry.

 

If you have an iPad you can download most decent apps on that. Use the flip phone for calls.

[abcdefg]

Is it for the SIM card or for the phone that you need a passport?

 

For the SIM card. That's if you buy it at an authorized branch store for one of the major carriers, such as China Mobile or China Telecom. I don't know how it works if just buying from a sidewalk news stand.

 

Text messages are really cheap (think Jiao 角/Mao 毛 instead of Yuan ￥.)

[889]

For international calls/texts you'll have to register your phone with your carrier, show your passport and make a non-refundable pre-payment in the range of 500RMB.

[Flickserve]

 

I just got off the phone with T-Mobile customer support. They sent me the code to unlock my 5 yr old flip phone, super easy. So, after I buy the SIM card in Beijing, how do I set up the pre-paid account like I have with T-Mobile now? Btw, I will only use the phone for calls in-country, of course.

Don't "assume" everything will be fine. I have had a friend try to to unlock his phone (and use a new SIM) after moving to a different country and eventually got defeated. He eventually bought a new phone. If yours works, fair enough.

[Silent]

 

@Silent - You are referring to them not being expensive in China, correct? Because they are very expensive here in the USA where I am.

No, I'm referring to online. E.g. Aliexpress but as said don't just look for cheap as if you really use it a powerfull processor and a lasting battery are important too for smooth operation and it being available when you want it. Hard to decide when you buy a type of device you never used before or are put in a new situation, but the way you (want to) use it is a big part of the equation.

 

I think setting up apps on a tablet may be a decent alternative, but oftentimes people use apps like wechat and whatsapp instead of texting which has often a bit different expectations attached then checking once a day or so.

[laogui]

abcdefg: in 2015 and 2016, I found they refused my passport and insisted on shen fen zheng.  There are new security regulations for voice requiring validated name.  That may only restrict voice phone, not data.  I had to ask a Chinese national friend to sign the contract for me.  I have a Lenovo tablet that I used to double for data and phone.  This question is a concern for me too for next month, so I am buying HK-China sim cards to try on arrival.  A dual sim tablet does two jobs.

[abcdefg]

I don't know what you mean. You validate your name by showing your passport. Keep this stuff as simple as possible. Buy a phone at the phone company outlet store, by which I mean China Mobile 中国移动 or China Telecom 中国电信。Decide on a carrier and go there with money in hand and passport in pocket. They will walk you through the process. For the moment forget about dual-use tablets, computers, and imported multi-national SIM cards. You are defeating yourself by introducing too many variables.

[889]

It's possible rules are applied differently in different places, but I registered my SIM card last year without a problem using just a passport; they even took my photo. This was a prepaid SIM; no contract to sign.

 

As to HK-China SIMs, if you're talking about the one-card two-number SIMs, they will work off the bat in China, but you will have to register them sometime this year or the Chinese number will stop working. And you may have to do the registration in Hong Kong: that's not clear yet.

 

(One-card two-number SIMs are different, of course, than dual-SIM phones, which simply let you use two different SIM cards at once. They're a single SIM card which gives you both a HK and a Mainland number. Don't ask me technically how they work.)