Leaving China - Weixin & Mobile phones

[Pengyou]

I have 2 mobile phone numbers and 2 weixin accounts.  One weixin account is for students that I had before I moved to Chengdu and the other one is for my Chengdu life.  I am leaving China now after 21 years of life hear.  Actually, I have already left China.  I have a concern that I did not think about before i left.  Can I continue to keep the phone numbers?  I am paid up to the end of July.  Also, can I keep the 2 weixin accounts - with or without Chinese phone numbers?  I have asked locally and gotten a variety of answers.

 

 

[889]

To make life easier, you should keep your Chinese bank account and keep it funded so you can pay mobile charges. But friends in China can also top-up for you.

 

Note that when your passport expires you'll have to re-register under the real-name system. Maybe this can be done online now, I don't know. If not, that could pose a problem down the road.

 

As for Weixin, there may be a point -- like putting it on a new device -- where your Chinese phone number becomes important.

[Pengyou]

Thank you!  What is the real-name system?  Is that for banking or for phones?

[889]

At some point in the past few years you should have taken your phones and your passport to a customer service centre of your mobile operator. They would then have registered your mobile numbers in your real, passport name. When that passport expires, you have to repeat the registration.

[Pengyou]

When the passport expires?  or visa?  I used my passport to get my mobile phone service and number.

 

[889]

The passport. At least that's what the man at the counter made clear to me when I registered.

 

And to make life difficult, you have to re-register in Chengdu if that's where you first registered.

[Pengyou]

OK.  I got my 2 new phone numbers in October of last year - registered in Chengdu with my passport.  I am in the US now.  What is the next step?  Am I screwed because I am not in China to do this (whatever) personally?

 

[889]

You don't have to do anything until the passport you used expires.

 

As said, maybe there is now or will be an online registration system, like Hong Kong uses. Or maybe it's not strictly enforced until they give you a year or so of "final warnings." Other folks here who've left China may have some practical experience.

[abcdefg]

Quote

I am leaving China now after 21 years of life hear.  Actually, I have already left China.

 

I hope your culture shock is not too bad. It has been rough for me. And I miss China every day. Miss my friends, etc. 

 

I left China at the beginning of February, 2020, soon after Covid broke out. I left money in the bank account that is linked to my phone, it's the one I use to pay my phone bill, to top off my SIM card. My China Mobile number still works as of now and my WeChat still works. At some point I expect they will both stop, and most likely not be fixable long distance. But for now they are fine. 

[anonymoose]

I left China in 2015. I had a WeChat account opened with a Shanghai mobile phone number. I did not keep the phone number.

 

At one point, I received a message from WeChat saying my account was no longer linked to the number because it is being used by someone else. My WeChat account still works but is no longer linked to the phone number.

 

The funny think is, I keep getting confirmation messages via WeChat for train and plane tickets that the new owner of the phone number makes via c-trip.

 

I do not have an active Chinese phone number. As others have said, this may be a problem if you need to register for things that require a text confirmation. Prior to Covid, I got around this by using a temporary phone number each time I visited China. So far this has worked out for me with only minor inconvenience.

 

For the others who have kept their phone number, what tariff are you using? I'm just wondering whether it's worth getting a permanent number next time I am in China (whenever that will be...). But I do not really have much use for a permanent Chinese number apart from registering for things as mentioned.

[889]

You keep your mobile number so you can keep your bank account working. It's become very difficult to open a bank account without a valid work permit.

 

China Mobile at least does not seem to increase rates after you buy the card. So if you bought a 五元卡 years ago it's still 五元 today.

 

[anonymoose]

On 7/23/2022 at 4:57 AM, 889 said:

You keep your mobile number so you can keep your bank account working.

 

I can certainly imagine that one day, a text confirmation will be needed for something related to the bank account, so I can't make any definite guarantees. However, I have a fully-functioning Chinese bank account which I use frequently, yet have not had a Chinese phone number for years.