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Getting a mobile phone in China


jobm

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Hey guys, I would just like to ask about the mechanics of getting a mobile phone in china.

 

In our country, there are postpaid plans which you can avail and you pay for your subscription every month. In China, is getting a cell phone that necessary? If yes, can I just use my phone here in my country and bring it to China? But I think I have to have it open-lined to use it in China. If I need to buy a new phone in China, I am thinking on availing a postpaid plan in China. Do you know where could I get information on it? I tried to check the website of China Mobile but it is just about the company. To those who are in China, what kind of cell phone service do you use and why?

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In China there are plans like this too, plus pre-paid plans. Your phone should work in China unless it is pretty old and from a country using a different system a few years back (dont actually know how this is called).

To get a plan, you only have to options, China Mobile and China Unicom. Go to one of their offices when in Beijing to sign up. The structures are quite complex (with data/sms/free minutes local/free minutes national etc.) and available in Chinese only usually, so if you dont speak Mandarin yet, you might want to bring someone who does.

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shuoshuo:

 

You're probably checking China Mobile's English version.  The Chinese version of the site is very elaborate.

 

I'm on China Mobile.  It has several packages even if you're buying just the SIM card.  If you want to get on a package which includes a phone and a SIM card + monthly plans you should go to a China Mobile office.  The 4G plans are popular now.

 

I don't know much about the locked phones because I usually buy a phone and the SIM card separately.  So I've never experienced network incompatibility.

 

http://www.sh.10086.cn/ - the website of China Mobile. It was so hard for me to find this. Wooh!

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Oh, in our country, most of the time if you buy your phone overseas, you need to have it open-line so that you could use it here. That's why I have little idea whether you can use a phone from our country in China/overseas.

 

Is it hard for foreigners (or foreign students) to have postpaid plans in China? Or, I hope China Mobile has a branch in Dalian where I will be going.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Worth noting if you bring an android phone with you some of the features will not work because of China's relationship with google.

I brought a samsung galaxy with me and I'm thinking of downgrading to an iphone so that everything works smoother.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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