PAYG sim card for internet access on mobile phone in China

[skylee]

I have been searching and found this -> http://mall.10010.com/goodsdetail/111203233314.html (I know there is a 2GB/ 90 days version which can be found in the online shop of Unicom's HK website)

It seems to fit my needs (I am going to need mobile internet on the Mainland for 4 days only). Could anyone advise me if I can use this card on my android phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 2)?

And are there better alternatives?

[edelweis]

Hi Skylee, I did not read the SIM card description in detail, but the 使用说明 seems to say this is for the China Unicom WCDMA 3G network.

The wikipedia page for your phone explains which models support which 3G or 4G network.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Note_II#Table_of_variants

If the SIM card is for WCDMA, but you phone does not support WCDMA, you can't connect to the 3G network. I think you might still be able to connect to the internet, but it would be through a 2G or 2.5G protocol (much slower).

In addition you might want to check whether the carrier has good 3G coverage in the place you will visit, but I don't know whether there are websites about this for Chinese carriers.

Edit: additionally you need to check whether your phone uses a normal size SIM card or a micro SIM. The wikipedia page doesn't say...

[skylee]

Thanks for your reply. According to the specification, my phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE N7105) supports "LTE (800/900/1800/2600MHz) + UMTS (850/900/2100MHz) + GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz)". I suppose it works under most systems (but who knows about China). I have also asked at the Unicom shop in HK and the people there said that sim card should work in my phone.

BTW, isn't UMTS compatible with/ the same as WCDMA? And according to that wiki page, the connectivity of N7105 covers everything that the Unicom version (N7102) covers.

Card size should not be a big problem. I suppose shops selling mobile phones and sim cards will help cut the regular sim into micro-sim (the shop in Barcelona cut it for me). But again who knows about China. Anyway I have already bought the 2G/90-day sim card and asked my brother to cut it for me. Hope it works. Fingers crossed.

[gato]

UMTS is just another name for WCDMA.

The Unicom page has references to USB, which confused me. Probably just a copy & paste mistake.

This card is designed for the iPad (i.e. data only). I think the iPad uses a micro-SIM, too, so you probably won't need to cut it.

[skylee]

The strange thing is that the sim card I get is of regular size. My brother has cut it with a clipper.

Another strange thing is the monthly fee and package mentioned in unicom's webpage and the sim card package. I have no idea how the 2GB/90 day and the monthly package work together. Extremely confusing.

[gato]

Yeah, I don't know what the 套餐费用 refers to, either. Mainland wireless plans all have these very convoluted terms, a lot like insurance policies. It's as if they are trying to trick you.

[roddy]

Skylee, can I just check - are you aware this is a package designed for tablets and computers, and you won't be able to make voice calls? Like Gato says, it's data only. It's just that you're putting it in your phone, so I thought I'd ask

[skylee]

Thanks for asking. I am aware of it. As long as it allows me to access internet on my phone I am ok. I don't need to make voice calls. I communicate with my friends/family via Whatsapp / Line / Gtalk / Viber / Tango and other similar apps. BTW, do they work on the mainland?

If I need to make phone calls I can use my HK sim card which can roam (I know it is rather expensive but i don't foresee the need to make phone calls).

[skylee]

I just want to report that the data sim card works on my phone, although there were disconnections from time to time and I don't know why. The speed is not as high as I would like it to be, but it is ok.