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***2G phone service is about to end in Thailand***


xyzzy

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I just got a text from AIS telling me to hurry and upgrade my phone to a 3G model as 2G is being phased out. pdoggg had posted recently about a offer from AIS to trade in your old phone for a new smart phone for a small amount of baht added to you AIS account that can be used as top up credit. Apparently this was more than just a promotion to get users to get phones that can do internet. It allows those of us with 2G phones to still have phone service. I have a rather nice 2G phone with a QWERTY keyboard and I sure hate to give up but I guess that is the way it goes.

 

I just called AIS and the lady I talked to could not even tell me the date when 2G would be discontinued. Apparently they will use some of the old 2G network to upgrade the 4G network and the contract for the 2G network has already lapsed even though it still works. At least that was the best answer I could get from her. I didn't have much luck with an internet search but maybe I picked bad search keywords.

 

She did say the promotion to get a new smart phone upgrade was still in effect if I go to an AIS office. So I guess it's off to Central Festival AIS tomorrow. However I also assume that those that have the very old style Nokia phones that only have a number keypad will soon find those phones no longer work. At least that would be my guess.

 

I heard about this some time ago but didn't pay much attention. So I have let it catch me by surprise. But apparently the bottom line is soon you will need a 3G phone to have phone service in Thailand.

 

 

The topic can be found here:

http://www.ladyboyreview.com/forum/index.php?/topic/6931-trade-in-your-junk-phone-for-a-free-smartphone/

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I went to the AIS store at Central Festival today and am perhaps more confused than before I went. Maybe Pdoggg understands better. FWIW I didn't get there until 12:30 so I though it might be busy but I only had to wait about a minute.

 

I did not reserve a new phone in advance on their phone swap plan so have no idea if that makes a difference in the time line about to be mentioned. I get there and they tell me I must first upgrade my SIM to a 3G SIM (free). So the guy takes my old SIM out of my phone and via a laptop transferred everything on my old SIM to the new SIM. My phone number remains the same (I've had the same number for years). Then he tells me it will take three to five days before the system will recognize my new SIM and it will function. He puts my old SIM back in my phone and hands me the new SIM and paperwork. In this computer age where he has just transferred all my data from one SIM to another I don't understand why the system doesn't immediately update and recognize my new SIM but it doesn't.

 

Since I have to wait three to five days for my SIM to activate I couldn't use their phone upgrade plan to get a new phone as only the 3G SIM will work in the new phone. And since I would have to trade in my old phone I would be without phone service for a few days. In reality I have a old crap phone I could have traded in toward a new one. But now that I have a 3G SIM I will probably just keep my old 2G phone as long as it works. Or maybe I will use the phone swap plan to get their cheapest phone/smart phone and make that my back up Thai phone in the future.

 

The 3G/4G phones you get from AIS on their swap plan will only work on the AIS network and only work in Thailand.

 

FWIW

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My SIM card is relatively new so I guess it was a 3G card that I had been using in a 2G phone.

 

For guys who also travel to the Cambodia and the Philippines, I reckon it's best to have one phone that works in all countries.  

 

Although it has worked in the past, with my Thai SIM, my 2G phone did not work in Hong Kong last month in one of the airport lounges. When home I will buy a real smartphone that will work everywhere. I almost bought a ASUS Zenphone2 before this trip but was trying to save money for the trip. My new SIM is suppose to be OK for international roaming as long as one has a phone that works in that country. On AIS it is free to receive international texts. So I use my SIM at home to get OTP codes (numeric passwords) from K-Bank for online banking. 

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Some time last night or this morning my old SIM card deactivated and my new SIM card activated. I woke and saw a message on my phone that my SIM card was invalid. I then put the new 3G SIM in my 2G phone and all was well. Although I got a number of texts telling me that I had missed some calls apparently because they called when my old SIM was dead and still in my phone.  

 

So for now the new 3G SIM works in my 2G phone. I haven't decided whether to trade in an old phone using the AIS top up option plan to pay for the phone or just keep using my 2G phone until it doesn't work anymore. If the delays in the SIM registration program are any indication my 2G phone might work for a long time.

 

For anyone that buys a new SIM every time they come to Thailand you probably are already getting a 3G SIM when you buy a new one. But if you have an old 2G phone it's probably just a matter of time before it will stop working.      

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xyzzy, do you have 1-2-call prepaid, or some postpaid plan?  Wondering if I can go in there next week with any crap 2G phone and get a 3G phone from them for very little?

 

 

 

I got one for free.  But you need to top up 100 baht to get the cheapest one or 1290 to get the best one.

 

It can be the crappiest old 2G phone with a crappy old battery but they do take possession of the old phone and battery.

 

The new phone will only work with an AIS Sim card.

 

http://www.ladyboyreview.com/forum/index.php?/topic/6931-trade-in-your-junk-phone-for-a-free-smartphone/

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It says the free phone trade up promotion ended January 31

 

Despite what it says the free phone promotion is still in effect. Or at least it was when I was at AIS on Monday.

 

xyzzy, do you have 1-2-call prepaid, or some postpaid plan?  Wondering if I can go in there next week with any crap 2G phone and get a 3G phone from them for very little?

 

Edit:  Here are some answers, I think:  http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/892668-heres-specs-on-the-ais1-2-call-2g-3g4g-free-smartphones/

 

I have a regular 12Call SIM. Or at least I did as I think everything says AIS now. The kind you top up when necessary. I don't know when 2G will actually go away because even AIS doesn't seem to know. I'm going to guess you will still be good next week but don't really know.

 

If you want to keep your current number then you will have to go through the process of upgrading your SIM like I did, then wait for the new SIM to activate and then get a 3G phone. If you don't want to keep your old number you can likely just go to an AIS store, buy a new SIM and do the phone trade in.

 

FWIW the AIS phone upgrade looks good as all you are spending is baht that you will use as top up on your phone anyway. But if you go on EBay or online electronics stores you will see Chinese 3G phones for like $25. So I am guessing these phones are nothing special. But if you plan to use the AIS plan you have to trade in an old phone so trade in your worst junker. I can still use my best 2G phone for playing music at the gym, etc.

 

Does all this mean that my 10 year old bog standard Nokia will no worker in LOS??? :(:sad0116:

 

Sooner or later. My backup phone is a Nokia 1110i. Not sure how old it is but it's getting on in years.

 

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The link EyeMahk posted in post #8 leads to a lot of good info:

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/892668-heres-specs-on-the-ais1-2-call-2g-3g4g-free-smartphones/

AIS lost their 2G spectrum when they were outbid for that frequency band at a government spectrum auction. DTAC also lost their 2G spectrum at the auction but apparently not until 2018. True did not lose their 2G spectrum. So if you want to continue to use your 2G phone and don't care about keeping your AIS number there are still 2G options.

 

I went to the AIS store today and tried to use the phone trade in plan to get their top of the line 4G phone. But they were out of stock and the girl told me to come back next week. I told her the trade in plan is suppose to end Feb 29. She said she thinks the deadline will be extended again.

 

FWIW the 4G phone is a Lava 4G Iris 550 (India). Most likely not a great phone compared to the big $$$ boys. And as a friend of my says if you drop it once it will probably be hosed. But it is quad band and can be unlocked. So I think it should work at home when unlocked. So I could possibly use it at home to get free texts via AIS needed for banking, etc. And it is essentially free as the payment is top up credit.

 

As of now AIS 2G is still working. It still might in the future with a roaming agreement with DTAC. But one would be paying roaming charges. Everyone reading this should now be as confused as me. Reading the link above might help. 

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