Hi everybody

can anyone advise on mobile phones in Australia, myself and OH both have triband phones but are unsure whether we can get new sims cards in OZ which will work in these phones. Any help much appreciated

You should have no problem whatsoever. You can actually order SIM cards before you go if you want to go pay as you go - from here http://experimentalist.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=25

And other places probably too. You will need to get your phone unlocked though.

how do you go about getting the phone unlocked

Been looking at pay as you go in oz and i cant work out if it is the same as the uk or is there an expiry on your credit? i.e. you top up with $20 which lasts for a month and if you dont use it you lose it?

if you see what i mean?!
Tiggs

Yes, I got the same question, how do you get my tri-band phone unlocked???

took mine to several places

vodafone charge £40 and have to send it off

most places said they would have to send it away mine is motorola!!


however my samsung quadband was done easily at a little kiosk opposite Kings Cross station in London for a tenner!!

Depends on the plan you choose. The tarriffing here is different to the UK and unless you are on a 365day plan your credit usually lasts only 60 days unless you are on a cap plan which is 30 days. It really depends on your usage. I find a $29 cap or $49 cap fine for most people unless you never use a mobile or use it alot.

Unlock it in a market or stall for 10 quid before you come.

Took mine to local market stall to get it unlocked. Cost £10 and they did it there and then, took about 30 seconds.

Before you go and pay good money - just check it first with another sim, often they dont need unlocking

Very true. One of mine did (Virgin), one didn't (O2)

I think the phones that Carphone Warehouse sell come unlocked. Don't shoot me if you buy one based on this though My daughter has had two from there and both haven't been locked.

O2 dont lock their phones. I think Orange do and I am not sure about vodaphone. any sim seems to work in my works mobile which is vodaphone.

i got mine unlocked at the market too for 10 pound. but i didnt really need to as i was on vodafone in uk and am vodafone over here too. its so much cheaper i get a $29 cap which lasts one month but for that you get $130 worth of credit and for $49 cap you get $230 worth of credit. the $29 cap lasts me a month and i am always texting back to england. i had 100 pound phone bills back in the uk!!!! definatly the best deal that we found, what is the point in ever having a contract over here??

You should get it unlocked even if you plan on staying with vodafone. My husband made the mistake of assuming that he could just waltz over and stick a vodafone sim in his UK vodafone phone. It didn't work and the vodafone store said it still needed to be unlocked. We had to pay $80 for th e honour.

With regard to the unlocking - many phones won't require unlocking and will work fine in Australia! I have an O2 Nokia and it works fine - as does my girlfriends Motorola and her mothers Smsung - it depends on who you boughtthe phone from.

SIM cards can be bought just about anywhere in Australia once you arrive - there is a mobile phone shop on just about every corner (like the UK). There are a million different options to choose from - everything from pay as you go right throught to corporate plans!

Pay as you go is usually pretty easy - and most will give you the SIM for free or for a very minimal charge (like £2) provided that you put some credit on it straight away. Yo will usually get better call rates from a plan though (ie free minutes etc).

One thing to also look for is the free network deals - my mum and dad and family all have phones with the same company - and they can call each other for an hour a day for free!! works out to be a good deal for them!

Something I don't have to worry about - I have a company provided mobile with unlimite free calls to whoever I want...