dtsm

Anyone?

moondog

I didn't reply to your question the first time around because I was hoping someone else would chime in.

My own knowledge of data Sims is limited because I only buy them twice per year (always unicom 20g...sometimes on taobao, sometimes on the street, but never at airports).

Mobile sells 1g Sims for around 50 face value. However they might not work on your iPad (at decent speeds), and they are kind of hard to find.

Feel free to pm me, and we can discuss because I'm usually in Sh, and go to electronics markets often.

Red259

I'm in Hong Kong now and was going to head to store to pick up an xiaomi. Any recommendations of model I should get and best SIM card for it? I'm traveling China for about two weeks. Will be here for four days before headed to mainland. From a prior post it was mentioned that there was an option for a hk sim with roaming in mainland which would help get around firewall and it was reasonably priced. That still the way to go with a xiaomi?

moondog

I'd be a little cautious about buying a xiaomi in HK. If you can find one at a reputable store and the price isn't significantly more than the China price, go for it. Otherwise maybe hold off until you' get to Shanghai.

Red259

Xiaomi has a store in hk. Also the hotel is telling me I can buy them at csl store. Are these not safe options? does it matter what kind of SIM card I get. Meaning if I get one for iPhone 5 for meantime will I be able to swap it out to xiaomi? Also what is Chinese price I didn't know if I should get the m4 or m4i. I can have hotel call store and ask price.

moondog

I didn't know the Xiaomi store had opened yet; since it has, go there.

As for SIMs, if you want a HK sim that provides decent data speeds on the Mainland, Unicom is your safest bet, but there are many different varieties and plans, so you'll need to pick something that works for you.

Alternatively, just buy a cheap HK sim (e.g. Peoples) and get another sim when you arrive on the Mainland.

Red259

Just an update I picked up the m4i with an ear piece for about $218. The phone was carried by csl over in the Telford mall. They appear to be the authorized dealer of it since everyone working there was wearing mi shirts. It's a nice little phone. I picked up the only SIM card they had which was a 5 day hk tourist one giving me unlimited data and local calls and crediting my account $30 for long distance for $11.35 seemed like a good deal. I'll just pick up a China unicom when I get to Shanghai.

jamar

Yeah, when I added the entry on the prepaid SIM card wiki mentioning using HK SIMs on the mainland I guess I should have mentioned that they are a bit of a toughie to get- either you order from Unicom HK's website ahead of time and pay the HK$40 international shipping fee, you buy from one of the SIM shops at the flea market at Sham Shui Po MTR station, or you have to find one of the very few Unicom shops in HK. I did it because I was tired of my VPN going up and down on my mainland Unicom SIM and wanted something that just worked. Oh, and the ability to top up using my credit cards from home.

jackal

That wiki mentioned that they're available at many 7-11s, and I had no issues finding one at the 7-11 in the Macau ferry terminal mall. I didn't check any other 7-11s, though, so perhaps I just got extremely lucky.

moondog

Hi, all. I'm too lazy to make a phone call (long week) so I'm posting here.

If you have a unicom (Shanghai) sim, and are on the $100/month plan, how much does roaming data/voice cost in the US?

jamar

Roaming voice is 0.96元/min for local calls, calls back to China, and local incoming calls. Roaming data is 5元/5MB.

moondog

Many thanks!

kxl19

Does anybody know if the shops at HKIA have the Unicom dual-number (HK / PRC) voice+data SIM? Are they on the departures side? or inside the airport?

We have a 4 hour layover in HKIA on the way to Chengdu, and thought I'd buy a dual-number SIM, since we'll again have a day in HK on the way back to the US.

If anybody else needs a dual-number SIM, I can pick up extras.

moondog

That SIM is a little hard to come by (IME 1 in 5 convenience stores have it at any given point in time). With 4 hours, I'd give you okay odds on finding one at HKIA.

That having been said, I wouldn't exert too much energy because getting a SIM in Chengdu and a SIM with first 24 hours unlimited data in HK will probably wind up being a cheaper option for you. You could also roam on your Chengdu SIM during your final day in HK.

jamar

Unfortunately, the only dual-number SIMs reliably available to purchase in HKIA are China Mobile, landside on the departures level near the south security checkpoint. If your phone supports TD-LTE, great. Otherwise, you get rather slow data.

I'm also bringing back a few CMHK/Unicom HK SIMs with me when I return to Shanghai from HK tomorrow. I know people who will want them in a few months.

(One example: A group of students visiting Shanghai on a short-term exchange, most days planned out with only a few hours free here and there. They'd heard stories from groups coming previously about the rather long lines at China Mobile/Unicom to get SIMs registered. They wanted SIMs with data, but didn't want to waste one of their few free afternoons on getting a SIM. Solution: order CMHK SIMs off Taobao.)