Buying Phone and Plan
 

A family member is relocating to Hong King for a 2 year position, small company, little relocation service help, so we are doing much of our own research. We are not tech savy, I hope someone will have some knowledge or ideas and be kind enough to help.

We are thinking of canceling current US plan and discarding ancient phone - not a smart phone, just basic phone. No current text plan. I don't think this phone could take current SIM cards, vintage 2007. Currently, he uses Skype to make calls when outside the US.

Is it possible to buy a new phone, basic as possible (don't think he would use all the data options) with contract plan immediately on arriving in Hong Kong - or does he need a Hong Kong address before he can get on a plan? If this purchase isn't possible, should he be looking for a temporary phone that would be good for a month or so until settled in?

Finally, any good places to phone shop at HKG? I think we will need sales advice and perhaps multiple options. If not at the airport, any recommendations for a store with good English speaking help?

Anything we've missed considering? Thanks, I appreciate the help, I feel quite stupid with all this.

Most of the major's retail staff, at least one is fluent enough in English.

HK phone service has a different pricing model, you pay for the phone, and you pay for your contract usage. One is not subsidizing the other.

You can get any version(size) of sim card for any phone that uses it, including phones from the last millennium. Many of the domestic helpers/maids are using these older phones to call home. The only issue from older non-HK phones is whether the frequency/band is supported or available in HK.

Most places will have phone shops near each other so it is not hard to price compare.

Fortress and Broadway is the Bestbuy of HK where one can buy the phone handset.

There are some plans which require HK residency ID and/or HK CC account.

1. Monthly plan without HKID (residency ID) card requires cash deposit. Last time I checked a few thousand HKD . Prepaid plans are cheap enough.

2. You buy a phone, full price. You get a contract, and they give you monthly "rebates", thus they advertise "zero dollar phone" "0 機價".

3. Basic phone starts at probably 300HKD.

4. Basic phone and sales advice, I wish you good luck. Sales people are impatient to begin with, except at the Apple Store, or brand showrooms - not that many around. Network provider boutiques might be OK too.

5. Perhaps check with local message boards, such as phonehk.com , discuss.com.hk . You can post questions in English. They often discuss basic phones for grandma and domestic helpers.

Just checking that you are aware that unless your family member has the right of abode in HK then he needs a visa to reside here? It seems rather incongruous to me that someone who, these days, doesn't use a smartphone would qualify for such a visa.

I recently consulted a friend on this topic.

He knew he wanted a nexus 6.

Choices were (ballpark numbers):
1. 5000 for the phone outright
2. 4000 for the phone with two year contract

I pressed him about option 2 (e.g. what are the consequences of breaking the contract?). He told me that doing so could put his hkid in bad standing, but he could get off the hook by reselling the contract).

I advised him to go with option 1 because his hkid is worth much more than 1000.

Thank you for all the help. One more naive question, do the retail stores where we would purchase the phone also offer contracts with different carriers for comparison? Or, do we buy the phone then hunt up a carrier?

Thanks christep for the warning - no problems with understanding requirements for work permit, residency, etc. Family member is a young adult who chooses to use current meager salary on items other than data plans for smart phone. Smart phone not necessary for work - does fine with basic phone, computer, Ipad and WIFI. Bank of Mom and Dad support the decision to be prudent in phone costs. This may not be possible in Hong Kong, will revise phone practice as required.

If one doesn't need data plan, then just go buy a cheap phone anywhere. Then go get a prepaid card that usually starts at HK$48. You can compare all the plans on the respective carrier's website for prepaid card - 3, Smartone, 1010/CSL, PCCW/HKT, China Mobile. And there are cheaper ones like New World. There are various cards - some cheaper for local calls, some cheaper for international - so, it depends on where you need to call.

AND if you're really frugal, then you can also go to some downscale malls to find shops that sell various cards at a discount (compared to if you go to 3 or CSL's own shops). OR they will also be helpful if you want to choose your number.

Really, for just calling and no data, no reason to get a contract. But having said that, having data is invaluable in Hong Kong. After I moved back from the US (with no data plan and no smart phone), first thing I did was to get an iPhone with data plan. One spends so much time on buses/trains away from computer a day, it's very helpful to look at bus schedules (and real time arrival time), maps, train arrival times, restaurant info, etc..., not to mention connecting with friends while commuting.

It's a decision he will seriously regret.

Data is cheap in HK , even for prepaid plan.

https://www.hk.chinamobile.com/en/pr...ices-4g3g.html

>> do the retail stores where we would purchase the phone also offer contracts with different carriers for comparison?

Mobile phone and electronic stores do not re-sell mobile phone service, other than prepaid SIM cards, maybe.

Network provider shops sell their own service (sometimes multiple brands from the same provider) and limited selection of phones.

Thank you all so much. I think maybe I'm beginning to get a better picture of the Hong Kong situation. Data does look to be much cheaper than in US. Having that data option in the phone is something he would find he'd like, I suspect. I'm sure it will become clear once on the ground for a while. You've all suggested many options - thank you (and thank you for not ridiculing my lack of tech knowledge - I probably sound like a total idiot.)

OK, but when a plan including 1700 minutes of airtime and unlimited data (albeit limited to 384kb/s for the first 2GB per month and 128kb/s thereafter) costs only HK$96/month s/he must be on a very very meagre salary indeed!

Inter-network SMS on the other hand is not free. So people here, youngsters particularly, just assume that everyone has mobile data and use Whatsapp/Telegram/Viber/WeChat as their main means of communication.

This is all so helpful. Thanks christep. Hong Kong plans are significantly cheaper than US and he just learned from his boss-to-be that he will want to use Whatsapp. That clarifies a lot of things for us. Your perspective is quite useful. We knew things could be different, just couldn't predict how. I can see that it makes sense to go immediately for a smart phone without a transition period of basic phone such as I was thinking of. Sounds like that basic phone won't do a lot of good. I appreciate the advice.

I think FlyerfromORD got most of the recommendation needed, let me just add a few words here

1. In HK, Smartphone is a necessity, Whatsapp is the required communication means

2. Data are cheap, but I believe in "If you pay banana, you get monkeys", so my general recommendation is go for better quality operator especially if one is at work. Note though the China Mobile mentioned above outsourced their 3G network, and Sunmobile is a subsidiary of HKT that has a lower priority for network performance.

For working crowd I would incline to recommend CSL / Three for prepaid card, Smartone has some outrageous data fee rate so I won't recommend

3. For new comer to town, Boardway Electronics / Fortress are everywhere and they should be happy to help trying out the phone before you buying, just don't expect they teach you every function though. If you are buying iPhone just go to Apple Shop. You can check the approximate price of handset by using http://www.price.com.hk (Chinese Only, but you can just enter the model number anyway, expect +10% if purchased at large chain stores)

FlyerfromORD, not to clarify any of the above, you might (if not already) take a look at a link about things HongKong. I receive a weekly newsletter from the link with helpful hints about how an expat might pursue life in Hong Kong. It's AngloInfo. I find the suggestions from post #13 above include both CSL and Three. You can click on the links but will get a Chinese view. There is a translation link at top right for ENG.

Plus, there's all sorts of expat info at other links. Should other posters on this forum find AngloInfo to be less than suitable then please, heed their advice.

Another big help. thanks ChrisLi. This was actually my next question after I tried researching specific smartphone models for Hong Kong. I was thinking of an Apple Iphone as that is the easiest to buy unlocked in the US before we come over and we are Apple users for computer and Ipads. Perhaps cheaper if he waits till arriving in Hong Kong to purchase, but there will many things to do in a short time frame once there, so we're thinking maybe it's worth any extra cost to have the phone in hand on landing and "hit the ground running" once in Hong Kong.

I've read that China Mobile doesn't work with all the Iphones, only certain models - looks like Iphone 6 and 6 Plus and 5s and 5c? Is China Mobile not a particularly good carrier? It looks like it is easily available for a prepaid card - at least it's the one that often pops up when I google the prepaid SIMs. Is CSL / 3 prepaid card also easy to pick up? I'm thinking he may get a prepaid card initially to use as he gets established and later get a more long term plan.

Many,many thanks to all the above posters. Our instincts and past experience would have led him to do things less than ideally.