There is a mobile phone company counter at the airport next to the arrival exit when turning right when accessing the arrival hall … best to inform there if they accept foreign ID’s … I think they do … it used to be FET and another one …
I can confirm that you can get mobile access at airport with passport and one other piece of id as well as credit card. I did this just in June with FET. Might not be best for a long-term stay, but not bad for short term needs. I recall that there were two other companies as well.
FET is the name of the service provider ? It’s available at Airport ?
Sorry for the abbreviation. I believe the sign reads Far Eastone (for Far Eastone Telecom). and it is in the airport. It is in many places across Taiwan, but I believe the airport is where they are set up to deal with visitors best. Mind you though, they close @ 9PM, though.
Hope that helps.
[quote=“DODO”]Sorry for the abbreviation. I believe the sign reads Far Eastone (for Far Eastone Telecom). and it is in the airport. It is in many places across Taiwan, but I believe the airport is where they are set up to deal with visitors best. Mind you though, they close @ 9PM, though.
Hope that helps.[/quote]
Yes, it helps a lot, as soon as I can have my personal mobile line when I touch down at Taiwan.
You can get any pre-paid SIM card here as a foreigner with two forms of photo ID issued in the same country.
And no, you don’t need a credit card to get one.
FET is more commonly known as FarEast Tone, but there’s also CHT (Chunghwa Telecom), Taiwan Mobile, Vibo (3G only) and even 7-11 has their own virtual network, so as long as you have an unlocked GSM or UMTS 3G handset that operates at 900/1800MHz (for GSMN) or 2100MHz (for 3G) you’re all set.
Yes, I forgot the term. It’s a pre-paid SIM card that I’m after.
Yes, you can buy a prepaid sim with passport + one other photo ID. It costs around $300. I don’t know if you would get one of these at the airport because they would rather sell you their expensive phone rental plan. Any main branch of any cellphone provider will sell them.
Can prepaid SIM be used to make overseas call ?
I’m also looking for something where I can call overseas at a very low rate.
Two forms of photo ID? 
So, you can fly to Taiwan without that but to use a 'phone, you need this? I don’t have two forms of photo ID so I’d just get one unofficially. Stupids everywhere.
I got one recently from Chunghwa Telecom with US passport + drivers license. I had to go to one of their bigger customer service centers – the small retail stores wouldn’t process it.
You can call internationally – I found CHT’s rates online somewhere, but can’t find it again. You can also receive international calls for free. International text messages are pretty cheap at NT$5 a message (to anywhere). So you may just want to text your friends and ask them to call you.
You cannot roam internationally with the CHT prepaid card.
And remember, OP, incoming calls are FREE to you on mobile phones in the 'wan. You can make that NT300 investment last a LONG time.
Good to know. 
off topic, but might be good to have a backup plan. The address where you are staying printed in Chinese, is a good bit of insurance. That way you can always hop a cab in case things don’t go smoothly hooking up with your associate.
you guys have been lucky… In Kaohsiung, the phone companies here are useless. They wouldnt even look at me unless i had an ARC… my student visa didnt even matter…
I pointed to it and said… why would the government let me in the country and give me extensions if i was illegal. they just kept saying you need an arc (like a parrot)
I tried a few stores, and got one to hook it up for me, but i think it was because they didnt know the regulations.
I have a 3G iphone with AT&T right now. I am moving to Hsinchu next month and would like to use my phone there. What do I have to do to my phone to use it in Taiwan? I tried having my Samsung Sync unlocked there a few years ago, but the code AT&T never worked and ended up freezing my phone. Would jailbreaking my iphone allow me to use service in Taiwan?
Any info would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Good luck getting your phone unlocked. I tried to do it, and even though I’ve been an AT&T customer for about four years, they were going to charge me $7 a month while my contract was still in tact to have it be unlocked and be “international” even though I’m not going to be using their service. Ugh. I think that your phone would probably work though if it did get unlocked. Though whatever phone company you go with might be expensive with that kind of phone. But I’m not sure…
As jashsu posted earlier, if you have a GSM phone then it will likely support the Taiwan frequencies. You need to be more concerned if you have a CDMA phone – Verizon or Sprint in the U.S. If you use one of those networks in the U.S., you’re probably out of luck in Taiwan.
Leave your phone at home. Just too much hassle and phones here are cheap. Many deals at 2,000 for a basic phone. Sometimes, even less. I picked up a basic Nokia at 3C one time for 1,000 NT. No contract needed. Just get a phone card from 7-11 if your going to be here for 1 year or less.
Hey,
I have been searching the forums to find some advice as to what is a good telco provider in Taipei and how it all works. It all seems very different to Australia. I just don’t get it. I am moving to Taipei on the 9th of November and want a mobile i can use to call AUS and within Taiwan??? is pre-paid my only option?? Anyone know any good deals? When i was in Taiwan last i got a special deal with FarEasTone for their anniversary but it didn’t support texting for the Optus network back in Perth!!
Thanks a million 