My wife called Taiwan mobile yesterday to get all the different service plans.
The one with one month prepaid was not mentioned to her, instead one for 3 month 1G data transfer 180NT$.
So we went to the next Taiwan mobile store and inquired the 3 month 180NT$ plan since she was told that the unused dater traffic could be collected for the next the month.
The lady there was a little rude to my wife, laughing into her face and saying things like … this doesn’t exist… you could collect ten gigabytes hahahah.
Didn’t take long and my wife got angry so we left.
At home, she searched the INTERNET, called again and asked about this plan 180 per month and the unused traffic can be collected for up to six month.
The existents of this plan was confirmed, so we went to another branch to sign up. My wife took her ID plus another identification and I took my passport plus the receipt for my ARC.
The sales person there told us 500 NT$ per person. She then did not want to accept my passport and the receipt as an ID, even though the visa office told me that this was my ID till I got the real one.
This time I got pissed and we left in anger.
Next we went to Taipei train station, cause there is another branch and signed up for the 180 prepaid monthly service.
They accepted my ID and the price was 300 per person including 120 NT$ for telephone calls.
Later at home, my phone worked and my wife’s didn’t, so she called again. They told her to go over there again and fix the confusion.
My wife then told me that they eventually did not open my phone cause of my Identification. She did not tell me at the store cause she was afraid that I’d freak out. This was getting really late evening, and to get the service is for some private reason urgent.
sounds like quire the ordeal there Hamletintaiwan. I hope its all sorted now.
I have also enquired at some myfone stores to get 1.5gb for nt170 that others have mentioned, as it sounds like better value, but the stores I visited informed me:
I would still need to put down a sign up fee which i think is standard (nt1000 plus)
I would need to put down an additional security deposit as i am a foreigner with an ARC
at the end of the day, i am still on the prepaid nt180 deal and for me, its the best value for my circumstances. when i first moved here in july, i topped up nt1000 for phone credit. to this day, i still have 600nt left. the only reason it is still valid is because i top up nt180 every month for data. i am shocked to hear many people pay nt1000 plus a month for unlimited data when they really only use it for some apps like LINE and do very little calls and texts.
if you need a new phone, websites like kijiji are useful for buying a new or used one but it is best if u have a taiwanese friend who can help you out here. i did the math and it is still better value to buy a phone outright and stick to the nt180 deal than signing up for 30 months on some contract.
The 180 a month prepaid card deal that you are talking about seems great. I take weekend trips. The hotels have wifi. I’ve got a one year (very cheap) wifi contract with China Telcom at most convenience stores restaurants & etc. and I’ve got a super plan at home
Would like access to entertainment mostly radio and Google services. My question is… how much data does a radio stream have. Can I enjoy eight hours. Four hours driving both ways. Since I’m all wifi and have never used 3G I have no perspective.
Hey Taiwan Student, I use tunein radio app as I have been a little homesick and have been listening to radio from back home everyday.
on average, I use the tuneinradio app about 1.5 hours a day as I use it when I commute to and fro work. I also use facebook occasionally, LINE, whatsapp, and other google apps. If I consistenly did this everyday, I would use up just over 1gb a month. However, there are days where I dont use the radio app and I have never needed to go over 1gb.
The great thing about this deal is that if you recharge before the expiry date, the unused data gets rolled over to the next30 days. You can also check how much data you have left by keying in 8671024#. currently I have 1.2gb left to use and i need to recharge by Friday. So already for Dec I have 2gb to use if I want to…
CHT offers a student-tarif (called 591)
Secret is, if you are coming from a different provider and you are willing to cancel that
contract, pay a fee there and take that number then to CHT, it is available for everyone
It is a 30 month contract, calling tarif is “383”. That xx3 allows you to call everywhere
incl. landline for free until (in this case) the 383 is eaten up.
That 383 is 50% discounted for the whole 30 months (so it is 192 for 383 worth of calling time).
The internet costs 399 (so 399+192=591) and allows you up to 5GB monthly.
If you really want unlimtied without any restrictions at all, these 399 goes up to
a maximum of 550 (no, it really does not get over that), so the fare would be
192+550 = 742 NT$
You can choose a lot a cellphones with 591/742, however here is the downside, those
devices are all pretty expensive … iphone5c will set you back with 14.500, better
iphones are plus each 3.500. HTC One is 10.400
Taiwan Mobile has a similar price scheme, but their mobiles are always midrange.
Besides:
If you are lucky and you are working for a big company, there indeed are some very
sweet deals out there. A friend just signed 2 year unlimited data+calling+iphone5s32GB
for alltogether 28k - phone alone is 25k
If any of you are experiencing problems, it was quite easy for me to get that SIM card with the 180nt deal.
First of all, I wouldn’t go to Fareastone. I was in two stores and they both said they are sold out on Taiwan Mobile prepaid SIM cards.
You should go to a myfone store. Here you can find the locations: english.taiwanmobile.com/english … tions.html
I went to the one at No. 232, Section 1, Hépíng East Rd, Daan District.
The sales person was really friendly and spoke a pretty good English (I don’t speak Mandarin at all…).
I paid 500nt. That includes 320nt for speaking and that 1GB data plan for one month.
You need your passport and a second identification (like your ID card).
That’s it!
If you are wondering: They also sell nano SIM cards for iPhone 5+.
[quote=“aussiejt”]Hey Taiwan Student, I use tunein radio app as I have been a little homesick and have been listening to radio from back home everyday.
on average, I use the tuneinradio app about 1.5 hours a day as I use it when I commute to and fro work. I also use facebook occasionally, LINE, whatsapp, and other google apps. If I consistenly did this everyday, I would use up just over 1gb a month. However, there are days where I don’t use the radio app and I have never needed to go over 1gb.
The great thing about this deal is that if you recharge before the expiry date, the unused data gets rolled over to the next30 days. You can also check how much data you have left by keying in 8671024#. currently I have 1.2gb left to use and I need to recharge by Friday. So already for Dec I have 2gb to use if I want to…[/quote]
The 8671024# code for finding out the data balance does not work anymore.
It’s been replaced with 867100#.
BTW, the TWM website still shows the obsolete code.
I came here to complain about Taiwan Mobile ‘new service’ - but think the post showing new code 867100# may have solved my problem.
I will still outline my concerns that arose yesterday, that to me, as an English speaker defy any logic.
I have had a Taiwan Mobile prepaid card since January 2013. I always top up between 300 to 1000 twd at a time and then choose a data plan to suit me needs. lately I have been subscribing to 250mb for twd50 - as it is a great deal, and when I top up it rolls any balance over to the next month.
Yesterday I topped up twd600 and then subscribed to the 250mb data plan. turned off my phone & then checked data balance. The money was deducted but data still showed old balance of 36mb. I called and asked why the data was not on my account & they advised it is there. My OLD data will only show, until my NEW data is used 1st.
I argued (nicely) that using my NEW data 1st, and then my old, and only showing my Old data balance makes no sense. They advised this is a new system, and each time I top up my prepaid card it creates a new account. So according to them if i top up 10 times then I will have 10 accounts linked to my pepaid, and data will only show for my very oldest account, but newest data will be used 1st.
I seriously could not believe what I was hearing so asked for a manager to call me. last night a manager called me and confirmed that is the case. She advised to dial 867300# to check my ‘old’ balance, and to dial 535, then 8, then 1 to check my new balance. She confirmed my new balance will be used 1st.
Now, seeing the post here and trying 867100# it solves the problem & I can see my new balance. However, I am still stumped whuy I need a new account linked to my prepaid card each time I top up.
If anyone is able to resolve this I would be hugely grateful. I have seen many things that defy logic in my last 14 years in Asia, but this probably tops them all.
I’ve just finished navigating through the quagmire of pre-paid tariff plans from TM, FET, Vibo/Taiwan Star and Chumbawamba Telecom. It seems the last one has slightly lower per-minute prices but their Internet packages are much worse and there’s no way to top up online (?).
So… is this still the best choice as far as pre-paid options go? (I don’t care for 4G, 5G, etc.)
This comes to at least 300元 every 6 months, i.e. 50元 per month just for the privilege of being cold-called by spammers. Does anyone know of a cheaper way to maintain a mobile-phone number just for incoming calls (regardless of the cost of placing calls and Internet access)?
By the way, has anyone used a SIP VoIP provider with a Taiwan DID number? In particular, there’s this one chief070.com.tw/ at 30元 per month.
From what I understood in a shop yesterday, those prices we pay for 3G data are the same as the ones for the recently introduced prepaid 4G data.
What’s anoying though is that you have to change of phone number if you want to upgrade to 4G.
Anyone has done it/knows a way around that? My phone is 4G compatible and it could be nice to upgrade, but I don’t feel like changing my number considering how many services and clients have it.
[quote=“double-g”]From what I understood in a shop yesterday, those prices we pay for 3G data are the same as the ones for the recently introduced prepaid 4G data.
What’s anoying though is that you have to change of phone number if you want to upgrade to 4G.
Anyone has done it/knows a way around that? My phone is 4G compatible and it could be nice to upgrade, but I don’t feel like changing my number considering how many services and clients have it.[/quote]
My wife says that it is possible to change the service and keep your number.
Your collected internet packages might be lost though, which brings me to another thing I’d like to share.
My wife and I have collected more than 13 gigabyte Traffic so far. We only use like 100 Mb per month.
So, m wife figured out that if you pay 300 NT$ for the phone service and then transfer via the call service 50 NT$ for internet package, the remaining 13 gigabytes will remain and get a monthly extension as well.
This month we tried to just transfer another 50 NT$ from the remaining phone package and it works.
Pay 300 NT$ for phone and transfer every month 50 NT$ to the internet package.
That’s 50 NT$ internet per month.
I only need internet for navigation and line. Otherwise, I do have some wireless network available everywhere I work/live/drink coffee,etc.
Hi Formosans, I’d like to get a prepaid 3g sim card for my phone that I believe should work in Taiwan but the touch screen vending thing in 7-11 is in Mandarin only. Where else can I go? Help
It is possible to buy those cards from resellers, but they’re sometimes not very well aware of the different plans and special offers, and it could be a hassle to explain what you want if you don’t speak mandarin.
Anyone knows how to use this prepaid card outside Taiwan?
Every time I go on trip abroad, although I’ve received those text messages advertising deals and rates for roaming in the past (while in Taiwan), as soon as I land: no network!
I most of the time end up buying a local sim card, but it’s still quite annoying if I need to make a quick call. I’m planning a weekend in Shanghai next month and I don’t want to buy a card for only 3 days…
Is there an “international function” or option one should activate?
