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Thread: SIM Cards

  1. #1
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    Dec 2004
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    Default SIM Cards

    Are NZ SIM cards the same as UK ones? i.e. will they fit in any fairly new mobile phone?

    Also what are the best companies for coverage and pay as you go/prepay tariffs?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Sandwich Islands
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    Quote Originally Posted by April View Post
    Are NZ SIM cards the same as UK ones? i.e. will they fit in any fairly new mobile phone?

    Also what are the best companies for coverage and pay as you go/prepay tariffs?

    Thanks!
    Not sure about the fit for the UK, though they work in American phones [Note: T-mobile and At&T only; and the phone must be3 unlocked].

    2 Degrees is your best value. I believe they use vodofone's network. You can buy a card at the airport ($20, and it includes $20 worth of credit).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    UK
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    The sim cards are all the same. I went over with a vodafone mobile, bought a nz vodafone sim and it wouldn't work - still had to get my phone unlocked! There are a ton of places up and down Queen Street in Auckland that will unlock your phone for around $20 so it doesn't really matter! x

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4,455

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    Quote Originally Posted by April View Post
    Are NZ SIM cards the same as UK ones? i.e. will they fit in any fairly new mobile phone?

    Also what are the best companies for coverage and pay as you go/prepay tariffs?

    Thanks!
    Yes, NZ SIM cards are physically the same size as UK ones.

    Main choices are XT, Vodafone and 2 degrees. Depending on your phone i.e. what bands it can handle, you may not be able to use the XT network but the others should be fine (from the UK).

    2 degrees are the smallest network but they also use the Vodafone network for areas where they don't have coverage.

    Would check out each website for tarrifs to decide which one best suits you. Note that call charges are expensive so most people will text instead.

    For general usage 2 degrees seem to be by far the cheapest.

    But, check out some add-on packages e.g. best friends allow you to talk to your best friends mobile as much as you like for a fixed fee, freedom allows you to talk between a land line and a mobile as much as you like again for a fixed fee etc.

    Ian

  5. #5
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    May 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pigletguinea View Post
    The sim cards are all the same. I went over with a vodafone mobile, bought a nz vodafone sim and it wouldn't work - still had to get my phone unlocked! There are a ton of places up and down Queen Street in Auckland that will unlock your phone for around $20 so it doesn't really matter! x
    Just to reiterate, as has been mentioned before on the forum, the Vodafone network in UK is separate from the one in NZ so it isn't just a case of swapping the SIMS. You must ensure that the phone is unlocked from the UK network.

    Ian

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by IanW99 View Post
    Main choices are XT, Vodafone and 2 degrees. Depending on your phone i.e. what bands it can handle, you may not be able to use the XT network but the others should be fine (from the UK).
    I'd steer clear of XT anyway - it's a fairly new network that's been plagued by technical problems and outages. 2 degrees is great - far cheaper and seems reliable.

  7. #7
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    Sep 2008
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    i went into a shop the other week that wanted $50 to unlock my phone, suffice to say i walked away!
    DP is having trouble getting his UK vodafone phone repaired, it seems nobody has the parts here.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Wellington, NZ
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    Go with either Vodafone or 2 Degrees as they are far more reliable than Telecom at the moment. I've always been with Vodafone and find it grand for what I need to do. I have my partner as my 'Best Mate' so for $6 a month I can txt and call him as much as I like which is really good.
    I'll sound like a broken record because I've said this before,but..sometimes you can't text some overseas networks from 2 Degrees (http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/text...eople-overseas) and if you email them they just say 'we're working on it' which they probably are, but it's still a pain. I would love to be on that network for the 2c txts but I can't txt my mum!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2009
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    Auckland (from Leeds UK)
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    389

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flutterby View Post
    i went into a shop the other week that wanted $50 to unlock my phone, suffice to say i walked away!
    DP is having trouble getting his UK vodafone phone repaired, it seems nobody has the parts here.
    The new nokia and other phones are harder to unlock and so carry a premium to do so especially the UK contract locked ones

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Wellington
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    I came over with a Virgin Mobile. They unlocked it for a £15 charge, and then I got a 2 Degrees sim, which works great.

    2 degrees are also really cheap - it costs me less to text a friend in the UK than it did when I actually was in the UK...!

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