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10-Steps to Buying & Using a Thai Sim Card & Mobile Data Plan

You’ve touched down in tropical Thailand- you’re excited for impending adventures with elephants, lounging on beautiful beaches, trekking through lush jungles and making new friends.

You you reach for your phone to let everyone back home know that you’ve arrived and maybe to snap a selfie to post on social media.

But wait! You’re service-less and airport wifi is a bummer.

What to do?

Below is your step by step guide to getting excellent (and cheap) cell service in the Land of Smiles.

thailand sim card mobile data

Krista Stelzner, assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge, snaps a selfie with a Thai girl during a community service event at The Child Development and Protection Center in Huay Yai, Thailand.

Step 1. Unlocking Your Phone

Bringing your pre-existing service overseas can be inconvenient and can cost an absolute fortune in fees.

So consider having your phone unlocked from your service provider before you board your flight. It only costs a small fee, and that way you can get a Thai sim card instead.

Also! Know your phone. You may not be aware, but different phones carry different size sim cards. iPhones generally take nano SIMs and Androids may take micro SIM cards. Before you leave, quickly Google your phone model and check- they may also be able to tell you at any provider booth in Thailand. All size sims are available in Thailand.

Step 2: Deciding on Roaming vs. Thai SIM Card

Some travelers would like to keep their current number, which requires that they turn on international roaming.

Before doing this, contact your provider and ask about charges you’ll rack up for data and service roaming. You may also want to ask if they have any partner networks in Thailand.

I don't recommend roaming because it can get pretty pricey, and buying a SIM at either the airport or at a provider shop is a quick, cheap and reliable alternative.

Step 3: Getting a Sim at the Airport Vs a Provider Store

If you’re staying in Thailand for a week or less, getting a plan at the airport is likely a good choice. There you can find tourist targeted plans that provide internet, calling and texting for shorter time spans.

For longer stays, it is be a better idea to get your phone plan directly from a provider store or from a provider’s booth at a local mall. There you can find a more flexible range of plans that that will suit your needs at a lower price.

Generally, purchasing a SIM will require a passport, as most providers register the card under your name and passport number.

You may not be asked at smaller locations or stores in more obscure parts of Thailand, but this registration practice is still the general procedure, so be sure to bring your travel documents with you.

Step 4. Choosing Your Provider & Your Plan

There are three main cell service providers in Thailand: AIS (also known as One-2-Call, DTAC and Truemove. All offer ‘pay as you go’ deals for short and long term travelers and have 3g/4g capability.

Popular plans include daily, weekly and monthly deals that suit pretty much any traveler’s schedule.

Check out the best deals from each service below:

1. AIS: daily unlimited internet (19 THB); weekly unlimited data for varying speeds (from 79-89 THB) and monthly data- 5 GB (488 THB/month); 14 GB (888 THB/month). Calling plans start at 9 THB per day.

2. Truemove: daily unlimited internet (15 THB); weekly data for varying speeds from 55-199 THB depending on amount used; and monthly data ranges from 199-899 THB/month, depending on amount used and speed. Unlimited monthly starts at 599 THB. Calling plans start at 13 THB a day.

3. DTAC: daily internet ranges from 19-49 THB depending on amount used; weekly unlimited internet is 59 THB; monthly internet ranges from 299-799 THB; depending on amount used. Calling plans start at 29 THB a day.

While DTAC is most friendly to Western users in terms of customer service, Truemove provides the most wifi hotspots across Thailand, which is fantastic for travellers on a shoestring budget.

Step 5: Topping Up with Credit

Adding money to your phone plan- also referred to as ‘topping up,’ is very easy and convenient as it can be done at any 7/11, at the provider’s store or even at a Boonterm kiosk on the street.

Additionally, choosing a plan is extremely simple. You can call the provider’s customer service, who will give you a code to dial in and activate immediately.

The cost of the plan your select will be deducted from the amount of money you’ve added to your number through the top up process.

In recent years, most providers have also started to offer an app that makes choosing a call, text and/or data plan a snap. You may also be able to find promotional codes for phone plan deals, which is always helpful if you’re on a budget.

Step 6: Tethering from Phone to Laptop

Spotty wifi is the bane of every traveller’s existence. If you’re planning on using a tablet or a computer but realize that everyone else’s Netflix is hogging the hotel or apartment’s wifi, you may want to consider using your phone’s data plan to set up a hot spot.

This will require quite a large data plan, so if you’re considering this, getting a prepaid unlimited data plan is a good bet.

To set up a hot spot:

1. (for iPhone) go to ‘settings’
2. Click on ‘personal hotspot’
3. Turn it on
4. Choose how to connect tablet or computer (with either wifi, USB cable, or bluetooth) – you will be prompted

Step 7: Guarding Your Data

One interesting element of Thai data plans is that you’re actually buying however many GBs of data at a certain speed. Once you use that up, you can still get access to data, but it’ll be throttled to 128kbps; so slow you’ll want to pull your hair out!

Therefore, trying to ration your data is just good sense, especially if you only want to top up once during your time in Thailand.

Whenever possible, connect to wifi networks provided by dining or shopping establishments near you or even mobile wifi zones enabled by your internet provider.

Save data sucking activities, like video streaming (hello YouTube!) or Skype calls (hi, Mom and Dad) for wifi zones, and make sure that your phone is on ‘power saver mode,’ if possible. That will prevent apps from constantly refreshing and sucking data.

Another good idea is to go into each application – preferably those that you don’t use often – and turning cellular data ‘off’ so that the application cannot be enabled without entering a wifi zone.

Step 8: Avoiding Over Charging

One great thing about ‘pay as you go’ plans is that you’re never going to be surprised by an enormous bill- you’re simply going to run out of minutes or data or texts.

Contact your plan provider’s customer service line to ensure that alerts are sent to your phone in English so that you know how much of your plan you have left or if there is any information you need to know about service coverage.

If you have the provider’s app, you can also check plan levels and contact customer service there. Note the time and date that your plan is set to expire, as most have daily, weekly or monthly limits. As any traveler knows, it’s no fun to be caught without any way to communicate!

Step 9: Staying Active

Keeping your sim card active depends on what type of sim card you have. For prepaid tourist sim cards the general rule is that after a top up you have 30 days of validity. To check when your package expires, you can dial the following codes, based on your specific mobile provider.

To check your date of expiry you can use these USSD codes:

  • AIS –  *121#
  • DTAC – *101*9#
  • True – #123#

Extend Your SIM’s validity

To extend your validity:

AIS:

  • Add 10 Baht credit for 30 Days Validity
  • Alternative method: Dial *500*9#  Add 30 days validity for 30 THB via Mao Mao package

DTAC:

Extend your validity for up to 365 days, at a cost of 2 Baht per month.

  • Press : *113*30*9# for 30 days extension.  Cost 2 Baht
  • Press : *113*60*9# for 60 days extension.  Cost 4 Baht
  • Press : *113*90*9# for 90 days extension.  Cost 6 Baht
  • Press : *113*180*9# for 180 days extension.   Cost 12 Baht
  • Conditions: Must activate SIM for at least 90 days or have usage of 200 THB.

TrueMove H:

Extend your validity for up to 365 days at a cost of 2 Baht per month

  • Press : * 934 * 30 # for 30 days extension.  Cost 2 Baht
  • Press : * 934 * 90 # for 90 days extension.  Cost 6 Baht
  • Press : * 934 * 180 # for 180 days extension.   Cost 12 Baht

Step 10: Contacting Customer Service

To contact a call center with questions or concerns about international roaming, a SIM card or activating or deactivating a data plan, here is a list of the major carrier customer support numbers.

DTAC
1678 – from your phone
Line: @dtac
feedback@dtac.co.th

AIS/One-to-Call
1175 – From your phone
Line Messenger @12Call_Fan
callcenter@ais.co.th

TrueMove
1331 – From your phone
LINE: @truemoveh

With these easy steps, you’re well on your way to exploring the beauty of Thailand, all while sharing it with those back home. Happy travels!

I've got a fair bit of experience with sims, providers, plans and all things mobile in Thailand, so if you've got a question, leave it below and I'll answer it as best I can.

Tips to Start Planning Your Trip Now

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance:

Travel insurance protects you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. I never travel without it. I’ve been using SafetyWing for years. You should too.

Book Your Accommodation:

Best hotel rates are found at Agoda, Booking.com, and Hotels.com.

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Comments Sort by : newest | oldest

  1. James E says

    Hi,

    This is a bit off topic but I have a problem. I want to get a BKK phone number that can follow me around in the same way my US Skype number does. Neither Skype nor Google Talk supports Thai numbers so I'm SOL on that front. Has anybody come across a VOIP service (reasonably priced, of course) that might do the trick? I've looked into just forwarding my dtac prepaid cell number but so far I haven't been able to discover how. Thanks!
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hmmm, a service like https://www.swytch.com/ would be ideal because it lets you port in numbers and manage them all through the app, but it's a UK app. Perhaps there is an app that would let you manage a US and Thai number in similar way. Dual SIM phone is another option, but then you would be receiving calls from your Thai number on a US provider when back home which would be expensive.
      Reply

      • James E says

        Thanks! I'll have to look into Swytch and see if they have anything. There's a provider of VOIP services VOIP Thailand that can set me up with a number at about 1K Baht with a 200 THB monthly charge. I've got to get with them and see if it will work international or if it's restricted to Thailand. I've got a dual-SIM phone but the roaming fees are insane. I'll post back when I get it sorted in case anybody else is interested.
        Reply

  2. Stephanie says

    Hi I have just moved to Thailand for a stay of 12 months. I have an iPhone 8+ and wondering what sim you recommend for me. I use emails and social media daily but will not be making a lot of phone calls. I also use wifi where possible. Would DTAC for 12 months be the way to go. I will also be travelling around the country starting in Hua hin for about 3 months. Currently in Kanchanaburi for a couple days. Cheers
    Reply

    • James E says

      One good thing about Thailand is that there's cell coverage everywhere so who you use as a provider is less important than it might be elsewhere. (I use dtac). I'm also not sure, as it isn't appropriate for my situation, if a tourist can get a 12-month plan, something equivalent to a standard post-paid plan elsewhere, without a "permanent" address in Thailand.

      Using dtac as an example, I have a regular pre-paid SIM (the tourist SIMs expire after a year, if I remember correctly) so I can keep the same number. I'll plan on spending about 250baht/week when I'm in Thailand which is more than enough to cover all my data, SMS/MMS, and voice needs. I get the major plan that allows the lowest cost voice/text and then add an add-on package for data. For me since I don't use much data I get a 400MB/wk high-speed plan for (earlier this month) 79baht. My partner, who is more of a data-user, gets a 1.5GB/month high-speed plan. Since you're there for a full year dtac also offers some 12-monthly auto-renew data plans that are even cheaper and/or offer more data.

      One thing to be aware of is that data plans in Thailand are priced by both total throughput and bandwidth. So it's possible to find two plans offering, say, 1GB/month but one will be throttled to 500KBPS and one will be 100MBPS. Plus, they change the plans fairly frequently so you've got to keep checking back to see if they've come up with anything new.
      Reply

    • James E says

      "how do the handset subsidy programs work? " Not to your advantage. Basically, you're just buying the handset over time. If you look at the Galaxy S9 you're paying (before VAT) THB 23,157 (US$735) while I can buy the same phone direct from Samsung for US$720. (It's not as favorably priced in GBP or AU$ so might be more cost equivalent.) It says it's 0% interest but basically the interest is built into the price at a rate of about 2.5%. And yes, you make a handset payment plus the package payment.

      That being said, the packages don't look too shabby. I use dtac pre-paid which costs me about 600THB/month but I don't get the WiFi access which would be nice from time-to-time. The other thing to watch for is the cost of messaging. It may not be included in the package. One of the reasons I like pre-paid is that your credit can go to messaging (which I use a lot) or calls (which I don't do so much of). So I don't end up paying for something I don't use.

      After a fair bit of research I've found that the best deals are for packages only with a handset you bring with you. (a local SIM is a one-time purchase of 50THB.) I'm not a full-time resident so the 12 month commitment doesn't make sense for me but tweaking the pre-paid packages provides excellent services for not a whole lot of money.
      Reply

  6. Tim says

    Helllo.
    I'm a bit bewildered by the array of offerings from the various providers, but none of them seem obviously catered to my need: I'm looking for a SIM to keep in touch with friends over a 25 days period. I don't expect to use more than 1GB of data and I doubt that I'll make many calls.
    i don't need unlimited data for a short period of time, I'd rather just buy credit and use it bit by bit on calls and data as I go. I cannot seem to find that sort of option on the provider's websites.
    What's the best choice for someone who needs only a modest amount of data for 25 days.
    Any ideas?
    Tim
    Reply

  7. Nick says

    For hotspot/tehtering, will any simcard work? Went to the UK recently and different simcards specified if they could be used as a hotspot or not, not seeing that at the companies you listed. Any help would be great, will be in Thailand for less than a week. Also, I saw someone asked if any of these sims can be used in any other counties after? Will be in Vietnam afterwards. Thanks
    Reply

    • James E says

      Hey Nick,

      The short answer to your first question is Yes, maybe. The dtac Happy SIM (the short-term tourist SIM) can be used as a data connection assuming your phone supports it. The answer to your second question is: Yes, but why? You'd end up spending more in international roaming fees than a new SIM in Vietnam would cost. (Plus I'm not sure how well data roaming works. Sometimes it's throttled.)
      Reply

  8. James E says

    Just a quick update on extending a dtac SIM expiration date. It's now possible to do online under the Jaidee Services tab. The call it Day Give-away and the price is the same 2THB/month extension. The nice thing is that you get an instant confirmation of the extension.
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Thanks James. I just had a look. That's pretty reasonable. I have no idea how long my sim would remain valid for. I get different answers whenever I go into the DTAC shop. I've had my number for years and the last lady said it would expire after 1 year if I didn't use it, but previously I've been told it would expire if I didn't load credit on to it after 6 months.
      Reply

      • James E says

        Hi TTL,

        That was my experience too. Nobody seemed to know the answer (or at least everybody seemed to have an answer but the answers were all different). Different credit amounts expire on different schedules -30 or 90 days. On top of that the SIM self-destructs and that varies based on the kind of SIM - a Happy SIM dies regardless while a regular SIM has the two-condition expiration you mention. (BTW, I've been told that the SIM stops working when the credit expires but the next 90 days is something of a grace period to allow you to salvage the number.) For the expiry extension, by process of elimination I've discovered that you can extend up to 360 days from the present and if you try to go more than that the dtac website just freezes - no error, no nothing. Still, it's more convenient than managing top-ups throughout the year, or partial year, depending on one's schedule.

        Just another fun activity to keep track of...
        Reply

  10. Rose says

    I'll be living in Thailand for the next few years. I use less than 100 min/texts per month, and do not use much data at all. For the past 6 years I've just used a dtac prepaid SIM card since I did not have a smartphone. We'll be returning to Thailand next month with my first smartphone. Is it best to continue the prepaid route due to low usage, or is there a low-usage contract that you recommend?
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hi Rose, now that you have a smartphone you may want to access the internet / receive emails on your phone, which requires a data plan rather than a standard plan that you would have had on previous visits. I'd suggest a pre-paid data plan, which is topped up each month. These start from around 200 Baht a month. If you like, you can leave your data setting off and simply carry on using a standard plan; but be careful because if your data is switched on it would begin using up all your credit very quickly. Call dtac for the latest deals. You can then top up the right amount and call them back to have it applied to your phone. Or, they will text you a code to enter into your phone to activate it. I find calling them easier.
      Reply

    • James says

      Also be sure to learn your way around your carrier's website. They are not straightforward at all and as TTL says this makes calling easier. But, the websites have all the promotion codes and I've found that those codes can save you a bunch of baht. When you find a code that fits your needs - save it. Even the limited time offers don't really have a time limit, just a limited amount of time they advertise them. The codes keep working so the next time they run the promotion they don't have to set up a new code. It's very Thai. Do the same with the special codes they text you. Sometimes they'll send a real gem.
      Reply

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