Comments on: Buying a SIM Card or eSIM for Travel in Thailand

By: Olivia Alexander

Olivia Alexander

This guide is super helpful! I’m planning my trip to Thailand next year, and getting a SIM card in a new country always confuses me. Thanks for the detailed information!

By: Sarah Sanders

Sarah Sanders

Thanks, this was very helpful. I’m traveling to Thailand next month and couldn’t decide between getting a SIM card or eSIM when I was there. I appreciated the tips on where to buy and the coverage comparison – because I’m arriving off a long flight and will be exhausted, I think I’ll buy your recommended eSIM before I leave so it’s one less thing to deal with when I arrive!

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Jay.

If it was a tourist SIM, it will definitely have expired. If it was a standard prepaid SIM, there’s a chance it could still be active, but I wouldn’t count on it.

If it is still active, however, you’ll be able to top it up anywhere that sells True credit.

By: Jay

Jay

Will a True sim card bought 6 months ago work on a return visit, if so can it be topped up anywhere?

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Sam.

I’m not sure about annual contracts, but monthly postpaid service is available (at least with AIS, and presumably others). Whether it’s worth it is debatable, though — you likely won’t save a lot on the actual service, but might get discounts on new phones or similar. I also don’t know exactly what you’ll need to sign up for it: depending on the carrier, you may need local bank accounts/cards, or some form of ID that isn’t a passport.

It’s easy to switch from prepaid to postpaid, so I’d suggest starting out with prepaid and seeing how you go, and then wander into an official store and have a chat to a staff member about the benefits if you decide you want to go down the postpaid route.

By: Sam

Sam

Hi Dave,
Thanks so much for this it’s very helpful! I’m moving to Bangkok for 2 years in Dec, are there yearly phone contracts available in Thailand? or should I do prepaid for 2 years?
I have an unlocked I-Phone that I’ll be using.
Thanks, Sam

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Jay.

While I’ve grumbled about the photo requirement to staff members, I’ve never flat-out refused to have it taken, so I can’t tell you the answer to that. Let us know how it went if you decide to take a stand!

I would say, though, that to register a new SIM card in Thailand, it’s a legal requirement to take and store a photo or fingerprint that matches the ID (passport, in the case of foreigners) of the person it’s registered to. Given that, if you don’t want to have a photo taken, you’ll need to find a staff member that’s happy to register the card to themselves. Since one person can only register a maximum of five SIMs from one cell company, this may be a challenge.

By: Jay

Jay

Do you really have to agree to get your photo taken for a sim card, its highly intrusive and makes me uncomfortable. If you refuse will they not give you one?

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Claudine. Hi Claudine, You will get a new Thai number, but there's no need to switch WhatsApp to it. In brief, WhatsApp will keep working just fine with a different SIM card as long as you don't need to re-verify the number (which typically only happens when you get a new phone or reinstall WhatsApp). I've had the same WhatsApp number for many years now, despite swapping SIMs once a month or so for much of that time.

By: Claudine

Claudine

Hi Dave,
Sorry if this is a daft question but when you buy a Thai SIM at the airport or in a supermarket – do you get a new Thai phone number? If you do, does this mean you have to set up a new What’s app account and can’t get access to your old What’s app groups etc to make calls? I read that if you buy an eSIM you don’t get a new number, only data – so you can still make what’s app video calls using your old UK what’s app account. Is this correct? Just weighing up which is less hassle. Thanks, Claudine