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MatthewStorm

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 19, 2003
923
513
Chapel Hill
Anyone have a thought on how to get an Indian SIM here in the States for use in India? For the iPhone 6+. It would be great to have my number before I depart.

Thnx!
 
Call any customer support center for ideas. :D But really, can't you shop for SIM cards from Indian sites?
 
Anyone have a thought on how to get an Indian SIM here in the States for use in India? For the iPhone 6+. It would be great to have my number before I depart.

Thnx!

Keep in mind India does not have the infrastructure of cellular networks like other asian countries so your going to see allot of GSM/GPRS. Also their LTE is mostly on 2300MHz Band 40 and the VZW/AT&T/T-Mobile iPhone 6 won't support that band....they might start to deploy LTE on 1800MHz sooner rather than later but no guarantees...even 3G is hard to come by there (at least outside of dense metro areas)
 
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Call any customer support center for ideas. :D But really, can't you shop for SIM cards from Indian sites?

Verizon suggested I use a local SIM but they can't provide one. I was hoping to get advise from someone who's actually been to India.

Thnx.

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Keep in mind India does not have the infrastructure of cellular networks like other asian countries so your going to see allot of GSM/GPRS. Also their LTE is mostly on 2300MHz Band 40 and the VZW/AT&T/T-Mobile iPhone 6 won't support that band....they might start to deploy LTE on 1800MHz sooner rather than later but no guarantees...even 3G is hard to come by there (at least outside of dense metro areas)

Yeah, I know not to expect there what I get here. Just having it functional will be enough for me.

Thnx!
 
Verizon suggested I use a local SIM but they can't provide one. I was hoping to get advise from someone who's actually been to India.

Thnx.

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Yeah, I know not to expect there what I get here. Just having it functional will be enough for me.

Thnx!

Gotcha. Yeah I ended up biting the bullet once and went with a roaming plan but just for voice services at the time. I was with a big group of people so I let people call home on my phone for a couple of dollars and I ended up turning a profit so the cost of the roaming plan wasn't even that bad :D Heres a useful website I love to use for this topic: http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/India they have information on whats needed to obtain a SIM card, from what I hear its much easier in India than say Japan where its a real pain! Just make sure you have all your ID stuff.
 
Option 1: Get Tmo here. Free Intl roaming for data and free texting.

Option2: Get a local sim from Vodafone or Airtel when you land. Its easy - all prepaid. It doesnt solve your problem of getting a number now and that is a Govt issue. You have to show ID to get a sim in India.

BTW, the iPhone will work just fine. I am on TMo and they have a roaming agreement with Airtel. I had 3G though it was slow. This was on a 5S this past summer so you are fine.
 
Gotcha. Yeah I ended up biting the bullet once and went with a roaming plan but just for voice services at the time. I was with a big group of people so I let people call home on my phone for a couple of dollars and I ended up turning a profit so the cost of the roaming plan wasn't even that bad :D Heres a useful website I love to use for this topic: http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/India they have information on whats needed to obtain a SIM card, from what I hear its much easier in India than say Japan where its a real pain! Just make sure you have all your ID stuff.

Dude, thnx!

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Option 1: Get Tmo here. Free Intl roaming for data and free texting.

Option2: Get a local sim from Vodafone or Airtel when you land. Its easy - all prepaid. It doesnt solve your problem of getting a number now and that is a Govt issue. You have to show ID to get a sim in India.

BTW, the iPhone will work just fine. I am on TMo and they have a roaming agreement with Airtel. I had 3G though it was slow. This was on a 5S this past summer so you are fine.

I've been told that non-Indians aren't allowed to purchase SIM cards, engage in rental contracts and the like. A local has to 'broker' it for you.

Got a lot to learn.
 
You can purchase a prepaid SIM when you land in India.

LTE is available in a few states in India from Airtel and it works with the iPhone 6, whereas 3G is readily available in all the states.

Some of the major providers that you could get are Vodafone and Airtel. Others could be Aircel and RCom(Reliance Communication).

You can visit the site if you need to know about the various plans available:
airtel.in
vodafone.in
rcom.co.in
aircel.com
 
I bought a SIM off a UK seller on eBay. Couple days before the trip he registers it with your passport number and it is then active by the time you arrive. I couldn't deal with the hassle of buying and then waiting a few days for activation since I was only there for a week.
 
I highly suggest Vodafone.

Also get used to EDGE/GPRS once you leave major metro areas and once you go into buildings. It's just as bad as TMobile.
 
Dude, thnx!

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I've been told that non-Indians aren't allowed to purchase SIM cards, engage in rental contracts and the like. A local has to 'broker' it for you.

Got a lot to learn.


I am actually in India right now (Bangalore) for another week. Been here 3 weeks and the 2nd day I went and tried to get an Airtel SIM. They asked for my passport photocopy, passport sized photo and a bunch of other info. A day later they claimed they needed more information so I just had a friend who livers here give their info and got it on the spot. Took 24 hours to activate.
 
I highly suggest Vodafone.

Also get used to EDGE/GPRS once you leave major metro areas and once you go into buildings. It's just as bad as TMobile.

You recommend Vodaphone over Airtel? I'll be 6 hours East of Mumbai in Ahmednagar.

Thnx!

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I am actually in India right now (Bangalore) for another week. Been here 3 weeks and the 2nd day I went and tried to get an Airtel SIM. They asked for my passport photocopy, passport sized photo and a bunch of other info. A day later they claimed they needed more information so I just had a friend who livers here give their info and got it on the spot. Took 24 hours to activate.

This!

Is what I'm trying to avoid.

How much is it costing?
 
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