1. #1
    PerryNZ
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    I was in Canada in 2005. I had an unlocked Nokia that was NA compatible.
    I bought a SIM card (via e-bay) and put it in the phone and I was away . . .

    In 2007, I lent the phone to a fellow New Zealander, travelling to Canada.
    I said that he should buy a SIM card from a Roger's shop and he'd be away.
    It didn't work like that.

    He was told there was a re-activation fee of over $CA100. He flagged the idea
    and walked away.

    The way GSM phones work in New Zealand is that any (local) GSM phone can
    be 'activated' simply by putting a valid SIM card into it. Is that quite different
    to NA/Canada? It seems so. Or was he unlucky and strike a klutz at the shop?

    I don't want to lend the phone to any other compatriots who are NA-bound,
    if it's just a waste of time and effort.


    See More: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query




  2. #2
    everyman
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    Re: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query

    as far as I know Perry, I'm in Canada with Rogers Wireless and I have had 2 cell phones now and all I have done is switched the sim cards between the two phones..no problems.

    Too bad your friend ran into the 'klutz' at the Rogers store. You know he/she was just trying to spew the company line about the reactivation. Hope this helps.
    Last edited by everyman; 09-18-2007 at 01:45 PM.



  3. #3
    PerryNZ
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    Re: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query

    OK - so that's much the same as over here.

    If/when I get back, I bring the phone, call
    into a Roger's store, buy a SIM card, put it
    in the phone and away I go - right?

    I presume the SIM card will have a 'local'
    number? In NZ, there's no local/long distance
    call differentiation. Calling in the same town
    costs the same as calling anywhere else in
    the country.

    What's really odd is that when I needed
    service from a Roger's store, the folk were
    so helpful, it was almost embarrassing. (In
    Kamloops). I wonder if there's quite a difference
    between a Rogers Rogers shop and an agency/?
    that's a semi-independent accredited retailer,
    or the like?

    All very odd.

    Thanks for the insights.



  4. #4
    cell-unlocker
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    Re: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query

    dun worry its happened to me before, sometimes those guys dont have a clue what they're talking about



  5. #5
    everyman
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    Re: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query

    Quote Originally Posted by PerryNZ View Post
    OK - so that's much the same as over here.

    If/when I get back, I bring the phone, call
    into a Roger's store, buy a SIM card, put it
    in the phone and away I go - right?

    I presume the SIM card will have a 'local'
    number? In NZ, there's no local/long distance
    call differentiation. Calling in the same town
    costs the same as calling anywhere else in
    the country.

    What's really odd is that when I needed
    service from a Roger's store, the folk were
    so helpful, it was almost embarrassing. (In
    Kamloops). I wonder if there's quite a difference
    between a Rogers Rogers shop and an agency/?
    that's a semi-independent accredited retailer,
    or the like?

    All very odd.

    Thanks for the insights.
    Perry...

    If you still have your SIM card from Rogers when you were in Canada last all you need to do to use it in your current Rogers locked/unlocked phone is just drop it in....there should be no calling Rogers, no activation, nothing!

    But yes, if you have to buy a SIM card then you will have that added cost plus any costs associated with activation. The new SIM card comes with a local number. Long distance depends if you have have phone contract or not (pay-as-you-go).

    Example...

    I am a pay-as-you-go user, so if I call LD during the day it's 31 cents/min. + LD charges.
    My paygo plan is 1 cent/min evenings (after 8pm) /weekends (8pm Friday till 8am Monday morning). You understand that LD charges are still on top of the 1 cent/min phone charges. So with me I make the majority of my calls weeknights and weekends.

    Contract plans I have not looked into at all. Don't like the hassel of a bill every month.

    Cheers.
    Last edited by everyman; 09-21-2007 at 09:21 AM.



  6. #6
    PerryNZ
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    Re: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query

    OK - now I'm confused. I thought one's SIM card (and its associated
    telephone number) 'died' after a period of inactivity. You seem to be
    saying that's not the case. That the phone I have will still work with
    it's [now] 2005-era SIM card. (Yes, it's still in the phone.)

    Is it possible that any remaining credit expired, way back then, rather
    than the number becoming obsolete and de-registered from Roger's
    system? And, therefore, all one has to do (to make the phone and SIM
    work) is buy a top-up card?



  7. #7
    everyman
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    Re: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query

    Quote Originally Posted by PerryNZ View Post
    OK - now I'm confused. I thought one's SIM card (and its associated
    telephone number) 'died' after a period of inactivity. You seem to be
    saying that's not the case. That the phone I have will still work with
    it's [now] 2005-era SIM card. (Yes, it's still in the phone.)

    Is it possible that any remaining credit expired, way back then, rather
    than the number becoming obsolete and de-registered from Roger's
    system? And, therefore, all one has to do (to make the phone and SIM
    work) is buy a top-up card?
    Perry...

    "I thought one's SIM card (and its associated telephone number) 'died' after a period of inactivity." You are probably correct on this one Perry. When I replied last I forgot that your phone had not been used since 2005, and for me always keeping myself current, I had not ever run into this kind of problem before.

    Any talk time/credits that you had on that phone in 2005 are definitely gone now. And because of the length of time that you have gone without using your phone it is probably deactivated by now as well. You might not have to buy a new SIM card tho...

    My advise is, that if you are planning to return to Canada, buy some talk time first through a card or voucher. If the phone works your 'GOLDEN' right? :-). If they (Rogers) say that you have to activate again, then that's what you have to do. Hopefully it won't include having to buy another SIM card.

    Cheers
    Last edited by everyman; 09-22-2007 at 01:49 PM.



  8. #8
    PerryNZ
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    Re: GSM - SIM - Phone - Rogers Query

    So it's the phone that gets de-activated, as well
    as the unused SIM and its associated number?
    How the hell do they do that? Via the ESN?

    GSM in New Zealand seems to be independent of
    the phone. Any GSM phone of any age will work
    just fine, if one drops a valid SIM into it. An annual
    minimum top-up of $NZ20 is all that's required to
    keep the SIM and number valid.

    If it becomes invalidated, the phone will be 'resurrected'
    at any time, simply by purchasing a new SIM card (and
    its associated number), pop it in the phone and away
    one goes.

    The competitors have a different system. The number
    remains permanent. No top-up or use requirements
    to maintain validity and the 'connection,' ever.

    But they both screw us in other ways, of course.
    E.g. no call charge difference between local and long-
    distance. Every call is LD!

    Which is probably the main reason that texting is so
    prevalent and popular in NZ.



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