Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Information and Services in Turkey Section => Telephones, Broadband and Mobiles => Topic started by: Ian on April 24, 2006, 23:23:42 PM
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I know this topic has been "sort of" covered - but in readiness for our first real holiday in our apartment I started to look at the old mobiles we had in order to - get it unlocked - put a Turkish sim card in and leave it there permanently.
However my cheap Motorola T191 won't unlock - according to the websites I have visited.
So I thought - never mind - buy one over there - went onto Migros website - couldn't believe it - mobiles from 246YTL to 1000YTL
So can anyone tell me which cheap "pay as you go" phone I can buy in the UK and take over to have "doctored" accordingly?
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try and get an old/new nokia that has been on vodafone it will be already unlocked to all networks if you get stuck give me a mail
Ron
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Ron - found a "new" Nokia 1600 at £39.95p at Phones4u - will that do?
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I'd agree with you legless on that.A nokia 3310 or 3330 are very reliable and easy to use and most second hand ones are pay as you
go and on vodaphone.Best bet is to look in the free ad papers I
find for cheap stuff like mobiles.Im not sure how it is working
out in Turkey now with sim cards in uk mobiles as there was talk
of having to be registered. I'm sure someone on here will know
though Ian. Good luck.
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I have found lots of Nokia 1100 on ebay at roughly £20.00 sold as "fully unlocked" but with a "free" Orange / O2 / T-Mobile sim. (not as easy to find a vodaphone sim)
Will these do if they are "unlocked" or do I have to get one that was originally set for vodaphone?
Sorry I have never understood unlocking / sim cards etc
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If you really want a vodaphone sim, check out their special offers page at their website. A PAYG sim can be picked up for anything from £2 to nothing, depending on the promotion.
Scunner
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Why the vodaphone Sim? What's the difference?
Anne
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It's red
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pmsl.............can you be serious for once please! :)
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I really don't know, Ian noted that you can't easily get a good deal at ebay for a phone with a vodafone sim, I was pointing out that you can get one for next to nothing anyway.
I have a UK sim for when I go to England, but why vodafone would be better I just do not know.
Scunner
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quote:
Originally posted by legless
try and get an old/new nokia that has been on vodafone it will be already unlocked to all networks if you get stuck give me a mail
Ron
Keith - I really have a "mental block" when it comes to this subject - honest. Therefore I am trying to follow to the letter the advice from Ron - and I suppose my "updated" questions are:
1) If I can buy a brand new unlocked Nokia phone on ebay for £15-£20 - does it matter what network it was originally set up on if it is now sold as "unlocked"?
2) Then if the answer is "no it doesn't have to have been on Vodaphone" do I then take it to a shop in Fethiye and they will put a card in it - charge me about a tenner - and then it will work in Turkey?
3) Then finally (honest) if my Property Management people make a small local call every couple of months as they have agreed to do when checking the apartment - then I will not get cut off and local calls will not cost me about £5 each as they did when I was over in February?
Ps Like to get my monies worth out of one question!!!!
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1) If it's unlocked it will take any sim card.
2) Yes
3) Yes
Stoop
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I must admit I wondered why it had to be a vodaphone sim card.
I think if Ian wants to take a mobile to Turkey and use it all he
needs is a phone that is unlocked which will allow him to use
the Turkish sim card.Whether the existing sim card is vodaphone
02.Orange. or watever is neither here or there.If he just wants
to use it in Turkey he does'nt need any other card just the Turkish
one.The point I was trying to make is that there has been a lot of
talk about changing the way you can only use a mobile phone in the
way Ian wants.I read that you can only use a Turkish sim card in
a mobile phone purchased in Turkey and it has to be registered.
Does anyone know if this is true? If it is Ian is wasting his time
buying an unlocked phone to use in Turkey until he is sure he will
be able to use it.Ian as regards to getting you motorola unlocked If
you take it to any of the mobile phone stalls in any market in the
UK you will get it unlocked for about a tenner there and then.They
will also flog you a vodaphone sim card to put in it if you want.
If you just want a vodaphone sim card for silly money. Go to ebay
type mobile phone sim cards in search. You will get a vodaphone
one on there for 99p.Only gives you a few mins but it will allow you
register it if you want.
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Keith / Webbstar - thanks for your help. I don't know why I want a vodaphone sim card - so from what you two have said - I don't need one!!
As regards the "motorola" T191 - I went on some leading websites that say "we unlock" all phones - but when I put in T191 - the 2 sites I tried said: "sorry we cannot unlock this one - put your name down on a list and we will notify you when we can" - so I took it for granted that is couldn't be done.
Now I will try taking it to a local shop and asking them to do it.
Thanks - Ian
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Hi its Heather here please guys dont get serious your sense of humour is brilliant. I still havnt done any housework he he he
Heather
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Good job I am not looking for a vodaphone sim card in your house then - up to your eyes in muck!
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Ian you are better off going to a local market.There is normally at least one stall that only deals with mobile phones and unlocking
them.I dont know any shops as you say that will unlock a mobile
phone and if they do they will charge a lot.The web sites are too
much hassle anyway as you have to send your phone to them.Markets
are your best bet.I still think you should find out for sure if
you can still take a mobile to Turkey and insert one of their sim
cards and it will work.Preferably before you go :)
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Webbstar - I am not far from a famous market in Bury, Lancashire so I will have a wonder over in the next week or two. If I do get them to "unlock" my cheap (not very often used Motorola T191) - will I still be able to put the original sim card back in and use it anyway until I take it to Turkey or is it then "goosed"? (as we say up North!!!)
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Ian,
Yes you will. If it is unlocked it will take any network sim card.
Stoop
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Cheers - I think I've got it now.
I really do need to keep up with these things - can't keep blaming my age and all I want to do is save about £30 every time I go to my apartment!!!
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i have got it too ,it remembering everything, it will save me a few bob as well,my phone bill was rediculous last time
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My post read that if you find an old Nokia that has been on Vodafone i can gaurantee most will be unlocked you dont need a vodafone sim card in it, I have a nokia 7610 quite new which is unlocked to all networks whenever I am away i just buy a cheap sim card and log on to whatever network i can find, not all other phones that were on Vodafone are unlocked though and you need to take them to someone who can unlock it for you.
A quick test would be to take your sim card out and replace it with a different network sim, say orange or O2 if the phone works on there it is unlocked
Ron ( Phone unlocker )
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Ron - many thanks - I am pretty sure I now understand the mechanics but one last question!
When you buy the sim card in Turkey - do you then need to buy "pay as you go airtime" or is it on the sim card when you buy it?
Ian
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you buy a pay as you go sim but first check that your phone can be registered in Turkey as they now have a new rule that you must register your phone Am not sure how it works though, i left my phone over there last October and from what i gather its been registered OK, some shops ask for your passport as well
Ron
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Got it - a "pay as you go" sim - almost the final piece in my jigsaw!
Does anyone know how you check if your phone can be registered in Turkey? Do you do it over there?
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Yes
Ron
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When we were in Fethiye at the end of March we decided to get a Turkish sim card.We went into a Telsim shop and they were unable to unlock my mobile a Sharp GX 30 but had no problem with my friends Motorola Razor....I bought a basic Nokia phone with sim card for about £40.You did need your passport.
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Jo b - many thanks - I now have a plan - I will try to get my "cheap" Motorola T191 unlocked in the UK before I go - if I can I will go to the Telsim Shop and buy a "pay as you go" sim card - if not I can't get my phone unlocked before I go - I will do what you did.
Wonderful - I now know what I am doing - thanks for the help.
I know this topic may have seemed long-winded for those of you who have already done it - but it has probably meant I will get it sorted now on my next visit and without the forum I suspect it would have been about 6-visits - lots of frustration - a feeling of being ripped off somewhere - and £100+ worse off using my mobile via the UK - THANKS.
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Ian
A bit off topic but how far are you from Bury market as we are just down the road in Radcliffe.
Ken
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legless.
quote:
you buy a pay as you go sim but first check that your phone can be registered in Turkey as they now have a new rule that you must register your phone
Damn! I wish I had thought of telling you that Ian, before legless did.
Oh look I did twice. :)
Seriously though I'm sure you will get sorted out ok Ian.Remember
though those call charges you make to the uk from Turkey will be even
smaller if you keep your other half away from the mobile. :)
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Ken - we are in Castleton Nr Rochdale but I work across Bury and Bolton most days of the week. My office is next to The Village Hotel nr PC World.
Webbstar - apologies - I have re-read and you did tell me.
I always think you are going to get round to telling us how good Liverpool are so maybe sometimes I am reading but not taking it in as I am waiting for the "plug"
Anyway - as I am a Northerner and you have been very helpful - I hope you beat The Hammers by as many as my team did in the semi final of the League Cup in 1990 (I think it was 1990). They had Phil Parkes in goal - very late in his career - we had a plastic pitch - it was a wet night at Ice Station Zebra - Phil couldn't get down to anything on the floor and 6 - 0 springs to mind - oh those were the days!!!
Thanks again - Ian
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Last time I was in Turkey, I took what I thought was the easiest route - bought a basic Nokia in a Fethiye phone shop (yes it has to be registered) and a Turkcell sim card. It wasn't any more expensive to buy than here. We just use it in Turkey, so I don't have to change cards, etc.
Harry and Sheila
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take your IMEI numbers with you if possible.These are the ones on the barcode on the box when you buy the phones ( you know the box that everyone throws away along with the receipts so that you can't claim on Turkish insurance!!)
When we got burgled the Jandarma wanted these numbers as apparently they can locate the culprits from them.
Of course we didn't have them, we phoned O2 and T-mobile from Turkey, but of course they wouldn't give them out, something to do with data protection GREAT !!
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If you put the following into your phone it will show your IMEI number *#06#
Fran
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Bybell - when you say a "basic" Nokia - can you tell me what you paid? I went on the Migros website and the cheapest was 246YTL.
I concluded from that that mobiles in Turkey were not available at £30 as they are in the UK - am I right?
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You can register all mobile phones in your household at www.menduk.org. You can also register mp3 players,, psp's etc. Handy if they need to be reported lost or stolen.
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Before you pay to have your phone unblocked, log onto www.moneysavingexpert.com and go to the phones/utilities section. There are some suggestions there on how to unlock your mobile for free.
Note, they are not all guaranteed to work but it's worth a try for free. A friend of mine has unlocked three different phones using the above website.
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Ian - went on - a good site to save for other reasons - unfortunately does not do any Motorola model. (which to be honest - I want to tell Gill we must take that one to Turkey - so I can replace it with a camera phone for myself - otherwise she will throw my remarks back at me that I make when she is buying new clothes - "what do you need a new one for - nothing wrong with the one you've got!")
Hence my persistence to "kill two birds with one stone" and tell her I really should take it to Turkey as it is an old one of little value!!!
Thanks anyway.
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mobiles are far more expensive to buy out there, I have had several way over the top offers for phones I have taken out there
Tinx
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Tinx - just what I thought - I will try to get my little used but "old" Motorola unlocked this weekend in the UK - if yes fine - if not I will buy an unlocked Nokia off ebay - (£20 - £30) and then take it to a Turkcell shop and ask for a "pay as you go" sim card - sorted!
Do you know - I sound as though I know what I am doing - cheers
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sounds good, thats what we do every time.
Tinx ;)
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Tinx - If it doesn't work - would you mind if we came with you next time???
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no worries, were going next week 8)
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Lucky you - we go May 12th
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see you out there:D
we're not chatting, nobody else wants to add to this thread, so it only looks that way ;)
Tinx
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motorola is not hte best phone for getting unlocked sometimes they work and sometimes they dont
Ron
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useful tip Fran, but too late after it had been stolen!
I will do it on the phones we have left and write the numbers on the insurance policy!
Excellent tip about registering the MP3 players etc, also stolen, and no receipts:(
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Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - Ron - now you tell me after 14 yrs and 272 questions - you tell me that no-one can guarantee to unlock my old Motorola T191 - Webbstar never mentioned that - I am now going to spend the rest of the evening on eBay to buy a second hand Nokia - already unlocked - and if I can't get one I will gladly pay 246YTL at Migros for a mobile phone AND give them a tip!!
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Ian have a word with some of your mates/family you might find that they have one lying about somewere gathering dust
Ron ( helpful phone advice giver )
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I have now had to tell Gill (who also wants a camera phone) the truth - as she wanted to know why I had not moved off the forum for 2 days! She has a "cheap" SAGEM MYX2 (you can tell we don't do designer phones) - so I am going to take both phones to the market at the weekend - I will let you know the outcome!
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I bought new basic nokia with sim & 100 kontors
in turkcell shop in Marmaris last week for 120 ytl
I spent to much time when we were out at christmas
messing around unsucessfully trying to get a new sim
to work in an old uk unlocked phone
If you want a good camera phone the Nokia N70 camera
phone is excellent 2mil pixels! takes mini movies to
saves taking phone and camera out and about!
Carol
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And the cost is ?
Ron
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On pay as you go on Orange Ron you wont get much
change out of £200.I always say a phone is a phone
and a camera is a camera. Combine the two and ok
you get nice little pics but they no way compare
with a decent little digital camera.And you can get
them cheap these days.Camera phones are a novelty
I think for little instant snaps they are just ok
nothing more.I should know I have had about 6 so far
:)
Ian I have a LG U8120 camera phone on 3 network.I
got on the net and all the sites said it could not be
unlocked.I took it to a mobile phone stall and they
unlocked it in 3 mins.Those guys know what they are
doing mate its their living and if they cannot unlock
it no one can, butI bet they can.Even if they cannot
it has'nt cost you a penny has it and I bet they will
fix you up with a little cheap Nokia as well if they
cant unlock it. :)
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Webbstar - I will contine on my chosen path - that you have directed me to - market this weekend.
I trust you although "a LG U8120 camera phone on 3 network" makes me think we live in differnet time-zones!
Wallace - what's a Kontor - nobody has ever mentioned Kontors before - I thought that was when the road curved around a corner???
Ron - hang in there with me mate - we will crack this together - honest!!!
I woke up in the middle of the night "sweating" !!!!!!!
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100 Kontors.....same as your uk top up card that has 100 Units of credit. :)
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BP are giving away free siemens phones at the moment and also I have seen phones for as cheap as 59 lira.
Turk telekom havent got around to blocking unregistered foreign phones yet but you dont know when they will start as they were supposed to start last january.
To register your phone you will need to produce a receipt and if you got it this year the receipt should be stamped by customs.
Like I said, its not certain if they will block or not but save yourself the hassle and buy a phone over here.
goto a normal phone shop and not migros, you will find better deals.
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Haluk - now you have said that I am beginning to think that it is better for the long term and the sake of my sanity I think I will now cancel all my other plans and do what you say. Can you recommend a shop in Fethiye - I am out of town near the Gunlukbasi Road - so I would think there should in that area?
59YTL sounds really god to me!!!! :)
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I have a Nokia 6210/6310i that i take everywere no probs once you start looking at camera phones the price flies up keep it simple get a phone to make calls and get a camera to take pic. there is a shop on Gunlukbasi road does cheap phone will unlock it for you too
Ron
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Ron - which end of Gunlukbasi Road? (I am at the Fethiye end where it crosses the main road and changes to Olu Deniz Road)
Is it my end or further towards Calis?
Thanks - Ian
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Get on the bus after the roundabout going towards Calis then jump off when you see all the shops near the police station, I might even bring over a Nokia that you can buy off me
Ron
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Ron - just got in from work - thanks for directions - I am sure that with all the advice and tips - I will now get a result one way or the other.
Many thanks
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Ian, sorry, been away for a couple of days. When we got off the Dolmus at the Mosque, we dropped down on to the main road and left towards the centre of Fethiye. A 100 yards or so on the other side was a phone shop. We bought a brand new Nokia for (from memory) £30 or so. It doesn't have any model number on it but it is the same basic model you can buy here. The girl in the shop fitted a Turcell sim card in and registered it. It came with 5 or 10 minutes free talk and we bought extra time through the phone online, as required. Total amount at the shop was certainly around £40. Sorry cannot be more precise but I left the bill and paperwork in our apartment. Not surprised about you experience at Migros. We only went there once and were horrified at the prices in general. It seems to be set up for tourists who don't want to risk trying the local shops.
Harry & Sheila
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Harry & Sheila - thanks for your reply- I know exactly where you mean and it sounds great value for money. Does it mean that doing it this way YOUR phone is registered in Turkey so it won't be "switched off" when Turkcell - stop people from using "unlocked" phonmes as referred to earlier in this topic?
Ian
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It means exactly that Ian
Ron
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Just to add an option Ive just heard of
www.oneroam.co.uk
sim card cost £12-99 use it in Turkey make calls to uk for
27p per minute, incoming calls FREE, which is good for me
cause my customers still phone me, and the office, and I
have to pay to recieve the call!!!
worth looking ar there web site they work in most countries
Carol
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Ian did you get it unlocked?
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Webbstar & Other kind patient Contributors - didn't want to be rude - so I thought I should update you. Went into Blackpool today (couldn't get to Bury Market last week) - went to little Market in the Town Centre. Found the mobile stall - saw a handwritten sign on a scruffy piece of cardboard - ANY PHONE UNLOCKED - £10 - approached the man (do they all look suspicious - a bit like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean???). Anyway I asked him if he could unlock my Motorola T191 - he looked at it and said "bl**dy hell that's old - shouldn't be a problem though".
He then ferretted about in an old cardboard box and pulled out a "gizmo" with Motorola on it - said this will doing anything - it didn't. Shook his head and then offered me an "unlocked" Nokia for £20.
The one he offered me had a cover with MCFC / Man City all over it - I told him I didn't like that one from an Aesthetic point of view - I think I confused him - but he got the point and then offered me a Pink One - looked as though the previous owner was Lady Penelope - I told him he must be joking!
I said I would leave it - but he then as I was walking away he said "hang about - I've got a nice plain cover here" and subsequently whipped off the MCFC cover and put a nice looking plain cover on it in about 3 seconds - I then asked him to show me it working with a SIM card in - he ferretted around again and pulled out a really dirty box with SIM cards in - he put one in - it worked - being a trusting soul and feeling I might be being "stitched up" - I said "put the SIM card in out of my Motorola - he did - it worked - I finally asked him if I got a charger with it - he said "yes" - so I bought it.
I felt I needed to get home and have a shower but - I now own an UNLOCKED Nokia - Yesssssssssssssssssssssss!!!
Ps: Would anyone like to purchase a nice Motorola T191 - excellent condition!!!!
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No, but we would have had the Man City cover.....
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Sorry Ian.It seems you did not have much luck on the market you
went to. I am surprised as I have since found out from a few friends of mine that your motorola is easily unlocked. I guess my advice to
you was'nt much use. Sorry about that.I hope you get sorted out
anyway.I am a bit bemused though as to why you actually bought
another phone that was'nt unlocked when you wanted one that was unlocked? You dont sound that gullable?
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Webbstar - no the one I bought is unlocked - your advice was "spot-on" - I am sure I will get a Turkish "pay-as-you-go" sim card next week and everything will be fine. I also understand the subject much better now - so many thanks!
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I am pleased to hear I was of help to you Ian.
I thought to be honest you were getting too much
advice on your original posting. Its good that
so many want to help but I have noticed how the
answers to the original question does tend to get
"lost" in the plain answer you are seeking. :)
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Thought I should just say - my reason for seeing this through and NOT letting go is that I have 2 of my 4 children (James 24 and Kate 23 who live with their Mum) recently out of University and in their first typically low paid jobs on the ladder - and not having a holiday this year.
So I said "go to the apartment" - they have never been to Turkey before - I can't go with them - Lemon 3 really is a little "out of the way" and I wanted to be able to speak with them each night for the first few nights to make sure they were o.k - as it is too much to try and explain everything to them.
I am not "loaded" and have to be sensible with my money and make it go as far as possible and I have noticed this is one area where you can get caught out both here and when in Turkey!
There is a number I got through JUST Dial - which charges 10p a minute (+ your local call rate - 5p up to an hour for me) so I thought I would sort this out in May as they may go in June.
The number is: 0870 570 0000 FOR MOBILES and 7p a minute to Turkish landlines on: 0870 801 8000 - for both numbers just wait for the inroduction and you then dial your Turkish number at any point.
Hope this helps some of you?
Ps It is a different number for Istanbul only - go to http://www.just-dial.com
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Hi Ian - try these numbers. As I've said before, my husband is always ringing his family in Turkey and so we are always trying to find cheap ways to ring them. these seem to be the best at the moment but they are always changing - you just have to keep looking.
Turkish Landlines - 0844 200 9090 = 1/2p per minute
- 0844 861 7474 = 1p per minute
- 0844 721 0001 = 1p per minute
- 0844 861 0001 = 1p per minute
Turkish Mobiles (ie with Turkish SIM card) - 0871 772 9595 = 7p per minute
- 0871 551 9797 = 8p per minute
- 0871 551 1717 = 8p per minute
As you can see there is a big difference in prices. Could you perhaps arrange with Erdal that you would telephone his landline number at a given time and speak to your children on his landline? Just an idea to save you some money as it is amazing how quickly the costs mount up.
regards Janet
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Janet - just seen your post - I can't believe it - 1p per minute - I thought I was smart at 7p - and yes - I could tell the children to have something to eat there for the first few nights at 6pm - and I am sure he would let me ring his landline.
Everyone wins except BT or Vodaphone. The money I would save would pay for their meals at the prices he charges!!!
Many thanks
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You're welcome
Janet
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You're welcome
Janet
NB 0844 200 9090 = 1/2p per minute
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Webstar & Others - thought it was only right to tell you the end of the "cheap mobile story".
Took my unlocked Nokia to a little corner shop near our apartment. Purchased Turkish Turkcell SIM card with 100 kontors for 20 YTL. Took my passport as advised and he did ask for it. He then opened the sealed pack with the SIM card - put it into my phone - entered the PIN number on the card - and said - PROBLEM - your phone doesn't work in Turkey. I felt obliged to buy the card as he had opened the pack. He said - you need to buy another phone.
I was so depressed (particularly after 7 pages and 13 years of advice on this subject from the forum members!!!)
So I took my SIM card home with me put it in ther drawer. 2 days later thought I would put the SIM in myself and enter the PIN - first 2 attempts failed - 3rd attempt - BINGO - I was on the network - it worked perfectly! Maybe there were problems with the network when the man tried???
My faith was restorted in the forum - I subsequently made about 10 calls whilst in Turkey and still have 40 kontors left - YES!!!!!!
Thank you all VERY MUCH!!!!
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Was probably just a bit of oil or dust on the sim card Ian.
They wont work unless they are really clean.Glad you got
there in the end though.Although it took a bloody long time :)
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..or a canny chap trying to sell you a phone???
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Actually if anyone is interested we have a nice
LG U8110 3G flip top phone for sale.Its unlocked
so will accept any network sim card. It was on
3network on contract so we got it unlocked.It has
camera/video and is a smashing little phone and not
a scratch on it.If interested email me. :)