Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum

Information and Services in Turkey Section => Telephones, Broadband and Mobiles => Topic started by: tribalelder on December 11, 2008, 14:22:45 PM

Title: Mobile phones
Post by: tribalelder on December 11, 2008, 14:22:45 PM
Some of you may recall in the period 18 months-2 years or so ago mobile phones brought in from the UK had to be registered or they were blocked when using a Turkish sim card.  Anyone know the current situation.... does it still apply or after the first frenzy has it fallen by the wayside ?
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: lindacarl on December 11, 2008, 15:23:25 PM
Might not apply BUT you'll find it's hard work getting a Sim card for them & registering them. I think if you just put a sim card in them it'll be shut off quite quickly - we heard 1-2 weeks.

We tried to get a Sim for our mobile that we weren't sure if was registered or not BUT the computers apparently were down for UK phones!!!! Carls new mobile they said they could register BUT computes down - come back next week, next week & week after the computers down - this was in a few shops in Sept/Oct.

In the end we bought a cheap Turkish phone & forgot about registering another phone - too much hassle! Maybe out of season you might have better luck BUT apparently it was the place that register them they said was down.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: HappyMonday on December 11, 2008, 17:24:23 PM
We have now resorted to phone cards and a SIM4Travel sim that I just put in the phone when in Turkey and top up on the internet. Costs 25p a minute calling the UK.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: GordonA on December 13, 2008, 10:38:13 AM
Migros are selling mobile phones for approx. 46Ytl. It won't make you a cup of tea, or take piccies, etc. etc. etc. but it is a phone!!:D: :)
Gordy.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: tribalelder on December 13, 2008, 13:25:11 PM
I have already got two English mobiles which are correctly registered and both working fine. I merely wondered what the current UK phone "Blocking" status  was.....nothing stays the same here:D
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: kevin b on December 13, 2008, 13:30:17 PM
What is the cost to register UK phone.Will aUK phone need unlocking to use Turkish sim.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: number2 on December 13, 2008, 13:35:57 PM
I got mine registered in August, the first 2 times i was told computer down, but the second time she also told me 10am, so i realised she meant they didn't do it in the afternoons, the following morning i went in and had it registered, no trouble. Alan
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: brianthegardener on December 13, 2008, 15:31:21 PM
I registered my UK phone, cost me 5ytl, works perfectly..no problems at all...took girl about 1 minute to do it :)
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: saoirse on December 13, 2008, 18:27:47 PM
where exactly do you go to get it registered
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: brianthegardener on December 13, 2008, 19:32:39 PM


go to the main Turkcell shop on back road in Fethiye, not far from HSBC bank, on the same side of road as bank.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: saoirse on December 13, 2008, 19:42:33 PM
thanks. do I need the Turkish words for could you register this please or is English spoken?
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: brianthegardener on December 13, 2008, 19:58:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by saoirse

thanks. do I need the Turkish words for could you register this please or is English spoken?



english is spoken....just tell one of the staff what you want...give them the phone and they will register the phone for you, you need to take your passport with you.:D
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: saoirse on December 13, 2008, 20:04:00 PM
You are a star, thanx a lot. Just to be totally specific if I am at the HSBC bank is the Turkcell shop up the street (ie going with the traffic) or down the street?

I know I sound like a plonker but I went to a Turkcell shop in Fethiye once before to get my mobey registered and they hadnt a clue what I was on about
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: brianthegardener on December 13, 2008, 20:36:43 PM
quote:
Originally posted by saoirse

You are a star, thanx a lot. Just to be totally specific if I am at the HSBC bank is the Turkcell shop up the street (ie going with the traffic) or down the street?

I know I sound like a plonker but I went to a Turkcell shop in Fethiye once before to get my mobey registered and they hadnt a clue what I was on about




past HSBC bank the way the traffic goes, up the street:D
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: lance on December 14, 2008, 00:12:23 AM
Do all turkcell shops give this service.,


quote:
Originally posted by brianthegardener



go to the main Turkcell shop on back road in Fethiye, not far from HSBC bank, on the same side of road as bank.

Title: Mobile phones
Post by: brianthegardener on December 14, 2008, 05:04:37 AM
Lance...i cant speak for the other Turkcell shops all i can say is ive had no problems at all with the one im using on back road...speak as you find...ecellent service to me:D
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: wickwilly on December 14, 2008, 17:25:06 PM
Lance. I think the only shop to do the service is the one on the back road that Brianthegardner is talking about. If you go up the road opposite the PTT to the top and turn right it is the first Turkcel shop on the right hand side. It is called Koyuncuoglu.They have another branch opposite the big mosque but cant do the registration there.

WW
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: lindacarl on December 14, 2008, 17:39:58 PM
This is the same shop we were trying. Maybe there was a glitch with the system in October? We went back morning & afternoon & in the end just bought a Turkish one. They said they couldn't do my (previously probably registered) phone but would do Carls new one IF the system came up again.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: Chinook on December 14, 2008, 18:48:23 PM
Registered an additional UK mobile phone and got a sim card last month. Took 5 minutes at Turkcell and cost 20YTL which included 100 units. Don't forget to take passport.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: Denton on January 05, 2009, 16:33:18 PM
Can any of you let me know if your UK mobile has to be Unlocked and if it does, can the Turkcell shop do this for you, or do you have to get it unlocked in the UK before coming over.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: amanda bullock on January 05, 2009, 16:50:10 PM
i think you have to have free roaming on it from your provider.Sure someone will let you know soon.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: mercury on January 05, 2009, 18:33:06 PM
We brought a new mobile phone out for our Turkish friend. He had it unlocked here. We took ours to a Turcell shop in Fethiye for unlocking when we first came out here. Then had it registered.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: sonic008 on January 12, 2009, 14:33:57 PM
if you have a mobile, with orange t mobile vodaphone o2 and it is locked to their sim, you need it unlocked to put a turkish sim in or anyother suppliers sim , for that matter, www.trycktill.com  do unlock codes for most Nokia and some other makes, just select the english flag(dutch site) and follow the easy step by step instructions, before leaving the UK. It also increases the value of re sale as it can then be used by anyone for any sim!!
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: tonysue on March 22, 2009, 11:20:36 AM
If I buy a new phone in the UK  can I have it unlocked to take both turkish and english sim and can it be registered in both countries so I can swap the sims accordingly? If I buy In uk must I register it here first? or should I buy a cheapy just for turkish use and if so must that be registered in uk first?  Sorry for the ramble, I have read the thread thru, just call me stupid. :-\
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: philrose on March 22, 2009, 11:40:42 AM
No need to register for UK as long as it's unlocked it should work with any UK sim. You will need to register the handset with whatever provider you use in Turkey. Just go into the shop that you bought the sim card from and they will sort it for you. You will probably need your pasport to do this.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: tonysue on March 23, 2009, 11:58:42 AM
Thanks philrose. I understand  Turkish mobiles are turned off if not used for a period of time. This being the case , can I not make a call from Uk on Turkish mobile? This way the phone would still be used and provider still getting a chargable event.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: philrose on March 23, 2009, 12:47:36 PM
As I understand it they have to be topped up with credit every 3 months to keep them active rather than being used. There was a topic about how to do this from the UK recently.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: bewva on March 23, 2009, 12:48:38 PM
Sue,
We have a phone bought in Turkey with a Turkcell sim.
We need to add credit to it every 3 months or you can't make outgoing calls from it. If you dont add credit or make a call in 6 mths it gets locked (I believe).
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: mary anne on March 23, 2009, 22:10:55 PM
Is it the sim that is locked and the phone itself is OK?
I know that we have not been in Turkey since last October so fully expect the sim to be defunct. I hope it is not the phone as well - what a swizz. If so I will just take another phone from UK and register it with a new sim. I could sell hand sets have so many lying around the house, so hopefully at least one will be OK. Shame really as my wee nokia dead simple is perfectly fine for what I need it for in Turkey. Thanks for any advice Mary
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: philrose on March 24, 2009, 05:45:11 AM
It is the phone number that gets blocked, not the phone.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: philrose on March 24, 2009, 05:55:47 AM
quote:
Originally posted by bewva

Sue,
We have a phone bought in Turkey with a Turkcell sim.
We need to add credit to it every 3 months or you can't make outgoing calls from it. If you dont add credit or make a call in 6 mths it gets locked (I believe).


With Turkcell, once the first 90 days are up you then get 90 days after this to top up but you cannot make any calls, after that there is a 30 day final period where you can still top up but you can neither make or receive calls.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: CeeDee on March 25, 2009, 09:12:16 AM
Hi All,
I have been coming to Calis for the last 3years (since we bought our place)and every year we come home having used our Mobiles over there to text and ring people, and have a heart attack when our bills arrive, and every time we say we must by a cheap turkish phone to use when we are there, this year I am determined to get one but need some advice on how it all works;
All we need is a basic phone that we can text and ring people in Calis and back in UK
Is it better to get a contract  (not sure if this is possible), or Pay as you go ?.
Do you need to register ?
I have been told to leave it with someone to make a call every couple months to avoid being cut off, is this correct ?
How easy is it to top up, can this be done in Calis, or do you have to go to Fethiye ?
Any idea on call and text charges, both locally and back to the UK ?

Apologies if this has been covered before.
Chris
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: tonysue on March 25, 2009, 11:26:44 AM
Ceedee, I am in the same boat. Bought a cheap PAYG samsung in Asda for a tenner the other day and an unlock code from ebay (99p). Unlocked it no problem, so I will now take it to Turkey next week and have it registered and buy sim at Turkcell shop in Fethiye. After reading the threads on here I think this is the cheapest option. You can now top-up online at your turkish bank to keep your sim active or buy a new sim from same shop if you get cut off. This is the theory- I will let you know if it works out in practice:D:D
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: cef on March 25, 2009, 12:45:03 PM
I don't think you need to buy an extra moby for Turkey, just the sim card, get the phone registered & opened for roaming (Turkcell shop on the one way rd in Fethiye is good).  PAYG is fine, buy a top card or 2, to bring back with you.

I was last over in Oct 08, I've just topped up at the weekend & it's functioning ok again  :).  If you leave it too long (180 days, I think) you loose the number & have to buy another sim card.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: bewva on March 25, 2009, 12:57:57 PM
A cheap moby in Turkey is about £35. I bought one 2 years ago from a Turkcell shop but you can also get in Asda or Migros.
I had previously regitered a UK phone but it still got barred, hence buying a Turkish one.
I set it for roaming so I can make calls from the UK to keep it active and I also take a couple of 100 kontor cards home with me to top it up in winter.
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: kevin3 on March 25, 2009, 18:55:16 PM
Thanks for that Bewva,Any problems with the menu language.??
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: bewva on March 25, 2009, 22:30:32 PM
Phone menu no probs as you can select English on phone. turkcel however insist on sending you texts regularly with offers of free Kontors etc but they are in turkish, even though they know you are registered as an english user.
Bewva
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: brianthegardener on March 26, 2009, 05:55:26 AM

I wouldnt expect the turkcell text messages to be in any other lannguage here in Turkey., except turkish..like wise in Uk i wouldnt expect the text messages from the networks there to be in any other lannguage than english..im sure the turks living in uk have the same problem reading there messages to !!
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: kevin3 on March 26, 2009, 07:23:41 AM
Thanks Bewva.! ;)
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: CeeDee on March 26, 2009, 07:51:29 AM
Thanks for info guys,
I think I will buy a couple of phones when I'm there (one for son so we know where he is!!).
Any idea of charges for texts/calls
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: brianthegardener on March 26, 2009, 10:04:37 AM
2 kontors per message
Title: Mobile phones
Post by: starman on March 27, 2009, 10:40:19 AM
I pay 24 lira and get 1000 texts per month to any network. Contract phone though as I cant work with the pay as you go ones.
You will need residence for a contract phone though.