HOW TO BUY CHINA MOBILE SIM CARD & INTERNET PLANS?

Updated September 9, 2020

How to buy a mobile SIM card in China? Which mobile internet and Wi-Fi plans are the best in China?

*Smart phones and WeChat App are very popular in China.*

Well, I live in China (Shanghai). In this post, I’ll take you through the process of buying a new mobile SIM card and internet connections in the mainland China.

In particular, in September 2020, I changed my internet plans (both apartment Wi-Fi, and mobile data). Let me summarize the whole process for the future China expats.

Mobile Operators In China

There are three main mobile service providers/operators in China:

China Mobile (中国移动, Zhōngguó yídòng)
China Telecom (中国电信, Zhōngguó diànxìn)
China Unicom (中国联通, Zhōngguó liántōng)

During my 3 years of stay in China, I have tried all three of them (I never had a postpaid connection). Now, I’m glad to share more about them.

*How to buy China mobile sim card & internet plans*?

Which One Is The Best Operator?

My recommendation goes with China Mobile prepaid card. Yep, I will recommend China Mobile for both Wi-Fi and mobile internet connection. China Telecom is second best. If you can’t find either of them, China Unicom is okay.

Customer Care Helpline numbers?

Here are the phone numbers of customer service representatives:

China Mobile: 10086 (中国移动联系电话/客服电话: 10086)
China Telecom: 10000 (客服热线: 10000)
China Unicom: 10011 (充值服务热线: 10011)

Well, all the three operators have English customer care representatives. They do speak a decent level of English. However, make sure to speak slowly when you communicate with them.

How To Buy A Mobile SIM Card In China?

How to get a new mobile phone number in China? It’s very simple. If you just need a basic Chinese phone number, you can get it within a few minutes. Just bring your passport to the designated outlets of any of the aforementioned three mobile operators. You have to sign during the application process (digital signature).

It’s worth mentioning that whether you are coming China for a long term stay (study/work), or just a short term travel, you can buy the SIM card by just showing up. They don’t check your Chinese visa.

If you are travelling to China, you can also consider buying a SIM card at the airport.

However, if you are coming to China for work, or a long-term stay, you’ll need to be a bit more careful. You’ll better sped some time interacting with the representatives about the suitable plans. Otherwise, you may end up buy a plan that you don’t really need.

In fact, when you visit the store, you’ll better bring your Chinese friend with you. Google Translate App can help you save the situation as well. You can pre-type your requirements before showing up. This will save yours and their time. 🙂

What if you end up buying a wrong plan? Don’t worry! You can always change the plan. It’s just that you’ll need to visit the store again.

Price Of A New Chinese SIM Card?

The new SIM card is actually free. However, in the beginning, you’ll have to pay upfront as you are buying a prepaid plan. Overall, the cost of new SIM card is about RMB 100. It often includes your initial data and calls.

In China, we don’t generally call/message on the phone as WeChat is used for daily communication (both texting and audio/video calls).

You may have to pay about RMB 100 in the beginning for your new plan. If you need Wi-Fi, you may have to buy a new router. You can buy a router on JingDong (京东) for RMB 100. The mobile operators can also supply you the router for an extra cost, however, it can be a bit expensive.

My Previous SIM Card And Internet Plan

I was using China telecom SIM card for the past 2.5 years. My plan included Wi-Fi in the room, and mobile internet (hand phone). Both Wi-Fi and mobile internet had no monthly data limit. However, for the phone internet data, the first 20 GB would come with high speed. Over 20 GB, the speed will be slow. I paid RMB 130/month for this plan.

I used to top up every month by using AliPay.

The problem with China Telecom? Well, my phone internet was quite okay. However, the Wi-Fi speed in my room really sucked. The speed was just too poor. That’s why, I thought of changing my Wi-Fi connection, from China Telecom to China mobile.

I Went To China Mobile Office

I visited a nearby outlet of China Mobile. I got a new plan: RMB 38/month for unlimited Wi-Fi monthly data. I could have obtained much higher speed Wi-Fi for RMB 58/month. However, my router was too slow to support a higher speed.

The next day, a technician came to my room, and he enabled the Wi-Fi connection. It turned out the Wi-Fi infrastructure in my room was so poor that I couldn’t even use a higher speed router. My 2.5 year old router was good enough.

I got a new Wi-Fi in my room without any problem. The speed of China Mobile Wi-Fi was better than the previous China telecom. However, my building’s Wi-Fi infrastructure sucked.

That’s why I should not probably blame China Telecom for slow Wi-Fi speed. The Wi-Fi infrastructure in my residential building didn’t support a very high speed Wi-Fi internet. 🙁

I could have changed my apartment. However, I realized it after buying the China Mobile SIM card (anyways, changing apartment was not in my mind).

My phone number still belonged to China Telecom.

Since I didn’t need China Telecom Wi-Fi, I wanted to change my data plan for something less than RMB 130/month (while retaining the same phone number).

Visiting China Telecom Office

I went to a nearby China telecom office. I was told to visit another office, about 5KM away, to change my plan. The representative suggested me to carry my passport.

After a couple of days, I went to another office of China Telecom. It was quite big office.

I wanted to retain my same phone number. And I needed new mobile internet plan, preferably at a cheaper rate.

The representative suggested me the following China Telecom mobile internet plans:

RMB 99/month: 20 GB/month, internet data could be used in whole China
RMB 79/month: 10 GB/month, internet data could be used in whole China
RMB 39/month: 5 GB/month, internet data could be used in whole China

I learned that if I exceed these data limits, I could buy additional data at RMB 5/GB. Since I already had China Mobile Wi-Fi in my room, RMB 39/month plan looked cheaper to me. I bought the RMB 39/month plan.

I retained my old phone number.

My New Monthly Phone Expenses

RMB 38 + RMB 39 = RMB 77.

Basically, I changed my internet plan for RMB 77/month.

Well, I don’t think I need more internet data than 5GB/month on my phone (already have Wi-Fi in my room).

China Unicom?

I have used China Unicom SIM card and mobile internet. RMB 100 initial payment. Rest depends on your plan. China Unicom is also quite nice. It seems we can’t simultaneously own two SIM cards of China Unicom for a given passport number. However, I often had two phone numbers of China Mobile.

Final Thoughts

Buying a SIM card in China is very easy. I recommend buying a China Mobile prepaid SIM card. RMB 100. You can very well manage your unlimited internet expenses for about RMB 150/month in China.

Any questions about how to buy China Mobile SIM card? Chinese internet plans? Just give me a shout!