AlessandraZoe

I know my way around SIM-card world. I have two Nokia GSM phones (unlocked) with the appropriate operable bands. Have used these successfully in France, Spain, and New Zealand.

I had expected to arrive, go to the prevailing shop (Turkcell?), get SIMs, move on. I know from Spain that there's a process. Fine. I'll deal.

We-ell, my research is showing that it ain't all that easy. Turkey has instituted laws on cell phones that indicate, if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly, that both the SIM AND the phone need to be registered. And people who seem to have dotted i's and crossed t's have had their service locked out in one week. Even Turkey Travel Planner has been more or less indicating "no guarantees."

I will be in Turkey exactly 18 days. I could operate with just a telecarte ( I loved those pre cell phone madness) and available wifi/computer, for most of this, but I'm going to be on a cycling trip smack dab in the middle of those 18 days, and if past experience is a predictor of future happenstance, I shall a) get lost, b) have a flat tire, c) fall off my bike and need medical treatment, and above all d) wish to be "beamed up" sometime by the touring shuttle.

Ergo--Tell me what in the heck recent visitors have done. Recent experiences (2011-2012) only please!!!!!

logos999

A foreign card that has active roaming always works with any phone without limitations.

AlessandraZoe

Thank you, logos999. I am hoping that is so. Do you have a favorite SIM that I can buy online before I leave? I don't use these phones in the States.

While we are on the topic, I've been looking at Holiday Phone (http://www.holidayphone.com/products...category_id=22) but I have not seen anyone here using that.

That's why I'm checking everything out.

logos999

The best cards with free incoming calls are available only in Europe/Germany, German cards from "Türkcell EU" or "türk telekom mobile". http://turkcell.de/ or http://www.turktelekommobile.de

Try getting them on ebay.com or ebay.de
There are many offers on Ebay.de. None of them seem to ship to north America. At least they don't say.

Those cards won't be deactivated as they are German SIMs, if you think it's too risky to just register SIM and the phones serial number in Turkey.

mohan

I just came back from Turkey and I also have an unlocked Nokia. We got our sim card from Turkcell in Marmaris, the sales person made copy of our passport and he had some forms to fill out. It costs US $30.
I still have the sim card and it is totally unused but I don't think it's transferable( i really don't know).
I don't know about getting it on Ebay, the purpose of the simcard is for emergency, it really has to work when it's supposed to work. I think it's good to have your personal info attach to it so if anything happens, people can find you.

AlessandraZoe

Mohan--This is helpful.

Can you tell me how long were you there? I've been reading reports that one week, maybe two weeks, the phone service just cuts out. There seems to be a grace period, and then "poof", gone.

mohan

I was there for 15 days.
My understanding is that X amount of $ will buy you X amount of minutes. You can spend much more than $30 but I just didn't think it would be necessary. The sales person did not mention anything about expiration date but then maybe he forgot. Please find out and let me know if it does expire.
I saw many cyclists in Cappadocia. That's my favorite place in Turkey. Have fun.
Hope you don't need this but the police number is 155.

windscape

you have to register the phone and the SIM; that is true. I don't know how long it lasts... you also have to buy a 180 day visa in the airport for 20USD 15EUR or 10GBP no credit cards accepted. It would seeem, but probably is not true, that your sim would then work 180 days. What I do know for a fact, is that you must do this registration business within the first 29-30 days if you're going to be staying, and they will only let you register one phone per passport. My son bought a phone in Germany, we came back to Istanbul April 11. Everytime we went to register the phone "Ankara was offline" or the shop was too busy (it's far awy from home and we have no car.) Sunday May 13 was too late. We now must leave the country, or keep the phone in its box and have none, or buy another. Good Luck!

logos999

ebay #300704650932 has what you want. Free incoming from anywhere, 0.15€ per minute to Turkish phones, 1.29 to overseas. Can be activated over the internet, used with any phone without a risk of deactivation as it's a foreign based card. Shipped to worldwide.

AlessandraZoe

Just wanted to follow up on this again.

I've done even more research, and I'm still getting mixed reports on any and all options. At least poster Mohan had a positive experience,and I'm heartened by that. Again, Mohan, thanks for that and for the police number. Let's hope I don't use it!

Below is the basic plan I assumed we'd follow before I created the original post (keep in mind that we often purchase one-country SIMs and we usually top off once per trip)

--ORIGINAL PLAN--
As soon as we arrived in Istanbul, we'd head to some cell phone shop with someone who spoke English. We'd buy two Turkcell SIMs. Our phones IMEIs and our passports would be registered together. In an hour or two, our phones would work. We would top off our phones as needed.
--END OF ORIGINAL PLAN--

However, my research showed and has continued to show a wide variation of success and a lot of frustration. Here are just two interesting threads...

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/d...d_problem.html
http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?p=6618

And I can list so many more. The most common themes are that...
...Some people have had success for a bit using FOREIGN SIM cards--until their phones suddenly shut off.
...Some people have had no problems--their cells were operable in under an hour and they had no glitches. I would say most of those people left the country within a two-week period
...Some people had their phones working well in around two to 24 hours, but then the phone totally shut off at the end of two weeks (the mysterious "grace" period ended).
...Some people who had had their phone registered before and had problems could not get a new SIM OR a new PHONE with new SIM to work (were violating one phone registered to one passport rule).

I do understand what Turkey is trying to do. They want to stop black market sales of phones and SIMs, and they want to have a handle on terrorists. Again, it STILL seems that the registration process allows a grace period for the paperwork to catch up, but no one is sure about the exact timing of the grace period. And if the registration never takes place, it seems that you're totally out of luck.

Need more info? This page on a Flyertalk disussion relates a lot of details, too:
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/euro...-report-2.html
and from LonelyPlanet:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntre...readID=2085331

What do I plan to do now?

Unless I find out something else, I actually think we're going to stick with our first plan: go to the first Turkcell shop after we get our entry Visa stamp. If the phones still do not work after two days, we'll be returning to the airport to head south anyway and maybe someone there can troubleshoot. Our first hotel in Istanbul's owner speaks just lovely English, and I'm sure that will be a help, too.

Expect a follow-up in about a month on this.
Thank you for your responses, guys.
AZ

otherchelebi

Stick to your original plan. DW says there should be no problems. We have registered enough telephones for our kids and friends coming over from the States in the last five years or so, since that became a requirement and it was usually DW, after I retired and could no longer afford a driver. DW aill also get rather upset if people do not listen to her.

AlessandraZoe

Thanks, otherchelebi.

I laughed so hard when you mentioned DW's being upset when people do not listen.

My husband often told my children: "Remember, she is ALWAYS right--even if she is not"

Does DW have a preferred shop where we should go for the SIMs????

otherchelebi

Currently we use Turkcell. after an interval of five years on vodaphone. We think Turkcell has more extensive coverage within Turkey and possibly more advantages but they make sure that you cannot easily compare the different operators price wise.

We recently bought a Turkcell card to a visiting friend for a week or so. The procedures are simple. One of the lines we got in the last few months started operating within an hour but the other one took somewhat longer.

If you have problems send me a message on Fodors and we will help if we can.

i think the Turkcell kiosk is on your right as you come out of the customs area at IST.

AlessandraZoe

Hugs to entire clan for this info!