using phone for travelling in India

Voyager2002

[Deleted User] said:

You can usually buy a SIM card at the airport when you arrive. They are designed for travellers, put the card in and it just works with no registration.

Not in India! The process of getting a local SIM card is long and complicated, and after that activation takes about three days. Even then, a pre-paid SIM will not work in Jammu and Kashmir.

Voyager2002

[Deleted User] said:

The staff at the airport will know how to get it set up quickly. Which airport?

From what I read you can just go to the Airtel store at Delhi airport and they will get you a prepaid SIM, handling all the registration and activation. You just need your passport as ID.

Highly unlikely.

Earlier this year I arrived at a different airport, and later spent a day in Delhi (city) trying and failing to get a SIM card.

eastmidsaver

thanks for all your comments.  
it is helpful.

tightauldgit

Voyager2002 said:

[Deleted User] said:

You can usually buy a SIM card at the airport when you arrive. They are designed for travellers, put the card in and it just works with no registration.

Not in India! The process of getting a local SIM card is long and complicated, and after that activation takes about three days. Even then, a pre-paid SIM will not work in Jammu and Kashmir.

Again I'm speculating but a specific tourist SIM may well have different requirements for registration - but may only be available from specific locations. 

All the normal blogger/tourist websites seem to suggest you can get a tourist SIM from Delhi airport and possibly Mumbai now relatively easily. But if you buy elsewhere requirements may differ.

I think Jammu and Kashmir are special cases

[Deleted User]

Voyager2002 said:

[Deleted User] said:

The staff at the airport will know how to get it set up quickly. Which airport?

From what I read you can just go to the Airtel store at Delhi airport and they will get you a prepaid SIM, handling all the registration and activation. You just need your passport as ID.

Highly unlikely.

Earlier this year I arrived at a different airport, and later spent a day in Delhi (city) trying and failing to get a SIM card.

That's not what Airtel say. I suppose they could be lying, and there is a constant stream of angry customers arriving at their booth only to be turned away.

I think you are confused. Getting a normal SIM probably is hard, it is in many countries. But tourist SIMs are different. Sometimes they have restrictions, like you must have a foreign passport, or they can't make voice calls (use Skype).

Voyager2002

[Deleted User] said:

Voyager2002 said:

[Deleted User] said:

The staff at the airport will know how to get it set up quickly. Which airport?

From what I read you can just go to the Airtel store at Delhi airport and they will get you a prepaid SIM, handling all the registration and activation. You just need your passport as ID.

Highly unlikely.

Earlier this year I arrived at a different airport, and later spent a day in Delhi (city) trying and failing to get a SIM card.

That's not what Airtel say. I suppose they could be lying, and there is a constant stream of angry customers arriving at their booth only to be turned away.

I think you are confused. Getting a normal SIM probably is hard, it is in many countries. But tourist SIMs are different. Sometimes they have restrictions, like you must have a foreign passport, or they can't make voice calls (use Skype).

I only post my experience. I arrived at Lucknow airport, and there was absolutely no way to get any kind of SIM there. Later I arrived at the main railway station in (Old) Delhi, asked at the tourist information counter and then continued asking and exploring... by the end of the day I had still not found anyone willing to provide me with a SIM. True, I did not get to Delhi airport, but it is unlikely that it is the only location that offers this service.

Mamaramotswe

My plan is to buy a Lebara data sim in UK which is prepaid and lasts for a month. I intend to activate it just before I leave UK on a spare phone and then use it as a hotspot for my regular phone whilst travelling. Anyone see a problem with this plan? I can currently get 20GB for only £5.

Voyager2002

Mamaramotswe said:

My plan is to buy a Lebara data sim in UK which is prepaid and lasts for a month. I intend to activate it just before I leave UK on a spare phone and then use it as a hotspot for my regular phone whilst travelling. Anyone see a problem with this plan? I can currently get 20GB for only £5.

Have you confirmed that it will work, at that price, when in India? 

shell0672

eastmidsaver said:

hi,
i am wondering what is the best, and most cost effective way to use phone when travelling in India,  for around 1 month.
i have seen some options as follows:
a) get a Lebara PAYG Sim card.   but issue with this is having to have a new number, registering it etc.  and if it will actually work when out there.
b) get an E-Sim,  but i don't think my phone is compatible with these.
c) get to India, and then buy a local SIM card.   maybe cheaper,  but maybe still issue of needing to register it etc.
if anyone has any ideas,  it would be appreciated.

Hi Just wondering if you able to help me decide what to do regarding this for our holiday in Goa this March, I am reading conflicting info as to whether SIM's are available at the airport in Goa and we are arriving in the new one called Mopa which I am hearing is even less likely. Have been looking at Lebara and was wondering if you can advise what you did in the end. TIA 

jnoire

shell0672 said:

eastmidsaver said:

hi,
i am wondering what is the best, and most cost effective way to use phone when travelling in India,  for around 1 month.
i have seen some options as follows:
a) get a Lebara PAYG Sim card.   but issue with this is having to have a new number, registering it etc.  and if it will actually work when out there.
b) get an E-Sim,  but i don't think my phone is compatible with these.
c) get to India, and then buy a local SIM card.   maybe cheaper,  but maybe still issue of needing to register it etc.
if anyone has any ideas,  it would be appreciated.

Hi Just wondering if you able to help me decide what to do regarding this for our holiday in Goa this March, I am reading conflicting info as to whether SIM's are available at the airport in Goa and we are arriving in the new one called Mopa which I am hearing is even less likely. Have been looking at Lebara and was wondering if you can advise what you did in the end. TIA 

I did what others had to say about Lebara. Moved to Lebara for this reason two months before going to India. I got the Unlimited plan which costs £25 per month. With this plan, everything is Unlimited in the UK but you can use a very generous 30GB in India on roaming!
I was sure I made the right decision. 

But when I landed there, it was connecting to the local Vodafone network whenever it fancied. I even selected it specifically to connect to “Vodafone Idea” (as Vodafone network is called in India) instead of the choose network “Automatically” option. 

No connectivity meant that I wasted quite a lot of time and didn’t have the connectivity when I needed it.

Just so you know, I did all the changes to the mobile data settings on my iPhone 14plus as per the Lebara website. 

I visited India on business and I did have my work phone with me which was on the Vodafone network in the UK. 

While both Vodafone UK and Lebara sims use the Vodafone network in India, when my work phone was showing as having “4G”, Lebara was showing as “E” most of the times. 

The claim by Lebara that you can use 30GB on roaming in India is a farce when you cannot even connect to the network.

Lebara is an absolute waste of money and time for roaming in India!