Czech Republic

[9eor9]

Hi,

Do I need a legal address in Czech Republic to buy a Prepaid SIM? Do I need to register it? Can I also use a hotel's address?

THX

[9eor9]

When I buy a SIM, let's say a Vodafone, are there any activation or any settings necessary?
Or is it "plug and play", means insert SIM, enter PIN and call. I ask this because I don't know one word czech.

[kuba.g]

I bought a O2 sim card in Prague last year, no address was needed and the seller spoke excellent English (as usual in the Czech Republic). I only needed to show my passport.

[meir]

No need to show even passport, I believe.

[Lukas]

Hi, no need of passport or ID card. You can buy prepaid sim almost everywhere but i would recommend you to buy it at an official store of the provider.

[NFH]

Does anyone know much about T-Mobile CZ? It seems like a good option, but their web site (http://www.t-mobile.cz) is only in Czech, unlike O2 and Vodafone, which I guess puts off many temporary visitors.

Their Twist SIM card (https://www.t-mobile.cz/web/cz/osobni/volani/predplacene-karty/twist-nasim) seems like a good deal, particularly as it says "Dobíjíte si, jen když potřebujete" (recharging only when needed), it's only CZK 200 (unlike O2) and you get free data with a new SIM card and top-ups.

[NFH]

It turned out that T-Mobile was a complete waste of time. They wanted CZK 200 for a mini-SIM, which they would cut to a micro-SIM, and it included only 50MB of data, not enough to last me for 3 days. I therefore went to O2, who sold me a multi-size SIM (where you can break out a micro-SIM) for CZK 150 including CZK 150 of credit, whereby data cost CZK 75 for 150MB for a week. This was ideal, although I noticed that I received a warning by SMS that I had used 80% of my allowance when my iPhone's data counter showed only 70% and just as I left the Czech Republic, another message telling me that I had used all of the 150MB when my iPhone's data counter showed only 11.6MB+120MB sent+received. O2 seems to be the market leader and download speeds were good all over Prague, at around 3-4Mbps. When the wireless internet went down in my hotel one night, I was delighted to find that iOS tethering was enabled as standard, meaning I could connect my laptop via my iPhone. O2 seems like the obvious choice in the Czech Republic. I can't find out their prepaid SIM expiry policy; does anyone know?

[NFH]

I found the answer to the SIM validity question. According to O2 | Is the validity of a prepaid SIM card limited in any way? - FAQ (http://www.o2.cz/osobni/en/197134-casto_kladene_otazky/166185-x18.html) "A recharged SIM card is valid for at least one year depending on the sum it has been recharged with. It is necessary to recharge your credit by CZK 500 at least once a year or CZK 200 every half a year so that you can keep on using our services". However it's not clear what happens with a new SIM card to which no credit has yet been added.

[kuba.g]

My sim card (which I bought summer 2011) was valid one year from activation.
2×200 CZK per year... that's €15 per year to keep the sim card alive - rather expensive :(
I think none of the Czech operators had a policy which extends the validity on calling/making an SMS.

[NFH]

2×200 CZK per year... that's €15 per year to keep the sim card alive - rather expensive :(
I agree, and it also doesn't make sense that the minimum top-up and minimum to extend for a year are more than the cost of a new SIM card which is valid for a year.

[NFH]

I therefore went to O2, who sold me a multi-size SIM (where you can break out a micro-SIM)
I discovered that what I thought was a micro-SIM was actually a mini-SIM punched out. The O2 shop must have done this under the counter without me seeing. I always wondered why it didn't fit into my iPhone 4 very well. After getting an iPhone 5, I asked a friend who went to Prague to swap my SIM for a free nano-SIM as explained on O2's web site (http://www.o2.cz/osobni/en/203298-volani/274891-microsim.html), but they simply punched out a nano-SIM and gave it back to him. I'm not impressed with O2 after this.

[NFH]

Another friend (Czech) tried to swap my SIM card for a nano-SIM (http://www.o2.cz/osobni/en/203298-volani/274891-microsim.html) at another branch. It seems they need the outer credit-card-sized card in order to do this. But the first branch had taken that from my first friend and threw it away! I'm going to try to do the swap myself later this week.

I'm very confused by O2 Czech's expiry policy (https://www.o2.cz/osobni/en/197134-casto_kladene_otazky/166185-x18.html):


CZK 150 buys a new SIM card with CZK 150 of credit and 12 months
CZK 200 buys CZK 200 of credit but only 6 months
CZK 500 buys CZK 500 of credit and 12 months

I just don't understand why CZK 200 buys less time extension than CZK 150. It doesn't make any sense. Therefore I'm better off getting a new SIM card than topping up an existing one. Surely this discrepancy creates unnecessary churn for O2?

[NFH]

I have just returned from a trip to Prague and I am shocked by O2 (Czech)'s incompetence and blatant inconsistency between shop branches, between shop staff and their web site, and even between staff at the same branch. What I have learnt is that you shouldn't believe anything they tell you. Here are some examples:


In January, a friend tried to replace my 2FF mini-SIM for a 4FF nano-SIM at the Náměstí Republiky branch in accordance with this guidance (http://www.o2.cz/osobni/en/203298-volani/274891-microsim.html). Instead of giving him a nano-SIM, they used a SIM cutter which did not reduce the thickness from 0.76mm to 0.67mm, and they also threw away the outer 1FF credit card sized outer card which had the PUK number etc on it. Although it could be forced into an iPhone 5, this has the potential to invalidate the warranty because 0.76mm cut nano-SIMs can get stuck in the iPhone 5.
In early April, a second friend tried to replace this cut 0.76mm nano-SIM for a genuine 0.67mm nano-SIM at a branch in Plzeň. They said they couldn't replace it because she needed the 1FF outer card which Náměstí Republiky had thrown away, and also because my SIM card hadn't been registered to anyone's name. She tried again on another day and was told the same thing.
In late April, I visited the Nový Smíchov branch and spent an hour in there. I showed the cardboard packaging in which my SIM card was originally supplied, and he said he could swap it for a nano-SIM but he wanted to charge me CZK 99. When I showed him a printout of the relevant web page (http://www.o2.cz/osobni/en/203298-volani/274891-microsim.html) which stated a free SIM swap, he consulted a colleague and agreed to swap it for free; he then did the swap.
As I had almost no credit on my account, I then asked the same guy whether a new SIM card (CZK 150) would be valid for 6 or 12 months; he replied 6. So I asked him why my existing SIM card was still valid, having bought it in August 2012. He had no clue, and referred me to another colleague.
His colleague looked at my account and said that my SIM card had expired in February 2013, even though it was showing a balance and still working (to some extent). She then tried to sell me a new SIM card, but refused to sell a nano-SIM, wanting to use a SIM cutter which would leave it at 0.76mm. She said that nano-SIMs were only for contract accounts. I then explained that her colleague had already done a SIM swap to a nano-SIM on my existing prepaid account (so why couldn't she do the same on a new SIM?) but he hadn't noticed that my account had expired. She then consulted him and my account showed a different status on each of their computers.
Between them, they managed to revive my account. By this time, I had lost the will to buy yet another SIM card, so I paid CZK 200 to top up my new nano-SIM on my existing account instead of a cheaper new SIM card. I therefore kept my number, which had some benefit as I had already given it to business associates in Prague, which later proved to be very useful.
Because my SIM card had continued to lose credit after I left Prague in August 2012 as a result of mobile data still being active and wanting to avoid the same mistake twice, I visited the Náměstí Republiky branch and they confirmed that my one-week mobile data package would naturally expire and not be renewed. However, the guy wasn't convincing. I also asked him to register my SIM card in my name, which I believe he did.
I then visited the Národní třída branch and asked them to confirm. She said that my mobile data package would be automatically renewed, contrary to Náměstí Republiky's answer. She put a stop on it at the end of the 7 paid days. I immediately received an SMS confirming this in Czech.

O2 is the best prepaid deal in the Czech Republic, and they are the incumbent fixed line network with a huge infrastructure and lots of shops everywhere. I also asked T-Mobile and Vodafone about their expiry policies and they are all similar; you likewise have to top up quite often.

[barafear799]

hi,

You guys on here appear extremely knowledgeable about all this - whereas I am a complete novice - could you possibly answer a few novicy questions for me please:

I am off to Prague in just over a week, and in order to save money, I think buying an o2 simcard is the way to go:


I have an unlocked old HTC Wildfire phone - reading about the problems with sim card sizes, is this likely to be a problem for my phone ?
Am I right in thinking that the simcard costs 150 CZK (but comes with that as credit) and if I were to need to make a local call (ie: in Prague) - this would cost me 6 CZK per minute? (I'm slightly confused by the two tariff options).

And finally, I would also be interested in purchasing the 150 MB data option for 75czk? I assume that would come out of the initial 150 CZK credit (Assuning I had not spent it on calls).

actually - one more important question - will I have to go through a process with my phone in order to sort out the internet settings? I remember when I first unlocked it and put in a UK simcard I did.

And if I did have to do this - would I have to go through the process all over again when I returned to UK and replaced it with my UK sim card?

Many thanks in anticipation.

B

[NFH]

I have an unlocked old HTC Wildfire phone - reading about the problems with sim card sizes, is this likely to be a problem for my phone ?
No, quite the opposite. They want to give you a standard 2FF mini-SIM.

Am I right in thinking that the simcard costs 150 CZK (but comes with that as credit) and if I were to need to make a local call (ie: in Prague) - this would cost me 6 CZK per minute? (I'm slightly confused by the two tariff options).
Yes, the SIM card costs CZK 150 and includes the same amount of credit. Yes, calls are either CZK 6.00 or CZK 5.60 per minute depending on which of the two tariffs you choose. The weekend one might be advantageous if you want to send SMS to Czech numbers or call other O2 numbers (mostly starting +420 72).

And finally, I would also be interested in purchasing the 150 MB data option for 75czk? I assume that would come out of the initial 150 CZK credit (Assuning I had not spent it on calls).
This is the really confusing bit. The price you see is weekly but the allowance is 4-weekly. Therefore if you buy the 1GB option for CZK 90 per week, you will get 250MB each week. Make sure you cancel it after a week. There is also a default daily option of CZK 30 for 30MB per day if you're there for one or two days more than a week.

actually - one more important question - will I have to go through a process with my phone in order to sort out the internet settings? I remember when I first unlocked it and put in a UK simcard I did.
I don't know about your HTC Wildfire, but my iPhone reads the APN etc from the SIM card. Whenever I switch SIM cards, I don't have to change the APN manually.