2) They don't accept non-NZ credit cards for online topups, but you should be able to buy vouchers. My NAB Visa works just fine with 2Degrees. I travel to NZ fairly regularly, and this works for me. As you mention though, going outside of the main cities isn't the cheapest but you can buy a roaming data pack as well. Nov 30, 2010 2 degrees sim card for iphone (not US) - Christchurch Forum. South Pacific. 2 degrees sim card for iphone. I received some information that 2. Why Buy a 2degrees NZ SIM? 1) Have your local New Zealand prepaid SIM sorted before leaving home 2) Instant connection on arrival for maps, data and email. From your 2degrees sim whilst in New Zealand) BUSINESS better BASIC MENU NAVIGATION POWER/SLEEP BUTTON Press once to put into sleep mode. ![]() ![]() New Zealand 2 Degrees Local SIM Support Created. So no further action is required to activate or register this SIM and you will immediately be able to. What you need to know about staying connected with a local SIM card in New Zealand. It took longer to activate my Telecom SIM than. The 2 Degrees sim I now. One thing I like with 2Degrees is that when you're in Australia you can roam for the same rates (data excluded) as in NZ. You can also choose your number – so my NZ mobile is similar to my AU (just replace the starting 0422 with 0224). I bought and activated a 2 degrees sim today, using at the moment. Bought SIM over counter, bought recharge balance over counter at convenience store (No ID required to be recorded – only viewed by the seller). Iphone3gs tethering on 3G at about 3Mbps down and 0.3Mbps up, 100ms ping, in central Auckland to local speedtest.net server. Similar to another poster, I've less need for the calls, more for the data. Got NZD99 for 12GB valid for 6months. Depending on work needs, may also add $19 for 200 mins calls inside NZ for 6months as well – lets see. Admittedly, I don't need to go out to the bush here, only Auckland. A hint about 2degrees though – there's two types of SIM, 'visitor' and 'local' – the description above is for 'local', and allows longer validity timeframes. I suggest asking this question at dubdubdub dot geekzone dot co dot nz Also depends what device you have, if you have a more recent device it should cover any network provider in NZ. Telecom/Skinny use 850mhz Nationwide where Vodafone/2D use 900mhz in Rural. You can visit their website's and look at their coverage maps. When i lived in NZ, Telecom had the best coverage for Rural, but could have changed. Also, you may find Telecom will have better coverage in some parts and the worse in others, just like the other providers. Go to geekzone, and ask who has the best coverage in that town you will visit and im sure someone will let you know. I just recently returned from NZ touring around the South Island and I used the $19 Telecom Prepaid plan which gave me 100 minutes of calls and 500Mb of data. I also added a $15 top-up for another 500Mb of data to give me a total of 1Gb. It worked well and coverage was very good every where we stayed with good 3G speeds. We stayed at some Holiday Parks that offered free Wifi and found that the Telecom 3G speeds were sometimes better than what we could get from the wifi access provided. Also, by using Telecom, you also get free access to the many Wifi hotspots that have now been installed in many Telecom pay phones around the country. I've been looking into mobile broadband access for a our iPad 4s over a couple of weeks in early January while we are touring in the Northland. The Telecom NZ web site appears to be offering 3GB quota on pre-paid mobile broadband for $29 a month at the moment, with a $5 charge for a SIM if its new pre-paid service. ![]() ![]() The web site basic offer. Is for 1.5GB quota but clicking on the terms and conditions indicates. Available from 1 November until 31 January 2014 Available on Prepaid $29 data extra only 3GB data extra valid for 1 month from time of purchase Available for existing and new customers Has anyone taken up this offer (in other words is it real)? Are there any better mobile broadband deals around that we could sign up for on arrival at Auckland airport? It took a while but Telecom NZ finally came through with this. Many thanks for your email regarding our Data Plans Yes I can confirm you are correct purchase a $29.00 data plan and receive 3GB of data this offer is only available until the 31 Jan 2014. I can also confirm that the Micro Sim card is an additional $5.00 And yes you may sign up for this at Auckland Airport. I'll be arriving at AKL International tomorrow afternoon, so will post again on my experience with the Telecom NZ shop there in the next couple of days (or so). Just came back from NZ, so I'll just give my 2 cents. I used Telecom NZ and they were fantastic. I had 100% coverage in all regional areas (towns and villages) while limited coverage on the road (mostly in the mountains as the mountains block the signals coming from the towers). But otherwise $19 bucks for 500Mb, and you get free WIFI from Telcom NZ payphones. Most of the motels I stayed with happened to be just beside the Telecom NZ payphones so that was a major bonus. Suffice to say, I'm impressed and wont hesitate to use them again! I had 100% coverage in all regional areas (towns and villages) while limited coverage on the road (mostly in the mountains as the mountains block the signals coming from the towers). When relying on google maps you have to be a bit careful, as deviating from the route when there's no coverage seems to confuse google maps. It may be better now, but i've found just going to a petrol station that's a bit back from the road can confuse it. (which mostly happens in more rural areas, a basic rule of thumb is whether there are no street lights) and even hills can mean no coverage, like on the way to Piha there's no coverage for ages then there's a cellphone tower at the location itself. I dunno if Telecom have a tower there, but Vodafone do at least. By the time we reached AKL on January 2, the Telecom NZ deal he had changed to NZ$30 for 3GB including the SIM, so it was an even better deal that I was expecting. It took a while to actually buy 3 x SIM deals and make sure they were activated – about 25 mins or so. Strangely, Telecom NZ basically refused to sell us SIMs for our phones, as they were not smartphones. Both of our Nokias are quad band UTMS capable but they insisted the would only work on 2G and they didn't support 2G?!?! I gave up arguing and went to the Vodafone kiosk next door for phone SIMs. Has anyone taken up this offer (in other words is it real)? Yep – tis real just got back from NZ, had an iPhone, a Samsung Smartphone(can't remember model etc) and an iPad 2 wifi only. I had a Netcomm pocket wifi router for the iPad (and the 2 laptops) Also had a Samsung flip-phone(ie only a phone) Was intending to connect in Auckland on arrival but, being on a cruise the first land-fall (hmmm poor choice for NZ?) was in Dunedin on the south Island, about 4 days before Auckland disembark. Only choice in Dunedin was telecom or 2degrees and we saw the telecom shop first. Staff were good, the girl who served us checked that the phones would work on Telecom system. The flip-phone didn't but the others were good, so we got the $NZ29 data only deal for the phones and a $NZ30 deal for the wifi doohickey. They all worked well for the rest of the trip as long as the ship didn't go too far from land. Once on land, coverage was variable in signal strength and was lost totally while passing through the more mountainous areas away from towns. Where we were based mainly, in Tauranga, signal was low until we went into town. Recharging was simple either over the net or for the phones using the Telecom App. I got my iPhone nowhere near the limits even tho I tried but my son, a teenager, begged for 1 recharge for the phone and between us we used the 3GB data and on renewal, before 31 Jan got another 3 GB – so that offer was fair dinkum. My biggest hassle was forgetting to add the international pre-fix to my contacts' phone numbers and then wondering why the messages weren't being delivered – once that was fixed, all went well Hope this helps. I ordered Telecom NZ SIM card from the following website. I received the sim card 1 week after I placed the order. I have just finished my 9 days trip to New Zealand South island. I drove around the south island, been to Christchurch, Queenstown, Mount Cook. It was so easy to use, I pulled out my Australian sim card at Christchurch airport and inserted the Telecom one, it worked right away and 4G signal. I went online to register an user name so I can check my data usage, and then I got 250GB extra data for free. I got 500GB data plus some talk time, and an extra 250GB data for free. I use Internet a lot, and all hotels that I stayed have WIFI, so 750GB data is about enough for my whole trip. You get 4G coverage in Christchurch, good coverage in most of the cities/towns. It is often that you won't get any coverage if you are driving through an average that nobody lives. No coverage at Milford Sound, good coverage at Mount Cook even when taking a walk in the mountains. Over all, I am really glad that I have purchased this Telecom NZ SIM card $26! I just got back from 10 days in NZ. I needed a Telecom sim card as the others (2degress and vodafone) use the same frequencies as our optus/vodafone and wont give 3G/4G speeds. Telecom uses 850Mhz. Biggest mistake I made was getting into NZ on a public holiday, so every Telecom shop was closed. I asked in a few petrol stations if they had anything like a 7-11, to which I was told there are no 7-11's in NZ and nothing even like them, only petrol stations. When getting to my first hotel, I was told to check out the local dairy, which I thought was funny as I didn't think the local icecream shop would sell sim cards. Turns out Dairy's are convenience stores in NZ and are basically like mega 7-11 or even a mini IGA type store. They sell a $19 Telecom Pre-paid sim which gives you something like 100 minutes of talk, unlimited txt (within NZ) and 500MB of data. Some part through my trip I got a free 250MB of data, and when this happened, my original 500MB of data reset as well, so I ended up with about 1200MB as well (extra 250 and reset happened when I had 50MB left) I think logging into the telecom website triggered this as until that point in time I was only checking usage via the SMS link they sent me. The other bonus is you can get 1GB of data per day from Telecom Wifi. The cool thing Telecom have done in NZ is instead of getting rid of every pay phone they have around the place, they put wifi base stations in them and use the copper as a connection back to the exchanges for data. These payphones are everywhere (even more than where they say on the telecom map of them), and the connection speeds are awesome. Any other comments on these? I saw that Vodafone have a $49 travel sim: Which comes with 2gb data 120min talk and 200 txts. Compared to Spark (Telecom NZ?) who have a $19 prepaid plan: Which comes with 500mb data, 100 mins talk and unlimited nz txts. There's a $15 data pack for an extra 500mb but it's not clear whether you can add that to the prepaid plan or you have to be on a monthly plan for that. 2degrees have a $19 prepaid plan: Which comes with 500mb data, 90 mins talk (to nz and aus) and unlimited nz & aus texts. There's a $20 data pack for an extra 500mb. Does anyone know who might have the better coverage? Telecom New Zealand prepaid SIM card for travellers Name: Telecom NZ SIM Price: $26 To buy a prepaid sim card online before you taking off, and they will post it to you for free I ordered this sim, and just used it on a 3 day trip to NZ. Worked great. One small issue I found was that while in NZ I wanted to 'top up' so I could sms a few people back in Aus. To use my 'international' 28 degrees CC to buy some credit online, I would have had to recieve an sms from 28 degrees to my Aus optus number. I didn't want to take the risk of placing my optus sim back in my phone while away and then being charged roaming. So no dice on buying credit this trip. So next time I'll top up credit before I leave Aus. Biggest mistake I made was getting into NZ on a public holiday, so every Telecom shop was closed. I asked in a few petrol stations if they had anything like a 7-11, to which I was told there are no 7-11's in NZ and nothing even like them, only petrol stations. I found that the 'pack and save' supermarkets, kind of branded like the old 'black and gold' no-name supermarket products, sold prepaid telecom NZ (spark), two degrees and i think the vodafone card. I bought a telecom nz prepaid for only $5, which included $11 of credit. You can go online to configure it, in terms of data usage. Also, Apex car rentals in Chrischurch had *free* 2degrees Sims. Do these pre-paid SIMs and plans allow/include tethering? Got a wifi only iPad 2 and was planning on using a wifi pocket router, buying a separate SIM for that gadget. On reflection, it maybe simpler, even if at a bit more osct, to use the phone as a personal hotspot for the iPad. If the question is asked at the shop when buying the SIM and asking them to insert and activate it, maybe they would set up the tether as well. I've left it a bit late since she travels tomorrow night but only just had the idea land in my skull. I was also looking forward to that, but the one Spark hotspot I tried (mounted on top of a phone box in Christchurch) would not connect with my VPN app (TunnelBear) and there's no way I'm gonna risk using public WiFi without a VPN. Maybe other VPN software might work better though. I also was unable to use the Spark free hotspots with VPN for my corporate PC so had to resort to using a 3G sim for this purpose. For what it's worth, the wifi isn't bad if you just want to download something off say iTunes or PSN – the device I assigned my 1gb/day to was actually my PS Vita:). Must be old since it keeps talking about Telecom NZ and they renamed themselves to Spark back in April last year when I was living in NZ. That being said I don't think prices change significantly. I personally went with the $29 pack to get Spotify Premium but there was also a promotion to get double data or something with a recharge – but I only found out about this in store (and later realised it's on the app too). If you are definitely going with Telecom NZ/Spark, download the Spark app (if you're on iPhone; but I assume there's an Android one) before you go and then you can use it with the sim card once you get there to monitor balance, top up, activate bonus offers/packs, etc. Don't get your hopes up for the internet speeds in NZ. Did you buy it here and have it posted to you before departure or you bought it in NZ? Couple of years ago, I got SIMs for 3 devices at a telecom site in NZ – the sales person checked compatibility between devices, SIMs and Telecom (the other phone wasn't compatible) and then she installed the SIMs and got the lot up and running – we/I didn't have to do a thing, was great. So buying there works This year SWMBO got a bloke at the Sydney Airport to put it in before she left AND turn on the tethering on her IP5. Worked every where she went. So that worked too. Haven't done the buy and get it posted bit yet. Check emails Not too data heavy, as long as you don't load attachments or images social media Can use a LOT of data. Lots of images, and videos that autoload in facebook. Navigation Depends really – if you don't use satelite view, and you cache the area before you leave (or using wifi), it doesn't use too much. Would it be cheaper for me to pick up a kiwi SIM for the week?? If it was for only a couple of days, and you were on vodafone, and you were elegible for $5/day roaming (all charges are treated like you are in Aus, so data/calls to aus are taken from your normal allowance), then roaming might be cheaper. But for a week, I'd grab a local vodafone SIM for about $35, and get 1GB of data, a a few hours worth of calls to Aus/NZ numbers. But for a week, I'd grab a local vodafone SIM for about $35, and get 1GB of data, a a few hours worth of calls to Aus/NZ numbers. +1, that's what I did in early August 2015 for 4 days. Buy one at AKL airport Vodafone office when you arrive. If you are looking for maps, get Here on your phone and download the maps for NZ on Wifi before you go so that you don't use up as much data. In addition, I take two phones with me overseas. A cheap basic phone for Australian SIM with internet switched off, divert all to voicemail to receive any Australian SMS (eg banking codes) and voicemail SMS. My other phone is my main smartphone (calendar, apps, etc) with overseas SIM for calls and data. Ok here's the go on the 2degrees SIM ° Used in 4G modem plus 3G iphone 4S ° SIM card sent over (no cost) as per previous post about NZ tourist travel SIM ° took about a week early December to arrive ° NOT activated (only eBay sellers will do this – eg global travel SIM that provides international SIMs for many countries ° PERFORMANCE? Acceptable, but coverage through 2degrees not as extensive as other NZ carriers – either roamed to Vodafone/spark or no coverage – if you are on cruise ship you will get some connection from top decks or balcony cabins on land side, but sometimes noticed phone (with data switched off) had roamed to spark/vodafone but 2degrees sim in data modem would not see anything. ° some Kiwis commented that 'you bought the cheap one' – implying that you get what you paid for. You have to do it through a phone call from your mobile in NZ, activation CANNOT be done in Aus ° BILLING. – through credit card (Aus cards ok) or purchased cards. Note that a lot of packs automatically renew. Don't forget to cancel the automatic renewal. Yes it was OK, though in retrospect perhaps a major carrier would have been a better choice. Data seemed to disappear at a rate I hadn't seen before and I had to add a 1Gb pack to the 500mb included in the combo pack after only 2 days (though I suspect it may have been the other half using Facebook that did that!!) Hope this helps NZ travellers.:) (Part 2 coming). Just back from a recent 3-day trip to Auckland. Used Skinny (which is a fully owned MVNO of Spark (formerly TelecomNZ) SIM card puchased at Countdown (Woolworths) supermarket near Britomart) Believe might also be available at the kiosk next to isite (info centre) at International Airport Card cost $4 Top-up $5 Bought $5 Weekly Combo – 100 Mb data, 60 NZ Mins, 750 texts (also a $5 Data 250Mb options) Easy activation – Put in card. Dial 456 to activate Text top-up voucher code. Text 'Buy $5 Weekly' Active and working. SIM is active for 12m after last topup as well. And they have NZ$5 days for US roaming – so it might be a keeper. Also have a bunch of Monthly plans from $16 upwards for longer visits. -- Had been thinking of using 2Degrees and actually went to their shop on Queen St near Britomart, but they require a minimum $20 top-up, so not as good for short usage. With that $20 you could either get 1 Gb data for 1 month (or) 500mb data, 100min, unlimited texts (inc calls, texts to Australia land/mobiles). Thanks for the reminder The Ziggster. We also used Skinny when we were in New Zealand in February and found it fantastic. Picked up a $4 SIM at Noel Leeming, Frankton shops very near Queenstown airport. The assistant even helped me charge it up! We were on holiday for 2 weeks so got 'the Ultimate' $46. It was a 30 day prepaid, with unlimited texts and 'minutes' (calls) in NZ. Also has 2.5GB rollover data. This was enough to to hotspot between wifi at our accommodation. Having a sick relation while we were away, we were keeping in regular contact with home, good not to have to make brief calls. The app was also good to check usage. Here's another thumbs up for Skinny. They've been around for a while so I'm surprised so little mention here. I first used them back in 2014 and will use again next week. They are the cheapest (just) but operate on the more extensive Telecom (now called Spark) network, while 2 degrees has its own network. You can buy a SIM for $4 (maybe, prices are fluid in free market NZ) at New World, Pak'n Save and Countdown supermarkets, as well as The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, JB HiFi, Paper Plus, Mighty ape and Betta electrical. A weekly prepay pack costs another $4 or $5, but the I find the monthly plans better for data, like the $16 Big Value with 500mb or the $26 Big Data Combo for 1gb. Plans expire at the end of the month and don't auto renew (though I think you can set this up if you want). I bought the sim and no credit then registered and topped up online. Spark are a little more expensive but also well worth considering because you can access their wifi hot spots at some phone booths and other outlets and download an extra 1gb per day. A SIM costs $5 (maybe) and a month pack with 500mb costs $19. They have a kiosk at Auckland airport and outlets everywhere. Spark and Skinny have 4G on 1800 and 700 bands. For someone travelling to Christchurch for 5 day in 2016 and Auckland for about 6 days in first-half of 2017 – which NZ prepaid sim is best? Must be a sim that fits an iphone - Vodafone NZ - 2 degrees - Spark - Skinny (uses Spark network?) - Other NZ telcos? Would need some data to use for google maps and general basic browsing, and some call credit incase need to call or SMS Australian based numbers. Willing to put a recharge voucher for the Christchurch trip and then another new recharge voucher for the Auckland trip as they are quite a few months apart. With 1 provider saw a $19 recharge voucher (2-degrees) that gives free sms to AUS/NZ & 100 free minutes to AUS/NZ & 500mb of data ($4 cost per day for 5 days approx) has a bit of an explanation about some NZ telcos but was not sure which is best for a 5-6 day stay and whether can pick-up a sim & recharge voucher from Christchurch Airport at like 5am/6am (arriving then) or whether have to go into the city to get the sim & recharge-voucher. After doing my on-line research for a tourist Sim Card I settled on the 2 Degrees Sim.(recommended by my local consumer organisation etc) $18 for 500mb of data is going to be way more than I require for the 5 days that I was going to be in the country. On landing at airport I went to the agent and told him what I needed. He took my money, gave me the Sim with the instructions to use. Imagine my surprise when less than 24 hours later I had run out of data. (Normally at home I would be unlikely to use 500mb in 2 weeks) Upon realising the situation I went into a nearby 2 Degrees outlet to ask them what the situation was. They were unwilling to help me in any manner, and would not escalate the matter to anyone who would be able to assist. Trying to contact them using my phone was useless as I needed a PIN to get anywhere, and I didn't have one of them. This has been a very disappointing part of my otherwise pleasant Auckland experience, and at this stage I cannot recommend 2 Degrees Sim Card. Blaming 2 Degrees without facts seems rather dull. I've used 2 Degrees since they started the business, on 6 different smart phones. In every situation like this that I investigated for others the culprit was the phone. Maybe you had the phone automatically backing up to the cloud, maybe your phone is configured to automatically download updates in the background, what about your photos - do they go to the cloud? If IOS do you have it configured for no app updates over cellular? Typically, those configuration settings will quickly chew up data if incorrect. Did you go to the 2 Degrees corporate store on Queen Street. I can't believe the corporate store would refuse to help. #1+2 highlight the most common causes of high data usage. There is however a less obvious one. Poor reception. Data is downloaded in 'blocks'. After each block is received it is checked to see that it has not been corrupted by using a 'check sum' ( do all the bits add up to a number which is sent along with the block). If it is corrupted the block is discarded and another is sent. If there is a bad signal the same block can be sent sometimes hundreds of times before a good block is received, and each block sent uses some of your data allowance. Edited: 06 December 2016, 09:36. The phone is is set to do updates only on wifi. Not using data. The phone would have been connected for 10 hours maximum. (maybe I have it wrong and should be praising 2Degrees for their brilliant bandwidth) The guy in the store first said that the data had not been allotted to the number, he then said that they data had been charged at a different rate (no, I don't understand that either). Also they we unable to show me where or how the data been used up. The phone does not back up to the cloud. I went into the 2Degree store in a major shopping centre. I stand by my original claim that they have ripped me off, coupled with extremely poor customer relations. Please name the specific 2 Degrees corporate store and its location that provided you with this poor service, and the date. If it was not a corporate store, was it a petrol station, dairy, supermarket, electronics, firm, etc? - Where did you obtain the sim? - Did you buy a credit slip at the same time as the sim? - If not done at time and point of sale, did you later follow the process to activate the credit, i.e. The data package? - Did you establish an on-line account? The on-line account shows your data usage, by date. 2 Degrees doesn't have a reputation for scamming people, we usually find the problem is user error or misunderstanding. I also found that many sales agents in petrol stations, dairies, etc have no clue how to activate the credit, or how to deal with a mobile phone issue. It's too easy to brand a firm as a scammer, let's dig a little deeper to understand the specifics of your experience.
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