I am hoping to avoid paying for an international calling plan so I am starting a new thread hoping to get some advice from anyone with AT&T cell service who has been to Russia. A friend of mine who went to Europe last year told me he bought a cheap sim card in Belgium to replace the one in his iPhone and it allowed him to use the phone in Belgium, Netherlands, and France with no issues. Anyone know if that is possible in Russia as well?.
What is possible? Yes, you can buy a sim-card for sure. If your phone is locked - contact your carrier for instructions.
Maybe a better question would be what kind of Sim and plan options are available in Russia for not Russians? I'm interested more in Data than minutes or text for instance. What deals/plans are out there?
This gives a very good run down for those looking to buy a SIM card when they get to Russia: http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Russia
Yes CDMA shouldn't work. However if your phone does 4G then those parts should still work. Also, a lot of newer phones does both GSM and CDMA and 4G (newer iPhone, Samsung, Nexus and such) even if they only use one them normally.
@Nick Kharchenko Which cellphone carriers, that work well in the host cities, would you recommend to buy a sim-card?
Market share MTS — 31% Megafon — 30% Beeline — 23% Tele2 — 15% Others — 1% My family is using MTS and Beeline. Megafon is ok too. I would say those three are more or less equal. Not sure about Tele2 coverage across all host cities. New budget company.
I see Verizon has added Russia to TravelPass. I'll give that a shot since that's the easiest way to retain my number. Hopefully the partner has decent speeds. They partnered with Orange in Berlin and it was so slow. When I was in Sochi for the Winter Olympics I had AT&T and while I could make calls none of my texts I received ever made it to my phone. Even when returning home they were just missing. Ended up switching to What's App exclusively after that.
How loyal are you to ATT? I have T-Mobile and it worked great during the World Cup in Brazil. They upgraded everyone to 4G for the tournament too. It was great using gigs of data without having to worry!
bought one there once. Don't remember if i was overcharged thou. All in all mobile comm is really cheap in russia, every year I buy a new sim when I go there on vacations, and for something like 500 rub I get a month worth of comunication and 4g internet, also good roaming inside russia (no surcharges). Last year I managed to pay smt like 400rub for Beeline. Gone from Moscow to Ulan-Ude without problems! Last year I bought on Sheremetyevo airport!
Can any locals tell me more about the Yota modem/router with unlimited data? Is this still available? (the website is all in Russian) I’m already bringing two phones (work and personal) and can’t switch out the SIM cards in those, because I need to still be contactable on my Australian phone numbers. I don’t have a reliable spare phone, and I’m also bringing a laptop. So I’m thinking that the portable modem might be the way to go for me, even if there is an upfront cost. That way I can access WiFi from that for my phones and laptop.
Yes, it's available(approx.55-60$ unlim for 1 month, incl. modem&service). Btw you can buy modem of any main mobile operators: MTS, Megafon, Beeline. the price is the same or even less. Speed and coverage are great too. Up to you. Have a good stay!
If we have our own unlocked router, can we just buy a data sim in Russia and put it in? Then , we don’t need to rent a router there. Curious, cause I would buy this router to use everywhere else I travel. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/152811445942
Hi! Sure you can. Good idea. Make sure that you get enough internet traffic package on SIM-card you buying.
I am far from a tech guy... but for a period of 2 weeks , if i want to have mobile network in various parts of russia ( volga region and sakhalin) what is my best bet ? and which sim and capacity / package should i ask for ? I want to have unrestricted (almost) access to internet and possibility to call russian numbers / sms russian numbers and 2-3 hours in case to call outside russia and how much would it cost and with which operator ? : ) Thanks a lot
@ChristianRevolution, If you realy need to stay online in Sakhalin - my recommendation is MTS operator & Интернет-VIP(internet-VIP) package: it's offer 30gb per month day traffic & unlim for night use(00:00-07:00). If you excludes Sakhalin from travel-places then go for MEGAFON operator & Интернет XL(internet XL) package: it's 30gb per month day traffic & unlim night(01:00-07:00). The price is about 20$/month for each. The other big cell operator is Beeline, but i'm not sure of high quality link in outer regions of Russia.
ogromnoe spasibo)) 1-I guess I can buy this MTS - Internet VIP at the airport ? 2- night use 00.00/07.00 is in Moscow time or in Sakhalin time ?
Do you think we can buy short term (say 1 month) contracts for telephones at the Sochi Airport or so.
You are welcome 1. Yes, there are sales offices in DME & SVO airports(08:00-22:00) 2.Presumably according to your "home region"(where sim card was bought). You'd better specify when buying.