Shanghai - Post Report Question and Answers
Do you have any recommendations regarding mobile phones? Did you keep your home-country plan or use a local provider?
Get an unlocked phone from the U.S. or Singapore or Malaysia. If you buy a phone in China, you'll have to hack it to unlock the Google Play store, etc. I was surprised how much my life depended on Google until I got to China. Set up a phone service where you can get texts, like Google Voice (it'll work with a VPN). This is to help with all the multifactor authentication you'll need. - Nov 2020
It is easy to obtain a local phone number. Do not sign up for discounted call or data plans as the cancellation process is difficult. - Apr 2017
Don't bring your expensive phone. Local phones and plans are plentiful. - Oct 2016
If you want unlimited data - get a U.S. plan from T-Mobile. If you just want limited expensive data, go with CHina Unicom. If you want mostly 2G, expensive data get China Mobile. Everything is still really GSM. So plan on that kind of phone. If you are looking for a good buy, pick up a XiaoMi4 or something like that while you are here. - Dec 2014
Some U.S. carriers work in China, but unless you have cash to burn, get a local SIM card. They're quite inexpensive, available everywhere, and many come with data plans. - Aug 2014
Cell phones are cheap and easy, most a rechargeable SIM cards. China Mobile has been fine for us. - Aug 2011
Phones are available and cheap everywhere. Find a flagship store of the vendor to get English-speaking service staff to assist you. - Dec 2010
Wait to get one here. They are cheap, and readily available. The Xujiahui area of town has an electronics market that is to die for. - Feb 2009
Buy any unlocked triband GSM phone and get a local sim card. Txt messages and local calls are pretty cheap. - Jun 2008
