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Posts: 1630

Emperor

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Q: How do I "switch over" my Chinese-bought cell phone when I move to Canada?

I have a Samsung and my wife has an iPhone and we are going to Vancouver next month. How do we get our phones to be workable there as we are relocating? I know this may be a silly question but I really don't know the answer. I was just planning to go to Telus or Fido and explain my situation and see what they could do.

10 years 21 weeks ago in  Lifestyle - China

 
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Posts: 5321

Emperor

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Do Canadian phones use sim cards like they do here?

Cos if they do it's probably just a matter of buying new sim cards.

derek:

yup, that may be an easy fix

10 years 21 weeks ago
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philbravery:

that's all we ever do

however some phones are locked and you may have to pay a phone repair shop in Canada a couple of $ to unlock it

10 years 21 weeks ago
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10 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 236

Governor

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If it is like USA, you just put in the Canadian sim card.  You might try a discount operator, like Simple Mobile in the USA.  You will get a cheap plan because you are not subsidizing a phone.  

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10 years 21 weeks ago
 
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Depends on the phone models, too.  If they're China Mobile or China Telecom branded model, they may only work on old 2G GSM networks in Canada; no 3G and definitely no 4G.  Although a Telecom phone might be compatible with Telus, not sure.  If they're China Unicom or International models they should work on Rogers without a hitch.  

 

Phones and networks are so complicated now, I miss the old days when all you needed was a unlocked tri-band or quad-band GSM phone and you were set all over the world.

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10 years 21 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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It is a lot of hassle. I go home every summer.  Unlocking a phone in Canada can be done. It is expensive. Can be done though. I found it a lot more convenient just to by a cell in Canada. I bought it through Telus with a pay as you go plan. That meant I also change my cell number every year in Canada. It is expensive but I don't use it for 10 months of the year.  If you are permanently moving,as your question implies, to Canada It just might better to buy a new cell in Canada. After-all, you might want to visit your old friends and enemies in China again and to breath the toxins in Beijing.

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Answer of the DayMORE >>
A: No, it's not allowed to work under RP at 2nd job! I'd say, Z visa
A:No, it's not allowed to work under RP at 2nd job! I'd say, Z visa/RP sponsor can have an objections to your part-time job. I did the same at my English teaching in China and elsewhere, butT ... I casually mentioned at my prime job, some kindergarten or another school asked me to work with them part-time. Then, my Q: "Is that permitted?" ...  Answer from RP sponsor was always "Yes, but you can't be late or miss the classes at our school ..." with my reply: "No, our work schedule has a priority, and I'll arrange classes at kindergarten only in my free time." When I cleared that, I was undertaking any extra teaching hours at other schools and private students in my free time.Sometimes, teachers at my prime job asked me if I'm willing to have some extra classes elsewhere.I accepted after the talk with School's principal. I suggest, you test the felling at your Z/RP sponsor and once you see they don't object, you can work at 2nd job. Keeping your 2nd job as a secret from your employer won't work, 'cause you're laowai and Chinese know exactly what you do in your free time. However, despite your employer's agreement for extra work, you are still in violation of Chinese Labour law, and even if your sponsor agrees to your extra work, you can still get in trouble, because it's clearly written (somewhere ... ) that under Z/WP, one can work only at the Z-sponsor and nowhere else. Penalties ... I'd say, there won't be any warnings and you'll be required to exit China in short Exit time.It never happened to me, so I can't really advice how is when manure hits the fan ...  -- icnif77