How to use your cell phone in Vietnam?

The cell phone has become essential for many tourists and of course the French are no exception.

In Vietnam, Internet is available almost everywhere, in some cities like Hanoi, Da Nang or Hoi An, it is free. There is also wifi in taxis, restaurants and certain buses. Suffice to say that it is not difficult to be connected here.

Telephone services such as calling or sending an SMS remain cheap. Especially since there are very few packages and most Vietnamese use prepaid SIM cards.

#2 Where to buy a SIM card

At the airport
If you want to get a Vietnamese SIM card as soon as you land in Vietnam, the quickest way is to look for one of the many phone shops located at airports. Like Port Salut, it’s written on it.
Apart from these shops, there are also the different stands of the three popular telecommunications providers (Mobifone, Vinaphone, Viettel) in Vietnam. The sellers at these stalls usually speak English and will help you.

In town
If you can wait a little longer, you can get a SIM card as easily as in airports as there are so many phone shops everywhere. Easily identifiable with the operator name written on their front. Prices are generally cheaper.

#3 Which supplier to choose

For the best coverage and service, make sure the SIM card you purchase is either Mobiphone, Vinaphone or Viettel. These three brands cover almost 90% of the entire domestic telecommunications market, Viettel (~ 40% market share), Vinaphone (~ 30%) and Mobifone (~20%), and offer the best coverage nationwide.

I have a preference for Viettel which has a better network.
There are offers from other providers which can be very low priced but with a fairly poor connection when you are outside urban areas.

How much does it cost?

Initially, it costs around 50,000 VND to 100,000 VND for a SIM card with a prepaid credit of 50,000 VND. As mentioned above, prices at the airport are often slightly higher than what you pay in town.

Top-ups range from 10,000 vnd to 200,000 vnd. I advise you to take a recharge of 50,000 vnd.

To call
– From France to Vietnam, you will need to add the country code (+84) by deleting the first 0
– From Vietnam to France, the country code is +33

#4 Codes to know from your SIM card

To check your SIM card balance

• On a Vietnamese card, there are 2 types of balances, your card balance and the promotional balance
  To find out your balance
  – On the dial screen, type this code *101# “ and call to check the balance. A code will be executed and you should see several numbers appear, the first of which Tk Chinh or TKC is the balance of your SIM card. The second number will be your promotional balance. To add more money to your balance
• You must purchase a refill from a store that is easily found. You can find recharges for 10,000 vnd but I recommend 50,000 vnd. Just scratch and tap *100* followed by your card number and ending with #. Ex: *100*869403978575943#

#1 Unlock your mobile phone

If you decide to bring your cell phone, you will first need to check if your phone is unlocked with your French operator. It will provide you with an unlock code as well as operations to perform.

If it is unlocked, you can simply insert a Vietnamese SIM card.

In case you forgot to unlock your phone, you can take a look at the international roaming option. However, this can be very, very expensive. For my first trip, I used roaming, I can’t even imagine the amount of the bill on my return.

You can also buy a basic phone in Vietnam which can be useful if you have not unlocked your phone.

Don’t worry about the size of the SIM card, you can find all sizes (Micro or Nano).