I discovered that what I thought was a micro-SIM was actually a mini-SIM punched out. The O2 shop must have done this under the counter without me seeing. I always wondered why it didn't fit into my iPhone 4 very well. After getting an iPhone 5, I asked a friend who went to Prague to swap my SIM for a free nano-SIM as explained on O2's web site, but they simply punched out a nano-SIM and gave it back to him. I'm not impressed with O2 after this.

Another friend (Czech) tried to swap my SIM card for a nano-SIM at another branch. It seems they need the outer credit-card-sized card in order to do this. But the first branch had taken that from my first friend and threw it away! I'm going to try to do the swap myself later this week.

I'm very confused by O2 Czech's expiry policy:

• CZK 150 buys a new SIM card with CZK 150 of credit and 12 months
• CZK 200 buys CZK 200 of credit but only 6 months
• CZK 500 buys CZK 500 of credit and 12 months

I just don't understand why CZK 200 buys less time extension than CZK 150. It doesn't make any sense. Therefore I'm better off getting a new SIM card than topping up an existing one. Surely this discrepancy creates unnecessary churn for O2?

I have just returned from a trip to Prague and I am shocked by O2 (Czech)'s incompetence and blatant inconsistency between shop branches, between shop staff and their web site, and even between staff at the same branch. What I have learnt is that you shouldn't believe anything they tell you. Here are some examples:

• In January, a friend tried to replace my 2FF mini-SIM for a 4FF nano-SIM at the Náměstí Republiky branch in accordance with this guidance. Instead of giving him a nano-SIM, they used a SIM cutter which did not reduce the thickness from 0.76mm to 0.67mm, and they also threw away the outer 1FF credit card sized outer card which had the PUK number etc on it. Although it could be forced into an iPhone 5, this has the potential to invalidate the warranty because 0.76mm cut nano-SIMs can get stuck in the iPhone 5.
• In early April, a second friend tried to replace this cut 0.76mm nano-SIM for a genuine 0.67mm nano-SIM at a branch in Plzeň. They said they couldn't replace it because she needed the 1FF outer card which Náměstí Republiky had thrown away, and also because my SIM card hadn't been registered to anyone's name. She tried again on another day and was told the same thing.
• In late April, I visited the Nový Smíchov branch and spent an hour in there. I showed the cardboard packaging in which my SIM card was originally supplied, and he said he could swap it for a nano-SIM but he wanted to charge me CZK 99. When I showed him a printout of the relevant web page which stated a free SIM swap, he consulted a colleague and agreed to swap it for free; he then did the swap.
• As I had almost no credit on my account, I then asked the same guy whether a new SIM card (CZK 150) would be valid for 6 or 12 months; he replied 6. So I asked him why my existing SIM card was still valid, having bought it in August 2012. He had no clue, and referred me to another colleague.
• His colleague looked at my account and said that my SIM card had expired in February 2013, even though it was showing a balance and still working (to some extent). She then tried to sell me a new SIM card, but refused to sell a nano-SIM, wanting to use a SIM cutter which would leave it at 0.76mm. She said that nano-SIMs were only for contract accounts. I then explained that her colleague had already done a SIM swap to a nano-SIM on my existing prepaid account (so why couldn't she do the same on a new SIM?) but he hadn't noticed that my account had expired. She then consulted him and my account showed a different status on each of their computers.
• Between them, they managed to revive my account. By this time, I had lost the will to buy yet another SIM card, so I paid CZK 200 to top up my new nano-SIM on my existing account instead of a cheaper new SIM card. I therefore kept my number, which had some benefit as I had already given it to business associates in Prague, which later proved to be very useful.
• Because my SIM card had continued to lose credit after I left Prague in August 2012 as a result of mobile data still being active and wanting to avoid the same mistake twice, I visited the Náměstí Republiky branch and they confirmed that my one-week mobile data package would naturally expire and not be renewed. However, the guy wasn't convincing. I also asked him to register my SIM card in my name, which I believe he did.
• I then visited the Národní třída branch and asked them to confirm. She said that my mobile data package would be automatically renewed, contrary to Náměstí Republiky's answer. She put a stop on it at the end of the 7 paid days. I immediately received an SMS confirming this in Czech.

O2 is the best prepaid deal in the Czech Republic, and they are the incumbent fixed line network with a huge infrastructure and lots of shops everywhere. I also asked T-Mobile and Vodafone about their expiry policies and they are all similar; you likewise have to top up quite often.

query
 

hi,

You guys on here appear extremely knowledgeable about all this - whereas I am a complete novice - could you possibly answer a few novicy questions for me please:

I am off to Prague in just over a week, and in order to save money, I think buying an o2 simcard is the way to go:


I have an unlocked old HTC Wildfire phone - reading about the problems with sim card sizes, is this likely to be a problem for my phone ?
Am I right in thinking that the simcard costs 150 CZK (but comes with that as credit) and if I were to need to make a local call (ie: in Prague) - this would cost me 6 CZK per minute? (I'm slightly confused by the two tariff options).

And finally, I would also be interested in purchasing the 150 MB data option for 75czk? I assume that would come out of the initial 150 CZK credit (Assuning I had not spent it on calls).

actually - one more important question - will I have to go through a process with my phone in order to sort out the internet settings? I remember when I first unlocked it and put in a UK simcard I did.

And if I did have to do this - would I have to go through the process all over again when I returned to UK and replaced it with my UK sim card?

Many thanks in anticipation.

B

No, quite the opposite. They want to give you a standard 2FF mini-SIM.

Yes, the SIM card costs CZK 150 and includes the same amount of credit. Yes, calls are either CZK 6.00 or CZK 5.60 per minute depending on which of the two tariffs you choose. The weekend one might be advantageous if you want to send SMS to Czech numbers or call other O2 numbers (mostly starting +420 72).

This is the really confusing bit. The price you see is weekly but the allowance is 4-weekly. Therefore if you buy the 1GB option for CZK 90 per week, you will get 250MB each week. Make sure you cancel it after a week. There is also a default daily option of CZK 30 for 30MB per day if you're there for one or two days more than a week.

I don't know about your HTC Wildfire, but my iPhone reads the APN etc from the SIM card. Whenever I switch SIM cards, I don't have to change the APN manually.

Tesco Mobile have just launched in the Czech Republic. Their daily data price of CZK 20 for 50MB is more favourable than O2's price of CZK 30 for 30MB.

Unfortunately their SIM validity policy aligns with other Czech networks rather than with Tesco Mobile in the UK and Ireland. It is no better than O2, requiring top-ups every 6 or 12 months. In Tesco Mobile's FAQ, it says:

Jaká je platnost kreditu, který dobiju?
Každé dobití kreditu má platnost 6 měsíců od data dobití. Pokud před skončením šesti měsíců nedobijete kredit, zůstatek Vašeho kreditu expiruje a nebude možné ho použít. Expirovaný kredit lze obnovit dalším dobitím.
Upozornění: Pokud nedojde k dobití v průběhu 12 měsíců od posledního dobítí, platnost SIM karty vyprší, kredit propadne a SIM karta i s telefonním číslem bude deaktivována.

Jakou má vaše SIM karta platnost?
Vaši SIM kartu je potřeba zaktivovat do data uvedeného na obalu. Po aktivaci SIM karty je platnost nastavena na 12 měsíců a každým dobitím kreditu je tato doba vždy automaticky prodloužena na dalších 12 měsíců.
Pokud si nedobijete kredit více než 12 měsíců, může být SIM karta deaktivována.

They only offer combi mini/micro-SIMs, no nano-SIMs.

I used O2 in Czech Republic. We traveled also to different cities by train and
There was great to have Internet in train (slow speed in inhabited areas and good speed in all medium cities)

If you have time before travel you can order SIM card online on ebay (make a search on ebay.com there are sellers that sell Czech SIM cards)
I bought one with 50 CZK and topped it up at home with credit card 800 CZK to activate 3GB Internet and few calls/SMS I also activated this bundle online before I came to Czech

So if im looking for unlimited data for about 1o days what prepaid plan would be best. And if there is not unlimited plan, what is the best suggestion for data.

Internet in Czech sim
 

Take O2 operator

They have these options:

3GB - 550 CZK
10GB - 800 CZK
(I think it is impossible to use more than 10GB in 10 days)

Step 1: but SIM card O2
Step 2: Topup ammount
Step 3: activate bundle

Step one: you can buy in Czech or you can buy in advance
on Ebay
Step two: Topup online in advance or Topup in Czech O2 or small kiosk
Step three: activate bundle online if you bought in advance or send sms
IVML to 999000 (for 3GB) or IVMXL to 999000 for 10GB

Cheers

Are there any other viable options for travelers besides O2? Any MVNOs I should look at? I am possibly going to be in Prague for two weeks. So a plan with at least 1GB of data would be good. Looks like the O2 plan is 550 CZK ( $28 ) for just the 3GB of data and I assume about 150 CZK ( $8 ) for a SIM card. So looking about about $36 to get up and running for data. Cheaper would be nice of course :)