SIMBA Telecom discussion thread

[JivBunny]

I also think Eight has moved a lot of pple from other mnvo, esp from Simba.

was thinking to move my mum’s Snr account out from Simba to Eight, but seems like with the 3gb roaming and up to 80gb package at $5. I think I will continue with simba

 

[Jurong640]

I also think Eight has moved a lot of pple from other mnvo, esp from Simba.

was thinking to move my mum’s Snr account out from Simba to Eight, but seems like with the 3gb roaming and up to 80gb package at $5. I think I will continue with simba

yes. Stay put with Simba. It is a better offer to Eight $8 plan.

 

[loganrunning]

she using a old phone, samsung a6, to make calls and listen music

I also tried on another old phone, xiaomi redmi 5a, and encounter the same issue

tried simba voice app but seem like only works when calling out, unable to receive call.

forgot to ask, which telco was she on, before porting in to Simba?

 

[EeeK]

forgot to ask, which telco was she on, before porting in to Simba?

zero1

 

[A7997A]

strange, although the senior plan is 80GB, it appears to be only effective in the next cycle (25 Sep).

there's no extra 60 GB data provided in the current cycle.

Er, how do you know it is for next cycle ? It is not appearing for you ?

 

[loganrunning]

zero1

ah, that makes sense....., i think..... maybe....

4G/VoLTE requires a few preconditions, one of them is for the telco to support it, even though the phone is VoLTE compatible. i guess, some kinda "profile", analogous to how iphone 5G is/was not supported on some telcos.

if Simba does not support it, then GG liao. you can check the simba website for the list of phones supported.
(it is possible that the phone may be supported although not on the list - see below)
Same for m1, which like Simba, uses 4G/VoLTE calling only.

ST (Zero1 infra provider) and SH have not turned off 3G yet, so it is possible that even though VoLTE for that phone is not supported, calls get thru because it falls back to 3G. The real test will come in late 2024/early 2025 when ST and SH have committed to start turning off 3G - at that point, if 3G fall back is needed, then calls will fail.

one way to test, is to turn off 4G (disable "VoLTE call") or select up to 3G connection (settings - SIM - "preferred network" - "2G/3G (automatic)". if the call goes thru, then it is using 3G fallback.

now that she is on Simba (I think they dun have 3G fallback), that could explain why calls dun go thru.

while m1/circles.life is on VoLTE only, it is possible that the phone is supported for calls. (i didn't check)



going forward now, if stay on simba, will need to change phone, or with existing phone, use ip calling like WhatsApp/Telegram/other app.

if go back to ST or SH infra, check with the telco whether your existing phone is supported on VoLTE. if not, then new phone is also needed. if so, then consider whether Simba is a good/value provider. if yes, then stay and get a new phone.

alternatively, if m1 supports the phone, then can consider moving to m1 infra telcos (m1, maxx, circles.life etc), and take a chance that they won't remove support in the future.
(note: when i compared their 2024 vs 2023 VoLTE supported handsets, a lot of older phones were removed. i am not on Simba, so i can't tell whether the unlisting of support really means the previously supported phone no longer works or not).

edit: or use 2 telcos, one SIM for calls, other SIM for data, but this increases running costs.


End of day, its a balance between new handset cost, running costs, and coverage (at where your mother stays and goes to).

long reply, hope it helps

 

[guile]

Heard that Senior plan will change price to $10 in Nov. Is that true? Maybe that's why they increase the data.

 

[ekardo]

Heard that Senior plan will change price to $10 in Nov. Is that true? Maybe that's why they increase the data.

if they do, a lot will jump ship..the right price is $7.80

 

[loganrunning]

Heard that Senior plan will change price to $10 in Nov. Is that true? Maybe that's why they increase the data.

Any info on whether they will raise prices for existing subscribers?

 

[KYZT2021]

ooo slient upgrade for roaming

 

[A7997A]

4G/VoLTE requires a few preconditions, one of them is for the telco to support it, even though the phone is VoLTE compatible. i guess, some kinda "profile", analogous to how iphone 5G is/was not supported on some telcos.

if Simba does not support it, then GG liao. you can check the simba website for the list of phones supported.
(it is possible that the phone may be supported although not on the list - see below)
Same for m1, which like Simba, uses 4G/VoLTE calling only.

This VoLTE support issue is pretty complex.

1) Telco need to support the phone. It is not uncommon for Telco to whitelist only certain phones for VoLTE support. Over time more phones are added, but I am not sure if they remove old models. If you check the list for telco support VoLTE phones, almost no phone older than 2017/2018 is listed. I know for a fact that back in 2014 there are phones that has functional VoLTE on Singtel. Whether those older phones were no longer supported or just remove from list because not many using them is unclear. You could try to ask the Simba to add yours to the list, but I am not hopeful that will work.

Simba's current list is here :
https://support.simba.sg/hc/article_attachments/34672624986009

2) Regional setting on the phone. Phones from different countries have different regional settings. On Samsung this is the CSC, and different features are enabled on different CSC. Changing this can make a different between the phone supporting VoLTE on a telco or not. For Samsung phones this is mainly a concern on models prior to OneUI.

3) VoLTE support on the phone evolve over time. Whether it is due to VoLTE "versions" or telco profile is unclear, but there are claims that updating phone software can make a difference. Samsung phones using OneUI pretty much have functional VoLTE accross the board.

4) Telco need to enable VoLTE for the specific sim card, this should always enabled for Simba, but could be a different situation for other Telco.

5) Phone need to enable VoLTE, new phones/software version has it enabled by default, older ones are disabled by default.

 

[A7997A]

Heard that Senior plan will change price to $10 in Nov. Is that true? Maybe that's why they increase the data.

That didn't make any sense, there is no value to the plan at that price.
They will need to increase the data by ALOT to justify that.

 

[guile]

Google the keywords and you will see the PDF

Simba senior $10 Nov

"* Promotional rate till 30 November 2024. Usual price is at $10.00. Mobile Access for Seniors plan customers get to enjoy Free Mobile Security VAS subsidised by IMDA with sign-up of SIMBA Mobile Access for Seniors plan. Otherwise, $3 will be charged for the VAS."

I'm also waiting to see if my parent's plan will increase by then.

 

[loganrunning]

Google the keywords and you will see the PDF

Simba senior $10 Nov

"* Promotional rate till 30 November 2024. Usual price is at $10.00. Mobile Access for Seniors plan customers get to enjoy Free Mobile Security VAS subsidised by IMDA with sign-up of SIMBA Mobile Access for Seniors plan. Otherwise, $3 will be charged for the VAS."

I'm also waiting to see if my parent's plan will increase by then.

yup, saw this earlier, that's why i didn't move my parents' lines to Simba. Was checking if i had missed something along the way eg IMDA would extend the subsidy. Hope springs eternal .

got enough in their pre-paid to last for quite a while, so will look-see-look-see for now. Considering eight or zero1 for now, lets see who comes up with a more compelling offer.

 

[EeeK]

ah, that makes sense....., i think..... maybe....

4G/VoLTE requires a few preconditions, one of them is for the telco to support it, even though the phone is VoLTE compatible. i guess, some kinda "profile", analogous to how iphone 5G is/was not supported on some telcos.

if Simba does not support it, then GG liao. you can check the simba website for the list of phones supported.
(it is possible that the phone may be supported although not on the list - see below)
Same for m1, which like Simba, uses 4G/VoLTE calling only.

ST (Zero1 infra provider) and SH have not turned off 3G yet, so it is possible that even though VoLTE for that phone is not supported, calls get thru because it falls back to 3G. The real test will come in late 2024/early 2025 when ST and SH have committed to start turning off 3G - at that point, if 3G fall back is needed, then calls will fail.

one way to test, is to turn off 4G (disable "VoLTE call") or select up to 3G connection (settings - SIM - "preferred network" - "2G/3G (automatic)". if the call goes thru, then it is using 3G fallback.

now that she is on Simba (I think they dun have 3G fallback), that could explain why calls dun go thru.

while m1/circles.life is on VoLTE only, it is possible that the phone is supported for calls. (i didn't check)



going forward now, if stay on simba, will need to change phone, or with existing phone, use ip calling like WhatsApp/Telegram/other app.

if go back to ST or SH infra, check with the telco whether your existing phone is supported on VoLTE. if not, then new phone is also needed. if so, then consider whether Simba is a good/value provider. if yes, then stay and get a new phone.

alternatively, if m1 supports the phone, then can consider moving to m1 infra telcos (m1, maxx, circles.life etc), and take a chance that they won't remove support in the future.
(note: when i compared their 2024 vs 2023 VoLTE supported handsets, a lot of older phones were removed. i am not on Simba, so i can't tell whether the unlisting of support really means the previously supported phone no longer works or not).

edit: or use 2 telcos, one SIM for calls, other SIM for data, but this increases running costs.


End of day, its a balance between new handset cost, running costs, and coverage (at where your mother stays and goes to).

long reply, hope it helps

thank you for your reply. managed to get the simba sim card working on the other old phone that I have, xiaomi redmi 5a which support volte.

 

[A7997A]

thank you for your reply. managed to get the simba sim card working on the other old phone that I have, xiaomi redmi 5a which support volte.

You had difficulty with that phone at the beginning right ? What change was necessary to get it to work ?

 

[A7997A]

Google the keywords and you will see the PDF

Simba senior $10 Nov

"* Promotional rate till 30 November 2024. Usual price is at $10.00. Mobile Access for Seniors plan customers get to enjoy Free Mobile Security VAS subsidised by IMDA with sign-up of SIMBA Mobile Access for Seniors plan. Otherwise, $3 will be charged for the VAS."

I'm also waiting to see if my parent's plan will increase by then.

Looks like it has been extended once from 2021 July to 2024 Nov already.
https://simba.sg/static/media/TPG extends its *5 for 20GB Seniors Plan to November 2024.ed4645c7.pdf

 

[guile]

Looks like it has been extended once from 2021 July to 2024 Nov already.
https://simba.sg/static/media/TPG extends its *5 for 20GB Seniors Plan to November 2024.ed4645c7.pdf

Yup. So let's hope will extend again. If it becomes $10 then it's expensive for seniors. 100% price hike.

 

[smith2006]

I also think Eight has moved a lot of pple from other mnvo, esp from Simba.

was thinking to move my mum’s Snr account out from Simba to Eight, but seems like with the 3gb roaming and up to 80gb package at $5. I think I will continue with simba

Today newspaper advertisement

Senior plan now has 100 IDD mins

EDIT: Checked using 1218, noticed $10 plan also added 100 IDD mins

 

[A7997A]

Today newspaper advertisement

Senior plan now has 100 IDD mins

EDIT: Checked using 1218, noticed $10 plan also added 100 IDD mins

Apparently update web site is more difficult than sending for newspaper print.