Prepare your phone and SIM card for your trip to China.
Prepare your phone and SIM card for your trip to China.
I’m planning a trip to China in roughly a month and am searching for an affordable phone and SIM card. Keep in mind that Canadian availability might affect your choices. I’m focusing on options under 50-100 CAD and considering possible Chinese SIM cards for about two weeks. Note: I can’t communicate in Mandarin or Cantonese.
Take your own device and purchase a prepaid SIM card. It's really affordable. Previously, the plan offered about 10GB of data and around 500 minutes for roughly 15 CDNs.
China is it? Avoid using your phone there. Keep it off. Don’t even think about it. https://www.pcmag.com/news/369368/china-...sts-phones https://www.iphonehacks.com/2019/07/chin...y-app.html https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-0...sonal-data ... More links available if you need them. You want to stay away from the nasty stuff they put on tourists’ devices? Most countries hide their spyware inside a phone’s software, making it hard to remove. If someone grabs your phone, plug anything in or touch it for over three seconds, reset it to factory settings and discard it. They’ll already have all your data. Don’t buy it either—don’t connect it to any account and don’t use it to reach anyone you know. Better to be safe than lose your device completely. Same advice applies for laptops or traveling abroad. Just don’t trust governments’ security teams, and avoid bringing electronics across borders unless you’re ready to throw them away.
I visited a China telecom shop in a mall, where all major companies sell them. Since I speak Chinese, it was quite simple. You should also be able to purchase them online for delivery. When shopping in person, bring cash because credit or debit cards aren't commonly used. Also, have your passport ready—they usually require it. If you don’t understand Chinese, just point at your phone and show your passport; they’ll likely recognize English speakers and help you out.
Bring your own device. As long as you avoid places like Xinjiang, Tibet, or current hotspots such as Hong Kong, you should be fine. I have a slight bias since I'm Chinese, but I haven't installed anything on my phone at least, and it's likely similar to what the NSA does in the U.S.
Yeah. The US government might take your social security number, then siphon money from your bank. After that, they could monitor your browsing habits and sell your private content to Mark Zuckerberg. They’ll also hack your phone’s camera to spy on you around the clock. Additionally, they’ll steal your top-secret business ideas and hand them over to China. They’ll collect your phone number, address, and even your friends’ numbers too!