Hello brains trust. Moving to Aus soon although need to keep a number of things active in NZ which requires an active NZ mobile number to receive SMS verification codes etc. Some services/banks in NZ will not allow an Aus mobile number, must be NZ.
Anyone know what the best, ideally cost effective, way to keep an NZ mobile going in Aus where it is really rarely used, without too much cost?
Thanks in advance.
Yeah pretty much the same. Chuck it on prepaid and top up once a year
Agree with the 2 Degrees prepaid option. I am on it while I am out of station and I love it. It connects to mobile towers while roaming even when the balance is zero
Park it on prepaid and just make sure you top it up every 12 months. I think minimum amount is $10? Might depend on provider.
I concur with put it on cheap as prepaid but just make sure that the prepaid is useable in Oz.
Warehouse mobile prepaid is $5 min per year
I would suggest staying with one of the major providers since you never know when a MVNO might shut down and since you're not in the country, you won't really keep up with local news.
Warehouse Mobile piggybacks on 2Degrees network. Doubt they will shut down. In fact, their entire voice system is the same, as well as the support email automated replies, they all reference 2Degrees.
2Degrees is highly likely to remain, but whether WM will continue to operate in the long term is not guaranteed. The Warehouse group has been changing their business strategy a lot recently (Shutting down TheMarket, selling Torpedo7, entering Grocery). And just yesterday they announced shutting down their mobile app: https://www.warehousemobile.co.nz/more
Thanks everyone, love this site!
I do this for my brother over there, just top up $5 per yr on warehouse mobile
I use Kogan for this - works well for me when back in NZ as well as in NZ - another really useful feature is it allows Wifi Calling - so I keep my phone on that in AU and I can make and receive calls like I'm in NZ - the making calls bit is useful for places the block overseas numbers or have your old number in their phones or in their systems.
Can someone point me at this $10 per year plan?
The best 2 degrees plan I can see is $8+GST per month.
https://www.2degrees.nz/mobile-plans/prepay
What am I missing? Thanks!
There isn't a $10/year plan. The base prepay plan is pay-as-you-go, with no monthly cost. However, you must top-up at least once per year to keep the number + SIM active, with the the minimum top-up amount being $10 - hence $10/year.
The "no monthly cost" was confusing me, because it clearly says "$8/month". Now I understand that if you don't pay the $8 you will maintain the number, but won't be able to make outgoing calls or sent txt messages. I think you might be able to receive them, I can't find any of this documented on the 2 Degrees or "One" website.
Apparently I'm too old to "just know" this :)
Yes, as long as the number is active you can still receive txt messages.
Now I understand that if you don't pay the $8 you will maintain the number, but won't be able to make outgoing calls or sent txt messages. I think you might be able to receive them.
You don't have to be on a prepay monthly plan to be on a prepay plan. These are different things, despite the 2degrees website does a terrible job at distinguishing them:
Apparently I'm too old to "just know" this :)
A [base] prepay plan with standard rates, no recurring cost, and a yearly top-up to keep it active has been the default plan for 2degrees since they launched in 2009 - and for years prior with Telecom and Vodafone.
However, I wouldn't expect everyone to "just know" this stuff, and with the way 2degrees advertises - or in this case, doesn't - their prepay offerings, it's easy to see why anyone could think they have to pay monthly/fortnightly to "be on prepay"..
I would say two degrees. They have wifi calling, if your phone supports it. So you're able to receive calls and texts without being on the mobile network. This could be handy when you need to call a local NZ number.
One NZ also has wifi calling but I think they have disabled the toggle option. So this will mean that you will need to have low signal/airplane mode to toggle wifi calling.
Minimum I think is $10 a year and the credit will continue to roll over for another year if you credit your account before it expires..
Interesting to hear opinion from others..