Job Discussion Forums

Demonietto · Joined: 19 Apr 2013 Posts: 50

Can anyone help me with the dialing for a 1-800 number in the US? A few months ago I stumbled upon a prefix that let me reach a toll free number, but I don't remember what it is. The ONLY way to 'securely' reach my bank is through their 1-800 number, which I can't seem to dial correctly, and their international VN number just doesn't work. Very frustrating. I have Mobi if it makes a difference. Thanks!

TRH · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 340 Location: Hawaii

I have Mobi. I just dial 001-800-xxxx. You do need the two zeroes to correctly enter the country code for the US (and Canada I believe.) You still have VND coming out of the Mobi card though. I think you may be referring to a way around that but I am not aware of it. Perhaps someone is.

I really recommend the 1718 card. It is not a SIM. You add minutes to your existing SIM the same way as you add your Mobi minutes. I don't know the rates but I do know that for calls to the US it is a fraction of the regular card. Even a half hour call is affordable. A nice thing is that the card has instructions in English and the recording to hear your balance is bilingual as well. You would dial 1718-001-800-xxxx.

Demonietto · Joined: 19 Apr 2013 Posts: 50

Thanks, I figured out the 001 thing. I was trying to dial it with 1717 Smile

. Is the 1717 card you're talking about different from the mobi scratchers, but usable on my phone? I'll have to find one. Also, have you registered your sim? I read it changes your expiration to a year instead of 3 months, but haven't tried it yet. I think you take your passport to a store.

TRH · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 340 Location: Hawaii

The 1718 card is a scratch card, just like the Mobi cards you use to add time. I think 1718 is a Viettel product so you probably will find it any place that sells Viettel cards. You can have both 1718 and Mobi minutes on the same SIM. If you don't add the 1718 numbers first, your call goes to the Mobi minutes (or whatever your SIM is) by default. I don't think there is much advantage to 1718 for local calls but the difference for long distance is big.

I didn't know you could register your SIM but it sounds like a good idea if you plan to leave the country for a while and want the same number when you return. Let us know how it works out. I know that if you don't use a number you can loose it because that happened to the SIM that I had in my iPad. Because I had not used it for a while, when I wanted to add money, I couldn't without buying a new SIM card.

I'm With Stupid · Joined: 03 Sep 2010 Posts: 432

I haven't called the US, but when I want to call the equivalent thing in the UK, I just use Skype to make a call. It's not always perfect, but then neither is the Vietnamese phone network (I've used Skype to phone people in the country because I couldn't hear them on the phone network).

legionlabs · Joined: 04 Sep 2012 Posts: 12 Location: HCMC

I've tried both Skype and scratch cards, Skype worked much better, it was free, and dialing in the numbers was almost infinitely easier.

The only issue I had with non-free Skype calls, was sometimes buying credit with paypal wouldn't work from a vietnamese IP address (which can be resolved). Other times it worked just fine. I use it for all my long distance calls with great success.

Sean