I signed up for the Simba (previously known as TPG) 50GB SIM only plan and here is what I think about the plan

 

Well, I was quite annoyed by Starhub unstableness. It's like I can have super laggy moments at home with my wifi right in front of me. Not to mention that I'm still on 3G and it can be dead slow - like taking a minute to refresh a webpage.

At the worst, it affected my GrabFood deliveries - like I got disconnected and then couldn't receive any jobs. I also cannot complete a job because the connection was too weak or unstable.

Anyway, I did previously signed up for the TPG free trial. It was not too bad, except that I couldn't get it to work on my mom's iPhone 6S+. It worked on my iPhone 7+ and iPad Mini 2. I remembered it to be pretty smooth for my usual usage. I didn't test it in the undergrounds but my cousin reported that it didn't have any connection underground.

However, this time round, TPG promised better connections and more coverage. But is it true? Let's find out!

The TPG 50GB SIM only Plan

50GB SIM ONLY PLAN

$
10
 

For 30 days

 

50GB DATA
+1GB Roaming Data
to selected countries
300 Local Call Minutes
30 Local SMS

.

To be honest, the plan is very attractive because its a lot of data for such a cheap price. You cannot find another Telco that is cheaper than this! 

$10 for 30 days of 50GB 4G data, 300 call minutes and 30 SMS is quite a deal!


Connection 

I'm using the SIM plan mainly for GrabFood, Youtube, online Shopping and some light social gaming (Clash of Clans and Clash Royale). My area of activities will be around my neighbourhood area whereby I'll be doing my GrabFood deliveries. Occasionally, I'll head down to the central area of my Zone.

I first tested the reception in my own house, just the reception, not the connection and speed as I'll still be on Wifi. The reception was full bar in my living room but when it gets to my room, it went down a bar. I don't know what to say about it but it doesn't seems like good news. I've not gotten anything less than full bar in my own house with my 3G Starhub plan. (Unless, Starhub is having problem)

So my plan was activated on 23rd October and I've been using it for a week now. To be honest, TPG isn't the most stable network and the coverage is limited as of now. They promised to expand their coverage over the next quarters but I guess they should work harder on maintaining stability of their network first.   

For now, I feel TPG is not a good plan to use for GrabFood or if you need fast and stable connections on the go. I've encountered "No service" twice within the 7 days I've been using the card and the longest lasted for up to 10 minutes.

Reception is not good in (some)lifts and can get to just 1 bar of reception. That is as good as my previous 3G line, which can get weak in lifts too. I didn't see the improvement I expected from 4G line, except that, maybe YouTube videos did load slightly faster.

There was also once that I was randomly connected to "Celcom" (I think it's a Malaysia Telco) and then notified with an SMS "Welcome back to Singapore". Although the roaming data wasn't used, I don't really like the scare. What if it happens again and I'm being charged for data roaming?

We're looking at $3 per GB of roaming data once exceeding 1 GB.


Only support VoLTE calls

The TPG 50GB SIM only plan doesn't support calling and you need a phone that supports VoLTE to be able to make "normal" (call time) calls (not Whatsapp calls, Whatsapp calls work just fine). Although my phone model should support VoLTE, the option is not available when I tried to set it up, which means I cannot make VoLTE calls. 

TPG provided an alternative solution which is to download an App "TPG 4G Voice" and you call make and receive calls via the app. I've tried calling out with it and it did work. I got my sister to call me and I'm able to receive the call. I've chat over the app and it seems pretty clear though not that smooth, with short lags but it doesn't affect the conversation much.

Updated: By the way, a downside for GrabFood delivery partners is that, if you can't make VoLTE calls, you cannot call the customer at all! Because when you call via the Grab Driver App, it will not connect you to the TPG 4G App to make the call. You also can't manually call the customer via TPG App because you won't have their number (privacy protection). You can only call the hotline or chat with Grab CS to have them call the customer on your behalf.


OTP SMS

I've not tried to activate anything with my TPG number but a number of users have reported that they cannot received the OTP for their signups. It's believed that TPG could have blocked some 5 digits phone numbers from the servers hence the OTP cannot get through.

Well, this sucks big time as many of the apps and signups requires an OTP!


Charged Twice

I just realised this mistake when I was checking my bank balance earlier. TPG has charged me twice for the plan. What happened was that, while I was making payment for the first time, there was an error message saying payment failed after I entered the OTP and so I thought it didn't get through. So I tried a 2nd time, only then the payment went through without any error. 

But then I realised that both payment went through, so I actually paid $20 for the plan! I've emailed their support and surprisingly I got a respond the next day. They asked for some information which I gave them and they swiftly responded on the next working day stating they would investigate and then refund if there really is a double payment. Refund may take up to 21 days though... which is pretty slow in my opinion. 

A reminder to all who had signed up or planning to sign up for TPG plans, many users have complained about being double charged or randomly charged to their credit cards. Some reported still being billed AFTER emailing to terminate their plans!

I think it's safer to inform them about cancellation much early before your next bill date. Say give them 2 weeks notice. That is what I plan to do as I don't think I'll carry on with this plan, at least not until it becomes more stable.


To be fair, I definitely won't recommend TPG as your main line especially if you're always on the go or need constant connection like for food delivery, but it will make a nice and cheap secondary/backup plan when your main plan is running out of data. Over the last few days of using, the connection seems to have been a little more stable.


Updated (03 May 2021): Erm... they've yet to refund me the double payment as they promised... even after I sent them a 2nd email in December last year -_-" But I was too lazy to contact them a 3rd time! Anyway, plan was cancelled in December last year, as it's not ideal for GrabFood. It's quite OK for normal use if you don't travel around a lot.

19 comments:

  1. thanks for sharing! sounds like a nightmare haha

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    Replies
    1. Yap, it's quite a nightmare! They're very new then, not sure if they're doing better now.

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    2. Absolutely a nightmare till today Mar 2023

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    3. Really? I am curious in what way? Because I'm using their 50GB plan currently, and I find it quite good. Of course, I am only travelling between the MRT lines that have coverage. Pls do share your experience if you don't mind.

      Delete
  2. Thank you for a very detailed user experience report. It was very helpful.

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  3. they are still a nightmare, porting out to other telco after 16days with TPG, i have never saw any full bars signal on TPG during this 16 days with them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm...I've been using TPG for GrabFood for months now. I've no much problem with connectivity.

      Perhaps TPG still isn't island-wide? I'm not sure, I can just say from my own experience.

      Delete
  4. For those who only use it in Sg, just for calling & receiving calls, is quite ok, but don't expect roaming overseas a miracle. Best is to check their websites whether your hp is compatible with Simba.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, best to check for compatibility before switching over. But it's not a 100% thingy. I have to keep trying to receive OTP but have no problem receiving calls after I gotten an Android phone and the TPG CS helped me to setup by inputting a long code.

      Their 4G is pretty good to be honest, but I don't get to try their roaming till end of the month. Hopefully it doesn't suck too much!

      Delete
  5. I don’t travel often but using Simba(tpg) is quite of a nightmare. I have overused my 100GB so I paid $10 not knowing that it wouldn’t be renewed until the renewal date. Paid another $10 again after being told and have no other choice. Another $5 because the previous $10 had been used up. This time, I tried to use it less often. Today, 12 November, is the renewal date for 50GB only plan. Which is 100GB. I had $4.07 in my Simba wallet and top-up another $10. Total $14.07. So I thought the plan would automatically be renewed but no. Hahahah. I asked the shop where I usually pay through cash and into my Simba wallet. They said I would have to wait until 10.30pm. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for the late response. I was told by TPG that they'll "cutoff" once your data are used up. So if you exceed the 100GB, they'll cut your data and yes, will only renew next month (but I have never exceeded so I can't verify that).

      For data roaming though, they'll auto deduct the exceeded data cost from your wallet (if there is money inside). I went Malaysia just last year end and I exceeded my data, they just deduct from my wallet since I have cash inside.

      My plan always renew by itself as long as I have enough cash in my wallet. Probably they have upgraded their billing since last year.

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  6. Hi What SIM card and teleco are you using now?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry for the late response, I am still using Simba (TPG) now. Have just switched to their MY130 plan, because the 10GB data is so attractive!! :D

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  7. A provider with very lousy Customer service with NO honesty and integrity.

    I have endured several years of its delinquency in services and coverage. Simba charge me the next cycle payment at least 7 days before the next cycle. When I moved to a new provider before my next cycle, SIMBA did not return me the money for the cycle they charged me even I am no longer subscribed to it.

    Written in and no response for more than a week. BEWARE of using SIMBA, it is CHEAP and you'll get dirt cheap service and they CHEAT you on the last cycle subscription fee.

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    Replies
    1. That's sad to hear... I read somewhere that they allow you to port out/switch plans between 1st and 25th day of your billing cycle.

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    2. hi Hiby, do you recommends to switching to SIMBA cause i am planning to port from another telco to SIMBA.

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  8. I would give them negative 5 stars if possible! They would anyhow charge your credit card and refuse to refund, so beware! Network connectivity was patchy. Mobile app malfunctioned every now and then. Customer service sucked!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your input!

      I didn't know that the overcharging to credit card is still happening... I didn't link up my Simba account with my CC because they have double charging my CC once. I just topup my account for them to deduct from from then on.

      So far I have no problem with the app (I only use once or twice a month to topup though)

      Delete

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