Things you need to know before porting over/Singing up to Simba

 

Note: All the information shared in this post is to the best of my knowledge and experience. If you wish to know more, it's best to contact Simba.

I have been a Simba user from the time they're known as TPG. I must admit that TPG is quite bad initially, with very limited coverage and no connection in undergrounds. But it has improved very much and I have no problem staying connected where ever I go, within Singapore, of course. And the best part is, Simba's plans are really cheap and comes with free roaming data, free Incoming Calls and free Caller ID.

However, nothing is perfect and Simba do have some "tradeoffs".

1) Limited Talk Time and SMS

While Simba plans comes with lots of data, most of their plans doesn't comes with a lot of Talk time or SMS. For example, although their SIM ONLY 100GB plan comes unlimited Talk time and SMS to MOBILE lines, there are only 30 free local SMS and 300 minutes of free Talk time if you call/SMS to fix local lines.

fix local lines =  traditional phone services that use cables, rather than mobile phone services. AKA Landlines. 

300 minutes means you can only can use 10 minutes per day. That's not a lot, really, especially if you're calling to people without mobile or companies that only provided landlines. Sometimes the transferring time will eat up a lot of the talk time already. 

2) Simba plans are prepaid, cut off when exceeded

  

You really need to understand your usage before porting to Simba. Ask yourself if you need data or talk time/SMS more. Because once you exhausted the provided talk time/SMS, you won't be able to use that service anymore. 

Unless, of course if you have cash in your Simba account. They'll deduct your exceeded usage accordingly from your account (charges as per chart below). OR you can choose to renew your plan, but take note that there will be some waiting time for processing payment and reactivation of service. (If I am not wrong, they will only renew plans during business days)

3) Termination

I'm glad they get rid of the immediate termination rule if you miss a payment! They now allow a grace period.

There will be a 30-day grace period (21 days for some plans) to renew your Prepaid plan before Simba terminate the expired plan. During this grace period, you will continue to receive incoming calls and SMS. All data usage, outgoing calls and SMS will be blocked until you renew your plan. 

(Do check out the CRITICAL INFORMATION SUMMARY PDFs for your particular plan here)

Your plan will be terminated for non-payment after the 30 days grace period. All payments made are non-refundable or exchangeable for cash. (Which means, all the cash in your account wallet will be gone if your account get terminated)

So you have to be very careful if you didn't choose GIRO or auto payment as your payment method because your service will be limited until your plan is renewed.

4) Porting Out and Switching Plans

There will be an activation fee of $30 for port-out within 30 days (21 days for some plans) of plan activation. (Do check out the CRITICAL INFORMATION SUMMARY PDFs for your particular plans here)

If you intend to port-out, try to do so at least 7 business days before your next renewal cycle to avoid further charges. Your account will automatically be terminated upon successful port out from Simba. The same goes for termination of your line, it's best to give them at least 7 business days.

As for switching plans, you're only allow to do so between 1st - 25th days of your billing cycle. I emailed them about my wish to switch plan and was provided with a link to a webpage. There I can choose the plan I wish to switch to and then make payment. The switch is almost immediate and hassle free.

*5) Switching Plans 

(Updated 20 December 2023)

I do want to highlight one thing which I discovered in December 2023. Is that you CANNOT downgrade to a lower plan. So let's say I started with "50GB SIM only plan" and I upgraded to "SuperRoam MY plan", I cannot downgrade back to "50GB SIM only plan", I can only upgrade to a higher (more expensive) plan. I think the only way to "downgrade" is to signup for a new line, which means you'll have to get a new number. I don't think Simba allow you to "port back". Alternatively, if you're a senior, you can switch to their senior plan, that is the only "downgrading" allowed.

 

I discover this when I was thinking of downgrading from SuperRoam MY plan because I realised that we're not going into Malaysia as often. It was fortunate I haven't made the upgrade to "SuperRoam Max" plan for my Europe trip. 

Well, that's all I can share about Simba from my own experience. I do feel Simba's plans are cheap and connectivity and coverage are good. It comes with free roaming data too, which most other plans out there doesn't!

The downside is too little Talk time and SMS.