Looks a pretty good deal.
TopCashback Link
On activation by 10 Mar.
Ongoing $300/240GB.
New activations only.
For use in Aus. Offer ends 24 Feb
yes this is full telstra network, Coles is not. Different product?
this is $205 after cashback, how is that not cheap lol
Exactly. You can't compare wholesale with retail lol.
this is $205 after cashback, how is that not cheap lol
Can't use it for recharge
buy a $7 sim from woolworths, port to it, then when this sim arrives port back and get the cashback + Cheap price for another year
@superforever: Plus doing that is a massive pain in the ass. Why not just offer the cheaper price to your existing customers as well? That way they stay happy, loyal customers instead of considering where they could move their service to instead.
@Churna: There are heaps of posts about people having problems with porting one way or another.
For those with families and jobs, trying to port in two directions in a short time period isn't worth the savings/risk over a simple recharge.
Though admittedly Boost has made this more appealing with their cost increases
@PhilToinby: I have 8 sim cards in my man-drawer from last time I did this for the family. First fail was Vodafone requires minimum $12 recharge, and next because my port to Telstra failed… in the end I got onto Boost helpline (which is anyway Telstra) and they did a "sim-swap" for me… effectively switched my account from the old sim to the new sim. I told them I bought them but didn't realise they weren't a recharge.
By the time I went through all that messing around I missed out on the cashback, plus the cost of the additional sims.
Next time we'll be porting to Aldi Mobile or Superloop (we have NBN through Superloop). Cost is about the same on Aldi cheapest plan ($19/month) but no porting and cashback risk.
@braddsey: How does Aldi and Superloop compare? I assume you're in a metro area?
I think for me, being regional, I'd need to stick with either Telstra or Boost unfortunately.
I believe they were referring to Boost plans in general, rather than this specific deal (which still isn't particularly cheap).
I was with Boost until recently, but their new plans are just too expensive and include way more data than I need. I switched to Kogan for just over $100 a year, and haven't noticed much of a difference.
Boost is not full Telstra mobile even though they say they are.
Please explain?
@ticket65: Officially boost uses the full Telstra mobile networks albeit speed limited to 150 mbps as @Churna pointed out below. I did a quick test a few months ago at Highpoint shopping centre where I had both a boost sim and a Telstra that I swapped out on my phone to do a quick test. Using boost I barely got any coverage and wasn’t even able to load any webpages, swapped the Telstra sim in and had zero issues accessing the internet with respectable speeds. I have noticed very similar things on many occasions, my partner and I both have the same iPhone however she is on Telstra prepaid and I’m on boost, consistently she has better coverage in a lot of areas than I do. I believe Telstra prioritize their own services before boost. There are plenty of other people that have experienced a similar thing.
@JoeBogan: Darn. Are you in a metro or regional area? I thought Boost was pretty much the same coverage. I'm currently with Telstra, but going to switch over to Boost as my 12 month prepaid is expiring soon. Not sure whether or not to try and stuff around porting to another mobile carrier for a few days and porting back to Telstra (don't really want the hassle).
its speed limited (150mbps) and wont get the new starlink when it gets released BUT it will be full network.
@Churna: What did you mean by it's won't get the new Starlink? I don't know much about Starlink, so what curious on what you meant by that.
@Ice009: Telstrea have a deal with starlink coming up in the next 6 months that means you can text from anywehre in Aus as long as you have a recent model samsung or iPhone + sight of the sky. Boost probs wont get this
@Churna: Wow, that sounds pretty cool. So anywhere in AU this will work? Is this just for Samsung or iPhones? I use a Google Pixel.
@Churna: Did you have a link? I wouldn't mind having a read.
Sounds like it will be great thing to have in places where you normally wouldn't get coverage.
Is it just going to be Telstra that has this out of the MNOs?
@Ice009: Optus and Telstra have announced it
https://www.telstra.com.au/exchange/telstra-to-bring-spacex-…
Optus seem to have removed their link to it, unsure why, maybe it got dealyed by them
@Churna: OK, thanks. Sounds like a really cool thing. Good incentive for their customers to stay with them. Unfortunately, price is an issue for me and I'm still learning towards going back to Boost from Telstra next week.
It’s not. It’s like 10% of Telstra towers at a lower priority. And the reception is absolutely trash.
I made the purchase and have regretted switching from Vodafone ever since.
Where are you getting baseless information from? What is your evidence? Are you accusing Boost of misleading the public?
@Maths Debater: My baseless information is that my work phone is Telstra and my phone is with boost. The coverage is not the same. I can’t even get reception on my boost mobile at the office in the middle of the cbd. And my work phone will get full bars on 5G.
So my assumption is there’s something fishy going on within the whole ✌🏻Telstra coverage✌🏻marketing this misleading company tries to sell you. I’ve experienced nothing but constant reception issues with boost.
@Harry Balzac: I was thinking of moving to boost from Telstra as the latter's prices have gone up even more than Boost…may I ask where you heard it was 10% towers and at a lower priority? Or is that more of a gut feel figure?
@Harry Balzac: Is there any difference between your two phones? Could you have an antenna issue? I have Boost and get excellent service.
@Harry Balzac: Could it be your personal handset sucks? Cause I am with Boost and get reception EVERYWHERE perfectly. like country towns etc, no problem.
@JoeBogan: I've done the exact same thing with 2 identical iPhones side by side and found no difference in signal across various locations in Melbourne.
@Maths Debater: I’ve done the same thing with the exact same phone in multiple locations and have found differences, specifically where there is a large number of people.
ymmv I switched from Voda to Boost and the coverage difference was night and day.
It's not full Telstra network. Very similar coverage though
Full Telstra customers are prioritised also. So you can have full bars but no service if the tower is congested.
I still rate it above anything else that isn't full fat Telstra.
So they actually disclose that full Testra customers get priority? I can't find it on their website. Not disagreeing, just thinking of shifting from Telstra to Boost and given I'm in an urban area, I don't want to do it if I'm getting no service sometimes.
@y2k: It's not published but logically speaking + employees have said online before it is usually prioritized as:
Business > Personal (post paid/plan) > Telstra Prepaid > Wholesale (MVNO etc)
@y2k: Anecdotal, I have one of each. But it makes sense (why wouldn't Telstra prioritise customers paying 2-4x as much)
I don't have issues with Boost that often, it's mostly edge case, eg at the football the Boost line might struggle with data whereas the Telstra line has no issues.
@sponson: They're paying more money for uncapped download speed. Unless a staff member can prove this rumour, I call BS.
I moved from Boost to Coles late last year, and suddenly found that I missed Wifi calling while overseas, so will have to move back to Boost…
found that I missed Wifi calling while overseas,
How reliable to use WiFi calling while overseas?
I always use WiFi dongle overseas and leave the Boost sim card in the phone.
Probably depends on the wifi connection speed
When I was in Japan last year, I got a free wifi dongle from the rental car company, connecting to wifi all the time and have always been able to call and receive call Australia directly, no drop out issue
@littlesoldier: https://colesmobile.com.au/home/page/what-is-vowifi
I think they support WiFi Calling, may be not overseas but I think Boost is the same but not sure.
Great thing about Boost and travel is using an international eSim and being able to make VoLTE or Wifi calls. Also can receive SMS from banks etc too. No need to buy additional international packs or data
@Thypeople: Sorry? I don't understand how you're using boost and an international esim together. Surely all data is going through the international Sim unless on wifi
@justtoreply: My understanding…
If the phone support dual sims (2 eSim or 1 physical + 1 esim)
and have both Boost sim + Overseas data sim active at the same time
Set the data sim for mobile data, and enable mobile data switching
this will allow the phone to call Australia number during overseas using VoLTE (without purchasing Boost international roaming package)
Boost also support overseas Wifi calling, so when connected to wifi
the signal will change to "Telstra Wifi Calling", which it can also call or receive calls from Australia
but consuming data from Wifi instead of the Data eSim
In comparison, while Optus support Wifi calling
I think it doesn't work while the phone is overseas (Connect the phone to Wifi while overseas to make call to Australia)
@littlesoldier: Thanks. Ok, as I thought still using international esim data. The purpose is only not buying international data from Boost
Same.
Coles also does not have call waiting or voicemail messages compared to Boost.
I purchased a $190 Boost sim again ending my coles mobile plan a month early.
voicemail messages compared to Boost.
Coles don't have voicemail or voicemail to SMS?
Coles does have call waiting. It's just for some reason, it's not enabled by default when you insert the sim card into your phone (same with voicemail)
Enable call waiting on Samsung
Enable call waiting on iPhone
@asingha: With new Google Message, I can even have a transcript of it and don't need to listen to it.
But did you receive a SMS that you have voicemail?
@superforever: I just tested it and yes, I do receive a text with a voice message/note attached that I can listen to without calling voicemail.
@superforever: I just checked with Coles mobile chat agent…here's a screenshot of the chat.
They're saying colesmobile does not offer voicemail to sms/mms service.
If any other provider besides boost/telstra starts offering this, I'll jump ship instantly!
Edit: It is possible @asingha is using an iPhone, which can handle voicemail differently.
@alterego13: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/16255249/redir
I don't think it is iPhone related, because MMS voice message was sent out from the back-end.
@superforever: Ok. I'm genuinely curious to know if it actually works. Are you using colesmobile? Do you know if there are any settings to be done to activate it?
Thanks
Are you using colesmobile? Do you know if there are any settings to be done to activate it?
I am not, still with Boost, I am same as you considering to more to Coles Mobile with a cheaper plan.
@superforever: haha! I'm sure there's many more like us!
I'm just porting out of lebara to boost right now on a sim bought from previous cashback (28 days, not 365). I think next I'll try colesmobile sim when it's on a decent offer to test it out.
Boost used to be amazing, but has gone to absolute garbage for me and not in terms of $$ value, but the speeds/network.
Boost used to be amazing, but has gone to absolute garbage for me and not in terms of $$ value, but the speeds/network.
Agreed, they are so expensive now, otherwise I will stay with them.
@alterego13: @alterego13 @superforever I am using Android, however I think it should work regardless as it is a voice message being sent over MMS
@asingha: Thanks, for that. Did you activate any special settings or does that happen by default? Delivery of voicemail as MMS.
I chatted with Optus and Coles mobile support and both said that this feature is not available, so I'm curious to know how it works for you.
Thanks.
@alterego13: I didn't activate any special features. I just setup voicemail as normal and I'm receiving voicemail as MMS. Working on both Coles Mobile and Catch Connect
Only thing I can think of is just to make sure you've followed what I've said here
Otherwise I guess just make sure you can receive MMS in the first place by getting someone to text you a photo (or even a voice message)
@asingha: Thanks. I've tried it on Voda/Lyca/Lebara without luck. Will try with Coles and Catch next.
@asingha: @asingha
So I just ported over to Coles mobile, and I am not getting voicemail as MMS… I have to dial 321 to retrieve the voicemail.
Followed the settings page you linked in your comment but not getting voicemail as MMS…
Looks like I'll move back to boost!
@alterego13: Update: Managed to get it working!! There is a different setting to be activated via short code.
For anyone wanting to use this feature, from main dialer app type this short code and tap 'call' it will activate the voicemail to MMS feature.
** 004 * 0411000160 #
This feature is officially called 'Missed Call Service' by Optus, is free to use in Australia, but international roaming charges apply when overseas.
receive a text with a voice message/note attached that I can listen to without calling voicemail.
@asingha are you using Andriod or iPhone?
@justtoreply: What are you talking about?
Boost can receive voicemessage with MMS and I can use Google message to read the transcript, just want to know if Coles mobile can do that same.
If you are iPhone user and using iMessage a lot, it is recommended to use Boost (eSIM) if you are traveling overseas.
While many people may love to use local Mobile Data plan when traveling overseas instead of using data roaming, and most of the time those local data plan are with physical SIM.
Since iMessage will be de-registered your primary number when the primary number SIM removed, with eSIM option (Boost) now you can use both together.
(Coles don't have eSIM option as I know)
Does the above deal apply to Boost eSim or does that need to be purchased separately? I go overseas soon and would like to retain access to primary number
@Lellec: once you activated your physical sim, go to Boost website to register your account with the number (apparently the mobile app doesn't work for registration).
Login your Boost mobile app again with your registered account, then, under your account, you should able to see an option at the bottom saying "Set up or manage eSIM". Follow the instruction you should able to convert your account into eSIM. :)
Depends on phone, wifi calling overseas on Boost doesn't seem to work with Pixels.
I used Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 previously, and VoWiFi (using Boost Mobile) worked overseas on both phones.
I'm so done with Boost. Others are providing better value.
Their network quality has degraded too.
Now that Telstra own it, they'll kill it like they did to Belong.
Yep my 30 days with Optus was so much better network wise, mostly Brisbane and Wide Bay
I think if you don't travel out of town, you're burning money going with Boost. It's only a beneficial network if you need coverage outside metro areas, at least in my experience. If I didn't need it for work, I would be with Amaysim.
Yep $130 after cashback Optus has been superior to Boost for me in the city
Yeah that was a great deal only negative so far has been that overseas whilst you can technically receive texts for free on Optus prepaid you have to at least add something like the $10 14 day extras credit to even connect to a network.
@AusNugz: So you cant receive a factor 2 sms O/S with Optus?
Ie. Roaming on, data off. Prepaid, so they can't charge you anything.
I'm a serial porter across all networks and never had an issue, and never been charged.
To be fair, I haven't been OS with Optus prepaid since 2018. Surely they arent the only telco who don't allow factor 2 OS?
@superforever: Please explain how that is possible. If you don't roam then you don't connect to a cellular network. SMS requires a cellular network. Yes OTT messaging ie imessage, Whatsapp, Signal, will work over other connections like data only travel sim or wifi but not SMS.
@angyp: It works without activating any roaming packs. Use it for bank 2FA while overseas all the time.
@Diplomats: Maybe RCS is doing it then. Do you recall if you had a data connection of any type when you received the SMS?
@angyp: I didn’t mean to start this chain of comments.
I was talking about Optus prepaid not allowing you to receive SMS for free overseas.
I am aware Boost does and you don’t have to purchase a roaming pack, it’s not over RCS.
I was talking about Optus prepaid not allowing you to receive SMS for free overseas.
Coles prepaid did allow you to receive SMS overseas without roaming pack.
No more cheap yearly plan, don't need that much of data, will move away to Coles Mobile later.