Turkey

Basics
Turkey is a very complicated country to buy a local SIM card, because there are a lot of legal restrictions. Generally, you can buy a local SIM showing your passport in a store. But this has a lot of consequences:

Registration for foreign mobile phones
All mobiles phones purchased outside Turkey using a Turkish SIM card must be registered with the government. There is a grace period that can be as short as 2 days, after which the phone will be blocked for the Turkish SIM. Theoretically, some time before your device will be blocked you get a text message saying:  ......... IMEI nolu cihaz kayit disi listesinde oldugu icin  ''da kullanim disi birakilacaktir. Hattiniz acik kalacaktir. Bilgi icin 4440532''". Registration can be done at the same time as purchasing a SIM from a network operator's store. There, they have to register the IMEI (= the unique number that identifies your device) and the SIM card. You can check the IMEI of any handset by dialing *#06#

Tax for foreign mobile phones
There is another hurdle: Before any operator will register your phone, they require a special document from the local Tax Office that will set you back 115 TL. So you have to go to the TAX Office first and pay 115 TL to have your phone registered later to finally use a local SIM card. You can get info about this procedure from this web page in english: http://www.mcks.gov.tr/en/KonuDetay.php?BKey=23

Workarounds
Turkey adapts such a rigid registration scheme officially to prevent theft and fraud, though some suspect other reasons behind it too. So far it's not advisable for visitors to Turkey to buy a local SIM card for a foreign phone. This may only be worth the effort, if you going to stay for longer and follow the procedures or know the loopholes.

Here are some workarounds to this situation:


 * You can buy a cheap Turkish phone or modem. Again you need to provide paperwork showing who you are, but you don't have to pay the 115 TL extra at the Tax Office.
 * That said, you can still buy prepaid SIMs if you are planning on being in the country for only a short period.
 * If you are playing on time, bring on a lot of devices, as it takes some time to block them all. A dual-SIM phone for instance usually has two IMEI numbers. So when the 1st channel is blocked, you can still use the 2nd. Have in mind that bringing a multitude of devices to Turkey may violate import regulations but these are hardly ever enforced on tourists.
 * There are certain coastal areas where a Greek island is close enough for you to use their mobile networks (and thus also gain from the cheaper intra-Europe rates). However, these are very limited.
 * North Cyprus prepaid SIMs can work while roaming in Turkey, seemingly without additional charge. [was able to use an IMEI blocked phone in Turkey with KKTC Telsim SIM card with no issues. 04/2014]
 * Technically, the loophole of a blacklist (or in this case whitelist) approach based solely on IMEI numbers is the fact, that there are some mobile devices on the market (e.g. Chinese-built smartphones) on which the IMEI number can easily be changed. This should be taken as an information, not an encouragement, as to do so may infringe the law of Turkey.

Turkcell
Turkcell is the biggest operator in the country with the best coverage nationwide.

2G is on 900 Mhz, 3G on 2100 Mhz.

SIM cost
A Turkcell SIM called Hazır Kart costs 35 TL. This includes 20 TL of call credit. You can check your balance by dialling *123#

Data feature packs for voice and data:
These add-ons are for smartphones (read restrictions on the top of the page):


 * DAILY 10 MB - 1 TL, activation: send MINI to 2222


 * WEEKLY 100 MB - 5 TL, activation: send EK 100MB to 2222


 * WEEKLY 250 MB - 7 TL, activation: send EK 250MB to 2222


 * WEEKLY 500 MB - 9 TL, activation: send EK 500MB to 2222


 * TRIAL PACK: 1 GB - 3 TL, activation: send DENEME to 2222, can be booked only once


 * MONTHLY 100 MB - 5 TL, activation: send TANISMA 100MB to 2222


 * MONTHLY 500 MB - 9 TL, activation send TANISMA 500MB to 2222


 * MONTHLY 1 GB - 12 TL, activation TANISMA 1GB to 2222


 * MONTHLY 4 GB - 44.90 TL, activation ABONE 4GB to 2222


 * MONTHLY 8 GB - 69 TL, activation ABONE 8GB to 2222

Data feature packs for data only
These add-ons are for tablets, routers, modems and laptops:


 * Daily 500MB - 5TL, activation: send GUNLUK 500MB #### to 2222


 * Weekly 1GB - 12TL, activation send HAFTALIK 1GB #### to 2222


 * Monthly 1GB - 29TL, activation send AYLIK 1GB #### to 2222


 * Monthly 4GB - 39TL, activation send AYLIK 4GB #### to 2222


 * 3 months 1GB - 39TL, activation send 3 AYLIK 1GB #### to 2222

"####" stands for your Turkcell phone number beginning with 53..........
 * 3 months 3GB - 59 TL, activation: send 3 AYLIK 3GB #### to 2222
 * 3 months 10GB - 79 TL, activation send 3 AYLIK 10GB #### to 2222

You have to confirm the subscription by sending the word EVET. When you want to cancel the service send an SMS to 2222 containing the word IPTAL followed by the name of the package. The message you receive later must be confirmed with the word EVET. To find out how much data remains on your package, send an SMS to 2222 with the word KALAN. You will get back a message showing what remains and the last date of usage.

If you need to set up a dial-up connection manually on your computer (phone as modem), dial *99**1*1#

In some cases you may need to add an extra initialization key. In Device Manager->modem->advanced->extra initialization key, type: at+cgdcont=1,"ip","internet"

APN may to be set manually: internet

Vodafone Turkey


Vodafone is the 2nd operator in terms of coverage. 2G on 900 Mhz, 3G on 2100 Mhz.

Start up
Vodafone Holiday line: recommended retail price is 70 TL with 50 TL bonus, Customers, who buy a Holiday Line, cannot change their price plan, Only foreigners with a valid non-Turkish passport can buy Holiday line. In maximum, 3 pre-paid lines can be activated for a foreigner.

Required documents for purchase: Passport with a valid expiry date. Notarized translation by a sworn translator is required for the passports issued in non-latin alphabet.

Data feature packs
For data balance check text SORGU to 3636. For check balance enter *123# and press.

Packets will renew automatically. To stop, text IPTAL to 3636.

Default tariff: 0.12 TL per 10 KB.

Recharges

 * Visit the nearest Vodafone shop to buy a top-up voucher. Many of our stores have automated Top Up make topping up your phone even faster.
 * Call 7500 and enter 12-digit number on your top-up voucher press #, enter 5-digit number on your top-up voucher press #
 * SMS; Send this message to 7500
 * Write YUKLE <12-digit number><5-digit number> on top up voucher

Internet packages:
These data-only packages are on offer called: Vodafone Vodem - Süreli Internet Paketleri

Speed is up to 7.2 Mbps, throttled after reaching data quota to 128 kbps.

Default tariff: 0.075 per 10 KB up to 10 TL per day. APN: internet

Avea
Avea is the smallest provider in Turkey in terms of coverage but they have still acceptable speed in the cities.

2G is on 900 and 1800 Mhz, 3G on 2100 Mhz.

SIM card is up to 50 TL with 20 TL credit. Dial 8090 to activate SIM.

Data feature packs
For subscription send an SMS with the keyword to 5555. You get a response from number 2438. You have to respond to that with another SMS and the word 'EVET' (for yes). If 3G with HSPA-speed is not working, you need to send another SMS to numer 3334 with text '3G' and reconnect to network.

Check data credit via SMS to 2222 with the word KALAN. Default rate and overuse rate is: 0.2 TL for 10 kB.

APN: internet