Guide: SIM cards in Brazil

[likeohmygod]

Hoping to help someone... Getting a Brazilian SIM card can be a pain in the ass, especially when reading discordant opinions and experiences in the internet and when you do not own a Brazilian CPF (tax code). 

Internet is very useful, especially in Brazil. Using your home country's number can be really expensive and sometimes data roaming is shitty. And sometimes some services do not work with non Brazilian numbers.

So here's how to do:

1- Buy a Sim card ("chip"), you can do it like everywhere you can find a operator's logo. I bought one from Tim because it's good and for 15 reais per week u get 1.5GB of internet and 100 min of free phone calls to other operators (unlimited towards Tim). 

It will cost you around 10 reais. 

2- Turn off your phone and install the new sim. 

3A- Turn on your phone and wait 5 minutes, if the TIM's system works correctly you will arrive to an interface asking you to confirm your DDD (area code.. For Rio 21, for SP choose 11). After that you will get to know oe your phone number. Take note of it and call *144 after rebooting your device. 

3B- If what I wrote on point 3A doesn't work (my case) your SIM will seem to be just a useless piece of plastic, unregistered on he network which cannot even call TIM support. DO NOT TRASH YOUR SIM. Keep your phone switched on with the SIM installed. In 45 minutes you should receive a SMS with your phone number. Then call *144.

3C- If points 3A or 3B didn't work what you have to do is wait. Every 30 min try to call *144. It will work. Do not worry about your phone number... You will discover it later. 

4- Now that you have made it to call *144, follow the voice. At some point it will say "for English press X" (in my case was 3).

5- You will speak with an English-speaking operator which will register your Sim using your passport number and your address in Brazil (can be the hotel one). And you can ask him about your number, if you still don't know it... Again... You can still find your number later. 

6- The operator will ask you to make an at least 6 seconds phone call (do not worry, your sim already has like 2 reais to make this call)  to a number of tour choice to confirm the  registration, after waiting 2 hours. I just did it immediately after the phone call and it worked. 

7- Congratulations, you have a Brazilian number. All you have to do now is to buy a top up and if you still don't know your number...  send a whatsapp message to yourself or to a friend to discover your number.

You can buy top up everywhere...

If you wanna do it in the internet site of TIM you will need a CPF. So you cannot do that directly with Tim. Just use Ding. It's safe and it does have a very small fee. 

8- Download the TIM app, because it's useful and activate the plan of your choice using it. In my case was TIM pré smart 1,5GB

Remember that your sim will expire after a period of time which depends on the size of the top up you have bought. 

If you let the top up expire, they will freeze your Sim for 2 months. If you don't buy a new top up within this limit, you will lose your number and you will have to start again from point 1.

[sanddunes]

Thanks, this is useful info.

Another option is to get T mobile.  For $10 more a month you can get the Plus international plan.  I was able to use LTE data in Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina the minute I touched down at the airport.

I got a CPF so I could sign up for a gym membership...it was a very easy process and took less than an hour...

[Walker]

5 hours ago, sanddunes said:

I got a CPF so I could sign up for a gym membership...it was a very easy process and took less than an hour...

Can you please elaborate how you obtain a CPF as a foreigner?

[mvan1]

http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/cpf-for-dummies

[Walker]

If all you need for a CPF number is to get gym membership and/or mobile service, you can just Google it to get a fake number.  No merchant in Brazil would bother to validate your CPF number.  But, based on the link above, it take much longer than 1 hour to get a physical CPF card officially (15 days?)

I was able to get a sim card with voice+data plan from a TIM store (not the newstand or candy store) with only a passport and no CPF.

[likeohmygod]

A fake CPF will not work with mobile services and be careful because it's illegal.

DO NOT DO THIS. Fake CPF generators work matching personal data from a fake database. De facto are generating a new identity from scratch, but it can happen that the gererated CPF is a real one, linked to a real person who is unaware of the fact that a tourist is using is CPF to do stuff. Don't mess with this. 

You can ask a friend for his CPF, but the procedure above is for those who want to do a clean thing, without having to go to a TIM store (where I was told it wasn't possible to activate a Sim with a passport... Same thing with claro), and without having to spend more than 5 minutes. 

The whole procedure above, takes no more than 5 minutes to complete. On the worst case you just have to let your phone on the desk for 30 min, while you're doint something else. 

I am spending in Brazil the majority of my time now, and I still don't have a CPF. Last time I tried to get it from a banco do Brasil i have been told that I could not get it because I am not Brazilian. Hahaha...i have wasted enough time for this. 

[sanddunes]

To get a CPF, go to the nearest post office and tell them you need a CPF.  You pay 7 reals and they give you a receipt.  Then take the receipt to the nearest Receita Federal.  The one I went to is in Ipanema.  The line was about 20 minutes long.  They gave me the CPF on the spot.  The whole thing took about an hour..

I agree with likeohmygod that it isn’t worth getting a fake cpf.  If for some reason you are caught you would never be able to get a Brazilian visa again.

Using a fake CPF to get a cell phone is something a drug dealer would likely do so their calls aren’t linked to their real identity.

The main reason I got the CPF was so I could puchase airfare directly from Brazilian airlines.  Almost always the airfares offered to Brazilians are cheaper than buying from a US based website.  And for the gym I go to in Ipanema, they charge 80 reals for a month, vs 20 reals per visit for foreigners.

[Walker]

1 hour ago, likeohmygod said:

...without having to go to a TIM store (where I was told it wasn't possible to activate a Sim with a passport... Same thing with claro), and without having to spend more than 5 minutes. 

I am not trying to argue with you, but I was able to get mobile service from TIM store once and from Claro store twice, all in SP and all with only my passport and no CPF.   Maybe things work differently in Rio.  Claro store has very good customer service and some staff there spoke fluent English.  My Brazilian friend took me to TIM store because he uses TIM himself and insisted TIM has better coverage, but honestly I couldn't tell the difference.  Nobody at TIM store spoke any English.

54 minutes ago, sanddunes said:

......They gave me the CPF on the spot.  The whole thing took about an hour..

Did you get the CPF number on the spot, or the CPF card on the spot?  how long did it take for you to receive your physical CPF card?

[sanddunes]

They print the actual CPF card on the spot and give it to you

[Riobard]

You can obtain a SIM chip and contract at a service centre without a CPF. Many of you know this.

I have used day pass, one-month, and longer-duration gym memberships without a CPF, but paying the total up-front obviously.

Interesting to learn of the airfare variance, though as a foreigner I have found the regular domestic fares to be quite reasonable.

I appreciate learning about the steps to obtain a CPF. Does not hurt to have one, particularly if purchasing local bus, airline, entertainment events, etc online. 

[Walker]

On 3/14/2018 at 12:48 PM, sanddunes said:

They print the actual CPF card on the spot and give it to you

I just obtained my CPF number at the Receita Federal in Sao Paulo.  They printed and gave me a Xerox copy of the CPF card on the spot only, not the real card.

[Walker]

On 3/14/2018 at 1:07 AM, mvan1 said:

http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/cpf-for-dummies

Therefore, I conclude the info in the above article is more accurate.   I will also advise not to obtain a CPF unless you have a real need for it.  Read the "identity theft” paragraph in the above article.

[mvan1]

On 3/13/2018 at 9:56 AM, likeohmygod said:

 

Information and a history lesson on cell phones in Brazil

I think those of us who travel to Brazil have had different experiences with respect to getting working telephone service.  

When I started going to Brazil fifteen years ago (many more than 100 trips ago), most garotos had old portable telephones without internet.  That is when I got my first Brazil phone and number.  It was in Rio.  I still have that same number working.  

The only difference with the number is that throughout Brazil, a digit 9 was placed before all cell phone numbers.  Brazil was running out of numbers and that was a solution for then and now.    

I did not know any Portuguese language at the time I got my first phone.  I bought the phone for communicating with garotos that I met either at the saunas or through friends.   I also used the phone to coordinate with travel companions and other business.  

I followed the advice of Americans who told me how to get a Brazil phone number which was usually not good advice. 

I decided to learn how to get SIM cards in my own name.   

I got a CPF number but I later learned that a passport is fine enough and that a CPF is NOT needed to get a new Brazil phone number

Over time I began visiting various cities in Brazil and found that "roaming" with a Brazil phone did not work well (back during 2003 until about 2008).  Therefore, I decided to buy a SIM card for various Brazilian cities I visited on a frequent basis.   Again, I had no problem using a passport to get a new phone number.  

Over time, the internet expanded with efficiency and phones became ubiquitous and almost every garoto had a phone with internet.  Then whatsapp came along.   That became the magic carpet for keeping in touch with friends and all garotos in most parts of the world. 

I still keep my original Rio and Sao Paulo TIM phone numbers active.  This is easy to do.  All you need do is add enough funds to the card that will give six months validity.  

In the case of TIM the amount needed to keep the phone active for six months is R$50.  Of course, you need to use the phone in Brazil at least once every three months or the number will go dormant and your unused funds will be lost.  

If you think you will not return within three months, you can still keep the number active by going on-line to tim.com.br and setting up an on-line account.   You should set up the account while in Brazil because a confirmation text will be sent to the Brazil number you are registering on-line.  After you have the on-line account and if you do not make it back to Brazil within 90 days of when you last used your phone, you can subscribe to a promotion on TIM's site and add internet for a couple of dollars or less.  You will be charged through any funds you have prepaid.  However, you will not be able to use the internet from TIM but the charge will keep your number active for another three months or until your prepaid funds are consumed.  

Depending who you ask about SIM cards for Brazil you will sometimes get correct answers and many times you get just plain wrong answers.  

Bottom line - you don't need a CPF to get a working SIM card (phone number) in Brazil. 

I hope this history lesson helps some newbies who visit Brazil or some regulars who want to get a Brazil phone and are not familiar with Brazil’s phone systems.  

[pauleiro]

On 3/14/2018 at 11:04 AM, likeohmygod said:

A fake CPF will not work with mobile services and be careful because it's illegal.

DO NOT DO THIS. Fake CPF generators work matching personal data from a fake database. De facto are generating a new identity from scratch, but it can happen that the gererated CPF is a real one, linked to a real person who is unaware of the fact that a tourist is using is CPF to do stuff. Don't mess with this. 

Since I normally spend around 10 days each trip, I used the CPF generator but it does not work always. So I moved to using CPF of a real person by googling CPF Antonio or CPF Joao. I did that until I received one day a message saying (in Potuguese) "I am Brasilian lawyer from ... Firm. Can you call me back as soon as possible". I imagined that it was a mistake but after a second thought, I realized it was because I had used a real CPF. I remember than the google result was on a contract  ... Bad choice. SIM card was immediately sent to bin !

 

[slimdude2]

how can you send a whats app message to yourself?

 

[mvan1]

7 hours ago, slimdude2 said:

how can you send a whats app message to yourself?

 

 

OR

http://www.evenbright.com/how-to-send-whatsapp-to-yourself/