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Enjoy your trip, and don't try to circumvent TGFoC.
ask @netomx, and get him as friend on China
WhatsApp really blocked in China? I was assuming only FB, TWTR, and telegram...
WhatsApp really blocked in China? I was assuming only FB, TWTR, and telegram...
Probably due to the relationship WhatsApp has with FB.
WhatsApp is blocked.
Use shadowsocks for best speed. Otherwise OpenVPN.
If you use 4G data roaming with a foreign carrier in China. The connection won't be censored.
Yes, i read it on the newspaper.
WhatsApp users are not able to send text message or multimedia messages.
I will enable data roaming with unlimited plan there. Any suggestion which provider gives the best speed with less censorship?
Yeah sure
Let me repeat: WhatsApp is blocked.
Get at least Lantern, it works well in China.
https://www.lowendtalk.com/discussion/126455/china-methods
From my knowledge most out of country data roaming is unblocked. And I doubt you have a choice of provider in China, it's either CM or CU. If you have a choice, go for CU because of CM's 3G (TD-SCDMA instead of international 3G)
As long as you are roaming 4G with a non-Chinese carrier, it doesn't matter. The connection is handled by your carrier anyway. They will use Chinese carrier's facility and thats it.
I am currently using Google Project Fi in China. The carrier indicator displayed as China Mobile, but the IP address I got is from T-Mobile.
You can get a SIM card in Hong Kong that has uncensored data access in China (backhauled through Hong Kong), I remember that China Unicom HK had one that even had two numbers (+852 and +86), however the data connection was absolutely terrible and often I was stuck on 2G (couldn't roam on 4G), therefore I wouldn't expect anything that great with roaming.
I suggest you get a proper Chinese one, not sure how stricter the regulations got, but last year I was able to buy a preactivated China Unicom SIM card at a small street booth (looked very shady but it worked).
Just make sure that you have the Shadowsocks app ready to go before you go to China.
Most of them will not sell without ID, and they can only handle Chinese ID. If you can manage it's about RMB60 or so. As foreigner you need to go to an official Unicom or CM outlet and buy one for about RMB150
My opinion, if you are only short time in China, go for data roaming with an outside China SIM (but you never know, so prepare some VPN anyway, once you are in China it's too late)
So true, please be noted that PPTP and L2TP is not working anymore in China. If you need a VPN, get Cisco AnyConnect or OpenVPN.
I wouldn't even bother without a Chinese ID or resident's ID at one of the official stores, especially if you're not in a tier 1 city, but else in the streets it's far from impossible when you nicely ask the vendors who have stacks of SIM cards and give them 50-100 RMB extra (again, referring to last year). It's worth a shot and the quality of service is substantially better provided that you use a decent service to bypass the GFW. Also with a local SIM and Shadowsocks for Android you can choose which apps are bypassing the proxy which ensures a smooth experience with Chinese apps, the most useful one probably being Baidu Maps which was else insanely slow.
And bear in mind redundancy. Have at least a secondary Shadowsocks server up and running just in case the GFW is going wild.
At the official Unicom or China Mobile stores in China it's no problem to buy a SIM with your passport. I had some older SIM and got SMS to register them or they will be switched off. So I did.
My experience about PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, Lantern, Shadowsocks, OperaVPN is, it all worked - but that was 2 weeks ago and things can be different now (please different places, networks, the GFW is not one uniform thing)
I lived in a lower tier city at that point and getting fixed internet at China Telecom was quite a challenge with my Chinese skills. One Unicom shop in the more rural area of that city was known for refusing to sell to anyone without a Chinese ID or resident ID. I just wouldn't go through all that hassle in a smaller city. But again, quite sure that it's a different experience in tier 1 cities.
Last year business line CU and resident line CT in Guangdong both worked fine with PPTP to my surprise. OpenVPN connected and worked for a minute, but then massive packet loss appeared and eventually it died entirely. Shadowsocks was and is the way to go and worked well in other provinces as well (for me at least).
PPTP、L2TP、OpenVPN、Lantern、Shadowsocks、OperaVPN can not working china now
Shadowsocks still works.
On which port?
Will CM support my device?
Good to know that
How about now? Have you tried it?
The technical information is there, just check your phone.
About lantern, you get an idea how it performs here:
https://github.com/getlantern/lantern/issues
Alright, thanks guys for your help.
See you in Canton Fair in Guangzhou.
WhatsApp works fine over Shadowsocks
Ha. I was at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou 2 years ago (please tell me you're not at the awful Guangdong Hotel). Definitely sort out a few VPN options before you get there - trying to sort it out while you're there is a nightmare. Astrill is a good bet.
You can pick up China Unicom SIM cards everywhere. Their network is better than China Mobile but worse than China Telecom. I don't think that foreigners can get CT SIM cards.
If you get fed up with eating "what the fuck is it" then stop at Liede - loads of great restaurants there and not too expensive. The Pizza Hut is better than any western Pizza Hut - the choice is immense. It's a good place to stop if you forgot to pack anything too - a couple of small but not-too-shady grocery stores, a Decathlon and loads of ATMs and taxis dotted around.
Starbucks is a good place to stop if you need WiFi and is possibly the only place that takes Amex cards.
... Oh the time I had in Guangzhou ...
See you there, pal!
@jh What a loser! Who uses AMEX anyway...?
Especially after Costco ditched them lol
I decided to buy a new Sim Card there. It will cost around 200RMB that will last 6 months unmetered Internet included.
Good to know your story
Got it
Sorry for the off topic, but we in Portugal are quite limited in terms of bw allocation for our 4G carriers. Is there any chance I can buy a SIM card from another country and use it here? Like, 10/20GB bw or maybe even more.
I guess you could use a Three UK simcard? I'm paying just shy of 20GBP per month, and I can get 35(?)GB in the EU/'feel at home' countries
You have a link? To my knowledge China has no unmetered SIM.
shadowsocks always ease off the pain
You can buy it at The Festival. They told me it was unlimited.
I buy them on the airport... 250RMB for 5GB i think... plenty of data btw