How fast is the Kogan Mobile network?

Never mind the data, fellows. The coverage map for the Kogan phone network is showing the old Telstra 2G GSM network and capital city based 2.1Ghz 3G network. If you are on the road - or live outside of highways and capital cities - forget it.
https://www.koganmobile.com.au/help/?s=ntwork#support-357

But they keep referring to data speeds in the blurbs and say "Kogan Mobile is underpinned by over 6,600 3G 850MHz sites."
Maybe they have access to data at any site with GSM and that would mean the calls would be carried on 2G and data on NextG and could explain the coverage map. But until all is clarified, I would personally not be committing. (Especially since Telstra are saying "not us.")

With no optus and vodaphone network results to compare with, this test doesn't provide much help for the typical MVNO call plan buyer contemplating kogan mobile over live connected or red bull mobile etc.

Yes I too would like to know how it compares to other MVNO's. I am on another unlimited plan ... love the sms and phone service but hate the the slow internet - so would like a comparison pleeeeese...

Just bought my GS note2 outright and a kogan sim. I'll buy $30 credit and see how it goes in both wagga wagga and Sydney. In wagga wagga Optus speeds average 1.5 mbps and Telstra gets 4mbps

Its horrible. If you want the better service and data speed, go to your Good ol' Optus shop and get the $69 Timeless Sim Only (unlimited calls/text 3gb of 3g/4g data). It's basically, you get what you pay for. I'm personally on the $130 Timesless plan which gives me a new phone (whichever phone I want) every 12 months. I don't have to worry about calls/text or terrible data speeds.

Laurie H your comment is inaccurate. First of all, the 'capital city based 2.1Ghz 3G network' -- which we will call 3GIS (its name) no longer exists. It's been broken up between Telstra and Vodafone. The Telstra Wholesale 3G product which Kogan uses, uses the same 3G 850 network as NextG. NextG is Telstra's brand name and you won't see the resellers using it. You'll get up to 7.2mbps speeds on the TW3G product. It offers 98.4% pop coverage - 97% 2G+3G, the rest is 2G (GSM/EDGE) only. NextG thru Telstra offers 99.5% pop coverage.
To call this GSM only is inaccurate

I've just come back to Aus after living abroad for 18 years , my expectations seem different to the average user , I didn't need to sign a contract deal to get a smart phone i got one already , i'm looking for getting the best value out of making calls . The across the board offer seems to give 200 mins talk time as a plan deal? that equates to 6mins + per day , also includes a phone from anywhere for 35 to 55 bucks per month for a phone i don't need !.My needs are maximum talk time at a cost for 29 bucks per month, that's good value ! i consider the 6gb data thrown in is a bonus. With wi fi on my phone i conserve my data credit by using free internet connections . Speed is not a issue ! You get what you pay for !!

I'm in Japan and am planning to return to Oz after 20 years next March. I have an unlocked smart phone which is about 2 years old and I'm looking into the prepaid $299.00 SIMM for 1 year. Should I go with the Kogan SIMM or another carrier? I have no idea of which companies are popular in Oz nowadays, oh and will be on the Gold Coast. Any help is appreciated!
@ Allen Treppon, did you go for the $29 per month SIMM? What's it like?

What I want to know is how the coverage outside cities compares to Telstra's Next G. I have Optus at the moment and there is no reception in many parts of rural Australia - quite poor compared to Next G. Will Kogan mobile provide similar coverage to NextG? - not fussed about download speeds.

I have switched to Kogan mobile from Optus and live in regional Victoria. Going from Optus which I had to go outside to get reception, I now can get 3G reception anywhere in my house for a cheaper price than what I was paying. Kogan Mobile is brilliant!

How long does it take for the sim to work from activation- i set up and activated some 6 hrs ago and it still doesnt work yet ????

My SIM worked pretty much straight after activation and that was with a number transfer. If you activated after 8PM you may have to wait until tomorrow until the SIM can be used as the hours are between 8AM and 8PM. If it still does not work tomorrow, contact Kogan.

Apparently their orders are currently being over-exhausted, I wonder of this will slow down what Kogan currently has from Telstra?

The speed test is better than I get with iinet mobile (optus), except for ping. My ping average is 50ms, dl about 2Mbps ul about 1.2Mbps. not best reception here tho.

if you own an iPhone DON"T FORGET TO GET IT UNLOCKED!!!
So many people say it is not working after transfer when the problem is your phone is locked to the old network

First Telstra MVNO?? Also, there have been other MVNOs on the Telstra network before - Lyca, M2, Australia Star not to mention the wholesaler (ie MVNO) they are using to connect with Telstra...

I am with vodafone and just received a text today informing me that they are taking away all the free social media sites and changing the way the downloads work (rounding up your session to the nearest 1MB, which is apparently the norm) This aside, with no free social media and only 500MB data I think it's pretty useless. I saw the Kogan deal and was lured to it because of it being on the Telstra network (which was obviously unheard of) But really want to know if its worth the switch or should I go with Optus. I only want to pay around $30 month prepaid. Any suggestions??

I have been using Kogan Mobile for about 2 weeks now and have not had a single drop out. I have travelled from 1 side of Adelaide to the other using Nav, Maps, Internet, SMS and Calls. My service was able to make outgoing calls after 2 hours (Mind you I activated it at 9:30pm on a Sunday and I was porting my number to them. Incoming calls for some reason weren't working until early the next morning! Still a fantastic service and my DL speeds are exactly the same as they were on Telstra, which is who I just ported from

I have used Kogan for three weeks and have had no problems with the network.Reception is fine,download speeds up to 4360 mps with only the occasional drop out however their customer service is terrible.I was on hold for almost an hour before I got through eventually - every other time I was bumped off with the high volume of calls message - but then I decided to send an email request .... Three days later and I am still awaiting a reply to a simple question - how to change the voicemail number on an iPhone to work on the dedicated icon.If you want service forget Kogan but as far as network goes its pretty good considering you get what you pay for.

Im using Kogan now i was with Optus, so happy with reception and download speed with Kogan as before i could not get any reception at Tullimbar (NSW South Coast) now have three to five bar reception with Kogan it really is great it just goes to show how much we have and still are being ripped off by other providers.

For all you sceptics get the trial offer for $4.99 what have you to loose trial for a week in areas that you know are poor reception and compare Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited and 6GB for as little as $24.92 per month just the six gigs for me is a huge plus.

Thanks for all the helpful information. I am going from Telstra porting number to Kogan using iPhone in Melbourne/. Any problems I should anticipate. I understand I do not have to unlock the phone from Telstra. Any thoughts

Hey Bill. Your better off unlocking your Iphone. You can do it from home now. Just link up with itunes. Back up your phones data and restore your iphone. Once your phone is restored it will automatically unlock. Make sure you have the latest Itunes however as it is a new feature. (you can obviously get all your stuff back on your phone after the restoration from your backed up files.) I know it sounds too easy, because it is. I did it last week.

Received a rial Kogan sim card in the post, put it in a Telstra T2 mobile, activated it....result = calls continually dropped out, coverage appalling, I live in a rural area in the South East of SA and guess that these "special offers" are just not meant for country folk. Back to Telstra!!

Thanks everyone. My card arrived yesterday and I did the stuff using a new number however am still off air. Did all that was said including ringing. Got a nice lady at 8.00 am this morning who said I was pending. By the way if you cant log into a Kogan account using the phone number try the account number. That works. I did as Wes said on the iphone and that worked .. thanks but I'm not game to port my number....had it 25 years and I don't know how to get it back if Kogan proves poor.

Just Got my Sim today as well. Just waiting for activation to kick in. Glad you phone Unlocked Bill.

JUST A WARNING TO EVERYONE USING IPHONES, THE VOICEMAIL ON IPHONE WILL NOT WORK YOU HAVE TO DIAL 141 MANUALLY YOU CANNOT USE YOUR VOICEMAIL BUTTON!!!

Hi everyone. It is the seventh day the new week my birthday and my Kogan service is still inoperative. Have rung twice more and sat on the line for 40 min each time to have the news repeated that I am being given priority etc they are working on the problem is theirs connection within 24 hrs etc. As the number used was a Kogan number and not a porting from the beloved Testra I am bemused. and getting slightly cheesed off. Is it worth the wait. Should I block my Mastercard as a precaution. How did you get on Wes

My partner & I ordered Kogan SIMS online. First there was a delay in sending out the Sim cards. When we finally received them on friday 25th Jan we activated our accounts & we are both still currently waiting for our numbers to transfer over. They tried to say this was because of the long weekend but I have an email that clearly states that they were open 10am - 6pm on monday (the public holiday). I have phoned twice & both times have been on hold for over 40 minutes only to be told there is nothing they can do about it. I am beyond frustrated. Once my number finally transfers over I will be throwing my kogan SIM card in the bin & changing back to my current provider. Kogan will not get another cent out of me. The fact that they are so cheap does not make up for the lack of customer service.

Hey bill, still waiting for my number to port. just got an email though explaining that they are having service problems. so just gonna wait it out and see how it goes... The only reason u should block your mastercard is if you set up an auto recharge... but your sim needs to be active first i'd assume and your trial should start from there.

Elizabeth, given that many networks have had trouble in recent days due to the cyclones, heavy winds and flooding I would find it a plausible explanation at the moment that you could be having troubles with your connection/set up. I know many with phone issues who usually have no problems at all.

I've also have had issues attempting to port my number from Optus to Kogan. The reason for my two previous porting requests is that my mobile number/date of birth supplied does not correspond with the details with Optus. After speaking to Optus, they confirm the details submitted are correct.

I have again resubmitted the request and emailed Kogan to investigate what the issue is. From previous posts, I shouldn't expect a reponse in the near future.

If this is an indication of Kogan Mobile, I do not have confidence in continuing with Kogan and remain with Optus.

Hi Everyone
I ported my main number to Amaysim last night it took 15 minutes. Had trouble with a sim failure so rang. Response in 3 mins and after I did as they advised (download the latest apple upgrade) I was up and running. I still don't like the optus coverage in my area but it was better than losing my number. Wes I haven't made the email list yet How the hell did you achieve that :) Rebecca you are the soul of charity. Sorry at this stage I can't match it. We should all go out to lunch together and send the bill to Kogan :). I did manage to switch off my billing arrangement with them which was a big win. Pity help those people who have opted for a twelve month payment. Dan and Elisabeth if optus works for you maybe give Amaysim a run. I now have two phones with them and no problems other than the limited coverage optus provides in my area. The phone with the Kogan sim sits quietly on the desk in the meantime. Good night All

Hey Bill. Did you register your phone sim online? Once you do that your email should be set up with them... But unfortunately on the page of have those ever annoying words "Status Pending" Whilst I wait for my number to port... I think I am gonna have to bight the bullet and buy some actual credit for my Vodafone. These $10 Dollar recharges are gonna cost me more then normal if Kogan can't hurry up!

Yes Wes. First thing I did. I am informed that I am being fast tracked. Special case etc. Hmmm Maybe thats why I am off the email list No Kogan as of this moment Can you get into your account and edit your payments. I certainly was able to do that and switched off the automatic access to my card. If your number wont do it the account number should. Like you I am Status pending. Catch you later I am off to sunny Perth Lets see mif that helps :)

Wes Is Optus service ok in your area.. I am rapidly becoming an amaysim fan. There stuff works well and they answer calls

Hey Bill, My GF Is with optus and seems to be fine. I'm still just gonna hold out.

Here is the Latest Email i Received from Kogan Yesterday explaining why its taking so long;

Dear Wesley,

We would like to sincerely apologise for the delay you are experiencing with transferring your number to Kogan Mobile. We would like to give you a bit more information about what has been happening and what we are doing to fix the issue.

So what's the problem?
There is currently a fault in our network provider's platform that is causing delays in transferring your mobile number to Kogan Mobile. A normal transfer should not take longer than 48 hours, however we are aware that your mobile number transfer is taking longer than this due to the fault with the network provider's platform.

There is some further information here: http://www.telstrawholesale.com.au/products/mobile/mobile-service-status/index.htm

What's being done?
As the issue lies with our network provider's platform, it is beyond our control to directly resolve the issue. However, we are and have been working with the network operator on a constant basis to ensure that they resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

Why can't I contact you?
Needless to say that this issue along with the unprecedented demand for Kogan Mobile has put our call centre under huge pressure. We regret that it may have been difficult to get through to us at times but we have already quadrupled our support team since we launched 6 weeks ago, and are continuing to expand the team rapidly. We are continuing to work on reducing the number of customers affected. We anticipate that, once the network operator resolves the underlying issue, our call centre will be able to assist with all remaining customer enquiries in a timely manner.

We will update you again on Monday once we have received feedback from developments that take place at the weekend.

What happens next?
You don't need to do anything further at the moment and you will still be able to continue using your existing SIM card with your current mobile provider until our network operator resolves the problem.

Once the issue is resolved, the transfer of your number will be processed automatically and we will let you know by automated email and SMS when this has happened.

In preparation for your number transfer, please leave your current SIM in your handset and save your contacts to your phone. When your current SIM loses service, take that SIM card out of your phone and put your new Kogan Mobile SIM card in to the handset to start enjoying your new Kogan Mobile service.

Thank you

Kindest Regards,

The Kogan Mobile Team.
1300 0 KOGAN (1300 056 426)

Hi you please tell me what network phomes will take the kogan sim without beinng unlocked??
( eg Telstra)

Thanks Wes The information is very helpful and you effort in getting it up appreciated Lets see how it all goes then

Not a problem. My father is a subcontractor for Telstra and tells me there is currently major problems with Telstras platform. He has been trying to Port a number from DODO (which uses the optus network) to Telstra and he has been waiting over a month. So ladies and Gentleman this long wait is not just isolated to Kogan, in fact it seems the problem is directly with Telstra itself. So all we can do is sit back and wait.

Wizard do you have an Iphone or an Android?

I was going to by a pre paid and use the cogan sim
Not sure what 2 buy yet?
Might have to buy one outright.
Does anyone know about kogans $149 Phone??

way to slow absolutely bull shit speeds cannot even use the internet

Switched from vodafone post pay to Kogan prepay early Jan.
Ported my number no problems.
Best thing I ever did.
Much better country coverage south coast NSW. No more continuous dropped calls. Regular download speeds 3+ Mbps. Compare to Vodafone 2100MHz in Sydney CBD at 150kbps (yes -true). And 6GB/month compared to Voda @ 2GB.

I was paying Vodacrap $80+/month. Now I pay $29/month.

Cant understand why anybody would use Vodafone ?????

Similar to other users.
Live near Boronia (VIC). Optus sometimes gets 2 bars, but usually 1 or none.
So Kogan gets me 3 to 4 on Telstra, even if slow, as it does it's much better (and cheaper).

I switched from Optus to Kogan and am trialling their sim on the 30 day plan. I cannot receive any MMS and despite the fact that I have sent two emails requesting assistance there has been no response. Oh sorry, yes I did receive a reply a week ago, saying they get back to me shortly!! Still waiting....

Yes I did phone, and like everyone else waited 40 minutes and hung up. Yes we (my son and I) went through all their FAQ to find the answer to the MMS issue, but we have done everything right, so what now?

I had been waiting for a call from a Radiology clinic for the last 2 weeks, and today I received their call, only to be told that they have called me twice previously. I now wonder if anyone else has been calling my phone and not getting through??

Has anyone else had a problem with not receiving MMS? Unless the MMS issue is resolved, I will probably switch to another provider. I kept the same number, so I hope there will be no problem when I switch to another provider.

Very disappointing that they have no 'real' people to talk to. I guess you get what you pay for!!

i also switched from optus to kogan on their trial..all is good except i cant SMS...i can Imessage, email, phone...just not SMS on my new iphone 4s...i have left a request on their support section but no response as yet...also waited on line with no response....trial up in 3 days so looks like i may have to look elsewhere

I like your comparison. Kind of. Just as much as i like other network comparisons.
Why i say Kind of, is that the u/d speeds that youre achieving with the throttled Kogan network are identical to what i get on Telstra in western melbourne.
Not once have i ever been able to get speeds comparable to what Telstra claim to be achievable. The SOLE reason im even a telstra customer is that i have reception everwhere i go, and even with the speeds i get, it still shits all over optus and vodafone from a great height.

So if i can get the same speeds and reception that i get on Next G at a far cheaper rate.. IM OUTTA THERE

In fact, running speedtest now gives me -
Ping 166ms Download 5.53Mbps Upload .16Mbps.
86 2.75 .78
68 3.89 .50
124 4.20 .60
61 4.14 .60
So in other words, unless you live in Toorak, or some other yuppified hellhole (or wherever this author is running their test from), youre going to see zero difference in network speeds.

I am getting 456kbps. In Chidlow; WA

Just get TPG Mobile for God's sake

It took 2.5 weeks for my number to port, 30 and 45 minutes calls to say there is nothing they could do and also $10 recharges in the meantime. Talk about frustration. Now I can't use MMS.

Has anyone worked out how to resolve this issue?

Never mind speeds and coverage, with kogan's lack of customer service you'd be unlucky to ever be connected. :-( Try Boost who should be retailing Telstra3G from 1 March. Impossible to be worse than kogan.

Kogan Internet speed sucks now, disconnects most of the time and some times it becomes soooo slow, I think that's because soooo many people migrated to Kogan

That is true the Internet speed has become so slow some times does not work at all :(
No support when you need it

@subhash Just checked TPGs post pay no contract rates. No unlimited calls & txt. And after you hit 3GB/ month the excess usage is $250/Gig. Not sure why you think theyre a bargain ? Do you work there ?

Hi I must have been one of the first subscribers to Kogan (subscribed within 1 week after showing on current affair early Dec 2012) was living in fringe area outside of wagga seriously had to climb up on roof to recieve telstra / vodaphone & lebara ? Kogan was the only carrier i recieved calls from inside the house at ground level. at the cost of 29.00 dollars a month i also am able to skype my famikly overseas, sometimes i need to turn the camera off but audio always goes through , able to use internet , not sure about the speed jargon wheather fast or slow ? hey it works for me at $29.00 per month no complaints from me .
I wish Kogan could also do something about the outrageous costs to call overseas so far have not come across any provider chqarging under $1.00 per min to call Vanuatu ,

Hey Wes,

Has your number portability problem with Kogan been resolved yet? I am awaiting a Kogan Sim and would like to port my number, but not if it goes into Telstra limbo land. I've had it for 13 years.

Lynette

Hi Allen.
To make overseas calls I use a $10 Newspower calling card available from newsagents.
There are many others available also. I can recharge/top up easily using my credit card whenever I need to. I've been using the same card for 18 months now.
Just follow instructions i.e dial access no then pin no etc.
It is so cheap to call overseas with a calling card even with a mobile phone.
You only get charged the cost of a local call.

As someone living in a rural area I have been 'stuck' with Telstra for years. Kogan has been my first chance to break free and it's great (now). Porting my number was a pain. Telstra holdup apparently. Anyway, the old phone (Telstra sim) just keeps working until the port actually happens, so I just put the new sim in a spare phone and waited. Our phones are out of contract so that wasn't an issue.

I was paying $59 a month for phone and 500mb data. I now have unlimited phone/sms and 6GB data for $25 a month ($300 paid up frount). Currently we pay $100 a month for 15gb wifi telstra data (our only internet option) having been moved off Satelite a few years ago. By placing my phone in a good position in the house it docks to a PC really well so I may well move the whole household onto Kogan. I have had some more sim cards on order for a month - there seems to be a supply issue.

All I can say though, it is fantastic for country people who can only use the Telstra service and we are sick and tired of being ripped off. I was a bit stressed about the porting issue, but it didn't really cause a problem (except another month of Telstra billing).

HI,
Has anyone one here also had problems connecting there telstra 3G sim to the 3G network through there agora ph is it possible? any info would be much appreciated
Thanks in advance

Ian you should ring up telstra about your wireless internet plan and update it to the 25gb..it only costs an extra $10p/m ..
$10 for an extra 10gb is worth it ;) thats what im paying...well i pay $90 p/m for my internet because im on a $59 phone plan which is bundles...but the phone contract ends in a month ...

so ive signed up to boost and i am looking forward to recieving there free golden sim with $10 free credit for 5 days and im waiting on my kogan sim in the post with its small amount of credit...so im going to compare both of them to my current nextg 3g plan :) ..

even if kogan and boost are half the speed of my nextg plan ill be happy....because i currently get around 1.5mb/s ...so yeah 750kb/s is sweet.

Does anyone know what (if anything) I might have to do to unlock a Motorola Defy currently on Telstra NextG to get it to work on Kogan

I don't think you need to do anything as Kogan is Telstra network 3G and from Motorola Defy specs it does support 3G.

Alex I rung Telstra who informed me that any phone on a contract with them is unlocked. So i always thought I'm with Telstra and my phone isn't unlocked it was Motorola and when I wanted to buy a new phone they said its already unlocked

I switched everything over to the Kogan network - three devices in total. All working flawlessly. Speed? Well - I'm in regional Adelaide here and I'm getting between 4Mb/sec and 7Mb/sec - enough for us considering our Home ADSL service is 3.7Mb/sec!

Yep - call quality is good and the up side is that I can BUY MY OWN handset :)

I just joined with Kogan Mobile; I was previously with Optus and I think their network is poor for the price I am paying for. I ordered the sim card online, and despite that it came 3 weeks later (which was OK for me because it wasn't urgent and so I wasn't really upset or anything), I ported my number over from Optus to Kogan. To my suprise, it took me less than 5 minutes, I have no problems with the network and to be honest the internet speed is probably the same as optus. Kogan network has its ups and down, but then again so does Optus. I have read positive and negative reviews before joining up, but I decided to take a gamble and it really did pay off. I think I was one of the lucky ones that ported over hassle free. With all networks out there, I think you will have to take a gamble and see if you are the unlucky one to get bad service.

The calls for me is good so far, if not better than optus from where i live. I live in melbourne western suburbs. Internet is also the same - i watch a lot of youtube at night, and its streams smooothly.

I would reccomend it. You pay for what you get, but the low price just outways the negatives (which is minimal for me so far).

Hope this helps.

I was with optus and Vodafone I live in Newcastle kogan mobile is faster to me its a great deal were I am optus was only faster at night time and with Vodafone you go in the shops and lose reception to me kogan is way faster

I am wondering if anyone can tell me how to get a mobile phone number?
My friend has given me his old iPhone, and has moved his number to his new phone.
I have just received a trial kit from Kogan, so any information would be greatly appreciated.
(Yes, you've probably guessed, I'm very senior and it is my first mobile.) Thank you.

@Lisa Liow. Normally a starter kit comes with a SIM card with a phone number allocated in the documentation. Activating your sim card will allow you to make and receive calls on the number that came with the SIM card trial kit.

@Lisa Liow. I now recall that in some cases you have a choice between transferring an existing number or choosing to activate a SIM card with a new number, when activating a SIM card. Activating the SIM card online will perhaps give the choice of being allocated a phone number.
I have ordered a Kogan Sim but as yet it has not arrived, so I cannot be sure of Kogans method.

I am going to give the new ALDI mobile deal a trial, since it is with Telstra. Wondering if anybody has switched yet and has any experiences regarding reception and speed in comparison to Telstra.
I live in Sydney and am currently with Telstra but it has become too expensive. However, my second phone is with Amysin for international calls, super cheap, but outside the city has often reception problems. So I keep it just for international calls. For that it is brilliant but forget about it when you go traveling. Telstra was always good re reception, when Amysin (Optus) had dropped out.
So does anybody has an opinion on the new ALDI deal?
Thanks in advance.

I'm looking at Aldi or Kogan Mobile and it seems to me, if you are a light user, Aldi is a better deal, but Kogan 365 looks better for a heavier user. I'm on NSW Mid North Coast and currently with Vodafail. mainly because I moved from Sydney where it used to work reasonably well but now, I have a lot of issues with Vodafail, drop outs, dropping from 3G back to 2G, complete loss of service etc etc, I have to dump it. I have 5Gb a month but can barely use any of it.....
If I go Kogan, I don't mind if the 3G data is not the fastest, as long as it's fairly reliable and the Telstra network is known as best in my area. I want it mostly for mobile email.

Hi Michael_r
Many thanks for your reply. Much appreciated. Now all that remains is to activate and see how Kogan performs. Good luck with yours too.

I live just south of Cairns and am currently on Telstra. I only get download speeds on my iPhone 4 of 2-3Mb/sec and I'm 250 metres from the tower! I managed 5Mb at 6.30pm on Sunday but most tests are around the 3Mb mark (Just got another 5Mb at 11.30 Monday).
Does 3-5Mb seem to be on the low end of the speed ratings for a Telstra tower? For me this range work pretty well, so am I likely to get the same speed with a Kogan sim?
My business has 13 mobiles so you can understand why I want to reduce my costs!

Will I need to unlock my phone? It is locked to Telstra 3G at the moment. Anyone in the gippsland region tried kogan?

@Lisa Liow
I received my Kogan sim and activated it online at koganmobile.com.au/activate from my computer. During the activation process, I was offered a choice of using an existing number or being assigned a new number. I received an email from Kogan within about 5 minutes with an account number and password. When I accessed the account from my computer, I could see the new number allocated to me. I rang the number and found it was connected already, even though I have not received confirmation the SIM card had been activated.

@Hazza
According to this post in whirlpool, phones locked to Telstra work without having to unlock the phone

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/kogan_mobile

Michael_r
Thanks again for your help. My card has been activated and I was allocated a new phone number.
All seems smooth running so far. Hope yours is good too.

Oh dear guys!!! Kogan aren't the first mvno to use Telstra network. LYCA mobile has been using it for ages. Try them for local SIM at great prices when O/S. Won't suit all countries but from UK to Aus is as cheap as.

I read with trepidation all the negative comments about Kogan but I thought it was worth trying because Amaysim didn't work for me at home - a 7 or 8 km drive to get reception! Since Telstra installed a new tower locally about 3 years ago and my Telsta prepaid worked fine (I just couldn't afford it) I figured Kogan would be good. Sim arrived within a week; porting of my number occurred within 2 hours of activation but still " no service" kept appearing. I went for a drive today and reception came on (but still 2km from home). Reading through the above comments someone mentioned that you don't need to unlock a Telstra phone, so I transferred the kogan sim from my Huawei 8650 which was bought unlocked to my old Samsung E250, purchased as a Telstra Prepaid and got perfect reception (4 to 5 bars) . Could that have anything to do with many other peoples problems? Is the Huawei Smart phone not as good as the Samsung half-smart phone?

I read all the comments and the responses are so mixed.
I'm looking at porting from Telstra to Aldi mobile. Which uses the same Telstra wholesale network as Kogan.
I'm very hesitant to port because i'm on $99 BYO unlimted off contract but continuing. It's fast and reliable.
If I don't like the Aldi or Kogan Prepaid I won't be able to get back on my current deal. BUT switching will SAVE over $$60 a month.

I just want to know if the Internet speed on iPhone 4 will be similar??? I can handle a slight drop in reception because it can't be any worse than drOPTUS or VODAfail.

Wanting to hear from Telstra customers who have made the switch

I'm a victim of Kogan's ruse. Try to get ANY service at all. It doesn't EXIST. kogan is a liar. The mobile service is a scam. Check these sites to see what real people have to say:

http://www.notgoodenough.org/viewtopic.php?t=40873

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2070530

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2060036&p=-1&#bottom

I just switched from Amaysim WHOM I loved, their service was fantastic ONLY problem to where I loved because they are powered through Optus ... drop outs, or no signal at all .... and Im in Melbourne !@!!!
Urgh....

So I made the move NOT to Kogan as Ive read and heard not so good reviews but I decided to go with AldiMobile ( powered thru Telstra ) for 90% time great service, odd drop out but not as bad thru Optus... BUT now not sure what is going on Im not getting SMS since this afternoon, not able to send either.... question is ANYONE on any of the networks having problems ???

Helppppp

Nevermind was given a number for a diffrent SMS Message Centre or whatever the hell i is called
AldiMobile switched me to +61418706275. All fixed and working again ! yay.

If anyone is thinking of switching Im glad I made the move to Aldimobile, the service is great, reception is great 90% of time , off drop out which I can handle compared to NO reception in my new house and I dont blame Amaysim... They are powered thru Optus and we all know in certain areas Optus is just HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! But if you are in a good area, with good reception Id also recommend Amaysim they where fantastic when I lived closer in to Melbourne, now Im based in Wyndham Vale (Manor Lakes side) and in my new home the reception through Optus was SO bad I even had to get a landline in the house !!!!!!

I switched over to Kogan - biggest mistake ever- I live on the Central Coast of NSW and travel to Sydney. Voice coverage and 3G coverage on Optus was much much better. I was sitting in a train with a guy. He was on Telstra and I was on Kogan. For the entire 1 hour trip he had coverage and mine was almost totally non existent. He told me that Kogan uses 'Part" of Telstra's network - which means a connection to only one tower at a time , not multiple connections for calls and data as the 'Full' Telstra network does. Telstra has used Kogan to hoodwink the public again. Why don't all the Telstra executives just go back to selling used cars like they used to. The world would be a better place.

Kogan finally kicked in and has run ok ever since, Thanks for the help getting there Wes. Also still put it an a cheap Nokia so everything was pretty basic so didn't test the high end of the spectrum. .However I am about to swing my wife's iPhone over from Telstra. I am tempted to go with Boost. Tracey, with you on Amaysim but much as I like them coverage is still a problem in the bush. Teltsra's ownership of Boost turns me off. Maybe if Amaysim can twist Telstra's arm us humble bottom dwellers can get the best of both worlds decent price, decent service and decent coverage :) Any thoughts.

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