gotalk Mobile FAQs

1. Where can I buy a gotalk mobile starter kit?
   gotalk Mobile SIM cards and recharge vouchers are available from many retail outlets throughout Australia.  Please call us on 1800 GOTALK (1800 468 255) to find your nearest retailer.
   
   
2. How do I activate my SIM?
   You can activate your SIM online at www.gotalkmobile.com.au or call us on 1800 GOTALK (1800 468 255).  You'll need to have your passport or Australian drivers license details ready so we can confirm your identity.
   
   
3. How do I make an international call from my gotalk mobile?
   To make an international call, using your gotalk mobile simply dial 0011 followed by your country code, then your area code without the initial ‘0’ and then the phone number and press the send button. Instead of 0011 you can also use the "+" symbol.
   
   Please note that most premium voice and text services in other countries cannot be reached from a mobile phone service when calling from outside that country.
   
   
4. How do I send a text message to an overseas number from my gotalk mobile?
   To send an international text, using your gotalk mobile simply use the "+" symbol followed by your country code, then your area code without the initial ‘0’ and then the phone number and press the send button.
   
   
5. How long is the credit expiry period?
   The call credit for your gotalk mobile expires in accordance with your plan. To view plans click here.
   
   
6. Do you offer international roaming?
   We don’t currently offer international/global roaming; however we are looking to introduce this in the near future.
   
   
7. How does gotalk voicemail work?
   Never miss a call again with gotalk voicemail. Simply dial 121 and follow the prompts to set your voicemail up. Once you have set your voicemail up with a greeting, you can access your messages at any time by dialing 121. Useful tip: save this number as a speed dial for easy access from your mobile headset.
   
   
8. What are the gotalk voicemail charges?
   There is no charge to make a voicemail deposit. There is a 20c charge per minute to make a voicemail retrieval.
   
   
9. How does my gotalk mobile account double as a calling card?
   Your gotalk prepaid mobile account also doubles as a calling card (except for those on a Big Talk Cap plan). You can use your shared account to save even more when you use your home phone to call Australia and overseas with the recharge and calling card included in your starter pack. They both share the same credit balance, so you only ever need to recharge the one account. Simply follow the instructions on the back of the card to make a call.
   
   To view calling card call rates click here
   
   We’ve been offering low cost calling cards to international destinations for many years now. With your new gotalk SIM card you can make these calls direct from your mobile phone where ever and whenever you want.
   
   
10. How Can I Check My Balance?
    Don’t get caught out in the middle of a call with no credit. You can check your credit balance online, over the phone or via SMS.
    Online: Log in to My Account here
    Phone: Dial 126 466 from your mobile and follow the prompts.
    SMS: SMS “BAL” to 0408 GOTALK (0408 468 255) and we will text your balance right back to you.
    
    
11. How can I make a national call?
    
    
12. How can I make an international call?
    
    
    
13. What mobile handsets can I use with my gotalk mobile Service?
    The handset needs to be compatible with the internationally recognised GSM standards, adopted by all the major handset manufacturers. There are no other restrictions on the type of handset you can use with gotalk Mobile. Please call our customer services team on 1800 GOTALK (1800 468 255) if you are unsure about whether you can use your handset with the gotalk mobile service.
    
    
14. My handset seems to be locked – how can I unlock it?
    If your mobile phone screen shows any of the following when you first put your gotalk mobile SIM in your phone: 'phone restricted', 'blocked', 'barred', 'incorrect SIM' or 'SP lock', your mobile may be locked to another network.
    
    There are a number of ways to unlock your phone - just call our Customer Service team on 1800 GOTALK (1800 468 255) for advice.
    
    
15. My SIM card is lost/ stolen. How do I prevent someone else from using it?
    Please contact our Customer Service team on 1800 GOTALK (1800 468 255) for assistance.
    
    
16. Can I Change My Mobile Plan Whenever I Want?
    gotalk mobile offers flexibility of changing to another gotalk mobile plan whenever you recharge your prepaid plan, you can call Customer Service and change this straight away. Please note that customers changing from a Big Talk Cap to another mobile plan will not have their remaining credit balance carried over.
     

What Computer Operating Systems are Supported?
Microsoft Windows Vista 32
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (SP1, SP2)
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (SP1, SP2)
Mac OS X10.4 or above (Software/Firmware may be required for some model)

What Browsers are Supported?
Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 3+, Opera and Google Chrome
 
Which Wireless Network Will I Connect To?
The gotalk wireless modem will select the fastest available Vodafone wireless network (3G then GPRS) and connect to it.

What Download Speeds Are Possible?
Typical download speeds range from 300kbps - 3.0Mbps (burst speeds of up to 6.0Mbps may be experienced in major metropolitan areas. Slower download speeds may be expected in regional areas. Data capacity and speed experienced may be slower than advertised speeds and can vary due to coverage, location, hardware and software configuration, capability and load of sites visited and general network and internet traffic. Typical Uplink speeds are up to 384kbps. If you are using a device which supports 3G but not 3G Broadband (HSDPA) the maximum download speed is up to 384 kbps.

How Do I Activate My gotalk Wireless Broadband?
Your SIM will be active when you receive it so you do not need to activate your SIM. If you have purchased a wireless USB modem from gotalk, the SIM will already be inserted in the wireless modem when you receive it. Insert the wireless modem into a spare USB port in your laptop, then follow the on-screen installation instructions to complete the setup. Should you require setup assistance, please call gotalk on 1800 468255. 

If you have your own wireless modem, you will need to insert the gotalk SIM into it before you can use the service. If you need to seek installation or configuration assistance, then please contact your wireless modem supplier since gotalk is unable to support other brands of wireless modem.

How do I Recharge My gotalk Prepaid Wireless Broadband?
Simply visit www.gotalk.com.au and select the My Account area of the website. Login with the supplied User Name and Password and follow the on-screen steps to top up the data allowance of your Wireless Broadband account. You will need a credit card or PayPal account with sufficient funds to complete the recharge transaction.

When Will I Receive My Account?
You will receive your account on a monthly basis by email. It will detail your usage charges, plus any hardware fees and data block topup fees. On your first invoice, you will also see a prorata fee for any partial first month usage plus your next months monthly access fee in advance.

Where Can I Use My gotalk Wireless Broadband Service?
You can use your gotalk Wireless Broadband Service wherever you receive good coverage from the Vodafone Network (currently Vodafone covers 94.5% of the Australian population) provided your account remains in good standing. To find out where you can use your wireless service click here. You will not be able to use the gotalk wireless broadband service outside the Vodafone coverage areas.

Can I Use My gotalk Wireless Broadband Service When Travelling Overseas?
No.

What Happens if My BYO (non-gotalk) USB Wireless Modem Doesn’t Work?
Please ensure you check the compatibility of your BYO modem for the Vodafone network, prior to disconnecting your service with your current supplier. Should there be compatibility problems, you will need to seek assistance from your modem supplier since gotalk is unable to assist with non-gotalk supplied modems.

What Warranty Arrangements Apply to gotalk Branded Modems?
gotalk offer a full 12 month replacement warranty. Simply mail the modem back to “gotalk, 183 Varsity Parade, Varsity Lakes, Queensland 4227, attention Operations Department” with a covering letter explaining the nature of the fault. Provided the modem shows no signs of damage due to tampering, water damage, drop damage or other physical damage, then gotalk Customer Service will replace the modem for you. Just call us on 1800 468 255 to arrange a replacement. Upon return of the modem, should there be evidence of damage, then gotalk will charge postpaid customers for a replacement modem on their next account ($79.00 + $19.95 delivery fee). Prepaid customers will be asked for a security deposit of $99.00 prior to accepting any returns. Insurance in transit for modems being returned is the customer’s sole responsibility.

How Will I Know When All My Data Allowance is Consumed?
When all your data allowance has been consumed, then you will not be able to access the internet or send emails etc. You can however still surf the www.gotalk.com.au website to either recharge your prepaid wireless broadband account, or purchase a topup datablock for your postpaid (monthly) account.

Does gotalk Wireless Broadband Include an Email Address?
Not at this time. However you can usually continue to access your emails in the normal way, since most ISP’s provide browser based access to emails. Alternatively there are a number of free email providers that can be used such as Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo, amongst many others.

When will my gotalk Wireless Broadband Service become Active?
The day after the SIM is dispatched from the gotalk Operations Department, the service will be activated. In most cases, by the time you receive the SIM, the service will already have been activated due to postage transit times.

How is My Postpaid Prorata Usage Calculated?
Three days after you have placed the order with gotalk, a prorata calculation of the monthly access fee is made, based on the number of remaining days of the billing month. This prorata charge is then added to your first monthly invoice.

What Data is Counted Towards My Included Data Allowance?
Both downloads and uploads are counted towards your Included Data Allowance.

What Happens if I Want to Change My Plan?
gotalk Postpaid (monthly account) customers can either call gotalk Customer Service on 1800 468255 and request a plan change, or go online into the My Account area and make the plan change themselves (coming soon). Plan changes are effective from the beginning of the next billing period.

If you are a gotalk Prepaid Wireless Broadband customer, simply top up with a larger recharge value to secure more included data allowance.

What Happens if I Disconnect the ADSL/2+ Service from my ADSL/2+ / Wireless Broadband Combo?
Your wireless broadband service will automatically be changed to the 1GB ($19.95 per month) wireless broadband plan.

Should you require more included data allowance, call gotalk Customer Service on 1800 468255 and request a plan change to enable a larger included data allowance, or go online into the My Account area and make the plan change yourself (coming soon). Plan changes are effective from the beginning of the next billing period.

When Will My gotalk Wireless Modem be Dispatched?
Your gotalk Wireless Modem will be dispatched the working day after the order has been placed and successfully processed.

If you have ordered the ADSL/2+ / Wireless Broadband Combo, then both modems will be held for up to 5 working days prior to being dispatched, to ensure the ADSL/2+ service can be successfully provisioned.

How Will I Know If I am Reaching the Limit of My Included Data Allowance?
Simply go online to the www.gotalk.com.au website, login to the My Account section, and you will be able to view your current level of data usage.

Postpaid (monthly account) customers can add a data block to top up their current months included data allowance if there is little or no remaining included data (note – any unused portion of the data block does not rollover to the next billing month).

Prepaid customers can top up their included data allowance by recharging if there is little or no remaining included data. You will need a valid credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or a PayPal account with sufficient funds to successfully complete the transaction.

What Happens if I Exceed My Plans Included Data Allowance?
You will not be able to surf the internet or send emails. However you can still surf the unmetered www.gotalk.com.au website, login to the My Account area and add more included data.

Postpaid (monthly account) customers can add a data block to top up their current months included data allowance if there is no remaining included data (note – any unused portion of the data block does not rollover to the next billing month).

Prepaid customers can top up their included data allowance by recharging if there is no remaining included data. You will need a valid credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or a PayPal account with sufficient funds to successfully complete the transaction.

What Happens to Any Unused Wireless Data Allowance?
For postpaid (monthly account) wireless broadband customers, any unused remaining data allowance (including data added from data blocks) expires at the end of each billing month and is replaced with the next months included data allowance.

For prepaid wireless broadband customers, any data not used within 30 days expires.