
SIM cards and internet
SIM cards are sold everywhere, but a small shop will charge more and may register it to someone else's passport. An official operator store is cheaper and registers it to you — and registration is mandatory here.
The key words are "pulsa" and "kuota". "Pulsa" is credit, "kuota" is data, and they're not the same: topping up pulsa and wondering why there's no internet is a rite of passage.
You ask like this: "berapa giga untuk sebulan" — how many gigs for a month. A normal package is twenty to thirty gigabytes for fifty to a hundred thousand, which covers everything short of all-day video calls.
On coverage: the south of the island is fine everywhere, the mountains and the north are luck. "Tidak ada sinyal" — no signal — is a phrase you'll say sooner than you expect.
Pronunciation below is written to be read out loud in English spelling. It isn't linguistically exact — it's meant to get you understood.
31 phrases
Is there wifi?
Ada wifi?
AH-dah WEE-fee?
Politer: Permisi, ada wifi? ·
What's the password?
Passwordnya apa?
pahs-SWOHR-dnyah AH-pah?
The internet isn't working
Internetnya tidak jalan
een-tuhr-NEHT-nyah TEE-dahk JAH-lahn
Local: Internetnya nggak jalan ·
I need a SIM card
Saya perlu kartu SIM
SAH-yah puhr-LOO KAHR-too seem
Can you top up my credit, please?
Tolong isi pulsa
TOH-lohng EE-see POOL-sah
Politer: Permisi, tolong isi pulsa ·
How many gigabytes?
Berapa giga?
buh-RAH-pah GEE-gah?
Politer: Permisi, berapa giga? ·
Very slow
Lambat sekali
LAHM-baht suh-KAH-lee
Local: Lambat banget ·
Can you top up my "pulsa"?
Isi pulsa
EE-see POOL-sah
"Pulsa" is phone credit, sold at any kiosk.
For a month
Untuk satu bulan
OON-took SAH-too BOO-lahn
Could you restart the router?
Boleh restart router?
BOH-luh ruhs-TAHRT ROH-u-tehr?
Politer: Permisi, boleh restart router? ·
There's no signal
Tidak ada sinyal
TEE-dahk AH-dah SEEN-yahl
Local: Nggak ada sinyal ·
One month, unlimited
Untuk satu bulan, unlimited
OON-took SAH-too BOO-lahn, oon-LEE-mee-tuhd
Could you set it up, please?
Tolong setting
TOH-lohng SEHT-teeng
Politer: Permisi, tolong setting ·
Send it to me on WhatsApp
Kirim ke WhatsApp
KEE-reem kuh whaht-SAHPP
Everything here gets sorted through WhatsApp.
Can I get a SIM card, please?
Saya mau beli kartu SIM
SAH-yah mohw buh-LEE KAHR-too seem
specify the carrier: Telkomsel, XL, Indosat
Can you activate the SIM for me?
Bisa bantu aktifin nomornya?
BEE-sah BAHN-too ahk-TEE-feen noh-MOHR-nyah?
Politer: Permisi, bisa bantu aktifin nomornya? ·
I need a data package
Saya mau beli paket internet
SAH-yah mohw buh-LEE PAH-kuht EEN-tuhr-nuht
How many gigs is this package?
Paket ini berapa GB?
PAH-kuht EE-nee buh-RAH-pah gb?
I'm not getting any signal
Sinyal saya nggak ada
SEEN-yahl SAH-yah nggahk AH-dah
The internet is really slow
Internetnya lambat banget
een-tuhr-NEHT-nyah LAHM-baht BAHN-guht
Can I top up my balance?
Bisa isi pulsa di sini?
BEE-sah EE-see POOL-sah dee SEE-nee?
Politer: Permisi, bisa isi pulsa di sini? ·
Top up 50 thousand, please
Isi pulsa lima puluh ribu ya
EE-see POOL-sah LEE-mah POO-loo REE-boo yah
amounts are usually in multiples of 10-20k rupiah
How do I check my balance?
Gimana cara cek sisa pulsa?
gee-MAH-nah CHAH-rah chuhk SEE-sah POOL-sah?
How do I check how much data I have left?
Gimana cara cek sisa kuota?
gee-MAH-nah CHAH-rah chuhk SEE-sah koo-OH-tah?
I'm out of data
Kuota saya habis
koo-OH-tah SAH-yah HAH-bees
The SIM card isn't working
Kartunya nggak aktif
kahr-TOON-yah nggahk AHK-teef
Can you swap this SIM for a new one?
Bisa ganti kartu baru?
BEE-sah GAHN-tee KAHR-too BAH-roo?
Politer: Permisi, bisa ganti kartu baru? ·
I need a SIM with good coverage in the mountains
Saya butuh kartu yang sinyalnya bagus di pegunungan
SAH-yah BOO-too KAHR-too yahng seen-YAHL-nyah BAH-goos dee puh-goo-NOON-gahn
Telkomsel usually has the best signal in remote areas
There's zero signal here
Di sini nggak ada sinyal sama sekali
dee SEE-nee nggahk AH-dah SEEN-yahl SAH-mah suh-KAH-lee
Local: Di sini nggak ada sinyal sama banget ·
What's your wifi password?
Password wifi-nya apa?
PAHS-swohrd WEE-fee nyah AH-pah?
I need a SIM that can make international calls
Saya butuh kartu yang bisa telepon internasional
SAH-yah BOO-too KAHR-too yahng BEE-sah tuh-LEH-pohn een-tuhr-nah-see-OH-nahl
These phrases, out loud and in your pocket
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