Iranian sim card with internet access

We entered Iran on the 20th of April, 2013 and today we bought a sim card. Here is a small guide as information on this topic is sparse and sometimes outdated on the Internet.

We got a MTN Irancell simcard for 70 000 rials (rougthly 2€ at the moment). Once you get your sim card (you need your passport), ask to charge 100 000 rials on it. You will get slightly less credit as VAT is deducted.

To charge some credit, use:
*141*YOURSECRETCODE#

You can check your credit with this dial code: *141*1#

Activate GPRS by sending a SMS to the number 222 with the word GPRS as a message.

If you have more than 100 000 you can trade it for 2GB of data, valid for 1 month with this dial code: *140*3*7*1*3#

If you think you need less, you can also trade 50 000 for 200MB of data, also valid for 1 month with another dial code. I think it is the same with 4 instead of 3 before the final # but you better ask for it, to me the extra 1.3€ for 1800MB was a no brainer.

You can also use internet per KB if you don’t use any package code but it is quite pricey.

Last code to check remaining data : *140*3*7*3*1#
It doesn’t work for me yet but the internet is 2G only so I doubt I’ll even manage to use 2GB in 1 month.

Happy travel in Iran !

Note: my sim card was banned after 2 days, I think because it was registered with the ID card of an Iranian citizen and they call your line to check if you are the real owner of the Sim card. There was no way to reactivate the card or transfer the credit so when you buy the card, make sure that the registration is made with your passport and sent right away to the network operator !
For my 2nd sim card I was charged 10 000 IRR for the registration but it was done the right way and my card is still working after 10 days.