iPhone/smartphone question

[Willy]

I am in the market to buy my first iPhone/smartphone and I haven't made up my mind which one but before I go ahead there are a couple of things that I am not clear about.

 

My first problem is this. I see some phones advertised as SIM-free and others SIM Unlocked. Now I assume the SIM-free is as it says and I can then use my own choice of card. However, someone told me that he thinks that all iPhones were ‘locked’ to a particular provider and I would have no choice as to what SIM card I could use. I want to buy it in the UK and use a French SIM card from one of our local supermarkets otherwise the cost would be prohibitive.

 

My second question is, what does SIM Unlocked mean?

 

Now please bear in mind that I know somewhat less than the square root of b****r all about these things so if you are kind enough to reply, please keep it as simple as possible.

 

Thank you.

Willy

[Andy Y]

SIM unlocked basically means someone's hacked the code to remove the bar which restricted the phone to whichever network which in effect makes it the same as a SIM-free but you may encounter warranty issues or lack of support.

 

I have an unlocked phone (as it was only available to one network) to get a better tariff and have no problems at all but I accept the risk I could be left high and dry.

[Kenton]

I was "informed" that my new iPhone would lock itself to the first SIM that was put into it. I do not have an issue with that and accept it but took head of the warning as we can only pick up one signal round these parts. The phone was purchased in the US and I am glad I didn't put a US SIM in before bringing it home. I have since been back to the US and it works just fine over there as long as you inform the provider over here and be careful in data use. I guess it is similar for France and similar countries.

 

BTW SIM unlocked is not the same as "Jailbroken" - at least in my understanding.

[two tone green]

Ask at Carphone Warehouse as I believe all their phones are sim free.

 

Not 100% sure about the iPhone but a member of staff there did say their phones were simfree, unlocked when I went to buy an extra phone a short while ago. I wanted a phone that was not being offered by a carrier but knew Carphone Warehouse sold it and they just added the sim for the carrier I wanted to use it on.

 

Don't forget the cash price for a phone is quite high sim free as you are buying a phone without any subsidy from the air time package you would normally buy with the phone.

[Willy]

Thank you Andy so does that mean I can use a SIM-free phone to connect to any network I choose?

 

Willy

[Andy Y]

I should think so Willy but it may be worth double-checking with the seller if you're buying in one country and inserting a SIM in another just in case there's some other silly block in place.

[Willy]

My reply to Andy seems to have overlapped two other posts that have more or less provided an answer to my question so thank you.

 

One thing I must be able to do is change the SIM card because I return to the UK occasionally and I believe it is cheaper to buy a ‘pay as you go’ card when there rather than use the phone with a French card. And anyway I will be back to live permanently in the UK sometime during the next 18 months and I will certainly want to change it then.

 

I will have a look at the Carphone Warehouse website as well to see what I can glean from there.

 

Thank you again.

 

Willy

[Willy]

just in case there's some other silly block in place.

And if that is likely to happen anywhere in Europe it will be France!

 

Cheers

 

Willy

[Willy]

I was "informed" that my new iPhone would lock itself to the first SIM that was put into it.

I have just had a look at the Carphone Warehouse website and I noticed the following statement.

 

"iPhone will lock itself to the network of the first SIM card that is used in the phone. Subsequently attempting to use it on any other network, for example by replacing the SIM card, may mean it becomes permanently unusable. SIM free iPhones can only be used with a UK-network SIM card, and will not accept foreign SIM cards."

 

My bold and underline!

 

Willy

[mjkerr]

If you need to use iTunes or Apps specifically for Apple, then you have no choice but to purchase an iPhone
However, if you can use generic Apps, then you can purchase a generic smartphone

Two of the Apps I planned to use are specific to Apple, so have to use my iPhone for these

Unlocking an iPhone costs about £25
As above, this is NOT the same as jailbroken and is simply resetting the SIM lock
Once you have inserted the replacement SIM the SIM lock then applies to that replacement
This can be useful as tarrifs in the UK change regularly

[big jim]

i bought a cheap 2nd hand iphone 3gs for my wife, locked to a network but we didn't know which one so i called apple and gave them the serial number and they confirmed that the phone was not stolen etc, they then told me it was locked to O2.

 

i spoke to O2 who informed me that they could unlock it to any network for about £15, it was done by buying a cheap payg sim with £20 credit and putting it in the phone, they then debited £15 off the sim, told me to turn the phone and and off and bingo the phone was officially unlocked and now runs on the 3 network, not sure if all networks do it though

 

sometimes if you get an iphone unlocked at say a market stall next time you update the software through itunes then it will revert to the original carrier

[Willy]

.............. i called apple and gave them the serial number and they confirmed that the phone was not stolen etc, they then told me it was locked to O2.

 

i spoke to O2 who informed me that they could unlock it to any network for about £15, it was done by buying a cheap payg sim with £20 credit and putting it in the phone, they then debited £15 off the sim, told me to turn the phone and and off and bingo the phone was officially unlocked and now runs on the 3 network, not sure if all networks do it though

 

sometimes if you get an iphone unlocked at say a market stall next time you update the software through itunes then it will revert to the original carrier

Thank you Big Jim but I'm afraid I haven't a clue what you are talking about, it is way above my head and it is near midnight here. I really am a novice when it comes to this game.

 

Sorry

 

Willy

[Adams442T]

If you're in the market for a smartphone, might I suggest either a Samsung Galaxy 4, or, the one I have, the HTC One.  These don't have the 'lock-in' problems that the iPhone has and are every bit as good, and IMHO [plus most reviewers] the HTC One is an even better phone.  The previous HTC Desire 'S' that I now use as my 'work phone' is good too and can now be picked up quite cheaply.

 

I used the HTC One two weeks ago in Italy with an Italian Sim-card with no problems at all.

[Willy]

If you're in the market for a smartphone, might I suggest either a Samsung Galaxy 4, or, the one I have, the HTC One.  These don't have the 'lock-in' problems that the iPhone has and are every bit as good, and IMHO [plus most reviewers] the HTC One is an even better phone.  The previous HTC Desire 'S' that I now use as my 'work phone' is good too and can now be picked up quite cheaply.

 

I used the HTC One two weeks ago in Italy with an Italian Sim-card with no problems at all.

 

 

Interesting you should make that comment because I have just found this review for the HTC Desire and I was going to ask if anyone had any comment. To my untrained eye it seemed to be good value for money and would do all I wanted for the moment. I could always move on to an iPhone when I move back to the UK.    http://www.t3.com/reviews/htc-desire-review

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Willy

[Kenton]

On the defensive side: I think Apple are very protective of their security and this locking to a network is part of that security. As you will find if you go the iPhone route there are thousands of Apps out there but not all are "approved" by Apple and therefore made available through iTunes. They are extremely guarded about the internal workings of ios and getting an App to work really well with the "internals" is quite difficult. This is why many of the Apps break the rules and try to do it for themselves or simply do not work with other apps. This is also why you are stuffed with Safari as a browser on the iPhone when there are several better mobile browsers out there that are better.

 

That is also why Google Maps didn't work (it does now) because they were trying to do things their way rather than the Apple way.

 

I guess it comes down to whether you worship Apple or are a completely free spirit. Or (as in my case) was not given much of an option.

[roundhouse]

Having used both Apple products and others with Android on, I much prefer the flexibility of Android. 

 

Many Android phones allow the battery to be taken out and replaced so I keep spare fully charged ones incase of heavy usage during the day. Also many Android phones allow for additional memory in the form of micro SD cards to be plugged in so all the photos and music are stored on that incase the phone fails.

 

However HTC have tended to move towards the iphone style with built in batteries and no micro SD card slot. I used to have HTC phones but now moved over to the Samsung Galaxy SIII which has the removable battery and Micro SD card slot (I believe the HTC One doesn't).

 

 

The beneift of Apple iphones and ipad is that when you have had a few beers, they are much simpler to use (thats when I use the ipad more than the Android one)!!

 

Ian

[Ron Ron Ron]

Unfortunately I think there has been some mis-information posted above.

 

An iPhone can be purchased unlocked and SIM free, but to stay unlocked with any SIM card you need to buy it from either an Apple Store or direct from the Apple web site.

 

If you buy an iPhone directly from a network (Vodaphone, O², Orange, T-Mobile, EE, Three, Virgin etc) then in most cases the phone will already be locked to the network.

 

If you buy it on a contract or PAYG through a third party reseller, such as the Carphone Warehouse, then the phone will be unlocked out of the box, but will lock to the network of the first SIM card installed.

This is due to the resellers deals with the phone networks and not down to Apple.

(n.b. locking is to the network and not to the particular SIM card)

 

If you buy directly from Apple, then the iPhone will stay unlocked, regardless of what SIM you are using. You can then swap SIM cards in and out as you wish.

It will also work with SIM cards in any country and unlike the Carphone Warehouse situation, will not be restricted to UK only SIM cards.

(n.b. the iPhone 5 uses a Nano-SIM and the 4 & 4S use a Micro-Sim)

 

The downside of buying the phone without a contract, is that you will have to pay the full cost of the phone upfront; however it generally works out cheaper than a contract over 24 months.

 

 

As for swapping SIM's.

It may sound attractive, but could end up being a pain if it has to be done frequently.

Also you will be using different phone numbers with each SIM and that may, or may not suit your requirements or be convenient.

For some, it might be better having two phones instead.

 

There are dual SIM phones available, but in the UK they are deliberately kept rare, for obvious reasons.

e.g. the Samsung Galaxy S4 dual-SIM model will not be coming to the UK.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

.

[Kenton]

 

If you buy directly from Apple, then the iPhone will stay unlocked, regardless of what SIM you are using. You can then swap SIM cards in and out as you wish.

Are you willing to guarantee this?

 

Mine was purchased in an Apple store in the US and received its first SIM (a monthly contract one) in the UK, when I return to the US next week can I buy an AT&T one and stick that one in? WITHOUT my current provider or Apple blocking the phone to both?

 

From what you say there is no problem - from what I was informed in the Apple store and by the provider (I accept they may be biased) then I am unable to do this without breaking my contract and potentially the warranty.

[Willy]

Unfortunately I think there has been some mis-information posted above.

 

An iPhone can be purchased unlocked and SIM free, but to stay unlocked with any SIM card you need to buy it from either an Apple Store or direct from the Apple web site.

 

If you buy an iPhone directly from a network (Vodaphone, O², Orange, T-Mobile, EE, Three, Virgin etc) then in most cases the phone will already be locked to the network.

 

If you buy it on a contract or PAYG through a third party reseller, such as the Carphone Warehouse, then the phone will be unlocked out of the box, but will lock to the network of the first SIM card installed.

This is due to the resellers deals with the phone networks and not down to Apple.

(n.b. locking is to the network and not to the particular SIM card)

 

If you buy directly from Apple, then the iPhone will stay unlocked, regardless of what SIM you are using. You can then swap SIM cards in and out as you wish.

It will also work with SIM cards in any country and unlike the Carphone Warehouse situation, will not be restricted to UK only SIM cards.

(n.b. the iPhone 5 uses a Nano-SIM and the 4 & 4S use a Micro-Sim)

 

The downside of buying the phone without a contract, is that you will have to pay the full cost of the phone upfront; however it generally works out cheaper than a contract over 24 months.

 

 

Thank you for clearing up these few points that I didn't understand.

 

 

 

As for swapping SIM's.

It may sound attractive, but could end up being a pain if it has to be done frequently.

Also you will be using different phone numbers with each SIM and that may, or may not suit your requirements or be convenient.

For some, it might be better having two phones instead.

 

 

I won’t need to swop cards that frequently but it is an issue and this is more or less what I alluded to in post #14 when I said I could buy a cheaper phone while I am here and then buy an iPhone when I move back to the UK.

 

 

Thank you again for a great reply.

 

Willy

[Ron Ron Ron]

Kenton, buying the phone in the US may be different for a number of reasons, including licensing. I don't know?

Also some of the US networks use different 3G and 4G technologies and wave bands.

 

My son has a UK bought iPhone 5 and uses it in France and Italy with locally purchased SIM cards, as well as with a UK Virgin PAYG when visiting the UK and also an International pre-paid roaming SIM card that can be used in over 100 countries.

 

His mate also has a UK bought iPhone 5 that I believe uses an International SIM as well as Italian, Spanish and South African SIM's.