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Forums › Mobile handsets › Phones in the UK


376 posts

Ultimate Geek
Topic # 85824 25-Jun-2011 23:20 Send private message

I'm trying to help my brother organise his mobiles etc as he's about to head to the UK to live. His wife has a nokia 3g phone, I'll have to get the exact number, and he's just had to hand his work phone in and needs a new one. He doesn;t want to get a locked phone from the UK mobile companies so I'm trying to help him suss something out. Are their retailers over there selling unlocked mobiles? His he better to pick one up here before he goes here or in Singapore (he's stopping off for a few days)? I'm having trouble finding out which frequencies etc the different mobile companies use there to give hime some possible phone options, I may be looking in the wrong places I don't know. Anybody got any advice/ideas?

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3611 posts

Uber Geek
  Reply # 485919 25-Jun-2011 23:25 Send private message

you can almost always unlock UK phones for between 10 and 50 pounds (depending on the phone). My dad got O2 to unlock his O2 locked iPhone for 15 pounds IIRC.


496 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted
  Reply # 485929 26-Jun-2011 00:04 Send private message

Most UK handsets are unlocked when you buy them. Some are still (dealing with a friend who bought a San Francisco Android  from Orange UK and is unable to unlock it at the moment here in nz) but rarely in my experience. Your local Carphone warehouse or similar store will help you. PAYG sims are just about given away and handset subsidises for contracts are pretty good by NZ standards if your happy to be locked in for 18 months - 24 months. I bought my mum a basic candybar nokia for the equivalent of $40 at the end of May, and you might pay upwards of $120 for a handset here in DSE or JB Hifi.

1254 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber
  Reply # 485930 26-Jun-2011 00:06 Send private message

Yes almost all UK phones can be unlocked for a cheap price.

It usually works out cheaper to buy and unlock a UK phone rather than buying a phone in NZ.

Usually being locked to a carrier is no big deal in the UK though, It's not like being locked into a contract in NZ.

If you are locked to a carrier you can still be on prepaid and their is no minimum monthly spend - plus you can usually get really decent phones for free/cheap if you are prepared to be locked.

And if at any point he needed to change he could get the phone unlocked then.

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Uber Geek

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  Reply # 485932 26-Jun-2011 00:15 Send private message

knoydart: Most UK handsets are unlocked when you buy them. Some are still (dealing with a friend who bought a San Francisco Android  from Orange UK and is unable to unlock it at the moment here in nz) but rarely in my experience. Your local Carphone warehouse or similar store will help you. PAYG sims are just about given away and handset subsidises for contracts are pretty good by NZ standards if your happy to be locked in for 18 months - 24 months. I bought my mum a basic candybar nokia for the equivalent of $40 at the end of May, and you might pay upwards of $120 for a handset here in DSE or JB Hifi.


Not sure about this, all the major carriers lock all the headsets. Orange/Virgin/O2/T-Mobile/Vodafone.

Their are places like car phone warehouse that sell unlocked phones but it is almost always cheaper to buy the locked handset and unlock it rather than buying straight out unlocked phone.

Also local IT shops can also unlock phones and can be cheaper than taking it to the carrier so shop around for an unlock.

496 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted
  Reply # 485934 26-Jun-2011 00:25 Send private message

jbard:

Not sure about this, all the major carriers lock all the headsets. Orange/Virgin/O2/T-Mobile/Vodafone.

Their are places like car phone warehouse that sell unlocked phones but it is almost always cheaper to buy the locked handset and unlock it rather than buying straight out unlocked phone.




Not quite my experience 6 weeks ago. My x2 was $120 unlocked from the Carphone warehouse and $150 from O2 (didn't even ask if it was locked). Bought it back to NZ and popped in my vodafone sim. My mum's nokia 23something was a similar thing, $40 from the carphone warehouse unlocked with a PAYG sim bought at the same time, with a minimum top up required - I think $20, on Virgin (T mobile reseller) to boot.

Just shop around and ask, there are usually all the major network shops on your typical high street (in the centre of Glasgow, they have 3 orange shops, 3 O2 shops, 3 Vodafone  and some T mobile shops along with a couple of Carphone warehouses, 2 Argos stores and 2 fones 4 u within a 20 minute walk!)

Good luck



376 posts

Ultimate Geek
  Reply # 486183 26-Jun-2011 19:51 Send private message

Thanks for all that, good info to know. Now the other issue, whether my sister-in-laws phone will work onver there. It's a 3G telecom Nokia 3220c. I belive the Telecom version of this phone is different to the Vodafone version here. I'm trying to figure out which carriers over there, if any, her phone will work with.
http://forum.vodafone.co.nz/topic/5968-help-with-nokia-3210c-settings-everything/
That link says that the Telecom version of the phone works on WCDMA 850/2100 MHz. I'm struggling to find the info for the UK networks.

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