Contract or sim only???

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Mbstarz

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Hi all,

I am due an upgrade soon and wanted some advice pls..

Currently on an O2 unlimited contract (unlimited mins text and 1gb data) paying about £28 a month with iPhone 4S.. Upgrade offer is same deal for the iPhone 5 on 24 month contract.

Are there any good sim only deals as I am considering keeping the 4s and cutting my monthly bill..

Not sure what to do! Upgrade or sim only?!

Thanks in advance
 
IMHO sim-only.

Do you need unlimited texts, minutes and 1Gb data? Do you get the coverage you need with O2?

Consider Giffgaff. They use O2's network. Highly recommended and cheap.
 
jukie said:
IMHO sim-only. Do you need unlimited texts, minutes and 1Gb data? Do you get the coverage you need with O2? Consider Giffgaff. They use O2's network. Highly recommended and cheap.

O2 works well for me in terms of coverage.. It's good to have unltd mins. I do use it a lot! But extra data would be good. I'll look at giff gaff also. Thanks
 
I was in the same position a month or so ago, update my iphone 4 and sign a 12 or 24 month contract and upgrade the phone. I need unlimited calls so a new contract with the latest phones where coming in from around £38 to £45 pcm.

I did not really like any of the new phones out right now, so found a Sim only deal with virgin on a 30 day contract with everything unlimited even 0800 and 0845 for £18 pcm.

It now gives me options to change when I want and when a a new phone comes to market that I like I wont have to wait to get out of a contact to buy it.
 
If the 4s is all you need, and 3g data is good enough for you, and both will be ok for the next 2 years, then sim-only is ok. Be aware that if the phone wears out you will need to buy a new one at full price (or get a second hand one)
 
SIM free phone + SIM only deal. Contracts are an expensive con
 
I did the sums recently and there are 3 clear bands and different options which seem to work out most cost effective.

- very low users - 3 network, 123 sim
- medium users - Giffgaff packages are very beneficial and have lots of pros such as free 0800, 0808 etc numbers. Free Giffgaff to giffgaff . Very flexible, at Christmas I clicked a couple of buttons and upped my package to the unlimited internet for just a month as I knew I'd be away from home a lot.
- high users, especially those who feel the need for unlimited packages - virgin sim only deals.

I didn't check before jumping onto Giffgaff but in my area I now get much improved reception compared to orange and Vodafone.
 
SIM only.

As an existing Virgin Media customer, I bought a Lumia 520 from Phones4U for £90 and a SIM from Virgin, 1Gb, 250 minutes and unlimited texts for £5 per month. I hardly make a dent in any of the allowances.
 
Wow thanks for your feedback guys...

Seems like sim only is a wise option considering my phone is working fine..

I bought my iphone on O2, will this mean it's unlocked to all networks or not?
 
Giffgaff sims work in O2 locked phones AFAIK. If your contract has finished then some providers will give you an unlock code free of charge and others will make a small charge.
 
I am yet to see a contract that works out cheaper overall than a sim-only account with self-purchased handset.

Yes the contract does mellow down the shock of spending £600 on a new iPhone or Samsung, but then the monthly payments mean you end up paying more overall.

And if you don't want to replace your handset after 18 months, you save even more - as you are not forced to continue paying high contract fees to support the 'free hardware upgrades'.

Personally I am surprised that mobile phone providers are still able to get away with these contracts, now that sim-free phones are wildly available and anyone can do the maths.
 
Wow thanks for your feedback guys...

Seems like sim only is a wise option considering my phone is working fine..

I bought my iphone on O2, will this mean it's unlocked to all networks or not?

Think it's been posted here before that any iphone will work on any network - insert the new card & re-set the phone. Someone else will confirm this I'm sure.

I was looking to change network shortly for better coverage and orange/Tmobile will be my choice, moving from O2. I was thinking of a new Lumia 925 on a contract. But for now, I'm going sim only at £8 per month and keeping my old Lumia 800 as it's working fine. If I need to buy a new phone, it's still cheaper to buy a 925 with the sim only deal than a contract.
 
I am yet to see a contract that works out cheaper overall than a sim-only account with self-purchased handset.

That's probably true for expensive handsets, but I suspect not at the lower end of the market.

I pay £7.50 a month for 250 mins, 5000 texts, 750 Mb. That's with a free Android handset (HTC Wildfire S), but I don't think you could get significantly cheaper SIM-only (from a big name supplier, anyway).
 
I've got a 30day rolling contract with 3, it gives me unlimited texts & data plus 300 mins talk time and costs £13 per month.
 
Giffgaff sims work in O2 locked phones AFAIK. If your contract has finished then some providers will give you an unlock code free of charge and others will make a small charge.

Yup....it does.
 
Personally I am surprised that mobile phone providers are still able to get away with these contracts, now that sim-free phones are wildly available and anyone can do the maths.

A large portion of students couldn't afford an iPhone any other way.

I was brought up to live within my means but most friends think I'm just seriously old school that I don't live from paycheck to paycheck and rely on my credit card as a monthly buffer. What a mad world we live in. Car companies have just become finance vendors and so have mobile phone companies!
 
I meant 'widely', nor 'wildly'... :(

Smartphones can be too smart sometimes :D
 
... If your contract has finished then some providers will give you an unlock code free of charge and others will make a small charge.

...or the guy in the little kiosk in the high street will get this done for you for a tenner.
 
If the phone works, fine, SIM only.

No need to pay a higher rate for a new phone if you don't need it.

It's only a bloody phone - not life support.
 

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