iPhone PAYG

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Tan

MB Enthusiast
SUPPORTER
Joined
Oct 2, 2002
Messages
2,901
Location
Woodford Green
Car
W140 S-Class, Porsche Cayenne and Porsche Boxster
Hi

Has anyone purchased an iPhone on PAYG? I was checking stock at my local apple store and they say that to buy one on PAYG, youmust pay an extra £10 top up in order to buy one, is this true?

Secondly, has anyone here unlocked and iPhone 3Gs and how easy is it?

Many thanks

Tan
 
Yes to having bought one on PAYG and yes you are supposed to top-up when buying. Have heard of rogue shop staff just selling the phone without top-up - but that would be a bonus TBH.
 
I purchased a iPhone 3G S 32Gb at the weekend and thankfully it was on 3.0.1 firmware, so I managed to unlock it using redsn0w and a very easy to follow you-tube video. It's now running nicely on Vodafone :)
 
I purchased a iPhone 3G S 32Gb at the weekend and thankfully it was on 3.0.1 firmware, so I managed to unlock it using redsn0w and a very easy to follow you-tube video. It's now running nicely on Vodafone :)

Sorry to hikjack, but does this mean I could buy one and use my Virgin Sim in it as my Virgin contact has unlimited surfing on it?
 
Be careful and think seriously about unlocking an iPhone in the UK.
Apple have publicly stated that if anyone is caught and found using an unofficially unlocked iPhone in the UK they reserve the right to lock their phone permanently thereby making it worthless. Otherwise known as "bricking".
If all you want to do is have free unlimited internet access then you can buy O2 SIMs specifically for this purpose off ebay.

Something like this.............
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/O2-02-PAYG-3G...s_CV?hash=item2302e6fe3f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Read this...........
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...ne-unlocks-may-result-in-expensive-bricks.ars
 
Last edited:
Make the most of this thread (interesting as it is) because I think the Mods' should / will close it...
 
Hi

Has anyone purchased an iPhone on PAYG? I was checking stock at my local apple store and they say that to buy one on PAYG, youmust pay an extra £10 top up in order to buy one, is this true?

Secondly, has anyone here unlocked and iPhone 3Gs and how easy is it?

Many thanks

Tan

Sorry if I'm missing something, but are you saying £10 is a deal breaker? How much is the phone costing?
 
Sorry to be a pain, but if you need to ask that, you really shouldn't be doing it....

Why? I mmean it seems logical if a Vodafone sim works, then so should my Virgin. I can't see any real reason for Virgin to object?. I can see that O2 might not want you to, of course.
 
The iPhone hacking geniuses over at iPhone Dev Team have found a way around the first known issue. Here are the steps to follow which should work using any carrier.

You need to first get your carrier's voicemail number.
Click on your iPhone's phone button.
Then click on the Keypad tab.
You need to then add the following code: *5005*86*xxx#. Here xxx would be your voicemail number.
After entering the code you tap call.
This results in the code being set.
Thats all, tap now on the voicemail button and it should automatically call your usual voicemail service.
 
UK Vodafone *5005*86*121#
UK o2 *5005*86*901#
UK T-mobile *5005*86*OWNNUMBER#
UK Orange *5005*86*+447973100123#
 
Be careful and think seriously about unlocking an iPhone in the UK.

I very much doubt Apple really care about unlocking other than the fact that they are probably contactually obliged by the telco's to do what they can to prevent the practice.
 
UK Vodafone *5005*86*121#
UK o2 *5005*86*901#
UK T-mobile *5005*86*OWNNUMBER#
UK Orange *5005*86*+447973100123#

I bought one of the last 3.0.1 software iPhones too and easily unlocked it to use on my T-Mobile account. In fact it was probably the easiest unlock procedure I have ever done on a phone. ;)

As for the voicemail it worked straight away without the codes above!!!

Plus for me being unlocked is that I can use it in a similar way to all my other phones for mulltitasking, calender apointments etc etc....in fact I'll post up some pictures.....:D

Mark.
 
Be careful and think seriously about unlocking an iPhone in the UK.
Apple have publicly stated that if anyone is caught and found using an unofficially unlocked iPhone in the UK they reserve the right to lock their phone permanently thereby making it worthless. Otherwise known as "bricking".
If all you want to do is have free unlimited internet access then you can buy O2 SIMs specifically for this purpose off ebay.

It is not always about wanting free internet access .

There are many people , like myself , who have an out-of-contract iPhone : I got the original iPhone (2G) the day after it was released in the UK , and had fulfilled my 18 month contract a few months back , at which point I took a 'free' upgrade to the 3G model by extending my contract for a further 18 months and was allowed to keep 'my' old handset .

Since the old handset is now mine to do with as I wish ( I paid for it through my contract monthly payments ) , Apple have no legal right to prevent me from unlocking it and giving it to a family member . It so happens that my partner has a contract phone on the Orange network , with an OVP (Virgin EQ) tariff that cannot be matched these days . Unfortunately , due to Apple's bloody mindedness , I have hitherto been unable to unlock the phone due to having upgraded it to OS 3.0 just before the original contract ran out .

There are probably a great many out of contract iPhones sitting in drawers around the world thanks to Apple's bad attitude .
 
I did this basic maths, last month, looking at 2x Iphones, over 18 months, with 600ish mins, and unlimited data:

O2 Contract
18 Months
Phone: £87.11 (each)
£44.05 per month (each)
Total per user: £880.01
Total 18 months: £1760.02
Monthly equivalent: £97.79

O2 Pay as you go:
Phone: £440.40 (each)
£19.58 per month (Each)
Total per user: £792.84
Total 18 Months: £1585.68
(advantage: can get out anytime, own phones from day 1)
Monthly equivalent: £88.10
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom