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"Sim Free"
Jason100
Posts: 17,222
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I have my eye on an iphone and i have just been told about these "sim free" phones. Can i just buy an iphone and transfer my current sim to the iphone?
I don't really fancy upgrading and paying £5 more for what i already have.
I don't really fancy upgrading and paying £5 more for what i already have.
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You'll need a nano SIM for an iPhone 5 or a Micro SIM for a 4/4S. Your network can swap your SIM card for you. Usually for free.
Or you can get your SIM cut to size by many independent phone shops for about £2-£3 each.
I got a SIM cutter which included two Micro SIM adaptors (handy if you want to reuse a cut SIM in a standard SIM slot) for £2.95 delivered from Amazon. Works a treat and I have converted 3 SIMs to micro without any problems. The cutter would be my recommendation as the most cost effective way to convert existing SIM cards.
Which is OK, unless you went abroad and wanted to use a local SIM or find a better deal on another network and wanted to swtich.
Really
He's right. A contract iPhone will lock to the first network sim card you put in. The phone can be unlocked by factory resetting it but then it resets and locks once you put in a different sim.
An iPhone direct from Apple (not on contract) is 100% unlocked and will work with any sim.
It's not "contract iPhones" btw! It's ONLY CPW ones. Ones supplied by Vodafone and other operators are locked to them from the outset!
Ones that are already locked are locked. But if you buy one on contract from CPW or even apple direct it locks to the first sim.
@Thine wonk- i have no idea.
That's absolutely not true. If you buy it from Apple direct, it doesn't lock to the first SIM at all.
Ah seems your right.
I retract that last statement. Don't know why i thought Apple do it for contract phones.
I *think* contract phones from Apple are locked to the network in the same way as if you bought one from another retailer. But if you buy it SIM-free from Apple, it's unlocked and remains so.
When the networks unlock handsets they tell Apple who alter their database for that IMEI to the same as for ones they have sold. iTunes also checks to see if the phone needs updated from the database each time.
Order one from Apple if i was you unless you want to take a punt on eBay that is.
If I buy a phone on contract from the apple store, is it locked to that network out of the box, does it come unlocked, or will it lock to the sim I first put in
e.g buy it on tmobile, but put a 3sim in first will it lock to 3?
Thanks