Giff Gaff Unlocked Phine Question

clewsy · 26-05-2015, 10:34

Hi,

Just looking last night at the Giff Gaff Phine section and appears they sell some of the mobile phones for a lot less than PAYG.

So what is the catch?

Are all of these mobiles locked only to Giff Gaff? Would a Tesco Mobile or O2 sim work in them or are they locked down to prevent even that?

moox · 26-05-2015, 10:36

Perhaps they're hoping to make money back by keeping you as a customer, or they're taking advantage of economies of scale through buying with O2

They say their phones are unlocked, which should mean that it will work on any network, not just the O2 ones.

3 does the same thing with their phones, they are all unlocked

clewsy · 26-05-2015, 10:53

Interesting as noticed the iPhone and the s6 are very reasonable on price.

Not sure which is meant to better the iPhone or the s6? You Nebr get many impartial reviews as people tend to be in one camp or the other.

de525ma · 26-05-2015, 11:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by clewsy

Interesting as noticed the iPhone and the s6 are very reasonable on price.

Not sure which is meant to better the iPhone or the s6? You Nebr get many impartial reviews as people tend to be in one camp or the other.

That's because there is not much between them, specs wise. Both are good phones and it's down to personal preference which ecosystem you prefer.

d123 · 26-05-2015, 14:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by clewsy

Interesting as noticed the iPhone and the s6 are very reasonable on price.

Not sure which is meant to better the iPhone or the s6? You Nebr get many impartial reviews as people tend to be in one camp or the other.

I bought an iPhone 6 from them about 2 weeks ago, it was £40 cheaper than Apple and is completely unlocked. It's now in use with a Three contract sim.

Another plus, is they are currently doing a £30 accessory voucher with all phones over £200, (though it does end sometime this week, so worth a look today if you are going to buy).

clewsy · 26-05-2015, 14:30

How are they doing it though? As their phones are really cheap, when you do the maths its cheaper than contract as well.

Always believed if its too good to be true, probably is.

d123 · 26-05-2015, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by clewsy

How are they doing it though? As their phones are really cheap, when you do the maths its cheaper than contract as well.

Always believed if its too good to be true, probably is.

No idea, but the phone arrived exactly as new, still in the cellophane (just like from Apple), activated and shows as it should on the Apple warranty check. I'm presuming they are getting stock under the auspices of O2 and benefitting from the bulk network price of the handsets.

The accessories are from phonegoodies.co.uk, a little overpriced but probably still worth £20 (the supplier is actually Kondor).

clewsy · 26-05-2015, 17:21

Sounds good.

Have to admit I'm tempted as my Nexus 4 seems to be getting worse and worse on battery life as well as the random crashes every now and again.

I like the idea of Apple as it just works, but then Android is great when its not full of bugs and breaking on a new release.

BKM · 27-05-2015, 10:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by d123

No idea, but the phone arrived exactly as new, still in the cellophane (just like from Apple), activated and shows as it should on the Apple warranty check. I'm presuming they are getting stock under the auspices of O2 and benefitting from the bulk network price of the handsets.
.

I got an IMEI status check on a brand new iPhone 6 from GiffGaff. This showed that that handset was, indeed, O2 stock - and confirmed that it is fully unlocked.

It is also as it should be in the Apple Warranty system.

clewsy · 27-05-2015, 11:00

It does seem they are the cheapest place to buy phones at the moment. No one will get close to matching them.

BKM · 27-05-2015, 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by clewsy

It does seem they are the cheapest place to buy phones at the moment. No one will get close to matching them.

Not on UK stock! - there were some slightly cheaper brand-new iPhone 6's on eBay recently - but, as they did not have a UK mains plug, they will have been grey market imports from some other EU country.

clewsy · 27-05-2015, 11:05

Yes but you never know how genuine EBay kit is? I think EBay is always a risk and you have to tread carefully

d123 · 27-05-2015, 11:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by BKM

I got an IMEI status check on a brand new iPhone 6 from GiffGaff. This showed that that handset was, indeed, O2 stock - and confirmed that it is fully unlocked.

It is also as it should be in the Apple Warranty system.

Thanks for the confirmation, I couldn't think of any other way they could be getting sim free stock so cheap. It was quite a clever move by Giffgaff to use the buying power of O2 to get their prices down.

clewsy · 27-05-2015, 11:49

Yes it's a great move as effectively they are having a nice discount outlet getting retail sales in and probably still on good margins.

26-05-2015, 10:34	#1
clewsy Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midlands Posts: 2,860	Giff Gaff Unlocked Phine Question Hi, Just looking last night at the Giff Gaff Phine section and appears they sell some of the mobile phones for a lot less than PAYG. So what is the catch? Are all of these mobiles locked only to Giff Gaff? Would a Tesco Mobile or O2 sim work in them or are they locked down to prevent even that?

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26-05-2015, 10:36	#2
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Perhaps they're hoping to make money back by keeping you as a customer, or they're taking advantage of economies of scale through buying with O2 They say their phones are unlocked, which should mean that it will work on any network, not just the O2 ones. 3 does the same thing with their phones, they are all unlocked

26-05-2015, 10:53	#3
clewsy Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midlands Posts: 2,860	Interesting as noticed the iPhone and the s6 are very reasonable on price. Not sure which is meant to better the iPhone or the s6? You Nebr get many impartial reviews as people tend to be in one camp or the other.

26-05-2015, 11:19	#4
de525ma Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Portsmouth Posts: 787	Quote: Originally Posted by clewsy Interesting as noticed the iPhone and the s6 are very reasonable on price. Not sure which is meant to better the iPhone or the s6? You Nebr get many impartial reviews as people tend to be in one camp or the other. That's because there is not much between them, specs wise. Both are good phones and it's down to personal preference which ecosystem you prefer.

26-05-2015, 14:21	#5
d123 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,993	Quote: Originally Posted by clewsy Interesting as noticed the iPhone and the s6 are very reasonable on price. Not sure which is meant to better the iPhone or the s6? You Nebr get many impartial reviews as people tend to be in one camp or the other. I bought an iPhone 6 from them about 2 weeks ago, it was £40 cheaper than Apple and is completely unlocked. It's now in use with a Three contract sim. Another plus, is they are currently doing a £30 accessory voucher with all phones over £200, (though it does end sometime this week, so worth a look today if you are going to buy).

26-05-2015, 14:30	#6
clewsy Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midlands Posts: 2,860	How are they doing it though? As their phones are really cheap, when you do the maths its cheaper than contract as well. Always believed if its too good to be true, probably is.

26-05-2015, 16:23	#7
d123 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,993	Quote: Originally Posted by clewsy How are they doing it though? As their phones are really cheap, when you do the maths its cheaper than contract as well. Always believed if its too good to be true, probably is. No idea, but the phone arrived exactly as new, still in the cellophane (just like from Apple), activated and shows as it should on the Apple warranty check. I'm presuming they are getting stock under the auspices of O2 and benefitting from the bulk network price of the handsets. The accessories are from phonegoodies.co.uk, a little overpriced but probably still worth £20 (the supplier is actually Kondor).

26-05-2015, 17:21	#8
clewsy Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midlands Posts: 2,860	Sounds good. Have to admit I'm tempted as my Nexus 4 seems to be getting worse and worse on battery life as well as the random crashes every now and again. I like the idea of Apple as it just works, but then Android is great when its not full of bugs and breaking on a new release.

27-05-2015, 10:56	#9
BKM Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 6,288	Quote: Originally Posted by d123 No idea, but the phone arrived exactly as new, still in the cellophane (just like from Apple), activated and shows as it should on the Apple warranty check. I'm presuming they are getting stock under the auspices of O2 and benefitting from the bulk network price of the handsets. . I got an IMEI status check on a brand new iPhone 6 from GiffGaff. This showed that that handset was, indeed, O2 stock - and confirmed that it is fully unlocked. It is also as it should be in the Apple Warranty system.

27-05-2015, 11:00	#10
clewsy Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midlands Posts: 2,860	It does seem they are the cheapest place to buy phones at the moment. No one will get close to matching them.

27-05-2015, 11:03	#11
BKM Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 6,288	Quote: Originally Posted by clewsy It does seem they are the cheapest place to buy phones at the moment. No one will get close to matching them. Not on UK stock! - there were some slightly cheaper brand-new iPhone 6's on eBay recently - but, as they did not have a UK mains plug, they will have been grey market imports from some other EU country.

27-05-2015, 11:05	#12
clewsy Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midlands Posts: 2,860	Yes but you never know how genuine EBay kit is? I think EBay is always a risk and you have to tread carefully

27-05-2015, 11:18	#13
d123 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,993	Quote: Originally Posted by BKM I got an IMEI status check on a brand new iPhone 6 from GiffGaff. This showed that that handset was, indeed, O2 stock - and confirmed that it is fully unlocked. It is also as it should be in the Apple Warranty system. Thanks for the confirmation, I couldn't think of any other way they could be getting sim free stock so cheap. It was quite a clever move by Giffgaff to use the buying power of O2 to get their prices down.

27-05-2015, 11:49	#14
clewsy Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midlands Posts: 2,860	Yes it's a great move as effectively they are having a nice discount outlet getting retail sales in and probably still on good margins.

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Giff Gaff Unlocked Phine Question