Old O2 mobiles

anniesou · 01-07-2006, 20:46

Has anyone else been told their O2 mobile phone is obsolete as of 1st July? My OH had a phone call last week from O2 warning him his old Phillips phone would not work after 30th June. There is nothing wrong with the phone, it has worked perfectly for years and is simple enough for him to use. All he uses it for is making and receiving calls.
Sure enough this morning it said SIM failed when we tried to use it. Apparently he was told he can keep his old number and the credit left on his SIM card IF he upgrades to a new O2 phone. They even told him where the nearest shop was!
Just for spite he accepted a second hand phone free of charge from a mate. It happens to be Orange

01-07-2006, 20:49

O2 are rubbish, pure and simple. The network is full of faults too. And this, the immobilisation of old phones is a stupid thing to do. OK, so not many people will still have one of the affected mobiles but it's still crazy.

They claim that the old signal they run on is hindering O2 services and new technology - (which are always failing) but yet Orange and all the other networks are going from strength to strength with new services and still manage to keep old mobiles running on the airwaves.

It's just O2 trying to be power-mad into forcing people to buy new phones.

anniesou · 01-07-2006, 20:54

Their website does go on a bit about "new technology" in the article regarding the old mobiles. At least a bit of encouragement like a half price phone or a free top up might have lessened the blow.

leeroybrownfors · 01-07-2006, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind

O2 are rubbish, pure and simple

In your opinion, maybe.

Quote:

The network is full of faults too

According to who?

Quote:

And this, the immobilisation of old phones is a stupid thing to do. OK, so not many people will still have one of the affected mobiles but it's still crazy.

Why should they continue to provide a service for technology that's almost obsolete? Why not spend the money on improving current & future services, rather than investing in the past?

Quote:

They claim that the old signal they run on is hindering O2 services and new technology - (which are always failing) but yet Orange and all the other networks are going from strength to strength with new services and still manage to keep old mobiles running on the airwaves.

How long will the other networks continue to offer support for phones that are coming up for being a decade old? Not very long, I'll bet.

Quote:

It's just O2 trying to be power-mad into forcing people to buy new phones.

Lol, OK.

01-07-2006, 21:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by anniesou

Their website does go on a bit about "new technology" in the article regarding the old mobiles. At least a bit of encouragement like a half price phone or a free top up might have lessened the blow.

They're offering an 'upgrade' to customers with these old phones - i.e for every £50 you've topped up over the last 12 months you'll get £5 off a new phone.

Still, people shouldn't have to buy a new phone at all. If they want the customers to stay, they should provide customers with a similar phone, or at least provide them with a voucher to spend in an O2 store which gives them say upto £30 to spend - about the price of a similar basic phone.

redarrow · 01-07-2006, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by anniesou

Has anyone else been told their O2 mobile phone is obsolete as of 1st July? My OH had a phone call last week from O2 warning him his old Phillips phone would not work after 30th June. There is nothing wrong with the phone, it has worked perfectly for years and is simple enough for him to use. All he uses it for is making and receiving calls.
Sure enough this morning it said SIM failed when we tried to use it. Apparently he was told he can keep his old number and the credit left on his SIM card IF he upgrades to a new O2 phone. They even told him where the nearest shop was!
Just for spite he accepted a second hand phone free of charge from a mate. It happens to be Orange

We got an old philips phone on 02 over 10 yrs old still works not been told any different just keep it as back up.

WordLife · 01-07-2006, 21:28

On those old Philips phones the credit was stored on the phone not the sim, which is why you couldn't interchange the sims! What were they supposed to do, keep something like that running?!

Garyo2 · 01-07-2006, 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind

They're offering an 'upgrade' to customers with these old phones - i.e for every £50 you've topped up over the last 12 months you'll get £5 off a new phone.

Still, people shouldn't have to buy a new phone at all. If they want the customers to stay, they should provide customers with a similar phone, or at least provide them with a voucher to spend in an O2 store which gives them say upto £30 to spend - about the price of a similar basic phone.

Do you not recall the analog (TACS) change over? Every network had to get customers to switch to digital (GSM) phones.

You have a tiny proportion of customers on an old system which you no longer want to continue with because its not viable, do you a) support these at a LOSS or insist they move on to supported hardware.

Telecommunications is a technology based industry, just as with PC software over time you will find your hardware is no longer supported. This is the way of the world, and the way things will always be if companies want to be efficient and keep up with new technologies.

I doubt even o2 expected them handsets to last as long as they did. The users have certainly had their monies worth IMO.

Last edited by Garyo2 : 01-07-2006 at 22:32.

WordLife · 01-07-2006, 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeroybrownfors

In your opinion, maybe.

According to who?

Why should they continue to provide a service for technology that's almost obsolete? Why not spend the money on improving current & future services, rather than investing in the past?

How long will the other networks continue to offer support for phones that are coming up for being a decade old? Not very long, I'll bet.

Lol, OK.

Some very good points raised there i agree with them all

crowfield99 · 01-07-2006, 22:37

If anyone has any of these phones listed abroad - and they want to roam onto 02. Does it mean they will be affected also?

Garyo2 · 01-07-2006, 22:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by crowfield99

If anyone has any of these phones listed abroad - and they want to roam onto 02. Does it mean they will be affected also?

I don't think any other network used the same connection method used within the affected models.

moox · 01-07-2006, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind

O2 are rubbish, pure and simple. The network is full of faults too.

Odd - Back when I first used o2 in 2004, it was fine. Calls went through, the few text messages I sent got received. Coverage was good. GPRS was slow and rubbish.

Today, they're just as good, and the GPRS is fast. I wish it was full internet without having to use a proxy though.

I like how all these people who constantly whinge and moan that their text messages to / from O2 didn't get sent/received - well if the message was that important, I hear phones these days let you talk to the other person! As in, using your voice! Technology these days.

crowfield99 · 01-07-2006, 22:43

I thought they did all use GSM 900/1800? I did check the spec of these phones and all the sites I find are GSM 900/1800 dual band phones? Or am i wrong?

WordLife · 01-07-2006, 22:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

I like how all these people who constantly whinge and moan that their text messages to / from O2 didn't get sent/received - well if the message was that important, I hear phones these days let you talk to the other person! As in, using your voice! Technology these days.

Very good point, if its just to chat then i'll text but if i want to have a long chat or its important i'll ring. People text because its cheaper but in my opinion its easier to ring

Garyo2 · 01-07-2006, 23:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by crowfield99

I thought they did all use GSM 900/1800? I did check the spec of these phones and all the sites I find are GSM 900/1800 dual band phones? Or am i wrong?

They are GSM phones, i don't know a great deal about the technical side of things. However I would assume the issues are with how the sim is authenticated on the network where the differences are. I am not sure if these types of phones were allowed to roam / could roam. I would assume not if they connect to the network in a different way from the norm.

crowfield99 · 01-07-2006, 23:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garyo2

They are GSM phones, i don't know a great deal about the technical side of things. However I would assume the issues are with how the sim is authenticated on the network where the differences are. I am not sure if these types of phones were allowed to roam / could roam. I would assume not if they connect to the network in a different way from the norm.

Fair enough - I will still never understand why 02 do this though. Its not a good way to keep your "loyal" customers who have been with you for years lol.

moox · 01-07-2006, 23:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by crowfield99

Fair enough - I will still never understand why 02 do this though. Its not a good way to keep your "loyal" customers who have been with you for years lol.

o2 did it because it's an out of date technology that's insecure and can be abused. The customers with these old phones have had quite a good innings.

Aren't o2 subsidising the move to a new phone anyway?

02-07-2006, 00:29

Maybe I should have emphasised that the points I made are mostly in my opinion.

Anyhow, it's not my phone being cut off, so it's not going to affect me. But I'm sure those affected would have something to say.

Garyo2 · 02-07-2006, 00:34

Well i am sure they will. However people moan when they carn't put XP on their Pentium 75's.

02-07-2006, 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garyo2

Well i am sure they will. However people moan when they carn't put XP on their Pentium 75's.

Ok then. O2 are perfect

This is exaclty why the network is not as good as others, people refuse to believe it has faults.

Garyo2 · 02-07-2006, 00:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind

Ok then. O2 are perfect

This is exaclty why the network is not as good as others, people refuse to believe it has faults.

The people who work their don't. All networks have their faults. In fact everything ever made has its faults. No one or no thing can ever be perfect. Perfection is a man made goal that could never be achieved due to the human condition of always wanting to further improve.

Though, this thread is not about network faults. It's about the turning off of an old service.

As i have already mentioned we have already seen the same type of thing with analog turn off. No doubt in 15-20 years from now we will see the GSM turn off. Technology advances, people have to adapt. People who don't or won't adapt will always loose out.

The way the cookie crumbles.

02-07-2006, 09:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garyo2

The people who work their don't. All networks have their faults. In fact everything ever made has its faults. No one or no thing can ever be perfect. Perfection is a man made goal that could never be achieved due to the human condition of always wanting to further improve.

Though, this thread is not about network faults. It's about the turning off of an old service.

As i have already mentioned we have already seen the same type of thing with analog turn off. No doubt in 15-20 years from now we will see the GSM turn off. Technology advances, people have to adapt. People who don't or won't adapt will always loose out.

The way the cookie crumbles.

I agree that in 15-20 years time GSM will be gone/ You'll try turning on a 3310 or an old GSM phone and it wont work. Plus now you get USIMS cos of 3G so things are advancing well fast wouldn't shock me if we saw GSM turned off earlier then 15-20 years

02-07-2006, 10:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanwilliams479

I agree that in 15-20 years time GSM will be gone/ You'll try turning on a 3310 or an old GSM phone and it wont work. Plus now you get USIMS cos of 3G so things are advancing well fast wouldn't shock me if we saw GSM turned off earlier then 15-20 years

So what does the Nokia 3220 run on? That's what I'm using now.

Garyo2 · 02-07-2006, 10:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind

So what does the Nokia 3220 run on? That's what I'm using now.

GSM900 if its an O2 phone.

02-07-2006, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garyo2

GSM900 if its an O2 phone.

It came unlocked but I'm using my O2 SIM until my contract ends

01-07-2006, 20:46	#1
anniesou Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: colchester Posts: 596	Old O2 mobiles Has anyone else been told their O2 mobile phone is obsolete as of 1st July? My OH had a phone call last week from O2 warning him his old Phillips phone would not work after 30th June. There is nothing wrong with the phone, it has worked perfectly for years and is simple enough for him to use. All he uses it for is making and receiving calls. Sure enough this morning it said SIM failed when we tried to use it. Apparently he was told he can keep his old number and the credit left on his SIM card IF he upgrades to a new O2 phone. They even told him where the nearest shop was! Just for spite he accepted a second hand phone free of charge from a mate. It happens to be Orange

01-07-2006, 20:49	#2
iDRAGbehind Posts: n/a	O2 are rubbish, pure and simple. The network is full of faults too. And this, the immobilisation of old phones is a stupid thing to do. OK, so not many people will still have one of the affected mobiles but it's still crazy. They claim that the old signal they run on is hindering O2 services and new technology - (which are always failing) but yet Orange and all the other networks are going from strength to strength with new services and still manage to keep old mobiles running on the airwaves. It's just O2 trying to be power-mad into forcing people to buy new phones.

01-07-2006, 20:54	#3
anniesou Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: colchester Posts: 596	Their website does go on a bit about "new technology" in the article regarding the old mobiles. At least a bit of encouragement like a half price phone or a free top up might have lessened the blow.

01-07-2006, 21:00	#4
leeroybrownfors Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,636	Quote: Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind O2 are rubbish, pure and simple In your opinion, maybe. Quote: The network is full of faults too According to who? Quote: And this, the immobilisation of old phones is a stupid thing to do. OK, so not many people will still have one of the affected mobiles but it's still crazy. Why should they continue to provide a service for technology that's almost obsolete? Why not spend the money on improving current & future services, rather than investing in the past? Quote: They claim that the old signal they run on is hindering O2 services and new technology - (which are always failing) but yet Orange and all the other networks are going from strength to strength with new services and still manage to keep old mobiles running on the airwaves. How long will the other networks continue to offer support for phones that are coming up for being a decade old? Not very long, I'll bet. Quote: It's just O2 trying to be power-mad into forcing people to buy new phones. Lol, OK.

01-07-2006, 21:01	#5
iDRAGbehind Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by anniesou Their website does go on a bit about "new technology" in the article regarding the old mobiles. At least a bit of encouragement like a half price phone or a free top up might have lessened the blow. They're offering an 'upgrade' to customers with these old phones - i.e for every £50 you've topped up over the last 12 months you'll get £5 off a new phone. Still, people shouldn't have to buy a new phone at all. If they want the customers to stay, they should provide customers with a similar phone, or at least provide them with a voucher to spend in an O2 store which gives them say upto £30 to spend - about the price of a similar basic phone.

01-07-2006, 21:18	#6
redarrow Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: south coast Posts: 924	Quote: Originally Posted by anniesou Has anyone else been told their O2 mobile phone is obsolete as of 1st July? My OH had a phone call last week from O2 warning him his old Phillips phone would not work after 30th June. There is nothing wrong with the phone, it has worked perfectly for years and is simple enough for him to use. All he uses it for is making and receiving calls. Sure enough this morning it said SIM failed when we tried to use it. Apparently he was told he can keep his old number and the credit left on his SIM card IF he upgrades to a new O2 phone. They even told him where the nearest shop was! Just for spite he accepted a second hand phone free of charge from a mate. It happens to be Orange We got an old philips phone on 02 over 10 yrs old still works not been told any different just keep it as back up.

01-07-2006, 21:28	#7
WordLife Banned User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 712	On those old Philips phones the credit was stored on the phone not the sim, which is why you couldn't interchange the sims! What were they supposed to do, keep something like that running?!

01-07-2006, 22:17	#8
Garyo2 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 566	Quote: Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind They're offering an 'upgrade' to customers with these old phones - i.e for every £50 you've topped up over the last 12 months you'll get £5 off a new phone. Still, people shouldn't have to buy a new phone at all. If they want the customers to stay, they should provide customers with a similar phone, or at least provide them with a voucher to spend in an O2 store which gives them say upto £30 to spend - about the price of a similar basic phone. Do you not recall the analog (TACS) change over? Every network had to get customers to switch to digital (GSM) phones. You have a tiny proportion of customers on an old system which you no longer want to continue with because its not viable, do you a) support these at a LOSS or insist they move on to supported hardware. Telecommunications is a technology based industry, just as with PC software over time you will find your hardware is no longer supported. This is the way of the world, and the way things will always be if companies want to be efficient and keep up with new technologies. I doubt even o2 expected them handsets to last as long as they did. The users have certainly had their monies worth IMO. Last edited by Garyo2 : 01-07-2006 at 22:32.

01-07-2006, 22:24	#9
WordLife Banned User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 712	Quote: Originally Posted by leeroybrownfors In your opinion, maybe. According to who? Why should they continue to provide a service for technology that's almost obsolete? Why not spend the money on improving current & future services, rather than investing in the past? How long will the other networks continue to offer support for phones that are coming up for being a decade old? Not very long, I'll bet. Lol, OK. Some very good points raised there i agree with them all

01-07-2006, 22:37	#10
crowfield99 Forum Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Walsall, UK Posts: 520	If anyone has any of these phones listed abroad - and they want to roam onto 02. Does it mean they will be affected also?

01-07-2006, 22:40	#11
Garyo2 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 566	Quote: Originally Posted by crowfield99 If anyone has any of these phones listed abroad - and they want to roam onto 02. Does it mean they will be affected also? I don't think any other network used the same connection method used within the affected models.

01-07-2006, 22:41	#12
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind O2 are rubbish, pure and simple. The network is full of faults too. Odd - Back when I first used o2 in 2004, it was fine. Calls went through, the few text messages I sent got received. Coverage was good. GPRS was slow and rubbish. Today, they're just as good, and the GPRS is fast. I wish it was full internet without having to use a proxy though. I like how all these people who constantly whinge and moan that their text messages to / from O2 didn't get sent/received - well if the message was that important, I hear phones these days let you talk to the other person! As in, using your voice! Technology these days.

01-07-2006, 22:43	#13
crowfield99 Forum Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Walsall, UK Posts: 520	I thought they did all use GSM 900/1800? I did check the spec of these phones and all the sites I find are GSM 900/1800 dual band phones? Or am i wrong?

01-07-2006, 22:46	#14
WordLife Banned User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 712	Quote: Originally Posted by moox I like how all these people who constantly whinge and moan that their text messages to / from O2 didn't get sent/received - well if the message was that important, I hear phones these days let you talk to the other person! As in, using your voice! Technology these days. Very good point, if its just to chat then i'll text but if i want to have a long chat or its important i'll ring. People text because its cheaper but in my opinion its easier to ring

01-07-2006, 23:15	#15
Garyo2 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 566	Quote: Originally Posted by crowfield99 I thought they did all use GSM 900/1800? I did check the spec of these phones and all the sites I find are GSM 900/1800 dual band phones? Or am i wrong? They are GSM phones, i don't know a great deal about the technical side of things. However I would assume the issues are with how the sim is authenticated on the network where the differences are. I am not sure if these types of phones were allowed to roam / could roam. I would assume not if they connect to the network in a different way from the norm.

01-07-2006, 23:24	#16
crowfield99 Forum Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Walsall, UK Posts: 520	Quote: Originally Posted by Garyo2 They are GSM phones, i don't know a great deal about the technical side of things. However I would assume the issues are with how the sim is authenticated on the network where the differences are. I am not sure if these types of phones were allowed to roam / could roam. I would assume not if they connect to the network in a different way from the norm. Fair enough - I will still never understand why 02 do this though. Its not a good way to keep your "loyal" customers who have been with you for years lol.

01-07-2006, 23:45	#17
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by crowfield99 Fair enough - I will still never understand why 02 do this though. Its not a good way to keep your "loyal" customers who have been with you for years lol. o2 did it because it's an out of date technology that's insecure and can be abused. The customers with these old phones have had quite a good innings. Aren't o2 subsidising the move to a new phone anyway?

02-07-2006, 00:29	#18
iDRAGbehind Posts: n/a	Maybe I should have emphasised that the points I made are mostly in my opinion. Anyhow, it's not my phone being cut off, so it's not going to affect me. But I'm sure those affected would have something to say.

02-07-2006, 00:34	#19
Garyo2 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 566	Well i am sure they will. However people moan when they carn't put XP on their Pentium 75's.

02-07-2006, 00:35	#20
iDRAGbehind Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by Garyo2 Well i am sure they will. However people moan when they carn't put XP on their Pentium 75's. Ok then. O2 are perfect This is exaclty why the network is not as good as others, people refuse to believe it has faults.

02-07-2006, 00:41	#21
Garyo2 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 566	Quote: Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind Ok then. O2 are perfect This is exaclty why the network is not as good as others, people refuse to believe it has faults. The people who work their don't. All networks have their faults. In fact everything ever made has its faults. No one or no thing can ever be perfect. Perfection is a man made goal that could never be achieved due to the human condition of always wanting to further improve. Though, this thread is not about network faults. It's about the turning off of an old service. As i have already mentioned we have already seen the same type of thing with analog turn off. No doubt in 15-20 years from now we will see the GSM turn off. Technology advances, people have to adapt. People who don't or won't adapt will always loose out. The way the cookie crumbles.

DS Forums

Old O2 mobiles

02-07-2006, 09:14	#22
RYPW Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by Garyo2 The people who work their don't. All networks have their faults. In fact everything ever made has its faults. No one or no thing can ever be perfect. Perfection is a man made goal that could never be achieved due to the human condition of always wanting to further improve. Though, this thread is not about network faults. It's about the turning off of an old service. As i have already mentioned we have already seen the same type of thing with analog turn off. No doubt in 15-20 years from now we will see the GSM turn off. Technology advances, people have to adapt. People who don't or won't adapt will always loose out. The way the cookie crumbles. I agree that in 15-20 years time GSM will be gone/ You'll try turning on a 3310 or an old GSM phone and it wont work. Plus now you get USIMS cos of 3G so things are advancing well fast wouldn't shock me if we saw GSM turned off earlier then 15-20 years

02-07-2006, 10:35	#23
iDRAGbehind Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by ryanwilliams479 I agree that in 15-20 years time GSM will be gone/ You'll try turning on a 3310 or an old GSM phone and it wont work. Plus now you get USIMS cos of 3G so things are advancing well fast wouldn't shock me if we saw GSM turned off earlier then 15-20 years So what does the Nokia 3220 run on? That's what I'm using now.

02-07-2006, 10:37	#24
Garyo2 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 566	Quote: Originally Posted by iDRAGbehind So what does the Nokia 3220 run on? That's what I'm using now. GSM900 if its an O2 phone.

02-07-2006, 10:42	#25
iDRAGbehind Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by Garyo2 GSM900 if its an O2 phone. It came unlocked but I'm using my O2 SIM until my contract ends