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Are PAYG phones from Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4u sim locked ????
satone
30-07-2008
If you go in to a Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4u shop are the payg phones sim locked sim locked ???? any one now
davethorp
30-07-2008
Generally no though it can depend

O2 ones from CPW certainly are unlocked (I got an unlocked k800i from them back in Feb on O2)
coopermanyorks
30-07-2008
Originally Posted by davethorp:
“Generally no though it can depend

O2 ones from CPW certainly are unlocked (I got an unlocked k800i from them back in Feb on O2)”

Was it a contract or Payg ?

I wish someone in the know would clarify this as looking around the www the answer varies between yes and no
loddellbosh
30-07-2008
I bought a PAYG phone from Carphone Warehouse the other day and it was unlocked. It came as the phone in one box and the sim card in a separate pack.
Pencil
30-07-2008
Years ago, I bought an Orange Nokia 6300 and o2 Sony Ericsson K800i from Phones4U and both were locked.
Bryan Spink
30-07-2008
I got a Sony Ericsson J120i delivered from CW yesterday and it appears to be unlocked. Only problem, the £10 credit I was supposed to get with it isn't applied for a day or two. It's on Orange and they sent a message saying they had added £1 credit but that hasn't appeared either.
davethorp
30-07-2008
Originally Posted by coopermanyorks:
“Was it a contract or Payg ?

I wish someone in the know would clarify this as looking around the www the answer varies between yes and no”

It was PAYG. I just got a generic k800i with no locking or branding. Which was nice!
Appleseed
30-07-2008
I suppose the best thing to do is simply ask before you buy?
If everyone just said "no" to buying locked phones, they'd have to stop locking them?
I think it's a p*ss-take to lock them anyway, especially if it was supplied with a contract. It's like buying a car and no-one else being allowed to drive it unless they have the same name as you!
Yeah I know the networks subsidise the price and therefore lock them so that they will get some revenue back, but since unlocking isn't illegal and can be done for a little as £5, it's hardly a foolproof way of getting some of the money back is it?
Niranjaniz
30-07-2008
I actually came on here to ask the same, i guess i will ave to go into a shop and ask for this one,

http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/pa...ia/2630-black/

like I want to get that phone (same as the first post) and use it on a Pay Monthly sim, (i wont care about the £10 lol) so if i get the o2 one for £40 (its cheaper than pay £60 for a sim free one) can i use it on an o2 pay monthly sim? ive read people not being able to do so, as the phone is not just locked to the phone but to the sim, anyone know about this?
satone
31-07-2008
what about argos are their phones sim locked any one know
davethorp
31-07-2008
Argos' phones will be locked yes
Appleseed
31-07-2008
Originally Posted by davethorp:
“Argos' phones will be locked yes”

Why WILL they be?
davethorp
31-07-2008
Because argos are not like CPW and don't sell a handset on PAYG and pair it to a separate sim card which isn't included with the handset

The phone and sim card come packaged together in network branded packaging as a retail unit. The same retail units you would get if you bought the phone from the network directly. End result; locked phone
Babelicious
31-07-2008
Some of the phones are locked and some are unlocked. If you want to buy from phones4u tell me the phone and i'll tell you if it's unlocked or not. Not sure but i think carphone is the same some are locked some aren't.
Captain Cod
31-07-2008
If you have to buy a separate SIM, a CPW PAYG phone is normally unlocked. If you don't it's probably locked. Buy in a shop and check with the assistant?
bluechang
01-08-2008
the majority of CPW handsets are usually supplied sim free as they supply every uk network so its easier for them to carry one unlocked handset suitable for all 4 (standard) networks rather than 4 separate locked handsets. I would think the only handsets that are supplied sim locked would probably be the handsets exclusive to the relevant network and 3 phones, but i stand corrected if i'm wrong.

Hope this makes sense

P4U don't carry a massive selection of PAYG from what i have seen when i have ventured into the lions enclosure (i mean, they pounce on you as soon as you walk through the door, without even getting to have a look at anything apart from the back wall of the shop) so I would think they're payg handset would be network locked - however i have never bought from them so wouldn't know for definite.
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