Buying a phone sim-free, pros and cons?

davidwatts

I understand the main and obvious advantage of buying a phone sim-free but I was wondering if there were any disadvantages to consider. Let's say I fancy the N95 and can get it sim-free at a price that appeals more than the cost on contract, is there any reason for me to think twice?

Specifically, if I end up using it on (say) o2 would I have been better off getting it from o2 after they have branded it and set it up, i.e. will it work better on their network than a sim-free model?

will-in-estoril

'Sim free' means that a handset can be used on any network, as opposed to 'locked', where it can only be used on one.

Sim free handsets also have the manufacturer's official, original software, which is invariably better than the hastily-written versions by the phone networks.

For the above reasons sim free is always best.

jamiex

A lot of phones bought on contract are already unlocked. I got a C902 from Vodafone, so it has vodafone branding, however it is unlocked for any network. I think CPW also supply their phones unlocked.

Sim-Free phones are always very expensive. It's worth considering where you can get the cheapest contract with the phone unlocked.

If you were to pay £280 upfront for an N95
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-N95-Free-Mobile-Phone/dp/B000OGT1SM
instead of paying, say, £35/month on an 18 month o2 contract, you'd be paying £280 instead of 18*35=£630.
However, if you were going to go on a contract that costs more than £20/month with o2 anyway, then it'd work out cheaper to just get the £35/month contract.

Basically, if you work out how much the contract will cost and take away the amount you'd pay for the phone, then divide by the number of months, you'll get the real cost of the contract.

You can get the phone on a cheaper contract than £35/month though. Orange offer many cheaper contracts, though I don't know if the phone would come unlocked.

You can get the phone on 3 (almost definitely not unlocked though) for £20/month for 18 months for 300minutes/texts so overall it'd cost £360 for the period. This is only £80 more than you'd pay for the phone anyway, but you get a contract with it (works out at £4.44/month) and there's the added benefit of not having to find £280 at once.

Anyway it's definitely worth considering a contract. You'll end up with better value for money if you can find one that suits you.

Regards,
Jamie

Rev

I think all o2's contract phones are both unlocked and unbranded. I've never had a phone from them have any branding on at all. So as the above poster said, it might be worth finding the phone you want and finding out if it's cheaper sim free or on contract.

I believe all phones from CPW are unlocked and unbranded too.

mikegahan

Not all CPW phones are unlocked though a substantial percentage are. The other point is that getting a phone on contract can be more cost effective. Another option would be to get a SIM free phone then take up a SIM only 30day contract with a network as these are now becoming attractive.

zaccy

Nokia are now giving 30% cashback via Quidco on their sim free phones & accessories.

v0n

Some networks, such as "3" for example, use special set of certificates in their firmware, which allows certain services, like MSN, Skype, java stuff over 3G and unlocked, debranded phones simply can't access those features proper way, for free. It's not a problem if phone is unlocked and can be flashed with branded firmware, but if you have some new device, for which third party firmware flashing isn't availble yet, your data bill next time around could be a nasty surprise...

davidwatts

Thanks all. It was the 30% cashback with Nokia that got me thinking along these lines, i.e. it made the N95 8g cheaper sim free than on contract, bearing in mind £10 a month payg should do me.

It was the usability of a sim-free phone versus a locked or branded phone that I was mainly concerned with.

Re the issues you raise v0n, would they be academic if I was paying for unlimited web access via a bolt-on/bundle arrangement?