Mobile phones - are they usually locked?

cte1111

I'm looking to buy a new mobile phone for my aunt. She had my old Samsung phone, but it has now stopped charging so thought she could do with a new one.

I'm thinking of buying her one on Vodafone from Tesco Direct, in order to take advantage of points offers, but am unsure whether it is likely to be locked to Vodafone? She's on Orange and wanted to use the same Sim really. Just wondered if people know if they usually are or not.

Many thanks for everyone's thoughts in advance.

movilogo

Usually most mobile phones are sold as locked unless explicitly stated as unlocked.

loudcox

Why not just try a new battery for the phone? They only have a limited charge life - generally 18 months to 2 years max - until they need replacing.

As for locking, any phone sold tied to a telecoms provider will be locked. However, most can be unlocked pretty easily - just google around.

gaming_guy

loudcox wrote: »

Why not just try a new battery for the phone? They only have a limited charge life - generally 18 months to 2 years max - until they need replacing.

As for locking, any phone sold tied to a telecoms provider will be locked. However, most can be unlocked pretty easily - just google around.

it's not always the battery.

charging ports on the phone often give up, even more so with some of the delicate connectors used on some samsung models

cte1111

Thanks everyone for the comments. I've managed to find an Orange one that looks OK so have ordered that one. With the 1000 points (500 on phones plus 500 points code) it's a good deal - £40 towards next year's holiday.

I did think of getting a new battery for the old one, but I think it's more that it's not connecting to the charger, as it won't charge up at all, i.e. it doesn't ping like it used to when it's plugged into the charger.

Whitewillow_2

Check for the network logo on the phone - this gives a good idea if its locked to that network or not. Also Carphone warehouse tend to sell mostly unlocked phones, as they get them direct from manufacturers, not from the networks, then just put the sim in on sale (of course this does not apply to network specific phones such as the iphone). I have heard that Vodaphone phones are usually unlocked but i cannot confirm this as i have never checked myself. HTH