O2 iPhone Unlocking

baby_belle

I bought an iPod Touch about 3 weeks ago and love it so much that I have decided to sell it and buy an iPhone as I would love to have everything in one device.

Unfortunately I am only 3 months into an 18 month contract with Virgin so I was thinking about buying a 16gb iPhone from O2 on PAYG and paying the £15 to have it unlocked immediately by them.

Just wondered if anyone has done this as I am a bit worried about paying so much for the iPhone and then my Virgin sim not working - can anyone put my mind at ease?

Thanks in advance.

M4RKM

do you have unlimited data with virgin? if not you'll need to add that on too, because the iPhone, as you should be aware is data centric.

There shouldn't be a reason why it wouldn't work, but it does take up to 2 weeks for the phone to be unlocked, and the o2 sim is useless afterwards, so only top up the £15 you need, and make sure the phone is on, and powered while you're waiting for the text to come through..

M

ukbill69

Go to: http://shop.o2.co.uk/update/unlockmyiphone.html

baby_belle

Thank you, yes I do have unlimited data with Virgin so that should be ok. So basically all I would do is buy the iPhone and top up with £15, which will then be used to pay for the unlocking, is that correct? I would not use the phone until it is unlocked so should not need any more than the £15 top up.


ETA - just checked my Virgin contract and my unlimited data has a fair use policy of 1gb per month, would this be sufficient?

robotboy10

Hi,

I just wanted to check how you got on with getting a PAYG from O2 and using it on Virgin as I am thinking of doing the same thing.

Thanks in advance,

Ben

baby_belle

robotboy10 wrote: »

Hi,

I just wanted to check how you got on with getting a PAYG from O2 and using it on Virgin as I am thinking of doing the same thing.

Thanks in advance,

Ben

Hi, I am now using my PAYG on Virgin and am pleased to say, so far, I have had no problems at all and am really enjoying it.

However, I ended up getting the iPhone from Apple in the end - I did buy one from O2 but apparently there was a problem with the unlocking because the IMEI number started with 01203 so I took it back for a refund. I then bought another one from an Apple store on O2 and again applied for the unlock which was successful this time (although it did take the full 14 days to happen).

I had no problem using the phone on Virgin and I have found the signal to be just as strong as my old phone. My husband has now bought a PAYG iPhone too and is currently waiting for his unlock to be able to use his Virgin sim.

Good luck if you decide to go for it but I am really happy with mine.

happy_miser

M4RKM wrote: »

do you have unlimited data with virgin? if not you'll need to add that on too, because the iPhone, as you should be aware is data centric.

There shouldn't be a reason why it wouldn't work, but it does take up to 2 weeks for the phone to be unlocked, and the o2 sim is useless afterwards, so only top up the £15 you need, and make sure the phone is on, and powered while you're waiting for the text to come through..

M

I had a conversation with Virgin Mobile about putting my Virgin PAYG sim on an iPhone and was told it could work out expensive to surf/get email etc. (which I don't do on my mobile anyway) without adding a data package. Apparently I would lose Cloud and BT Openzone if I changed from 02.

If I don't add the data package to my Virgin sim what are the real implications, what will I lose? I don't use my LG mobile much at all, mainly texts and the odd calls, but love the simplicity of the iPhone. Will I still be able to use the iPhone normally for text and calls plus limited wi-fi whenever I am within range or would I lose wi-fi completely? Are there any other features I would lose by swapping networks?

I like the fact you can call Virgin Mobiles free from your home Virgin land-line if you already have their other services.

Any advice would be much appreciated.