orange iphone plans

anna42hmr

been looking on orange's site as am considering getting the i phone once my existing contract with them is up for renewal in the summer. however when ever i look on their website, seems to only allow "iphone" pay monthly plans with an iphone,


is it possible to get an iphone from them and use it on one of their animal plans ie dolphin, panther etc as those plans seem to be more generous with phone minutes/text messages for the same amount of download limit but at a cheaper price??

for instance for £31 panther 31 would give 400 minutes, unlimited texts and 750 meg internet and two swappables but the Iphone 31 plan instead just get 200 minutes, 250 texts and 500 meg internet (no swappables) but if i select the phone as an iphone first only gives i phone plan options

grumbler

anna42hmr wrote: »

is it possible to get an iphone from them and use it on one of their animal plans ie dolphin, panther etc as those plans seem to be more generous with phone minutes/text messages for the same amount of download limit but at a cheaper price??

No problems. Just buy iPhone on PAYG and then use it on any sim-only plan: How can Orange get away with this?

NFH

Buy an iPhone at full price from Apple so it's not SIM-locked to Orange. This will give you more flexibility later to switch networks and to use local SIM cards when roaming. Then get a SIM-only contract with a maximum of 12 months. The overall cost over 24 months will be much lower than getting a bundled iPhone and contract.

flashg67

I have an iphone with Orange on a contract on their Panther tariff - £20.50 inc 100 mins, unltd texts & 500Mb internet/tethering. You can change up or down a tariff during the contract too (maybe once only though).

NFH

flashg67 wrote: »

500Mb internet/tethering

Did you have to ask for tethering to be enabled? When I put my Orange SIM into my iPhone (which is on a proper iPhone tariff), the "Personal Hotspot" function disappears from Settings. It reappears when I put in another network's SIM card.

robbies_gal

how did you manage to get a normal tariff on an iphone then

flashg67

gabbyevs wrote: »

how did you manage to get a normal tariff on an iphone then

I don't know if it's because I was part way through a 2 year contract and the original Blackberry died (out of warranty) so I had to change tariffs away from the BB one? I didn't get any queries from the Orange staff when I called them!

@NFH - can't say re the tethering as I've not used it. All I can say is that when I changed to Panther, the part in my online account that shows my usage changed from 'internet use' to 'internet & tethering'

robbies_gal

yes unusual coz when they give an iphone they usually put you on there iphone tariffs

NFH

gabbyevs wrote: »

yes unusual coz when they give an iphone they usually put you on there iphone tariffs

Yes, I understand it's a condition imposed by Apple, based on what the Orange Executive Office told me in the past.

grumbler

Do you believe this? Does this make any sense to you - that Apple dictate Orange what plans to sell iPhones with?

I think the main and the only condition is the wholesale price that drives the iPhone plans prices up to make Orange's margin worthwhile. Anything different smells like an anti-competitive and unlawful practice.

NFH

Yes, I do believe what they told me, because of the context in which they explained it with specific details. I do also believe it is anti-competitive, but so are many other commercial practices which are not unlawful.