Can i use a 3 contract sim in any unlocked phone?

andrewmoorcroft

Hi money savers. Me and my wife are thinking of going on 3 mobile contracts but we dont really want to change our phones. However the deals are such that we might as well have the phones and our kids want the new ones to use on PAYG anyway.

Our old phones that we'd like to use with the new 3 mobile contract sims are a samsung D600 and a Nokia 6111. Both are unlocked and work on other network sims but we've not tried a 3 sim in them.

We've explained this a few times to sales assistants and got different answers. One says that the old phones wont work at all on the 3 sim, another said that they will, and another said that they will work perfectly well for calls, texts and voice mail but will not work on the special 3G functions.

Being old cronies we are happy to use our old phones on 3 sims for the calls, texts, and voice. Will our old phones do this?

rash.m2k

3g Simcard will not work in non-3G phones - they are not supposed to.

However I know from experience that 3 sim WILL work in Nokia 6111 - BUT 3 will notice and the will tell you to stop using a non-3G phone. Or the will cancel your contract.

andrewmoorcroft

OK ive got my new 3 moby and my SIM does work in my old Nokia6111. I have got a recording of my telephone call to 3 sales when they told me i could use my old phone. I also have a screen dump of an online help chat with 3 saying i can use my old phone. However i am aware that the terms and conditions say i should use my new 3 phone and i do know someone else who was cut off!

Q1/ How do 3 know that your not using the phone supplied?

Q2/ Is there anything i can do in the phone set up so they will not know i'm not using the right phone?

Q3/ I'm thinking of getting my daughter a 3 contract but i want to stop her doing anything but voice/text. Is there anything you can do in the set up of a 3 mobile phone to stop it being used for anything other than voice/text?

alanclose

rash.m2k wrote: »

3g Simcard will not work in non-3G phones - they are not supposed to.

However I know from experience that 3 sim WILL work in Nokia 6111 - BUT 3 will notice and the will tell you to stop using a non-3G phone. Or the will cancel your contract.

If they are the ones that cancel the contract what do they do about the financial commitment for the rest of the contract

mobyfix

andrewmoorcroft wrote: »

Q1/ How do 3 know that your not using the phone supplied?

Q2/ Is there anything i can do in the phone set up so they will not know i'm not using the right phone?

3 Will know because the non 3g phone uses GSM 1800 / GSM 900 technology that 3 does not have... they outsource a roaming partner ( I believe they use Orange now ) So ...

When they see that all your calls are ones that cost them money ( GSM - roaming to orange ) they start to put pressure on you and as a final resort will disconnect you.

Duncan

andrewmoorcroft

mobyfix wrote: »

3 Will know because the non 3g phone uses GSM 1800 / GSM 900 technology that 3 does not have... they outsource a roaming partner ( I believe they use Orange now ) So ...

When they see that all your calls are ones that cost them money ( GSM - roaming to orange ) they start to put pressure on you and as a final resort will disconnect you.

Duncan

Thanks. So are you saying that if i used a 3G phone with a 3 contract SIM (but not locked to 3) then they would never know and its the fact that you never use 3 network and always use a roaming network that raises suspicion?

I may have misundersood here but if you cant get a 3G signal from 3 they told me it would roam to orange or O2. If you live/work in a non 3 signal area then won't the suspicion that you are not using a 3mobile 3G phone anyway even if you WERE using the 3G phone supplied?

I realise that they are trying to get you to use there own network and 3G feature that makes them want you to use their phone. Its just there's so many brand new 3 locked phones on ebay and being an old croney i'd like to sell my new phone and keep my old phone but i guess readers have probably sussed that!

rickyc_3

firstly your imei is submit when you connect to a network. Secondly 3 will notice that you are roaming on orange or o2 in locations you can still receive 3g signal! ie gtting a very good contract from 3 but using orange or o2 in effect 3 will lose a lot of money!

riker71

Q1/ How do 3 know that your not using the phone supplied?

Because when your phone logs onto the network it send a signal to the HLR (home location register) and this shows the imei which identifies exactly what handset you are using with the 3 sim card.

Q2/ Is there anything i can do in the phone set up so they will not know i'm not using the right phone?

No

Q3/ I'm thinking of getting my daughter a 3 contract but i want to stop her doing anything but voice/text. Is there anything you can do in the set up of a 3 mobile phone to stop it being used for anything other than voice/text?

You should call customer services on 333 from your own handset to check this. Most operators can place a bar on adult sms and may also be able to place a premium sms bar on the network. You might also need to bar the 3g download/wap service to avoid her downloading content.

If you are looking for good value 3 contracts in my experience the best bet is to use quidco and search for three mobile, they give good cashback on 3 contracts (currently between £55 and £82.50 for contracts) Three mobile is the official 3 website and they have good offers, especially on clearance phones. I got an N80 refurb on direct talker 1000 (750 mins, 150 sms) for £17.50 per month for the whole 18 months contract PLUS £100 Quidco cashback, worked out less than £12/month overall. Give it a try they change the offers regularly

asandwhen

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