Using an English mobile on the Isle of Man

Ghostlike

I'd like to buy my mum, who lives on the Isle of Man, a Nokia Lumia from the Carphone Warehouse (here in London), sim-free, as they're quite cheap at the moment. Problem is the Isle of Man only has Manx Telecom, not O2, etc. If I buy either an O2 PAYG Nokia, or an Orange one, etc, will my mum be able to insert her own Manx Telecom sim in it and use it in the IoM or will the phone be locked to only allow one network to be used in it? Hope this makes sense.

NB: when I visit the IoM my English phone (an iPhone on O2) is classed as roaming so I can't make or receive calls without paying a small fortune. So she definitely couldn't just use an English sim card in the phone.

Thanks.

Tony5101

If the phone is sim-free then she can put it whichever sim she likes.
IIRC - most phones from CPW are sim free - and they just bundle them with a sim themselves. You'l probably still have to buy an O2 topup to go with the new phone sim - but you don't need to use it - IYSWIM.

Ghostlike

Tony5101 wrote: »

If the phone is sim-free then she can put it whichever sim she likes.
IIRC - most phones from CPW are sim free - and they just bundle them with a sim themselves. You'l probably still have to buy an O2 topup to go with the new phone sim - but you don't need to use it - IYSWIM.

Perfect, thanks. Sure, I don't mind buying some initial top-up (and she can save the English sim card for when she visits me in London) so that works out well. I read a lot of conflicting posts on here about whether CPW phones come locked or unlocked so thanks, I appreciate that.

NFH

Ghostlike wrote: »

I read a lot of conflicting posts on here about whether CPW phones come locked or unlocked

Their arrangement with iPhones is well known, but I don't know whether the same applies to other phones. CPW supply SIM-locked iPhones but they use the same stock of iPhones for all networks. Therefore the iPhones are supplied unlocked but become locked to the network of the first SIM card that is inserted. Make sure the same doesn't happen with the phone that you're planning to buy, because if it's a network not supported by CPW (e.g. a non-UK network), you'll have a tough time getting it unlocked.