The Difference between Unlocked and Sim free Phones Explained

thompy

this confuses a lot of folk who think that a phone advertised as either unlocked or sim free are the same.


But the thing is, they are completely different.


An unlocked phone is a phone which has previously been locked to a network and had an unlock code put into it in order to use a different networks simcard.


A sim free phone, Is a phone which has been purchased with no carrier lock and will take any simcard straight out of the box.


so both are the same in the end you might say?


Wrong.


If you are purchasing a phone from online websites or auction sites, you really need to have your whits about you.


its not uncommon for people to sell unlocked phones on auctions sites,which have been "upgrades" from their network, only for the phone to be "Blacklisted" after a few months,due to the seller not paying their bills.


If this happens, then you have purchased a "Brick" or Doorstop as they are called, because basically that is all they are good for once they become Blacklisted by the network.
(If the phone was originally on, lets say Vodafone (though its the same for Any UK network), and they blacklist the phones imei, then the phone cannot be used on any network in the UK as all UK networks cross blacklist)


A sim free phone cannot become Blacklisted as the phone has been purchased outright and does not have or never has had a "network lock" on the phone. any simcard can be used right out of the box.


Sim free phones do sell for a bit more than unlocked phones for this reason.


but if you do intend on buying a phone on auction sites, please message the seller and ask this question, as most I have contacted don't know the difference and list their phone as unlocked/sim free. which I have explained are totally different things.


Many thanks for reading this and I hope it helps you in your search for the genuine sim free phone.

System

The IMEI blacklist is for stolen phones not unpaid bills.

Sim free phones can be blacklisted if they are reported stolen regardless of the sim lock status.

Networks don't blacklist phones for unpaid bills. It's usually because the upgrader reports the phone as stolen after selling it on to get a new phone from the network or insurance company.

thompy wrote: »

its not uncommon for people to sell unlocked phones on auctions sites,which have been "upgrades" from their network, only for the phone to be "Blacklisted" after a few months,due to the seller not paying their bills.

If this happens, then you have purchased a "Brick" or Doorstop as they are called, because basically that is all they are good for once they become Blacklisted by the network.
(If the phone was originally on, lets say Vodafone (though its the same for Any UK network), and they blacklist the phones imei, then the phone cannot be used on any network in the UK as all UK networks cross blacklist)

A sim free phone cannot become Blacklisted as the phone has been purchased outright and does not have or never has had a "network lock" on the phone. any simcard can be used right out of the box.

thompy

TUT TUT TUT ,Sorry but what you are saying is untrue and uninformative.


All mobile providers Blacklist phones where the bills have been unpaid.


First step is to restrict the phone to incoming calls only.


Then after a period of between 2-3 months of no payments, the Provider blacklists the phone, resulting in "no service".


Also regarding sim free phones your wrong .


If you buy a genuine sim free phone which is advertised as new, then this cannot be blacklisted as you say.


who is going to blacklist it if its never been on any network?
who would it be reported stolen to if no network sim has ever been inserted?

JJ_Egan

Plus their are ways around a blacklisted phone/IMEI if you in the stolen phones business .

Earthworm

thompy wrote: »

TUT TUT TUT ,Sorry but what you are saying is untrue and uninformative.


All mobile providers Blacklist phones where the bills have been unpaid.


First step is to restrict the phone to incoming calls only.


Then after a period of between 2-3 months of no payments, the Provider blacklists the phone, resulting in "no service".


Also regarding sim free phones your wrong .


If you buy a genuine sim free phone which is advertised as new, then this cannot be blacklisted as you say.


who is going to blacklist it if its never been on any network?
who would it be reported stolen to if no network sim has ever been inserted?

I think you are mistaking a SIM being restricted with a phone being blacklisted. When you don't pay your bill only calls out are stopped and eventually the SIM completely. The only reason I could think of that a network would blacklisted the phone would be if it was reported stolen. You cant blacklist a phone and then bill the user for the remaining line rental. That is unless you show me the terms that state otherwise.

Supatramp

I'm sorry OP, but if anybody is confused, it's you!!

""An unlocked phone is a phone which has previously been locked to a network and had an unlock code put into it in order to use a different networks simcard.""


That's basically rubbish! A phone comes from the manufacturer, unlocked. If that handset doesn't go to one of the SPs, it remains unlocked. There are plenty of suppliers from whom you can buy a handset, who aren't SPs.



""A sim free phone, Is a phone which has been purchased with no carrier lock and will take any simcard straight out of the box.""


Again rubbish. It's perfectly possible to buy a handset from one of the SPs, locked to their system, but without a sim. If you have another SP's sim, you could then get the phone unlocked so that the other SP's sim can be used in it.

Anoneemoose

thompy wrote: »

TUT TUT TUT ,Sorry but what you are saying is untrue and uninformative.


All mobile providers Blacklist phones where the bills have been unpaid.


First step is to restrict the phone to incoming calls only.


Then after a period of between 2-3 months of no payments, the Provider blacklists the phone, resulting in "no service".


Also regarding sim free phones your wrong .


If you buy a genuine sim free phone which is advertised as new, then this cannot be blacklisted as you say.


who is going to blacklist it if its never been on any network?
who would it be reported stolen to if no network sim has ever been inserted?

I can categorically tell you that Orange, T-Mobile and EE DO NOT blacklist phones for unpaid bills. ONLY for lost/stolen or at a customer's request.

Number29

thompy wrote: »

this confuses a lot of folk who think that a phone advertised as either unlocked or sim free are the same.


But the thing is, they are completely different.


An unlocked phone is a phone which has previously been locked to a network and had an unlock code put into it in order to use a different networks simcard.


A sim free phone, Is a phone which has been purchased with no carrier lock and will take any simcard straight out of the box.


so both are the same in the end you might say?


Wrong.


If you are purchasing a phone from online websites or auction sites, you really need to have your whits about you.


its not uncommon for people to sell unlocked phones on auctions sites,which have been "upgrades" from their network, only for the phone to be "Blacklisted" after a few months,due to the seller not paying their bills.


If this happens, then you have purchased a "Brick" or Doorstop as they are called, because basically that is all they are good for once they become Blacklisted by the network.
(If the phone was originally on, lets say Vodafone (though its the same for Any UK network), and they blacklist the phones imei, then the phone cannot be used on any network in the UK as all UK networks cross blacklist)


A sim free phone cannot become Blacklisted as the phone has been purchased outright and does not have or never has had a "network lock" on the phone. any simcard can be used right out of the box.


Sim free phones do sell for a bit more than unlocked phones for this reason.


but if you do intend on buying a phone on auction sites, please message the seller and ask this question, as most I have contacted don't know the difference and list their phone as unlocked/sim free. which I have explained are totally different things.


Many thanks for reading this and I hope it helps you in your search for the genuine sim free phone.

I think your definitions are back to front.

An unlocked phone (which doesn't ever have to have been locked) is a phone which can be used with the sim card of any network.

A sim free phone is a phone which you buy sans any sort of sim. These can be locked (as Carphone Warehouse's sim free but network locked iPhones show).

forgotmyname

My phone is unlocked. Provided by Voda on a contract but it will take any SIM. Its not locked to Voda. I can stick an Orange SIM in it.

My sisters ex BF has several Iphones that have not been blocked despite him not paying the bill.

grumbler

thompy wrote: »

this confuses a lot of folk who think that a phone advertised as either unlocked or sim free are the same.


But the thing is, they are completely different.


An unlocked phone is a phone which has previously been locked to a network and had an unlock code put into it in order to use a different networks simcard.

I have never seen a sim-free phone advertised as 'unlocked' (except, possibly on ebay), but like you I find the commonly used term 'unlocked' confusing. It implies that the phone was locked and then unlocked, that isn't the case for sim-free phones.

IMHO, the term 'not locked' would be more appropriate as a synonym of 'sim-free'.

d123

thompy wrote: »

TUT TUT TUT ,Sorry but what you are saying is untrue and uninformative.
All mobile providers Blacklist phones where the bills have been unpaid.
First step is to restrict the phone to incoming calls only.
Then after a period of between 2-3 months of no payments, the Provider blacklists the phone, resulting in "no service".

Completely wrong with regard to blacklisting.

Anoneemoose wrote: »

I can categorically tell you that Orange, T-Mobile and EE DO NOT blacklist phones for unpaid bills. ONLY for lost/stolen or at a customer's request.

Agreed, though when I worked there we also blacklisted handsets that were fraudulent connections. Never for bad debt though.

grumbler wrote: »

IMHO, the term 'not locked' would be more appropriate as a synonym of 'sim-free'.

Agreed.

That is, unless you are CPW and then sim free can also just mean there is no sim (but the phone will still be sim locked after first use :mad:).