Would you buy an iPhone 6 outright .. or take a contract

WLM21

Our daughter (24) has an old iPhone 4 (actually a hand-me-down) from another daughter. She has a month by month SIM only deal with Carphone Warehouse.

My wife wants to buy her a new iPhone 6 which she can then continue to use on her CW SIM contract.

I say .. get a new contract.

Is there any benefit in buying a phone outright (apart from it being cheaper)

If the phone goes wrong on a contract, it'll be repaired free of charge .. what would happen if a bought phone breaks, say in the 2nd year.

Nobody I know has ever chosen the outright purchase option for any phone .. is there a reason for this ?

Cycrow

Buying the phone outright would work out cheaper (which is the main benefit) And it means you wont be stuck in a 2 year contract as well.

if the phone is faulty, you have the same rights to get it fixed. And you will probably have better luck getting it sorted than one on a contract and going via the network.

Most people dont buy them outright because they cant afford to

JJ_Egan

Outright no question as i don't want to pay over the odds . But i am almost certain never to buy an IPhone .

Bogof_Babe

I bought my iPhone 6 outright a few months ago, and have a £17 a month 1-year SIM contract from 3, which gives unlimited Internet, 200 minutes and unlimited texts. To get unlimited Internet as part of a plan which includes a phone, you'd be looking at £45-£50 a month.

Of course if you're not bothered about Internet access (I am because I travel a lot) then cheaper tariffs are available.

I'd always buy a phone outright now, and avoid the hefty monthly direct debits.

grumbler

WLM21 wrote: »

I say .. get a new contract.

Is there any benefit in buying a phone outright (apart from it being cheaper)

If it's really the case, is it not a sufficient benefit?

If the phone goes wrong on a contract, it'll be repaired free of charge ..

Not really. Your rights against the supplier under SoGA are the same for a contract and a sim-free phone, unless you buy from JL that is known to offer their own longer warranty.
Apple's warranty is 24 months only if you buy from them directly. Otherwise it's pathetic 12 months.

what would happen if a bought phone breaks, say in the 2nd year.

With a contract the network/supplier and Apple would fob you off and you'd have to jump through hoops to prove that it's a manufacturing fault.

Nobody I know has ever chosen the outright purchase option for any phone .. is there a reason for this ?

I don't want to offend those who you know.

GwylimT

Outright, its a lot cheaper and you can change your sim deal whenever you wish.

Roland_Sausage

I bought my 6S outright. My main motivation of course is that it works out cheaper.

But there are other advantages:

No long term commitment to a contract. There's always people on MSE who have taken a cut in income and can no longer afford their phone contracts. It won't happen to me.

Freedom to change provider if you are on a monthly contract.

Can sell the phone and buy a new one next year if you are one of those that must have the latest model (I probably won't do this).

I mainly did it for the money though.

WellKnownSid

+1 on all the above.

BTW - EE is a great iPhone provider because you get both VV support and native WiFi calling which is seamless and very high quality audio.

Going SIM-only gives you access to some very good deals that contract tariffs don't come close to. And of course at the end of most contracts - you literally start pouring money down the drain unless you do something about it right away.

Contract is no panacea either. There are plenty of horror stories on here where providers refuse to repair phones only 13 months into a 24 month contract.

Look at it another way. If you can't afford the phone outright, you probably can't afford the contract...

Topper1900

Think people posting on this thread are slightly behind the times as this week's Black Friday deals have now made getting a 6S on contract the cheapest option.

I've just ordered an ee phone for £35 per month with unlimited texts & calls plus double speed 4GB data, I couldn't beat £40 per month buying it out right as I usually do even with a Giffgaff sim etc on inferior networks. It has the added bonus I don't have to lay out £500+ on the phone in a lump sum.

HappyMJ

Outright any day.

I switched my OH's SIM only deal yesterday from £12 (unlimited everything) to £1.75 per month (after automatic cashback). The new deal is no longer unlimited but the limits are very good. 1000 minutes, unlimited texts and 3GB data.

WellKnownSid

Topper1900 wrote: »

Think people posting on this thread are slightly behind the times as this week's Black Friday deals have now made getting a 6S on contract the cheapest option.

I've just ordered an ee phone for £35 per month with unlimited texts & calls plus double speed 4GB data, I couldn't beat £40 per month buying it out right as I usually do even with a Giffgaff sim etc on inferior networks. It has the added bonus I don't have to lay out £500+ on the phone in a lump sum.

Depends which 6s you get. I pay 7.99 for that tariff particular with EE sim only - so your phone is costing you £648 - my 64GB 6s was £619, plus I'm on a 12 month not 24 month contract, which has it's own benefits.