Mobile firms to be banned from selling 'locked' phones - MSE News

Mobile companies will be banned from selling 'locked' phones which only work with their network, under new rules coming into force at the end of next year...

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'Mobile firms to be banned from selling 'locked' phones'

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  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,376 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    But why so long before it happens?
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,469 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    But why so long before it happens?
    Money is normally the answer to most delays

    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • Presumably the contract will still in force. So you can switch the unlocked phone to a new provider but must continue paying the old contract.
  • Not sure this is a helpful change for consumers. Had plenty of payg handsets in the past substantially reduced because they came locked to a network. A £4 unlock code from Ebay and shove a better deal sim in, great. I am sure the networks knew this happened to some handsets but it was still worth discounting in general.
    Such opportunities will disappear now as all handsets will be sold at full retail price.
  • pmduk
    pmduk Posts: 10,671 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I'm sure Apple, and perhaps Samsung, are scrabbling around trying to find a way round this.
  • Chino
    Chino Posts: 2,031 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 28 October 2020 at 3:42PM
    Yet again, Ofcom wades in to regulate things that should be left to the market; consumers have a choice between buying (generally) more expensive unlocked phones and (generally) cheaper locked phones and it should be their decision which to buy.

    Those "over a third of people who decided not to switch mobile provider" identified by Ofcom are doing nothing more than making excuses for their own laziness in not shopping around.
  • pmduk said:
    I'm sure Apple, and perhaps Samsung, are scrabbling around trying to find a way round this.
    how do you work that one out?
  • Chino said:
    Yet again, Ofcom wades in to regulate things that should be left to the market; consumers have a choice between buying (generally) more expensive unlocked phones and (generally) cheaper locked phones and it should be their decision which to buy.

    Those "over a third of people who decided not to switch mobile provider" identified by Ofcom are doing nothing more than making excuses for their own laziness in not shopping around.
    Nope good idea 
  • liggerz87
    liggerz87 Posts: 405 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Thats good but I hate how the networks have there own software on phones like I have a Samsung and the software version is btu meaning I get updates direct from Samsung no network interference 
  • dobbiesloan
    dobbiesloan Posts: 2,238 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    My friends granddaughter who is with Tesco got a new phone for her birthday from them, switcher sim between phones and carried on with her plan. So she gave her old one to her grandfather, he put in his Labara sim and it was not recognized. Turns out the phone is locked to Tesco, What is the cheapest way to get it unlocked?

    GONE ENGLAND
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