I have an iPhone 4 on PAYG and I'm considering buying an as new ("New other" in ebay language) iPhone 5 as a stopgap before probably getting a 6 next year. I've been looking lots of listings and some info from people more experienced than me would help me to understand what's out there. In particular.
I see some phones that from the description and pack shots are clearly still in the original sealed boxes and are described as unwanted upgrades from a network (O2, Vodafone, etc). These phones are typically described as unlocked and some descriptions go on to say that they will lock onto the first network (sim) inserted. Is this true or can they be pre-locked to the network in some cases? If the phones are being sent out as contract updates then I wouldn't be at all surprised if some or all vendors pre-locked the upgrade to their network and if the phone is still in the cellophane-sealed box then clearly the seller hasn't tested the unlocked claim.
If a phone is pre-locked to a network because it was a contract phone or upgrade then is it just the network that's locked, i.e. I could use a PAYG sim in the phone provided it was from the same network?
I see some phones as advertised with a 90 day guarantee from Apple. Is this a standard Apple guarantee on a refurb? If not then what does the fact that it's a 90 day guarantee tell me, if anything, about where the phone came from?
Are there other tell-tale things in the seller's descriptions that can give me an idea of where the phone came from?
I see some phones that from the description and pack shots are clearly still in the original sealed boxes and are described as unwanted upgrades from a network (O2, Vodafone, etc). These phones are typically described as unlocked and some descriptions go on to say that they will lock onto the first network (sim) inserted. Is this true or can they be pre-locked to the network in some cases? If the phones are being sent out as contract updates then I wouldn't be at all surprised if some or all vendors pre-locked the upgrade to their network and if the phone is still in the cellophane-sealed box then clearly the seller hasn't tested the unlocked claim.
If a phone is pre-locked to a network because it was a contract phone or upgrade then is it just the network that's locked, i.e. I could use a PAYG sim in the phone provided it was from the same network?
I see some phones as advertised with a 90 day guarantee from Apple. Is this a standard Apple guarantee on a refurb? If not then what does the fact that it's a 90 day guarantee tell me, if anything, about where the phone came from?
Are there other tell-tale things in the seller's descriptions that can give me an idea of where the phone came from?