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A nice lady sold me a white 16GB iPhone 3g this morning at the Leamington Spa O2 store. She fiddled about with the SIM card from a special iPhone PAYG envelope for a bit then scanned the sealed iPhone and top up in.

£399.99 + £10 top up, all good.
Am I right in thinking that there is no difference between contract and PAYG iPhones and that they are picked from the same stock, the only difference being the sim card that is supplied?
 
Can anyone confirm that they’ve been able to use their Simplicity or other month to month O2 SIM with a PAYG iPhone?
 
I asked yesterday if they had white in and a guy said there was only 1 white one left.

Carphone Warehouse up the road said they only had 8GB yesterday but were getting a delivery of iPhones that day.

Don't know about today, when I bought mine she didn't say anything about it being the last one. I think the earlier comment was a bit of a ploy as he didn't check or anything.

Many, many thanks - can't get there until Thursday - will call first !

Enjoy your new phone :)
 
Can anyone confirm that they’ve been able to use their Simplicity or other month to month O2 SIM with a PAYG iPhone?

You can use your existing o2 sim - you just need to tell them in store.

Can confirm that it is a "contract configured" iPhone that they give you - you even have to adjust the APN settings to make data work with Pay&Go (nice sticker on the sim pack!).

They only had a handful in their Liverpool Street (London) branch with the Moorgate branch sold out - these are main stores in the City.

Hope this helps!

Adam
 
Why do I need to tell them in-store that I want to use my Simplicity SIM? If I activate the PAYG SIM then insert my O2 Simplicity SIM at home, wouldn't that work too?
 
I hardly use a phone, I just want it for internet in my pocket even when I'm out in the countryside, so pay as you go is perfect for me.

I'm just a bit confused about this unlimited for 12 months then 10 pounds per month offer.

If I find myself a bit broke and can't afford the 10 per month after the free year will i still be able to surf on on other wi fi networks e.g my own wi fi broadband or my local coffee shop/hotel?

They also say no more unlimited after 12 months. anyone know what that really means?
 
Got mine this morning at the Swansea O2 store at 9.30am wanted a white one, the man in shop wasnt sure if he had any white ones left, so he went to check for me, and said that they had 3 left. Purchased that plus £10 top up, he did say that i was the first to buy one, and he wasnt sure if they had to do the top-up instore, and no-one from other stores had rang to say what to do, so he asked me if i wouldnt mind topping up in store, not bothered, otherwise it just ment me going from o2 to another store to top up? Same difference.

So im happy with mine, even tho i havent activated it yet, as i have been painting lol
 
I hardly use a phone, I just want it for internet in my pocket even when I'm out in the countryside, so pay as you go is perfect for me.

I'm just a bit confused about this unlimited for 12 months then 10 pounds per month offer.

If I find myself a bit broke and can't afford the 10 per month after the free year will i still be able to surf on on other wi fi networks e.g my own wi fi broadband or my local coffee shop/hotel?

They also say no more unlimited after 12 months. anyone know what that really means?

The wording on the sim pack is quite strange:

"At the end of the 12-month period you will start to be automatically charged £10 per month for the O2 Web and Wi-Fi Bolt On."

They say on their website that they'll send you an SMS in good time so you can cancel it if you want to. I wonder how they "automatically charge" you without your card details, etc.

Regardless you'll still be able to connect to your own networks. They just mean O2 Wifi networks.

Why do I need to tell them in-store that I want to use my Simplicity SIM? If I activate the PAYG SIM then insert my O2 Simplicity SIM at home, wouldn't that work too?

I'm not sure - they said you had to change the sim card to the new one. Maybe jailbreaking it gets round that problem? Also you may find yourself being automatically charged for this wifi/web bolton after 12 months.


Adam
 
I don't think you have to top-up £10. However, in order to use the phone as a phone you need to top-up and the minimum top-up is £10. The sales people like to be ambiguous about this, and make you feel silly not topping up.

i went to cpw this morning and tried to buy but they couldn't do it without my topping up and i'm suffiently topped up so i went to o2 instead.

Am I right in thinking that there is no difference between contract and PAYG iPhones and that they are picked from the same stock, the only difference being the sim card that is supplied?

i asked at o2 if the phone i was getting was the same as the pay monthly and i was told it was.
 
I hardly use a phone, I just want it for internet in my pocket even when I'm out in the countryside, so pay as you go is perfect for me.

I'm just a bit confused about this unlimited for 12 months then 10 pounds per month offer.

If I find myself a bit broke and can't afford the 10 per month after the free year will i still be able to surf on on other wi fi networks e.g my own wi fi broadband or my local coffee shop/hotel?

They also say no more unlimited after 12 months. anyone know what that really means?

If you don't pay the £10 bolt on after your free 12 months then you won't be able to surf via 3g when out and about - but be careful they don't start charging per mb and take it from your credit. However you can surf on your own or other wifi networks that let you regardless. My local pub has free wifi which is great.

I think that the unlimited deal is actually upto 200mb a month over 3g (i.e. not really unlimited).

Hope that helps
 
They say on their website that they'll send you an SMS in good time so you can cancel it if you want to. I wonder how they "automatically charge" you without your card details, etc.

They take it out of your top up credit - that's why you have to top up by at least £10 per month to keep the web bolt on going. They send you a text a few days before and if you don't have enough credit they stop the bolt on until you do. This is how it works on my 2G PAYG (except the bolt on is £7.50).
 
i've been wondering about the whole "simplicity SIM" card thing actually...
I have the current offer - £20 / month = 600mins + 1000texts + unlimited browsing (not wifi spots though) and I have this in my 1st gen iphone which is great.

So I was thinking I could buy a PAYG 3g iphone and put it in - this gets me over the mental block of paying £35 / month for the iphone but actually it doesn't save much money.

the 18month contract @£35 / month = £729

but the PAYG unit with my simplicity = £709

so paying £20 extra over the 18 months gets the wifi hotspot usage and effective 'credit' terms to offset the initial outlay of the PAYG unit!

Probably not worth it really - I think if you are thinking of using your simplicyt sim then you might as well bite the bullet and get one on contract.

the added benefit is that when they release the 3rd gen iphone next july you willl 'probably' get the option to renew the 18month contract (after just 12months) and get the latest unit. This won't be available to the PAYG'ers
 
Just got this reply from 02 about the internet access on the iphone.:

Thanks for emailing us to find out if you can access Internet using your own BT broadband account.

I'm sorry you won't be able to access Internet using your own BT broadband account or using a broadband account offered in a coffee shop. This means that you won't be able to access Internet using a broadband account in or after your 12 month of free Wi-Fi access has ended.

You can also visit our website using the link given below for the most up to date information on iPhone:

www.o2.co.uk/iphone

Kind regards

Pramod Vishwakarma
O2 Customer Service


i had assummed that my iphone would pick up my bt broadband wi-fi internet at home and allow me to surf using my iphone with that in addition to 02 or as an alternative?
 
I'm sorry you won't be able to access Internet using your own BT broadband account

This can't be correct. The phone is identical to an iPhone on contract. I highly doubt they have crippled it to restrict which wi-fi networks you can join?!
 
They take it out of your top up credit - that's why you have to top up by at least £10 per month to keep the web bolt on going. They send you a text a few days before and if you don't have enough credit they stop the bolt on until you do. This is how it works on my 2G PAYG (except the bolt on is £7.50).

Do you mean so long as you have over £10 phone credit at the start of the month the unlimited data/wifi bolt on is free still? It sounded like the unlimited wifi was a separate £10 per month

I'm sorry you won't be able to access Internet using your own BT broadband account or using a broadband account offered in a coffee shop. This means that you won't be able to access Internet using a broadband account in or after your 12 month of free Wi-Fi access has ended.

Wow - I also thought after the 12 months it would become like an ipod touch and you could access your own wifi connection for free.
 
i had assummed that my iphone would pick up my bt broadband wi-fi internet at home and allow me to surf using my iphone with that in addition to 02 or as an alternative?

You assumed correctly. O2 Customer Services are talking bull. You will be able to use your iPhone on your home wifi or any other open wifi network, in the same way that anyone with an iPod Touch can access the internet without a subscription for the device itself.
 
Do you mean so long as you have over £10 phone credit at the start of the month the unlimited wifi bolt on is free still? It sounded like the unlimited wifi was a separate £10 per month

The web bolt on is £10 per month after the first 12 months but they take it from whatever credit you have on your phone. So if you top up by £20 the web bolt on will be taken out of that leaving you with £10 credit.

If you only top up by £10 a month then once the web bolt on is taken out, you'll be left with no credit on your phone.

So in effect you have to top up by a minimum of £10 per month just to keep your web bolt on going.
 
i've been wondering about the whole "simplicity SIM" card thing actually...
I have the current offer - £20 / month = 600mins + 1000texts + unlimited browsing (not wifi spots though) and I have this in my 1st gen iphone which is great.

So I was thinking I could buy a PAYG 3g iphone and put it in - this gets me over the mental block of paying £35 / month for the iphone but actually it doesn't save much money.

the 18month contract @£35 / month = £729

but the PAYG unit with my simplicity = £709

so paying £20 extra over the 18 months gets the wifi hotspot usage and effective 'credit' terms to offset the initial outlay of the PAYG unit!

Probably not worth it really - I think if you are thinking of using your simplicyt sim then you might as well bite the bullet and get one on contract.

the added benefit is that when they release the 3rd gen iphone next july you willl 'probably' get the option to renew the 18month contract (after just 12months) and get the latest unit. This won't be available to the PAYG'ers

There is a great deal of force in what you say. For many people, including me, the contract iPhone is the way to go but there is still a demand for the PAYG.
 
oops i followed the carphone warehouse link that someone posted and accidentally purchased an iphone.

:eek:............:D
 
Right can somebody confirm one little thing though about the O2 Pay as you go iPhone

Right now I'm on o2 pay as you go with a Sony ericsson and currently Email on it generally does not work. so what im asking is does email (either Gmail or Mobile me or well anything!) work on the pay as you go iPhone?

just the last little stumbling block for me :D
 
Right can somebody confirm one little thing though about the O2 Pay as you go iPhone

Right now I'm on o2 pay as you go with a Sony ericsson and currently Email on it generally does not work. so what im asking is does email (either Gmail or Mobile me or well anything!) work on the pay as you go iPhone?

just the last little stumbling block for me :D

It works like a dream though you have to get o2 to add iphone services on to your sim card which just changes a few settings I think. But I can check my Yahoo mail, Mobile Me & O2 accounts as well as any other pop accounts through the mail app on the iphone.

I used to have a Sony Ericsson and like you couldn't check email pop accounts. I used to have to do it through the browser.
 
Just got this reply from 02 about the internet access on the iphone.:

Thanks for emailing us to find out if you can access Internet using your own BT broadband account.

I'm sorry you won't be able to access Internet using your own BT broadband account or using a broadband account offered in a coffee shop. This means that you won't be able to access Internet using a broadband account in or after your 12 month of free Wi-Fi access has ended.

You can also visit our website using the link given below for the most up to date information on iPhone:

www.o2.co.uk/iphone

Kind regards

Pramod Vishwakarma
O2 Customer Service


i had assummed that my iphone would pick up my bt broadband wi-fi internet at home and allow me to surf using my iphone with that in addition to 02 or as an alternative?

The wording they are using is either written by morons or more likely intentionally ambiguous. What they're *actually* saying is that the free Wi-Fi access to BT's wireless hotspots and 'The Cloud', which comes with the normal 18 month contract (or this PAYG setup), ceases after the initial trial period and requires you to pay the £10 minimum for the 3G data bolt-on (which includes access to these hotspots).

You will still be able to connect to *your* home broadband, as well as any other wireless network that the iPhone is compatible with, regardless of the actual source of the connection. BTopenzone and Cloud wireless networks register the MAC address of devices (in this case, your iPhone), and attach this information to your network status, which is how they are able to restrict access to periods of time (e.g. 12 months).
 
Woo i got one today. I got it at about 2pm and was apparently the second person to get a PAYG that day. And the software is 2.0.1 so don't know if that is a cause to say that iPhones aren't being sold very quickly there or what? Any setting it up now, looks and feels a lot better than my ipod touch :D
 
got mine around 2 as well, shop was dead as usual. Activated it in the apple store few doors down because i was way too impatient to get home and do it. hehe. I tried to use my vodafone sim card with the unlock sims but no luck, just thought id try it and you never now.
 
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