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The U.K. iPhone 4 Thread

Got my release day iPhone 4 32gb replaced on Saturday at the Apple store.

Was constantly getting the "No Sim" error. Took several boots and turning airplane mode off/on repeatedly before it would go away. Was so annoying.

Genius in the Apple store ran some diagnostics on the device and confirmed it was borked.

Anyone else had the same issue?
 
Hi guys

I'm an owner of an unlocked iPhone 4 (bought in Italy for a full price). I'm not currently in UK but I'll moving to London later this month and thus I was thinking about tying me up to a contract because of the convenience. The thing is, I have O2 (used it with 3GS) and was constantly toping it up but at the end of the day I was spending like 25 pounds a month without not much in return (I'm heavy internet and sms user).

So, I was thinking about Simplicity and contract like that where you pay 25-30 pounds a month for unlimited sms, internet and at least 300min of calls. Switching my carrier IS an option. I'd like to have a good coverage in London and good internet (you know, fair usage conditions and stuff like that).

I would appreciate if you can advise me something! I'd like to sort this thing out before coming to UK because once in UK I'll be phone-less (I have no microSim), so I'll need to go to a store (O2/Vodafone) and make a definitive choice. What's worse, O2 website is not accessible from outside of UK, so I can't make a comparison. And even if I could, the internet thing is the trickiest part, I need some real life case studies.

Thank you again
 
I am on O2 with a £20 Simplicity account, my wife has a £15 Simplicity account. Both are very satisfactory, and give the full range of iPhone services, unlike Vodafone, which does not offer Visual Voicemail.
 
skunk said:
I am on O2 with a £20 Simplicity account, my wife has a £15 Simplicity account. Both are very satisfactory, and give the full range of iPhone services, unlike Vodafone, which does not offer Visual Voicemail.
Click to expand...


Vodafone has no Visual Voicemail? Really? It's not like I've ever used it, but I would like to...

How about internet? As far as I remember, O2 offers only 500Mb, meanwhile Vodafone has 1Gb cap. I'd like to start cycling/jogging in the morning whilst listening to BBC radio. Do you think 500Mb will do the job?

Btw, in UK can I change the carrier and maintain my number?
 
Dias said:
Vodafone has no Visual Voicemail? Really? It's not like I've ever used it, but I would like to...
Click to expand...

Only O2 has Visual Voicemail.

Dias said:
How about internet? As far as I remember, O2 offers only 500Mb, meanwhile Vodafone has 1Gb cap. I'd like to start cycling/jogging in the morning whilst listening to BBC radio. Do you think 500Mb will do the job?
Click to expand...

With O2, the limit isn't a fixed cap. They will just slow your speed when you reach the limit. I'm not sure what Vodafone does. If you want more data with O2 you can buy an add on to get it.

Note that you can't listen to the BBC's Official Radio streams on iPhone because the iPhone doesn't support the format the BBC uses. Some third party apps allow it though. Some networks wont allow you to stream radio under the terms of their contract.

Dias said:
Btw, in UK can I change the carrier and maintain my number?
Click to expand...

Yes you can.
 
Dias said:
snip
Click to expand...

3mobile £15 a month 30 day contract link
# 300 minutes
# 3000 texts
# 1GB internet
# 2000 Three-to-Three minutes
# Free voicemail

and the internet data can be used for anything including skype so it's pretty good. and the data can be used for free tethering
 
Tesco have a special off on at the moment, £5 off their two data tariffs.

£10 for 500 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data
£15 for 750 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data

I dont work for Tesco. They use O2 but also are missing visual voicemail. Both on rolling contracts. Offer ends next week.
 
dalvin200 said:
what a great adventure :)

how comes there was no staff to actually ensure that the order your queued up outside was the order you got served inside? instead of all this running up travelators (gladiators tv show style!)?

anyway, regarding the warranty - it's an APPLE product, so of course, it's covered for 12 months by the manufacturer (ie, apple :))

enjoy your phone :)
Click to expand...

thanks, i will! ;)

Simply because the staff opening the doors did not work in the phone shop area. With queue jumpers and problems already, I doubt Tesco staff wanted to get involved.

Most people were just planning to walk but the people who jumped in, ran - so I guess everyone decided to run.

Some additional info - even though they offer the PAYG model online, if you do find a Tesco store that has iPhones in stock - you can only get the contract ones. They will not sell you a PAYG phone in the stores. If you do the maths however, the PAYG is slightly more expensive. Here's a breakdown (these prices are based on 32GB model):

PAYG handset only price - £570

Calls - £10 top up gives you £30 credit at 20p a minute = 150 minutes
Texts - 10p
PAYG minimum topup - £10 x 12 months = £120
Total cost for 1 year - £570 + 120 = £690

Calls - £20 top up gives you £60 credit at 20p a minute = 300 minutes
Texts - 10p
PAYG minimum topup - £20 x 12 months = £240
Total cost for 1 year - £570 + 240 = £810

Contract handset only price - £429

Monthly tariff - £20
Calls - 250 mins inclusive
Texts - Unlimited
Minimum monthly contract - £20 x 12 months = £240
Total cost for 1 year - £429 + 120 = £669

Both PAYG and contract offer 1GB of data a month and unlimited access to BT OpenZone Wifi hotspots. Even though you get 50 extra minutes on the £20 PAYG top up every month (300 mins) over a year compared to the contract per month (250 mins), remember that on PAYG you are charged for every text message. By sending any text messages, you wont get the full 300 mins. So overall it is better to go for the £20 contract anyways.
 
Thank you for your feedbacks guys.

Too bad O2 is the only carrier to have Visual Voicemail. I've searched on Vodafone's forum and just yesterday one of the representative confirmed that Vodafone has no plan to support Visual Voicemail. What a shame...

It's not like I have ever used it, but as a student from the end of this month I might need it. A lot.

As for BBC, I've been using FStream on my iPhone for some time. It's a little bit ugly but does the job. Haven't used for a while so I have no idea whether multitasking has been enabled.

Speaking of 3Mobile, I've always heard mixed reviews. Customers service is defined unanimously....well, pretty crappy, but that factor aside the service itself is not bad (if you have the coverage). I'm curious about that Skype stuff actually. Can you confirm that I can use my iPhone's official Skype application to call/chat with my Skype contacts for free/gratis?
 
Fuzzy14 said:
Tesco have a special off on at the moment, £5 off their two data tariffs.

£10 for 500 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data
£15 for 750 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data

I dont work for Tesco. They use O2 but also are missing visual voicemail. Both on rolling contracts. Offer ends next week.
Click to expand...

Could you kindly provide a link to this offer? Can't seem to find it on their official website...thanks!
 
Fuzzy14 said:
Offer ends next week.
Click to expand...

Actually offer ends October 10th. Tesco said this offer would be available online however it is only currently available in Tesco phones shops or by calling 0800 433 4990.

Flyer proof:

2h3q1i9.jpg


I too don't work for Tescos either, but just letting you guys know where the good deals are! :D Unlike many other networks - at this price they have no problem with you using it in an iPhone.
 
Dias said:
Speaking of 3Mobile, I've always heard mixed reviews. Customers service is defined unanimously....well, pretty crappy, but that factor aside the service itself is not bad (if you have the coverage). I'm curious about that Skype stuff actually. Can you confirm that I can use my iPhone's official Skype application to call/chat with my Skype contacts for free/gratis?
Click to expand...

yes you can use the official skype app on 3G but it will come out of your data, I am also pretty sure you can buy more data (£5 for 1GB) http://ask3.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BI...Doc,varset_iPhonehelpbckDisp=1,Case=obj(1841)

as for the customer service I have only ever called them once and they seemed as good as any other call centre, but in all honesty how often would you need to call them?
 
androiphone said:
yes you can use the official skype app on 3G but it will come out of your data, I am also pretty sure you can buy more data (£5 for 1GB) http://ask3.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BI...Doc,varset_iPhonehelpbckDisp=1,Case=obj(1841)

as for the customer service I have only ever called them once and they seemed as good as any other call centre, but in all honesty how often would you need to call them?
Click to expand...


Well, hopefully not much (never called O2), I was just weighting the pro and cons of each services.

Thank you for the link, it makes more sense now. It's not free, it's free*. :D
If I have to use my data allowance to make Skype calls (which I can do with every carrier I guess), I'd rather call them directly using my phone minutes (mainly because of quality/reliability).
 
OMGitsShan said:
Actually offer ends October 10th. Tesco said this offer would be available online however it is only currently available in Tesco phones shops or by calling 0800 433 4990.

Flyer proof:

2h3q1i9.jpg


I too don't work for Tescos either, but just letting you guys know where the good deals are! :D Unlike many other networks - at this price they have no problem with you using it in an iPhone.
Click to expand...

Cheers for this mate, cleared it up. However, small print states that data isn't quite unlimited as claimed - limit is 500 MB. Three seems a better deal with Data at 1 GB for 15 pounds a month unless you need the extra 200 mins of calling. Still, the Tesco deal is very nice, although I guess you need to transform the SIM into micro-SIM yourself, which isn't a big deal...
 
Dias said:
Well, hopefully not much (never called O2), I was just weighting the pro and cons of each services.

Thank you for the link, it makes more sense now. It's not free, it's free*. :D
If I have to use my data allowance to make Skype calls (which I can do with every carrier I guess), I'd rather call them directly using my phone minutes (mainly because of quality/reliability).
Click to expand...

at least you can use skype on 3G all the other carriers block the skype app from making voip calls on 3G, 3 mobile is the only network that 'gets' that you pay for your 1GB of data so you can use that 1GB of data on voip or video streaming.

is is a shame because on pretty much everyother phone you can install 3 mobiles skype app and just call for 100% free not even a need to top up.
 
Sorry I'm in the wrong month!
Tesco have got micro-SIMs, they sell iPhone 4s.

The 'unlimited texts' is actually 3000 per month. The way I read the small print the data is unlimited subject to fair use policy, but based on that ambiguity I might go in and ask because I might hit about 500MB per month.
 
I can't believe that Apple stores still don't have enough stock of iPhones to meet demand. I went to the Bluewater store today and they had no idea when more stock was coming and I was advised to order online. Is this common place throughout the UK still?
 
WOW can't believe it, my iPhone 4 was supposed to arrive on 21 September but it just arrived now! (8th September), thanks a lot Apple :D you saved me a good 13 days :apple:
 
Maziar said:
WOW can't believe it, my iPhone 4 was supposed to arrive on 21 September but it just arrived now! (8th September), thanks a lot Apple :D you saved me a good 13 days :apple:
Click to expand...


was it a 16 Gb or 32 Gb model? That's good...but far too good! I am travelling until sept 19 and have a sept 29 delivery date (ordered online on Monday afternoon) currently on my order status, hope I don't have to call up the courier company and tell them to hold up my parcel till I am back home!! Did anyone else experience such early deliveries in the UK recently?
 
TheBigApple2006 said:
was it a 16 Gb or 32 Gb model? That's good...but far too good! I am travelling until sept 19 and have a sept 29 delivery date (ordered online on Monday afternoon) currently on my order status, hope I don't have to call up the courier company and tell them to hold up my parcel till I am back home!! Did anyone else experience such early deliveries in the UK recently?
Click to expand...

Its 32GB,I hope yours arrive soon too :)
 
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