Bill credits aren't a common tactic, mostly you end up with a small or zero payment upfront and then a set amount for 24 months unless they separate the cost of plan and phone.
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UK Ban on Sale of Locked Handsets to Come into Effect December 2021
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The locking thing was the curb switching carriers on the carriers dime, as you suggested. I do not believe the carriers will go back to that situation, who knows what they will do.
They only lose in that it’s a few steps less to move to another carrier - just get a pac code and swap the sim in your phone rather than get it unlocked first - so people are more likely to change at the end of their contract if the carrier is rubbish, or even too expensive.
I had this problem on an EE phone where I wanted to include a work related Vodafone SIM and move my personal EE Sim to an e-sim. Had to wait twelve months before they would allow.
As the article states, many of our networks already sell their handsets unlocked. 02 before they sold handsets unlocked would offer you the chance to unlock your handset free of charge. They still offer this for handsets that have been sold previously to their new no locking rules.
If you get a contract and fail to pay theirs many ways they can get you, and in fact locking a phone was never a way to prevent this as people would be willing to buy and sell a phone which was locked to certain networks, including the main resellers.
If you get a contract and fail to pay theirs many ways they can get you, and in fact locking a phone was never a way to prevent this as people would be willing to buy and sell a phone which was locked to certain networks, including the main resellers.
I appreciate it is an ineffective way of preventing failure to pay problems. But, if not that, why did they bother?
I suspect they saw people remain with them rather than go through the (fairly minor) annoyance of getting their phone unlocked.
In all honesty it really was just a way to retain a customer. So long as that phone was in use, someone would have to use that network whilst the phone was locked, be it on a contract sim or pay as you go.
The process also goes back to Pre-iPhone/smart phone days when networks had much more control on phone manufacturers and networks largely seemed to offer very much the same deals with a few exclusive phones.
Back then it was a way of making sure you never bought exclusive phones and went to another network or just bought you phone from one network provider and left because a different network was offering a better deal.
It actually happened quite a lot, as pay as you go phones were much more common to contract phones. One month you would have one network offering 10p texts and a month later another network would for a limited time offer 5p texts, so it was a way to prevent people from swapping networks.
The iPhone came along and I think after the first year or so when it was an 02 exclusive, it suddenly made phones more popular and then ultimately Apple decided to sell their phones unlocked when they had multiple networks signed up. They then went further by offering more incentives and ways to buy the iPhone directly from them and the networks suddenly had to take down their barriers as it was much easier to get an iPhone away from them.
Some networks cling on to the locking of their phones, but in reality it serves little purpose.
Apple has proven you do not need to lock handsets. Telco’s could just move to models similar to the IUP and simply give bill credits until the phone is paid off or if the customer leaves before Fulfilling the contract. From the the customer would be liable for the balance and transferring the burden of the remaining balance onto the lender.
This has made working with cell phones much easier in Canada since December 2017. Good to see the UK moving forward. If you are in Canada and still have a locked phone, call your carrier and get it unlocked for free now so that you don't get stuck in the future needing to unlock it.
SIM locking was banned in Canada on December 1, 2017 as part of amendments to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's Wireless Code. All new devices in Canada must be sold unlocked, and carriers must offer to unlock existing phones free-of-charge.
en.wikipedia.org
www.whistleout.ca
SIM locking was banned in Canada on December 1, 2017 as part of amendments to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's Wireless Code. All new devices in Canada must be sold unlocked, and carriers must offer to unlock existing phones free-of-charge.
Cell Phone Freedom Act - Wikipedia
Canadians Can Unlock Their Phone and Switch Carriers for Free
Find out if your phone is unlocked, how to do it, and where to save money by switching carriers.
www.whistleout.ca
I can’t remember the last time (in NL) my phone was locked. Even when part of a contract. (Stopped doing that years ago, because it was listed as debt). Maybe my iphone 3G was, but nothing after that.
but I buy the phones directly from Apple now. (Because then they have to fulfill warranty)
but I buy the phones directly from Apple now. (Because then they have to fulfill warranty)
Quite right too. It is very easy to unlock in the U.K. now though, a simple request in the carriers app and it’s done within the hour.
With EE has to be after 6 months of purchase and a cost of £8. With EE after 18 months they unlock the devices automatically. Looks like EE aren’t happy about this but will have no choice.
It stopped when subsidised phone plans where not allowed anymore by law.
Locking phones is criminal IMO.