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UK iPhone 4S thread.

javjamoll said:
Ahhh right. I've always only associated EMEA with the Middle East. First time I'm heard or got the full acronym. :eek:
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There are variations for the A in EMEA. Asia and Australasia.

In this context, it means the phones are coming from China to the EMEA Hub, which I think is in the Netherlands.

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baronbuzby said:
I'm patiently waiting for my iPhone 4s to be delivered by Apple, but how do you buy Applecare PLUS in the UK?

Doesn't mention it on the UK site.
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US only for now.
 
baronbuzby said:
I'm patiently waiting for my iPhone 4s to be delivered by Apple, but how do you buy Applecare PLUS in the UK?

Doesn't mention it on the UK site.
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I seems Applecare+ is only available in the USA (for now at least). Hopefully it will be extended to other regions soon, and hopefully we can buy it when it is (as in the US it has to be bought at the same time you buy your iPhone).
 
76 pages? gees...

Well i'm not going back through them but I hope people have been using quidco for orders in the uk ;)

Three are offering £115 cashback via them for the 4S pre orders. (£35 per month, 24 months). Shame to waste away such savings.
 
The-Barron said:
This!

has anyone had 3 customer service ring them to confirm their order, your identity and details?
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I can't speak for anyone else, but see my post here. Did you order online, if you had any problems and then successfully submitted an order it might be worth giving them a call to check it's all gone through, and make sure you didn't make 5 orders like I did!!
 
UK, iPhone 4S 32GB black, ordered around 8.15am last Friday.
My credit card was charged (the charge that checks the balance is available), and got the order confirmation email quite quickly.
My credit card "online banking" is quite good, as it updates the Available Balance usually within the hour of making a transaction, so saw the iPhone charge hit it.
As of yesterday, it was reversed, with my available balance being what it was BEFORE the iPhone charge.
Just checked again now, and my available balance has dropped again, to a balance that works out nicely that it's just been charged for the iPhone again...
Looks hopeful I'd say!

Status on Apple's website is still Processing Items though.
 
Vodafone have said earlier today that carriers of the iPhone will receive there stock on the 12th/13th and send them out strait away, hope this helps anybody wondering about when there carries will send the phone out.
 
sparkyms said:
I can't speak for anyone else, but see my post here. Did you order online, if you had any problems and then successfully submitted an order it might be worth giving them a call to check it's all gone through, and make sure you didn't make 5 orders like I did!!
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I only actually completed the order once, never had an issue with the website, think they were just checking it was a genuine order. Yes i did order online.
 
paulcdb said:
76 pages? gees...

Well i'm not going back through them but I hope people have been using quidco for orders in the uk ;)

Three are offering £115 cashback via them for the 4S pre orders. (£35 per month, 24 months). Shame to waste away such savings.
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I've noticed that there's no QuidCo for ordering the iPhone 4S from Apple though :( Shame.
 
credit cards normally get charged on dispatch, with debit cards they tend to put a hold on straight away and then wipe the money when it's sent.

Hope that helps.
 
namtaffy said:
erm... WRONG

MBNL is the company 3 and tmobile created to manage their SHARED 3G network. ARQIVA supplies SOME cell sites to MBNL.

at least get your facts right when your correcting someone. As I just did with you:cool::p:cool:
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Don't think thats quite right. MBNL is a joint venture between T-Mobile UK and H3G-UK. The T-Mobile part has now been assimilated into EverythingEverywhere. MBNL operates transmission sites for both T-Mobile and 3. However, both networks retain sperate back haul service and their own frequency, even at these shared sites. This is a 'site share' scheme, there is no roaming between 3 and T-Mobile's 3G networks. A certain level of 3 signal does not guarantee T-Mobile coverage, and vice versa. Each network makes individual decisions on mast power, etc based on their network demographics. Also bare in mind not all MBNL sites operate both H3G and T-Mobile masts, the majority do, but not all.
The plan is for some previous Orange UK locations to join MBNL - presumably in areas where the combined network needs the capacity, I think the eventual plan is to have one, single, EverythingEverywhere network. When I was at Orange the tagline was "Orange, inspired by EverythingEverywhere"
 
lympero said:
My credit card hasn't been charged yet and that worries me a lot!
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Why ? calm down and step away from the edge:) , with most apple pre orders, the cash being taken, a delivery date and an email saying the product has been sent normally happen very close to each other, you should see movement tomorrow.
 
sparkyms said:
credit cards normally get charged on dispatch, with debit cards they tend to put a hold on straight away and then wipe the money when it's sent.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Mine has had the full amount reserved on it. This is an MBNA credit card, not a debit card.
 
r-m said:
UK, iPhone 4S 32GB black, ordered around 8.15am last Friday.
My credit card was charged (the charge that checks the balance is available), and got the order confirmation email quite quickly.
My credit card "online banking" is quite good, as it updates the Available Balance usually within the hour of making a transaction, so saw the iPhone charge hit it.
As of yesterday, it was reversed, with my available balance being what it was BEFORE the iPhone charge.
Just checked again now, and my available balance has dropped again, to a balance that works out nicely that it's just been charged for the iPhone again...
Looks hopeful I'd say!

Status on Apple's website is still Processing Items though.
Click to expand...

I have just seen the same thing for my debit card account. I ordered straight away last Friday and the available balance was reduced by £499. However, the available balance has now gone back up to the original balance (prior to the order)
 
fat jez said:
Not sure I agree with everything in your post. Everything Everywhere owns Orange UK and T-Mobile UK outright. It in turn is jointly owned by Deutsche Telecom and France Telecom. Orange UK and T-Mo UK are merging companies in the UK, which is creating massive headaches for their staff. At present you can roam between the two 2G networks, but cannot make data calls or use their 3G services.
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Hi fat jez (I probably wouldn't call you that in person, but that's your forum name!),

Everything Everywhere is just about to switch on 3G sharing (Source: http://thenextweb.com/uk/2011/10/10...nd-orange-and-t-mobile-network-sharing-to-3g/ & http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/discussions/index?page=forums&topic=801019018f718fc0130630218ab007faf) which will make the experience for customers, particularly travelers very good indeed.

MBNL was set up in 2007 between T-Mo UK and 3 UK to share their 3G networks. The latest press release from MBNL states that they manage 12,000 sites for T-Mo/3 and have deactivated 5,000. I cannot find any mention of Arqiva with respect to this arrangement (but please point me in the direction of this information, I'd be interested to read it).
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This article is a little old but it is when I originally heard about MBNL/Arquiva and the mast sharing arrangement between T-Mob and Three (Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/30/arqiva_3_t_mobile/).

Last year Everything Everywhere announced that Orange would also enter into this network sharing venture, as the share of MBNL that T-Mo UK owned was transferred to Everything Everywhere when the merger went through.
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"Curiouser and curiouser!", as Alice would say.

That said, it is a legal requirement in the UK that where a new site is planned, the network operator must demonstrate that a site-sharing arrangement will not meet their needs.

In summary, you will end up with Orange, T-Mo and 3 all using the same 3G network and O2 and Vodafone left out in the cold. So far, the only arrangement that O2 and Vodafone have is to share infrastructure (masts and I think cabins as well), but not radio networks.

I am an ex Orange employee and currently work for one of their suppliers.
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Thanks for the info on O2. Do you know why O2 and Vodafone don't appear to be taking part in this network sharing party that the other UK networks all appear to have going on?

All the best,

Mike
 
Been following this thread with interest so thought I'd jump in.

I've ordered my first iPhone- decided to go with Three after being on O2 sim only with my old phone. Have gone for the 64GB 4S on a 24 month contract. My main reason being that I wanted unlimited data (to allow for Sky Sports streaming) and being able to tether.

My reasoning behind going for contract was:

64GB 4S + 24 months 'One Plan' sim only = £1300

64GB 4S on 24 months 'One Plan' contract = £1119. Then deduct £150 Quidco cashback = £969.

Once you deduct equivalent cost of the phone you're left with £269- so just over £11pm for unlimited data and far more calls and texts than I'll need! A shame to be tied in for two years, but my previous phone is a six year old Sony Erricsson K750i - now with the delete key not working, other buttons falling off- its started playing up, I think it knows its about to be replaced!

I was keeping a careful eye on the Three twitter feed and their website last Friday. I ordered as soon as the page went up. Had to phone to give them my credit card details again as my bank blocked it on the web order (not unusual apparently), but it went through fine on the phone. I can see that my credit card has now been charged. I was told at the time that delivery would be this Friday between 8am and 6pm via Royal Mail (tracked obviously).

I did phone CS today to check and was told that I should still expect delivery on Friday. Obviously slightly concerned given what I've read on here- if it doesn't arrive on Friday I'll be making a complaint to Three, given that I've now been told twice it'll be coming on Friday. If it doesn't I won't be able to get it until Monday.

Not going to let that spoil my excitement :D
 
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MikeWilson said:
Thanks for the info on O2. Do you know why O2 and Vodafone don't appear to be taking part in this network sharing party that the other UK networks all appear to have going on?

All the best,

Mike
Click to expand...

Mainly frequencies, I would imagine. It's not in their interests to offer the same facility as they have spare capacity at 900MHz from their GSM network. 900MHz propagates much further than the higher frequency stuff and would give them a significant advantage over the other three networks. 3 in particular have been vocal in objecting to this advantage. If they were to offer to share their radio network, this advantage would be eroded. T-Mo and Orange all have their 2G networks at 1800MHz, very similar in characteristics to the ~2100MHz that 3G uses, so not such an advantage.

That said, Vodafone and O2 are doing some work together at a limited level. Google Cornerstone for more information.

*disclaimer* I'm a core network engineer, not a radio engineer, so tend to view some of this stuff as borderline black magic. But you can't spend 13 years in the industry without gaining a basic understanding of the technology :)
 
namtaffy said:
erm... WRONG

MBNL is the company 3 and tmobile created to manage their SHARED 3G network. ARQIVA supplies SOME cell sites to MBNL.
Click to expand...

Please be specific; are Three UK's and T-Mobile's 3G networks entirely managed by MBNL -- or just a subset of each network that is shared between both networks?

I did confuse Arquiva and MBNL however, so thanks for clearing that up.

All the best,

Mike
 
Order a 16GB 4S on friday morning. Double the money (£998) has been reserved on my credit card. Not worried as it is only a reserve, and apple are good with returns if anything has somehow gone wrong.

However, anyone else had double their order amount reserved on a credit/debit card? :confused:
 
Its good if you want a 24 month contract, personally I wouldn't touch one again!

If you are considering getting iPhone 5, then you will have to buy that out right.

Jordan
 
MikeWilson said:
Thanks for the info on O2. Do you know why O2 and Vodafone don't appear to be taking part in this network sharing party that the other UK networks all appear to have going on?

All the best,

Mike
Click to expand...


I'm sure I read years ago o2 refused to share their network. Their reasoning if something goes wrong they want to be to deal with it and not get the blamed passed around or something. But the Orange, T-Mobile and Three sharing deal is fantastic, they end up getting the best coverage the saving the networks money.
 
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