UK iPhone 5 thread

[MrKambo]

for those of you wondering, no i didn't receive my phone, ive actually been told it never showed up to the service centre from the central hub, so basically its "missing"

now ive got this in writing (text)

ive been to the local store and had words etc etc etc, and i keep getting told to wait till monday and they can give me a final answer on what happened!

i want my money back!! ive never had such a poor experience in my life, once i get my money back i think im gonna wait for apple to get stock and get it from them

 

[Trebormint88]

T-Mobile suck bigtime

Was it the 16, 32 or 64 you ordered? Reason i'm asking is the T-Mobile guy on the phone told me that he didn't think they were gonna make all the deliveries of the 16 from their first batch of stock and sunday afternoon is a long time after pre orders started. I would probably phone them, might push it along or at least give you an answer.

ordered on 16th sept, got web order confirmation on 20th, and randomly today the iphone turns up at my door, no tracking info sent to me nor any correspondance. Inside the package is a few generic welcome leaflets the iphone and what seems like a really confusing packing/invoice note.

The sim is missing from this package.. do t-mobile uk send this separately or was it supposed to be in the package?

new customer and not impressed!

 

[Nectarine]

I unfortunately had my old iPhone 4 stolen last weekend so I decided that I would upgrade to the iPhone 5, not realising that it would be so hard to find a sim-free one! As I have been without a phone at all I was obviously pretty desperate to get one. I spent all week rushing home from work before 5pm so I could try and reserve a phone from the Apple store to no avail. Yesterday morning I decided to ring Carphone Warehouse and asked how long they were estimating for delivery. The guy I spoke to assured me if I paid there and then I'd have my phone by Monday so I ordered a 32GB white iPhone 5. I was sent a 'dispatched' email less than 2 hours later and then at 8am this morning I received a text saying that my phone was with the courier. It was delivered at about 12:30pm so it was just over 24 hours from ordering to delivery! I am stunned at their service. I was expecting to be waiting well into next week with the amount of deliveries I thought they'd have to make.

 

[Gari14]

Ive not long been home from London and I see my iPhone 5 waiting for me on the side and I was shocked at how bad T Mobile send phones out to their customers. For something as valuable as an iPhone 5, I was expecting it to be sealed in its original Apple box and then sent out in another box for added protection but it was just in its original Apple box and then in a plastic UK Mail bag. One corner was dented on the box and before I opened it, I was worried that the phone might be damaged in some way, but thankfully, it wasn't.

Shocking that they send them out like that really but there you go.

Anyway, the iPhone 5 is superb. Really chuffed with it and so glad that I finally have mine. Feel for you guys that are still waiting though as I know exactly how it feels.

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ordered on 16th sept, got web order confirmation on 20th, and randomly today the iphone turns up at my door, no tracking info sent to me nor any correspondance. Inside the package is a few generic welcome leaflets the iphone and what seems like a really confusing packing/invoice note.

The sim is missing from this package.. do t-mobile uk send this separately or was it supposed to be in the package?

new customer and not impressed!

The Nano sim card for my iPhone 5 from T Mobile was in the package with the leaflets and stuff mate.

 

[baronbuzby]

Tempted to lay down £699 for a 64gb iPhone at CPW - only 2 days for delivery!

 

[Mr.C]

I have never worked for any company related to mobile phones. I wouldn't even buy anything from CPW.

That definition has been used for a long time IMO - primarily because a lot more phones used to be network exclusives.

Back when that was the case, there was still demand to get the phone without a contract.

My point is simple:

"SIM Free" literally means that - no SIM included. It does not mean that the phone is sold unlocked or indeed that you can get it unlocked after purchase.

Your point may be simple but its most definitely wrong. SIM free means not only that it doesn't come with a SIM but that its also unlocked and should stay unlocked no matter what SIM you put in it. That is the very definition of SIM free.

 

[baronbuzby]

Your point may be simple but its most definitely wrong. SIM free means not only that it doesn't come with a SIM but that its also unlocked and should stay unlocked no matter what SIM you put in it. That is the very definition of SIM free.

Ok, so in theory, If I were to buy a phone from CPW, is it then up to your carrier to unlock it?

 

[ant1298]

Ok, so in theory, If I were to buy a phone from CPW, is it then up to your carrier to unlock it?

Yes you'll need to get the carrier to unlock it, they may not do it, or they may charge you. Its whether you want to spend the extra time and money in getting it unlocked. If it is then go ahead, otherwise wait

 

[Gari14]

I understand that the iphone 5 won't work on the 4g spectrum that o2 will get next year?

Afraid so -

The iPhone 5 is the first of Apple's handsets to support 4G, but it has been optimised for just three spectrum bands - the 1800MHz band, which EE has been allowed to use for 4G services, the 850MHz, which doesn't work in the UK, and the 2.1GHz band, which currently only supports 3G services.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19586067

 

[Nectarine]

Tempted to lay down £699 for a 64gb iPhone at CPW - only 2 days for delivery!

I got my 32GB from them the day after I ordered even though it says 2-3 weeks on the website!

 

[Neutral Gamer]

Tempted to lay down £699 for a 64gb iPhone at CPW - only 2 days for delivery!

Mate, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking of doing!

In fact I was thinking of ordering that AND a 16/32GB one from the Apple store and when that one arrives selling the 64GB to CEX.

You can currently make £37 profit (it was £50 last week) but even in 2-3 weeks the worst is that you'd break even or lose £10-20.

http://uk.webuy.com/search/index.php?stext=iphone+5+64gb&ispostback=1&mode=buy

That way I get to play with the phone while waiting for my actual phone to arrive and potentially even make a small profit.



P.S. I tried going into my local Carphone Warehouse in London on Friday where they had 32GB and 64GB iPhones in stock but they refused to sell them to me because they're only allowed to sell them on a contract. Anyone else find this was the case??

 

[Cloverfield33]

I've got exactly the same status, if yours updates could you quote me on here so I know when it happens? I'll do the same

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Please let me know if and when yours changes My delivery is set for 2-8 oct.

Still nothing mate? I'm thinking the status HAS to change tomorrow if we want delivery for Tuesday.

 

[StuartMoore]

Yes you'll need to get the carrier to unlock it, they may not do it, or they may charge you. Its whether you want to spend the extra time and money in getting it unlocked. If it is then go ahead, otherwise wait

I recently sold my ip4 that I bought on eBay 2 years ago. Only discovered when selling, that it was indeed one of those "sim free" bad boys from CPW. I had to get O2 to unlock, for which they charged me £15. Even though the whole time I used the phone was on a PAYG sim!!!

 

[d123]

I recently sold my ip4 that I bought on eBay 2 years ago. Only discovered when selling, that it was indeed one of those "sim free" bad boys from CPW. I had to get O2 to unlock, for which they charged me £15. Even though the whole time I used the phone was on a PAYG sim!!!

They are a pain, I bet the salesman at CPW never even told you your full priced handset was going to be locked to the first sim.

I have never worked for any company related to mobile phones. I wouldn't even buy anything from CPW.

That definition has been used for a long time IMO - primarily because a lot more phones used to be network exclusives.

Back when that was the case, there was still demand to get the phone without a contract.

My point is simple:

"SIM Free" literally means that - no SIM included. It does not mean that the phone is sold unlocked or indeed that you can get it unlocked after purchase.

Aah OK, so you mean the definition made up by you and only based on what you think?

Sorry, I shouldn't have bothered with explaining the definitions as used by at least 2 UK networks, the majority of distributors like 2020 Logistics, a large number of retail and warranty repair departments.

Silly me, I should have realised we should have consulted you 15 years ago when we couldn't make up our minds as to the definitions of sim free and sim locked mobile phones.

On behalf of the mobile phone industry I apologise for not abiding by your definitions.

I'll let all the people who still work in handset procurement know that forthwith they must use the definition "sim free" to mean locked devices

And with regard to stock levels, this afternoon the Eldon Square Apple store was out of stock of ALL iPhone 5's except a few 64GB handsets being held for contract only.

 

[Gari14]

I recently sold my ip4 that I bought on eBay 2 years ago. Only discovered when selling, that it was indeed one of those "sim free" bad boys from CPW. I had to get O2 to unlock, for which they charged me £15. Even though the whole time I used the phone was on a PAYG sim!!!

Im confused.

So is a 'sim free' iPhone 4 you bought from Apple say, different to a 'sim free' iPhone 4 you get from CPW?

My sim free iPhone 4S was bought from Apple and even though I was with o2 when I bought it, my mate's (who is with Orange) sim card worked fine as well.

 

[d123]

Im confused.

So is a 'sim free' iPhone 4 you bought from Apple say, different to a 'sim free' iPhone 4 you get from CPW?

My sim free iPhone 4S was bought from Apple and even though I was with o2 when I bought it, my mate's (who is with Orange) sim card worked fine as well.

If you bought sim free from Apple, it truly is sim free (ie you can use any sim you wish in the phone at any time). So Apple stock is properly unlocked and sim free.

If you were to buy what CPW are selling/advertising as "sim free" you would get a phone locked to whichever network you first insert a SIM card from. So if you walked out the CPW and for example, put a 3UK sim in, the phone will only work with 3UK sims (unless you then paid 3 to unlock it).

 

[StuartMoore]

If you bought sim free from Apple, it truly is sim free (ie you can use any sim you wish in the phone at any time). So Apple stock is properly unlocked and sim free.

If you were to buy what CPW are selling/advertising as "sim free" you would get a phone locked to whichever network you first insert a SIM card from. So if you walked out the CPW and for example, put a 3UK sim in, the phone will only work with 3UK sims (unless you then paid 3 to unlock it).

^^This!!

 

[Gari14]

If you bought sim free from Apple, it truly is sim free (ie you can use any sim you wish in the phone at any time). So Apple stock is properly unlocked and sim free.

If you were to buy what CPW are selling/advertising as "sim free" you would get a phone locked to whichever network you first insert a SIM card from. So if you walked out the CPW and for example, put a 3UK sim in, the phone will only work with 3UK sims (unless you then paid 3 to unlock it).

Thats bloody ridiculous, it really is.

Why the hell do CPW's lock themselves to the first network that you use then? how come the ones they sell are not actually 'sim free' iPhone 5's?

 

[raymo]

They dont seem to have any 32GB models for reserve I have tried countless times to get a 32GB white D:

I tried to reserve online yesterday for 32gb white at Regent Street, Covent Garden, MK and Watford. Got an email through at 5am this morning that confirmed a reservation at Regent Street. Collected this afternoon!

 

[d123]

Thats bloody ridiculous, it really is.

Why the hell do CPW's lock themselves to the first network that you use then? how come the ones they sell are not actually 'sim free' iPhone 5's?

No idea, CPW always try and play fast and loose, I suppose they might get some sort of commission from networks for doing so, or it might just stem back to the period when Apple was the only supplier of unlocked phones and made that a stipulation for CPW getting stock to sell.

It means they can hold one batch of stock for all networks, and when they then sell an iPhone on contract they insert the contract sim instore and activate the phone and this will also lock the iPhone.

The locking process is possibly then just an unfortunate side effect for people wanting a sim free full price iPhone, and many CPW sales staff conveniently forget to tell people (or hope people won't try another simcard in the phone while they have it).

Whichever, a lousy, slightly dishonest procedure.

 

[Gari14]

No idea, CPW always try and play fast and loose, I suppose they might get some sort of commission from networks for doing so, or it might just stem back to the period when Apple was the only supplier of unlocked phones and made that a stipulation for CPW getting stock to sell.

It means they can hold one batch of stock for all networks, and when they then sell an iPhone on contract they insert the contract sim instore and activate the phone and this will also lock the iPhone.

The locking process is possibly then just an unfortunate side effect for people wanting a sim free full price iPhone, and many CPW sales staff conveniently forget to tell people (or hope people won't try another simcard in the phone while they have it).

Whichever, a lousy, slightly dishonest procedure.

Good point. Like you say though, either way, its shocking that they don't tell customers the situation with the so called 'sim free' iPhone 5's they sell.

 

[Gari14]

Does anyone know if Apple will be releasing official iPhone 5 bumpers anytime soon?

I know that they are overpriced and I can probably find a shed load of 'cheaper' versions on Ebay, but I've ordered cheaper versions on cases for phones from Ebay in the past and the quality has always been average at best.

 

[d123]

Does anyone know if Apple will be releasing official iPhone 5 bumpers anytime soon?

I know that they are overpriced and I can probably find a shed load of 'cheaper' versions on Ebay, but I've ordered cheaper versions on cases for phones from Ebay in the past and the quality has always been average at best.

I actually asked instore today (UK Apple store) and the staff had no idea.

They said they've heard nothing internally, and presumed cases will probably be another few weeks, if you are desperate, CPW have a reasonable selection of cases now, starting around £12 and I think I saw a row of bumpers amongst the cases.

 

[Daveoc64]

Aah OK, so you mean the definition made up by you and only based on what you think?

No, it's the definition used for as long as I can recall.

What would you call a phone, purchased at full price from a carrier, which is sold locked and only available on that carrier?

O2 has sold iPhones under this premise - it's locked to them, but you don't even get a PAYG SIM with it.

 

[d123]

What would you call a phone, purchased at full price from a carrier, which is sold locked and only available on that carrier?

Sim locked

Really as simple as that.

Any sim = sim free

Locked to sims of 1 network = sim locked