What is going on O2 with iPhone Pay & Go

[a456]

Went into the O2 store in Cribbs Causeway Bristol at the weekend. They had 2G iPhones on display and information for those already with contracts who want to upgrade.

The shop assistant approached me to ask if she could help. I asked her if there was any information on the 3G Pay & Go. In a dismissive and slightly irritated tone she said no. But, O2 are advertising the thing on their website (they also made the mistake of showing some prices and terms and conditions) and so surely it is in their interests to let interested people know how they can actually buy an iPhone if they want one. This is getting ridiculous and quite annoying. The cloak of secrecy has gone on long enough - come on O2 let us know the damage if you want our money. People willing to spend £299-£359 on a phone should be shown a certain amount of respect - perhaps sat down with a free coffee even while the transaction takes place.

 

[Akaal]

Went into the O2 store in Cribbs Causeway Bristol at the weekend. They had 2G iPhones on display and information for those already with contracts who want to upgrade.

The shop assistant approached me to ask if she could help. I asked her if there was any information on the 3G Pay & Go. In a dismissive and slightly irritated tone she said no. But, O2 are advertising the thing on their website (they also made the mistake of showing some prices and terms and conditions) and so surely it is in their interests to let interested people know how they can actually buy an iPhone if they want one. This is getting ridiculous and quite annoying. The cloak of secrecy has gone on long enough - come on O2 let us know the damage if you want our money. People willing to spend £299-£359 on a phone should be shown a certain amount of respect - perhaps sat down with a free coffee even while the transaction takes place.

They have been the same towards alot of customers, thats O2 in general. Hopefully 2day i will recieve some more information regarding pay as you and other info. link in my signiture.

 

[MojoWill]

no one cares about PAYG phones when it comes to sales people as they get about 5% of the commision they do with a contract. Plus why should they site you donw they actually make very little money out of PAYG customers once they have paid for the unit they are relying on people adding credit to their phones.

contracts are a definate amouynt of money!

 

[TomB88]

I asked her if there was any information on the 3G Pay & Go. In a dismissive and slightly irritated tone she said no.

I had a similar experience - they are desperate to tie people into contracts.

Personally, I don't use my phone enough to warrant a £35/month contract, but the call rates on PAYG seem very expensive. Does anyone think that it will be possible to use an O2 Simplicity sim in a PAYG iPhone? O2 Simplicity is pay-monthly but without a contract, and the rates start at £15/month. I don't see why they shouldn't - Simplicity customers generally pay more than PAYG customers, since O2 have a guarantee that the customer will top up a regular amount every month. Plus we would be paying the full PAYG cost of the phone itself.

What do you think? Will the PAYG iPhone be locked to a specific iPhone PAYG sim, or will O2 play nice? It's not like we're trying to unlock it to another network...

 

[philgilder]

I had a similar experience - they are desperate to tie people into contracts.

Personally, I don't use my phone enough to warrant a £35/month contract, but the call rates on PAYG seem very expensive. Does anyone think that it will be possible to use an O2 Simplicity sim in a PAYG iPhone? O2 Simplicity is pay-monthly but without a contract, and the rates start at £15/month. I don't see why they shouldn't - Simplicity customers generally pay more than PAYG customers, since O2 have a guarantee that the customer will top up a regular amount every month. Plus we would be paying the full PAYG cost of the phone itself.

What do you think? Will the PAYG iPhone be locked to a specific iPhone PAYG sim, or will O2 play nice? It's not like we're trying to unlock it to another network...

it will probably be locked to o2 sims, but any o2 sim should be able to be used

 

[MojoWill]

i will be very surprised if you can just stick in any o2 sim into an iphone

 

[TonyHoyle]

Personally, I don't use my phone enough to warrant a £35/month contract, but the call rates on PAYG seem very expensive.

Oddly, the call rates on PayG are better than contract, once you're outside your free minutes. That's partly what makes the £30/mo iphone contract so poor.

Does anyone think that it will be possible to use an O2 Simplicity sim in a PAYG iPhone? O2 Simplicity is pay-monthly but without a contract, and the rates start at £15/month.

Can't see any reason why not.. O2 get their money after all. We won't know though until the 11th.

 

[nwlondonlad]

I had a similar experience - they are desperate to tie people into contracts.

Personally, I don't use my phone enough to warrant a £35/month contract, but the call rates on PAYG seem very expensive. Does anyone think that it will be possible to use an O2 Simplicity sim in a PAYG iPhone? O2 Simplicity is pay-monthly but without a contract, and the rates start at £15/month. I don't see why they shouldn't - Simplicity customers generally pay more than PAYG customers, since O2 have a guarantee that the customer will top up a regular amount every month. Plus we would be paying the full PAYG cost of the phone itself.

What do you think? Will the PAYG iPhone be locked to a specific iPhone PAYG sim, or will O2 play nice? It's not like we're trying to unlock it to another network...

You ask a good question as I am currently in the same boat. At the moment I Pay £30 a month for 1200 mins and 1000 text + unlimited internet bolt on and using with the Iphone 2G (unlocked). I am hoping that when the 3G version is released it should be as simple as buying one and popping your simplicity Sim in it. Yes i know you wont benefit from the free wifi for 6 months but as mentioned above already get free internet bolt on and wifi from home.
If it doesn't work then I guess the only option would be to wait till an unlock solution comes out and trust me there will be one at some point.

 

[a456]

no one cares about PAYG phones when it comes to sales people as they get about 5% of the commision they do with a contract. Plus why should they site you donw they actually make very little money out of PAYG customers once they have paid for the unit they are relying on people adding credit to their phones.

contracts are a definate amouynt of money!

I believe in old fashioned goodwill, and getting value for money. Although PAYG customers may not be willing to be milked in the same way as others, anyone capable of fronting up £300 for a phone should be taken seriously.

 

[philgilder]

i will be very surprised if you can just stick in any o2 sim into an iphone

you could with the last one, you could use any o2 sim or tesco sim without unlocking, but it did need to be activated still

 

[TomB88]

you could with the last one, you could use any o2 sim or tesco sim without unlocking, but it did need to be activated still

Really? I never had a first-gen iPhone so I'm new to all this. You're saying that you could use the phone with any O2 sim but would still be tied into the contract? Hmm, if that is true, that would imply that using an O2 Simplicity sim in a 3G PAYG iPhone is a distinct possibility (without any unlocking required), since there is no contract to get in the way. Thoughts?

 

[johnwin]

Really? I never had a first-gen iPhone so I'm new to all this. You're saying that you could use the phone with any O2 sim but would still be tied into the contract? Hmm, if that is true, that would imply that using an O2 Simplicity sim in a 3G PAYG iPhone is a distinct possibility (without any unlocking required), since there is no contract to get in the way. Thoughts?

But you still have to pay the PAYG price for the phone and need some form of sim from o2. I would expect the 18 month contract will still be the cheapest option?

 

[emirates]

You ask a good question as I am currently in the same boat. At the moment I Pay £30 a month for 1200 mins and 1000 text + unlimited internet bolt on and using with the Iphone 2G (unlocked). I am hoping that when the 3G version is released it should be as simple as buying one and popping your simplicity Sim in it. Yes i know you wont benefit from the free wifi for 6 months but as mentioned above already get free internet bolt on and wifi from home.
If it doesn't work then I guess the only option would be to wait till an unlock solution comes out and trust me there will be one at some point.

I was thinking about this the other day. I had my heart set on a 3G but decided to buy a 1st gen from ebay instead. I decided I didn't need the GPS or 3G and I much prefer the metal back on the 1st gen anyway.

Just out of interest, how have your bills been data-wise with the unlimited web bolt-on? I only got my iPhone last week and I've been worried I'm going to get stung for data use. Is it really unlimited? Or is there some sort of fair use policy?

 

[TomB88]

But you still have to pay the PAYG price for the phone and need some form of sim from o2. I would expect the 18 month contract will still be the cheapest option?

I'm not so much concerned about the cost of the PAYG iPhone, it's being roped into an 18-month contract that I don't like. For that reason, I never use contracts. I use my phone too much for PAYG to be economical, so pay-monthly packages are best for me.

Many people already have O2 Simplicity sims, and are wondering if they can use those in 3G iPhones. Sure, you'd have to pay the full PAYG price for the phone (£299 for 8Gb) but you would avoid being roped into lengthy expensive contracts and would be able to continue using the flexible package that you've found to suit your usage. This is why many people, myself included, are interested in the O2 simplicity packages for iPhone 3G.

 

[philgilder]

Really? I never had a first-gen iPhone so I'm new to all this. You're saying that you could use the phone with any O2 sim but would still be tied into the contract? Hmm, if that is true, that would imply that using an O2 Simplicity sim in a 3G PAYG iPhone is a distinct possibility (without any unlocking required), since there is no contract to get in the way. Thoughts?

yeah, any o2 sim worked in the 1st iphone, but it had to be hacked to activate it
so yes, i imagine a simplicity sim could be used in iphone 3g

 

[johnwin]

I'm not so much concerned about the cost of the PAYG iPhone, it's being roped into an 18-month contract that I don't like. For that reason, I never use contracts. I use my phone too much for PAYG to be economical, so pay-monthly packages are best for me.

Many people already have O2 Simplicity sims, and are wondering if they can use those in 3G iPhones. Sure, you'd have to pay the full PAYG price for the phone (£299 for 8Gb) but you would avoid being roped into lengthy expensive contracts and would be able to continue using the flexible package that you've found to suit your usage. This is why many people, myself included, are interested in the O2 simplicity packages for iPhone 3G.

Now I understand. Thanks Tom

 

[J@ffa]

You ask a good question as I am currently in the same boat. At the moment I Pay £30 a month for 1200 mins and 1000 text + unlimited internet bolt on...

Does the unlimited internet bolt-on cover 3G internet access?

 

[TonyHoyle]

It will.. No provider in the UK differentiates between 2G and 3G. That's a US thing.

 

[nwlondonlad]

I was thinking about this the other day. I had my heart set on a 3G but decided to buy a 1st gen from ebay instead. I decided I didn't need the GPS or 3G and I much prefer the metal back on the 1st gen anyway.

Just out of interest, how have your bills been data-wise with the unlimited web bolt-on? I only got my iPhone last week and I've been worried I'm going to get stung for data use. Is it really unlimited? Or is there some sort of fair use policy?

Its totally unlimited, I use it when i'm out and I always have the Yahoo push email on 24/7 as it doesn't seem to work with wifi but only edge.
Ive been on the simplicity contract just over 3 months and have never been charged an extra penny.
This is the link for the Simplicity Tariff's. http://shop.o2.co.uk/tariffs/sim_only Im currently on Online 30 and changed my free bolt on to the unlimited web bolt on.

 

[nwlondonlad]

Does the unlimited internet bolt-on cover 3G internet access?

Yes it does, its in the T&T conditions on o2 somewhere (will try and find link). Remember you are paying for only a Sim so there is a high assumption from O2 that you would be putting the Sim into a 3G phone. Don't forget almost all phones these days are 3G. Apple were just stubborn for not making the first Iphone 3G in the first place

 

[nwlondonlad]

Does the unlimited internet bolt-on cover 3G internet access?

Found the link but it opens up as a pop up so not sure how to send link. However I did do a cut and paste from the pop up page.


Data Bolt On
' 1. The Web Bolt On allows you unlimited use of Telefónica O2 UK Limited's Edge/GPRS/ 3G networks (as applicable to your handset), for personal internet use via your mobile phone. All usage must be for your private, personal and non-commercial purposes. You may not use your SIM Card:
* in, or connected to, any other device including modems;
* to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (Voip), P2P or file sharing; or
* in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other O2 customers

If O2 reasonably suspects you are not acting in accordance with this policy O2 reserves the right to impose further charges, impose network protection controls which may reduce your speed of transmission, remove the Web Bolt On from your account or disconnect your tariff at any time, having attempted to contact you first.

 

[emirates]

Its totally unlimited, I use it when i'm out and I always have the Yahoo push email on 24/7 as it doesn't seem to work with wifi but only edge.
Ive been on the simplicity contract just over 3 months and have never been charged an extra penny.
This is the link for the Simplicity Tariff's. http://shop.o2.co.uk/tariffs/sim_only Im currently on Online 30 and changed my free bolt on to the unlimited web bolt on.

thanks for the info. I'm on a 'traditional' O2 contract. £45 a month for 1200 mins, 1000 texts and unlimited web. I'm hoping that when my next bill comes in I won't have been charged for data. I had been wondering for a while if the unlimited web bolt on works in the same way as the iPhone unlimited data tariff.

 

[nwlondonlad]

thanks for the info. I'm on a 'traditional' O2 contract. £45 a month for 1200 mins, 1000 texts and unlimited web. I'm hoping that when my next bill comes in I won't have been charged for data. I had been wondering for a while if the unlimited web bolt on works in the same way as the iPhone unlimited data tariff.

Yeah you should be fine, your contract is pretty much the same as mine but probably paying the extra £15 due to the free phone

 

[Vereina]

What do you think? Will the PAYG iPhone be locked to a specific iPhone PAYG sim, or will O2 play nice? It's not like we're trying to unlock it to another network...

I too would be surprised (and disappointed) if using another O2 sim is not possible but doing so will more than likely cause the six months' worth of free data access (mentioned in the details that were briefly on the O2 website last week) to be lost.

In other words, depending on your usage, it may prove more economical to stick with the PAYG sim for the first six months at least, particularly if you get the additional free service by making a minimum £10 top-up each month.

 

[TomB88]

I too would be surprised (and disappointed) if using another O2 sim is not possible but doing so will more than likely cause the six months' worth of free data access (mentioned in the details that were briefly on the O2 website last week) to be lost.

In other words, depending on your usage, it may prove more economical to stick with the PAYG sim for the first six months at least, particularly if you get the additional free service by making a minimum £10 top-up each month.

That's a good point, thanks Vereina. I guess it might be a good idea to stick with PAYG for six months (getting the free wifi and topping up £10/£15 for calls), then transfer back over to my simplicity tariff afterwards.