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I am thinking of buying my first smartphone, an old codger's pay-as-you-go Doro 8050. Amazon have it shown as Unlocked but other phones are sometimes marked SIM Free as well. What is the difference and significance please?
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SIM Free means you are buying a phone without any SIM. Thus you will then need to make separate arrangements to acquire a SIM and thus telephone service.
Unlocked means that the phone will take any SIM. Typically a phone supplied by a network operator (Vodafone, O2, Telefonica, etc, etc) will be locked to that vendor. So, for example, a Vodafone supplied phone will only accept a Vodafone SIM.
A pone supplied by a phone manufacturer (Huawei, Xiaomi, Motorola etc. ) or an independent retailer (Amazon, Carphone Warehouse etc) will usually, probably always, be unlocked.
A new phone supplied SIM Free will be almost certainly unlocked unless you are buying it from a network operator.
With second hand phones one can get caught out by the SIM Locked since one does not know where it originally came from.
In some instances phones are also country locked, but that is increasingly unusual.
Usually a phone bought from a non-Network Operator will be both unlocked and SIM free.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 13 Nov 21 at 13:37
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Out of interest, what are the pros and cons of getting my five year old Samsung - on EE - unlocked?
And would this allow me to ditch all the apps I don't want that Samsung won't let me?
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>> Out of interest, what are the pros and cons of getting my five year old
>> Samsung - on EE - unlocked?
It would mean that you are able to use a non EE SIM in it. Once it is out of contract then EE (or any operator) are compelled to give you an unlock code free if you request it. I think actually they are allowed to make a couple of quid admin charge, but they don't necessarily do so.
>> And would this allow me to ditch all the apps I don't want that Samsung
>> won't let me?
No.
From your comment I assume that is is an Android phone and that you are confusing 'Root' with 'Unlock'. [Root is similar to Jailbreak for an Apple]
If you root your phone then that would allow you to remove everything you didn't want. You can probably root your Samsung and I can probably take you through it if you tell me the exact model.
I'm not sure it is worth it though unless the unwanted Apps are giving you a problem.
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The Amazon DORO 8050 is Unlocked but not SIM Free, which seems odd.
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You mean it doesn't specifically say that it SIM free. It also doesn't say that it is Steak & Kidney pudding free.
It is SIM free.
p.s. Some suppliers will supply an unlocked phone with a SIM, but they will specifically speak about the T&Cs of the SIM.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 13 Nov 21 at 14:45
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>It also doesn't say that it is Steak & Kidney pudding free.
I get really annoyed with that.
Especially at Christmas when you rip open your presents and that one special present you've always wanted, the one you want to try out *now!*, says "Steak & Kidney Pudding not Included" in small print where the price sticker has been peeled off.
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Made me smile.
I have quite the mental image of a disappointed little face.
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>> The Amazon DORO 8050 is Unlocked but not SIM Free, which seems odd.
I'd expect a retail offering that's unlocked to be SIM free.
I suppose it's possible that Amazon sell it with a bundled SIM perhaps with 'free' starter credit on a particular network. However if it's unlocked there's no bar to simply replacing that SIM with the appropriate nano SIM from your preferred supplier.
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An acquaintance tells me that pay-as-you-go (which I prefer for my non-smart mobile) is to be scrapped in January by some providers in favour of contracts, but that Tesco will keep it. I hadn't picked this up. Does any poster have details?
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Virgin Mobile announced 6 months ago that they would no longer offer PAYG. (provided by Vodafone). They did say, however, that O2 (Owners of Virgin Media) provide a great PAYG service. I seem to recall that O2 will take over the whole Virgin Mobile service offering. As it happens Tesco Mobile is also on O2.
Over time the classic PAYG offerings will change. Contracts were a real *thing* when all phones were subsidised and PAYG SIMs were for a minority whose contracts had expired.
My UK Phone is an O2 PAYG SIM, my daughter's is SMARTY based on Three and there are many more. Talkmobile (Vodafone) does rolling 1 month contracts, which are pretty much the same thing.
The market is merely reorganising it's MVNOs as the MVOs also reposition.
The emotive "PAYG will be scrapped by January" is nonsense.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sun 14 Nov 21 at 11:39
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>>Virgin Mobile announced 6 months ago that they would no longer offer PAYG. (provided by Vodafone). They did say, however, that O2 (Owners of Virgin Media) provide a great PAYG service. I seem to recall that O2 will take over the whole Virgin Mobile service offering. As it happens Tesco Mobile is also on O2.>>
I use GiffGaff's one month rolling PAYG service (owned by O2) and have done so for about nine years.
It's far, far cheaper than O2's own PAYG offerings, mainly because its customer ordering and help services is conducted on-line. Also offers new and refurbished mobile phones at competitive prices.
I much prefer to buy a new mobile phone that I can buy at a competitive price on e-Bay etc and use one of the GiffGaff Goodybags for unlimited calls, texts and (currently 15GB of data) for £10.
The mobile data isn't always necessary though these days, due to so many wi-fi hot spots, including those of O2.
www.giffgaff.com
Last edited by: Stuartli on Sun 14 Nov 21 at 13:34
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I think we're in danger of confusing terminology here.
As I understand it PAYG means you put credit on the phone as a found amount of money - say £10. Calls/texts are chargeable at pence per minute or per text so each call reduces your credit. When your £10 is gone your phone is out of credit and, at least outgoing, is dead until topped up. While your balance may not last for ever it usually just needs a call every couple of months to show the card is still 'live'.
PAYG was a good model for kids etc until data became a thing; data will eat your tenner in a day.
Rolling PAYG like Giif Gaff is something slightly different. You pay a monthly amount, say £10 again, for so many minutes/texts/Gb of data. Any unused minutes/texts/data expire at the end of the month. After a month you need to buy another £10 deal - goddybag or whatever.
If the £10 renews automatically it's effectively a rolling contract but without an extended notice period.
I have a Three card which I can use PAYG as in the original sense - pay per call. Alternatively I can use credit to buy packages of unlimited calls and bundled data to use within a month.
EDIT: If this is TL:DR see Zeddo's post.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 14 Nov 21 at 13:54
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I tried GiffGaff while I was in the UK recently.
Aside from it's silly name I didn't get on with it all. I didn't bother with it again. I did then try Smarty, as was recommended here. A much better experience and 30GB for 10 quid, which is obviously a far better deal. Not that the name is much better.
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>> An acquaintance tells me that pay-as-you-go (which I prefer for my non-smart mobile) is to
>> be scrapped in January by some providers in favour of contracts, but that Tesco will
>> keep it. I hadn't picked this up. Does any poster have details?
PAYG is not practical for smart phones, which is all about data. PAYG is now ( or will be) , in effect "1 month rolling contract"
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>> PAYG is not practical for smart phones, which is all about data. PAYG is now
>> ( or will be) , in effect "1 month rolling contract"
For balance, I have a smartphone running Android 10 (huawei) and PAYG with 1p mobile. Costs me about a fiver a month at tops.
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to be fair, you have never claimed to be normal. Still when you run out of top up, none of your secrets will be shipped to china. For half a month anyway.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 14 Nov 21 at 19:51
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Do android phones have or need virus checkers? I understand iphones are already very secure and don't need further protection.
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Not really no, been running android phones for 10 years, never had one installed.
Given your likely use, you are very low risk.
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>> Do android phones have or need virus checkers? I understand iphones are already very secure
>> and don't need further protection.
Viruses are rare these days, the risk is far more that you will be tricked into doing something, or installing something.
As such then I agree with Zero, you don't really need a virus checker. Just don't get conned.
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>>PAYG is not practical for smart phones, which is all about data. PAYG is now ( or will be) , in effect "1 month rolling contract"
It used to be $x for y minutes, More typically now it is $x for yGB. It is still paying as you go (before you use), rather than being contracted to pay at the end of the month after you used it.
Not much of a difference really.
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There are 2 versions of DORO 8050 from Amazon. The basic model costs £153 and the "DORO 8050 W/O Cradle" £167.49. There is no indication that the basic model comes with a cradle so what might W/O mean? Surely not "Without", since the cost is higher.
The specifications of the two models are laid out differently so comparisons are difficult. Maybe the expensive model has better features to justify the higher cost. Does any poster know please?
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>> so what might W/O mean?
It's mentioned twice in the Q & A part further down.
Question: What does W/O signify
Answer: Good Afternoon
Thanks for your query
It means without Charging cradle. However it has UK wall charger plug USB CHARGING CABLE HEADPHONE AND MANUAL IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX.
W/O means without. This model comes without a charging cradle, you just connect the charging cable into the phone, many Doro phones come with a cradle / bracket that holds the phone upright while charging
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In fact if you read carefully you will see that both come without a cradle.
The difference is that one (£154) is sold by FD Wholesale and the other (£167) is sold by Titanic6612.
Strangely if you look even closer it would appear that the £154 has 128GB of memory whereas the £167 has only 16GB. Though 16GB is so low, and quite rubbish, I wonder if Titanic6612 has made a mistake.
Further Titanic6612 has sold only 5 things, probably all the same phone, so I am guessing is an individual whereas FD Wholesale has sold 583 items and give their full postal address. (London NW10), VAT & registration numbers.
Different sellers are not really motivated by having identical adverts for a reason and not all of them are competent, though it can be difficult to tell which is which.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Fri 19 Nov 21 at 03:58
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SIM Free/Unlocked - No FM2R
