Posted by Bonovox
Can anyone tell me if its possible to buy an iphone sim free anywhere brand new. Im on O2 pre pay but i seen it advertised to buy at Apple store for 399.99 or have i misread this. Or is it possible to buy one legally and use it without a contract.
Posted by masseur
yes, you can buy an iphone from cpw, o2 or apple and not take out a contract. we've had many discussions about this, many have done it including myself
the 16gb is £329 isn't it? not £399
you can't get the 8gb any more
Posted by Bonovox
Oh ok thats good news. Though i still am confused cos when i was in a CPW store i heard an assistant saying to someone they wont work without a contract. Or perhaps that was him just trying to sell the contract i dont know. But if you can then thats fab.
Posted by haynesycop
You've been able to unlock them for ages now without any problem and use them on any network apart from 3. I'd hold off until the WWDC if i where you, you can't seem to get them around here all CPW and o2 stock has run out. You may still be able to get the 16gb from o2 online, they had some last week when i checked.
Posted by Daedalus85
Sales staff, me included, say 'it won't work without a contract' either to get the sale or because the know no different. Unfortunately, until I told them otherwise, the staff in my store belived the latter
Posted by Bonovox
Daedalus85 does this mean though that you can simply walk into the CPW or Apple store buy an iphone full price and just stick my O2 pay and go sim in it. Or is it not quite as simple as that.
Posted by haynesycop
YES!!!
Buy the phone, take it home, use the necessary program to unlock and stick your sim in!
Posted by Bonovox
Whats the program you use and if i unlock it that means there is no chance of insuring it as unlocking it would make warranty invalid. If i have an O2 sim on pay and go surely i wont need to unlock it as its supposed to work on O2. Sorry for the annoying questions but i would like to buy one but if there is too much hassle involved then i wont bother.
Posted by Daedalus85
Ziphone, great piece of software and a piece of piss to use
Posted by haynesycop
You'll be more than lucky to get one now, if the rumours on iphoneatlas are to be believed the new iPhone will not be easy to hack. I mean it'll happen eventually but you may be waiting awhile;
http://www.iphoneatlas.com/
So if you can get one before the new model is released it'll probably best unless you want to start a contract with o2.
Posted by nicv27
^ think of all the used ones for sale once the 3g one is released
Posted by haynesycop
Well i know mine will be, i think i may put it on eBay now what with the silly prices people are willing to pay.
Posted by fatreg
^^^ errmmmm.......
Posted by carkitter
A 1st generation iPhone will be practically worthless in a months time won't it?
No 3G, no video calling, smaller memory, no A2DP, dodgy hacked firmware, no network support or insurance and only a matter of time until the permanent battery dies...
_________________
My V640i review and My Carkit review
[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2008-06-08 08:18 ]
Posted by Bonovox
Went into Carphone and O2 store today and they blatantly said NO. I cannot buy one without contract.
Posted by Dogmann
Hi Bonovox,
Well of course they would as that is the Official line but you don't sign up for the contract in any of the stores. That is done at your home via iTunes if you want it that way.
Otherwise once you have bought your iPhone you take it home and don't activate via iTunes but use one of the many jail brake and activation softwares that are available.
As many of us have done in the past so i can tell you it is 100% possible what i suggest is you read all the iPhone threads here @ESATO as all your questions and all the information you need is there already.
Marc
_________________
Nokia E90,8GB SDHC, Fring, Seven, Tom Tom 6
Honoured to have won BEST DEBATER
[ This Message was edited by: Dogmann on 2008-06-09 15:01 ]
Posted by haynesycop
Well of course they would say that, they want you to sign up so they make their money, you pay the money for the phone then that is it, bring it home unlock it for FREE and voila. Although you can't get them from o2 or CPW anymore as they've sold out, so your only option is to buy used or from eBay or wait for the new model that is announced today.
Posted by mswallis
On 2008-06-09 15:42:00, Bonovox wrote:
Went into Carphone and O2 store today and they blatantly said NO. I cannot buy one without contract.
I think you'll find you can.
The iPhone contract does not work like any other one. You go to either a Carphone Warehouse, O2 or Apple store and purchase the iPhone. You do not sign up for the contract in-store, you do this at home through iTunes on your PC and Mac, where you set-up tariff, billing details etc.
However, there is a piece of software called ZiPhone (as mentioned earlier) that will activate the iPhone without having to sign up to a contract through iTunes. You simply plug your iPhone in via the USB cable open ZiPhone and click 'do it all'. You then put your sim card in it and voila, one iPhone without contract!
Posted by Bonovox
Ok call me stupid before but yes i understand it now. I never knew it was done that way having to sign up online. Would you have to open up the phone though cos i heard the sim is inside the phone and the battery is not removeable or am i wrong again. Had a play with it though in O2 today its so sexy that phone i love the screen. Even though the camera is basic the pics still look amazing on screen.
Posted by Bonovox
Thanks guys for your help i will do that and report back when i get one.
Posted by mswallis
On 2008-06-09 16:53:00, Bonovox wrote:
Ok call me stupid before but yes i understand it now. I never knew it was done that way having to sign up online. Would you have to open up the phone though cos i heard the sim is inside the phone and the battery is not removeable or am i wrong again. Had a play with it though in O2 today its so sexy that phone i love the screen. Even though the camera is basic the pics still look amazing on screen.
No. The sim card slot is on the top of the phone, you push a pin or a paper clip into a small hole and a sim card tray pops out.
YouTube video here