PAYG phone question
 

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[Closed] PAYG phone question

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Daft dad question here. My mobile is on contract so i dont understand Pay as you go, sorry if this is a daft question....

Son wants a smart phone for birthday so we are looking at phones/PAYG tarrifs for him (we are buying the phone, he will be buying the PAYG credit). Anyway the phone he wants is €200  with the provider who has tarrif he wants(tesco). But i can get same phone on PAYG for €110 with another provider but their top up is dearer per 28days (and is not as good as the tesco tarrif)

Can we just get the cheaper phone, get the PUK code from original provider and then transfer to the tesco PAYG as sim only? Am i right thinking there are no hidden ties if i buy a PAYG phone.


 
Posted : 20/10/2018 7:55 am
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who is the other provider ?

If its GiffGaff, Three for example then their phones are unlocked anyway (ime)

Whenever ive bought a payg phone from carphone warehouse in the past they have been unlocked.(although they were not supposed to tell you).

Dont know if its still the same


 
Posted : 20/10/2018 9:26 am
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Depends where you're buying it from. If it's coming from a mobile provider directly it may well be locked, though I think most will unlock it on request there might be an additional charge.

If it's from an independent shop I expect it's unlocked but I'd how they could tell you before you buy.

Tesco use O2's network so a phone locked to O2 would still work with Tesco, Giffgaff or any other provider using their infrastructure.


 
Posted : 20/10/2018 10:20 am
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TBH when I looked there was no real point in PAYG, calls / texts and now even data is all but ‘all you can eat’ on a monthly but PAYG is still much more expensive.

Personally I’d go for a sim free phone and a no-contract type monthly job - ID offer a great deal which means kids can’t ‘text for more data’ you into bankruptcy and they start from £10 a month.


 
Posted : 20/10/2018 11:35 am
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As above, you need to work out how much your son is going to use his phone as it may be cheaper to get a SIM only deal.  I've just signed up with Plusnet and am getting 4GB, unlimited mins and texts for £8/month and it's just a one month contract.

And just buy a handset from wherever.


 
Posted : 20/10/2018 11:45 am

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