Three contract phones: what's the current situation on butchering and locking?

Hi,

I'm thinking of maybe getting a Three contract. If I do so, I might as well
get the free phone that comes with it instead of buying one SIM-free. I'm
concerned however about many horror stories I've read about Three contract
phones over the last few years:

- Three SIMs can only be used in a Three phone. If your phone breaks,
you're not allowed to use your SIM in any spare phone you have unless it's
a Three phone
- Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying a
ridiculously high fee
- Three disables some features of the phone such as the ability to switch
to 2G only
- I've even read here a little while ago that Three would glue the SIM in
their phone (!)

Does anybody which of these points are true and still hold today?

If I get a phone, I'd expect to be able to use all its features and at
least to be able to put a foreign SIM in it whenever i need it. Note that
I'm talking about contract phones here, if I go with PAYG I'll buy the
phone SIM-free, no point getting it from an operator on PAYG. The phone I'm
looking at the moment is the Nokia N73 (come to think of it though, if the
first point above is true, i won't even be able to use a SIM-free phone
with a ThreePAYG SIM...).

---

› See More: Three contract phones: what's the current situation on butchering and locking?

"Mehdi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
>
> - Three SIMs can only be used in a Three phone. If your phone breaks,
> you're not allowed to use your SIM in any spare phone you have unless it's
> a Three phone

Yes. Due to the cost of roaming on 2G nets, Three like to avoid it
happening, so disallow you from putting your SIM in a 2G phone. In my
experience, you can put the SIM in a non-Three 3G phone without penalty.

> - Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying a
> ridiculously high fee

Yes, but I think that's the same of most other networks (at least Vodafone,
Orange and T-Mobile).

> - Three disables some features of the phone such as the ability to switch
> to 2G only

Sometimes and for reasons stated above. You can of course debrand the phone
you recieve from Three, but since that may remove some of the functionality
of the phone, I suggest you have a think about it first.

> - I've even read here a little while ago that Three would glue the SIM in
> their phone (!)
>
> Does anybody which of these points are true and still hold today?

Shak

--
Sponsor me: http://www.justgiving.com/climbshakclimb

"Shak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Mehdi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Hi,
>>
>>
>> - Three SIMs can only be used in a Three phone. If your phone breaks,
>> you're not allowed to use your SIM in any spare phone you have unless
>> it's
>> a Three phone
>
> Yes. Due to the cost of roaming on 2G nets, Three like to avoid it
> happening, so disallow you from putting your SIM in a 2G phone. In my
> experience, you can put the SIM in a non-Three 3G phone without penalty.

You shouldn't be able to. Its a USIM. You can put it in an unlocked 3G
phone, but this is against Three's T&C's, and some people have been caught.
You won;t be able to access some areas of "Planet 3" either, and wont be
able to use your monthly downloads, as the security certificate won't
download.

>
>> - Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying a
>> ridiculously high fee
>
> Yes, but I think that's the same of most other networks (at least
> Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile).

Mines is locked to Three, but shouldn't cost anymore than £30 (admin cost)
according to OFTEL:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archi...qs/mobfaq3.htm

>
>> - Three disables some features of the phone such as the ability to switch
>> to 2G only

This is the case with my N73.

>
> Sometimes and for reasons stated above. You can of course debrand the
> phone you recieve from Three, but since that may remove some of the
> functionality of the phone, I suggest you have a think about it first.

This will invalidate your warranty with both Three and Nokia.

>
>> - I've even read here a little while ago that Three would glue the SIM in
>> their phone (!)

My N73 SIM isn't glued in, mines is an upgrade and I have kept my original
SIM.
>>
>> Does anybody which of these points are true and still hold today?
>

"Andrew Scott" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Shak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "Mehdi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>>
>>> - Three SIMs can only be used in a Three phone. If your phone breaks,
>>> you're not allowed to use your SIM in any spare phone you have unless
>>> it's
>>> a Three phone
>>
>> Yes. Due to the cost of roaming on 2G nets, Three like to avoid it
>> happening, so disallow you from putting your SIM in a 2G phone. In my
>> experience, you can put the SIM in a non-Three 3G phone without penalty.
>
> You shouldn't be able to. Its a USIM. You can put it in an unlocked 3G
> phone, but this is against Three's T&C's, and some people have been
> caught. You won;t be able to access some areas of "Planet 3" either, and
> wont be able to use your monthly downloads, as the security certificate
> won't download.
>
>>
>>> - Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying a
>>> ridiculously high fee
>>
>> Yes, but I think that's the same of most other networks (at least
>> Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile).
>
> Mines is locked to Three, but shouldn't cost anymore than £30 (admin cost)
> according to OFTEL:
> http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archi...qs/mobfaq3.htm
>

Sorry for replying to my own post. I just re-read that OFTEL article and it
states that £30 is a suggested cost, and not "a specific guidleline", so it
could be more. Phone them and ask them. I am pretty sure that the £30 used
to be capped, but Im going back a long while.

Andrew Scott wrote:
> "Andrew Scott" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "Shak" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> "Mehdi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> - Three SIMs can only be used in a Three phone. If your phone breaks,
>>>> you're not allowed to use your SIM in any spare phone you have unless
>>>> it's
>>>> a Three phone
>>> Yes. Due to the cost of roaming on 2G nets, Three like to avoid it
>>> happening, so disallow you from putting your SIM in a 2G phone. In my
>>> experience, you can put the SIM in a non-Three 3G phone without penalty.
>> You shouldn't be able to. Its a USIM. You can put it in an unlocked 3G
>> phone, but this is against Three's T&C's, and some people have been
>> caught. You won;t be able to access some areas of "Planet 3" either, and
>> wont be able to use your monthly downloads, as the security certificate
>> won't download.
>>
>>>> - Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying a
>>>> ridiculously high fee
>>> Yes, but I think that's the same of most other networks (at least
>>> Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile).
>> Mines is locked to Three, but shouldn't cost anymore than £30 (admin cost)
>> according to OFTEL:
>> http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archi...qs/mobfaq3.htm
>>
>
> Sorry for replying to my own post. I just re-read that OFTEL article and it
> states that £30 is a suggested cost, and not "a specific guidleline", so it
> could be more. Phone them and ask them. I am pretty sure that the £30 used
> to be capped, but Im going back a long while.

Plus that's £30 + VAT.

And "Contract customers typically must also pay the outstanding
subscriptions for the remaining period of the contract before being
unlocked."

D

On Wed, 23 May 2007 15:59:08 +0100, David Hearn wrote:

> Plus that's £30 + VAT.
>
> And "Contract customers typically must also pay the outstanding
> subscriptions for the remaining period of the contract before being
> unlocked."

Thanks to all of you for your answers. It looks like getting a contract
phone on Three is going to be an awful lot of hassle. I've contacted Three
to ask them what the story is regarding unlocking their contract phones.
I'll report back here when i'll get an answer.

At the end of a contract you can unlock your Three phone for a fee of £15.
During your contract, you will also pay the "unlock fee" plus the
outstanding total of your contract.

Three do disable the option to solely use 2G 900*1800Mhz frequencies. This
is because of the roaming charges they have to pay their roaming partners
(Orange and O2)

It is possible to use your Three sim in an unlocked sim free phone. However
I have had stories that they do not like you doing this and will issue
warnings urging you to use a Three branded handset.

Dan

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Mehdi) wrote:

>
> Does anybody which of these points are true and still hold today?

> - Three SIMs can only be used in a Three phone. If your phone breaks,
> you're not allowed to use your SIM in any spare phone you have unless
> it's a Three phone

No, but it must be a 3g phone.

> - Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying
> a ridiculously high fee

Locked, yes. fee, about the same as everywhere else.

> - Three disables some features of the phone such as the ability to
> switch to 2G only

Not on any phone I've seen from them.

> - I've even read here a little while ago that Three would glue the
> SIM in their phone (!)

Not on any phone I've seen from them.

A happy Three customer since 2004.


--
Paul Cummins - Always a Nethead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

On Wed, 23 May 2007 18:51:02 +0100, Dan wrote:

> At the end of a contract you can unlock your Three phone for a fee of £15.
> During your contract, you will also pay the "unlock fee" plus the
> outstanding total of your contract.

Thanks for the info. Not being able to unlock my phone before the end of
the contract without having to pay huge fees sound weird to me. Surely,
since a I'm tied to a contract anyway, i should be allowed to use whatever
SIM i want in my phone. I will have to pay Three every month in any case.

Do all the other operators have the same policy or do some supply unlocked
phones or provide an unlock code for free or a small charge before the end
of the contract?

"Mehdi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 23 May 2007 18:51:02 +0100, Dan wrote:
>
>> At the end of a contract you can unlock your Three phone for a fee of
>> £15.
>> During your contract, you will also pay the "unlock fee" plus the
>> outstanding total of your contract.
>
> Thanks for the info. Not being able to unlock my phone before the end of
> the contract without having to pay huge fees sound weird to me. Surely,
> since a I'm tied to a contract anyway, i should be allowed to use whatever
> SIM i want in my phone. I will have to pay Three every month in any case.
>
> Do all the other operators have the same policy or do some supply unlocked
> phones or provide an unlock code for free or a small charge before the end
> of the contract?

I believe that Orange will unlock a handset for 20 quid without wanting the
remainder of the contract to be paid up. They used to, but I think the
policy changed sometime last year. (Jon or one of the other orangistas here,
can you confirm?)
--
Cheers, Steve.
Change jealous to sad to reply.

All other networks lock there phones with the exception of O2 contract ones.
O2 pay as you go phones are locked.

Three are a decent network with fun, interactive services but god forbid you
should ever have problems with your phone or service. The customer support
is terrible, which is not uncommon these days! The people on the other end
and merely drones reading from a computer script. If your problem is not in
the script they get stuck very quick.

Dan

vodafone dont charge to unlock as long as you've had the phone 12 months


"Paul Cummins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Mehdi) wrote:

>
> Does anybody which of these points are true and still hold today?

> - Three SIMs can only be used in a Three phone. If your phone breaks,
> you're not allowed to use your SIM in any spare phone you have unless
> it's a Three phone

No, but it must be a 3g phone.

> - Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying
> a ridiculously high fee

Locked, yes. fee, about the same as everywhere else.

> - Three disables some features of the phone such as the ability to
> switch to 2G only

Not on any phone I've seen from them.

> - I've even read here a little while ago that Three would glue the
> SIM in their phone (!)

Not on any phone I've seen from them.

A happy Three customer since 2004.


--
Paul Cummins - Always a Nethead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

On Wed, 23 May 2007 11:01:00 +0100, Mehdi wrote:

> - Three phones are locked to Three and can only be unlocked by paying a
> ridiculously high fee

Just got an answer from Three regarding unlocking their phones which
confirms Dan's answer: Three contract phones are locked to Three. Three
will provide you the unlock code for a £15 fee at the end of your contract.
If you want to unlock your phone before the end of your contract, you'll
have to pay the £15 unlock fee plus the remaining balance of your line
rental for the entire length of your contract (ie, if you're 3 months into
an 18 months contract, you'll have to pay 15 months of line rental on top
of the £15 unlocking fee).

Three did not mention whether requesting and paying for an unlock code
before the end of the contract effectively canceled the contract or simply
meant that you paid for your line rental in advance but still retained your
monthly minutes and text allowance until the end of your contract.

Three PAYG phones can be unlocked for a £15 fee.

In order to get an unlock from Three, you must be the original registered
owner. If you bought your phone second hand or got it from a friend or
family member, you won't be able to get an unlock code from Three. The
original, registered owner will have to ring Three and ask them for the
unlock code for you.

On Fri, 25 May 2007 12:46:32 +0100, [email protected] wrote:

> On Fri, 25 May 2007 11:11:54 +0100, Mehdi <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>In order to get an unlock from Three, you must be the original registered
>>owner. If you bought your phone second hand or got it from a friend or
>>family member, you won't be able to get an unlock code from Three. The
>>original, registered owner will have to ring Three and ask them for the
>>unlock code for you.
>
> Give over there are many outlets that can unlock ANY phone for you
> what I am wondering is if you do get a 3 phone unlocked will 3 know
> about it or not . I should get a 3 phone delivered tomorrow and would
> like to get it unlocked so I can just swap the sim instead of taking a
> second phone with me while I am in Europe for a couple of days next
> week and for future use in this way.

No, they won't know about it (not remotely I mean, they'll obviously be
able to know if you send it to Three for service). That said, those outlets
that you're talking can not unlock ANY phone. There are some models that
they won't be able to unlock. Also, in some cases for some models (don't
know if this still applies for current phone) they might have to open the
phone and do some soldering which will obviously void your guarantee. I
don't know whether your guarantee will also be void if the phone is
unlocked with an unlocked code not supplied by Three or a cable.

Nearly all new Nokia phones (BB5) can not be locked by anyone or anything
other than the network that it's registered to.

Dan