Q. Using PAYG phone with contract sim

I've done some searching on this but everything I have found is
regarding doing things the other way around...

I have been living abroad for a number of years. Before I left, I
converted my account to Virgin OVP so no monthly fees and when I come
back, I power on the phone and can start calling with the same old
number. Nice.

However, my L7089 is starting to get a bit creaky. Still works great and
I managed to track down a replacement battery recently as the old one
was dying. A replacement might be nice now. When I left, being on the
Virgin OVP meant there was no upgrade susbsidy, I'm assuming that that's
the same now. So I'm wondering about buying a PAYG phone and dropping
my SIM in there. Thing is, the prices have dropped on PAYG phones so I'm
guessing the networks are applying more of a handset subsidy than they
were and may not take too kindly to someone getting a cheap upgrade this
way. Anyone know if there would be any issues with this? (Note: I know
it would actually work as I put my SIM in a PAYG handset to try. I'm
just worried about accounts being shut down or handsets locked etc).

Thanks

Rich

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Richard Thomas <[email protected]> wrote:
: way. Anyone know if there would be any issues with this? (Note: I know
: it would actually work as I put my SIM in a PAYG handset to try. I'm
: just worried about accounts being shut down or handsets locked etc).

It will work just fine! I have upgraded my OVP Virgin Orange handset several
times by just buying an PAYG phone and dropping the SIM into it.

"Brian McIlwrath" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Richard Thomas <[email protected]> wrote:
> : way. Anyone know if there would be any issues with this? (Note: I know
> : it would actually work as I put my SIM in a PAYG handset to try. I'm
> : just worried about accounts being shut down or handsets locked etc).
>
> It will work just fine! I have upgraded my OVP Virgin Orange handset
> several
> times by just buying an PAYG phone and dropping the SIM into it.
>
It's a good idea to buy a phone with lots of dynamic memory, as old Orange
Sims
may only have memories for 90 contacts and 10 SMS.

Best deal I know for cheap non camera phone is Nokia 1600
on Orange PAYT, 15 quid at WHSmiths

Unlock it yourself for free using:
http://www.unlockitfree.com
then you can use any 2g sim in it

Or if you only need a locked phone on Orange,
Nokia 1208 for a Tenner at Woolworths

Steve Terry

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:53:18 +0000, Richard Thomas wrote:
> However, my L7089 is starting to get a bit creaky. Still works great and
> I managed to track down a replacement battery recently as the old one
> was dying. A replacement might be nice now. When I left, being on the
> Virgin OVP meant there was no upgrade susbsidy, I'm assuming that that's
> the same now. So I'm wondering about buying a PAYG phone and dropping
> my SIM in there. Thing is, the prices have dropped on PAYG phones so I'm
> guessing the networks are applying more of a handset subsidy than they
> were and may not take too kindly to someone getting a cheap upgrade this
> way. Anyone know if there would be any issues with this?

My understand is that the retailers get some money back from the network
when a phone they sell is connected and may form the bulk of the profit.
This is why Argos have a one phone per customer policy.

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:16:33 +0000 (UTC), Brian McIlwrath <[email protected]> wrote:
>Richard Thomas <[email protected]> wrote:
>: way. Anyone know if there would be any issues with this? (Note: I know
>: it would actually work as I put my SIM in a PAYG handset to try. I'm
>: just worried about accounts being shut down or handsets locked etc).
>
>It will work just fine! I have upgraded my OVP Virgin Orange handset several
>times by just buying an PAYG phone and dropping the SIM into it.

I "upgraded" my OVP-VM line (still officially on an L7089!) by sticking it
in an out-of-contract (and offline due to upgrade on my ED50 line) V545.
Not quite sure how I managed this bit but I even managed to get Orange to
enable GPRS and add the £1.50 daily cap option (which is free) to my
OVP-VM line. They wanted to know whether the V545 was an Orange phone or
unbranded GSM stock. They seemed okay with it being one formerly on my
other line.

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