Develop Bugs

Dissapointed with IMEI-CHECK.CO.UK

So, I buy an XDA IIi last Saturday after trying to get a IIs and failing miserably. Bring it home, open it up and play like an excited kid at Christmas! :lol: Go to imei-check.co.uk and get it unlocked. £20 seems reasonable for the service and it's super duper speedy. VEry impressed.
Come Monday, start to have difficulties with the handset - screen problems - and take it back to the o2 shop. Tell the guy there my story and he says that I can have it swapped for a IIi or, if I want, a IIs. They had two in stock. Snap up the IIs there and then.
Email imei-check to see if I could get this one unlocked. Now, all credit to their customer services dept, a friendly email a couple of hours later, but to say that if I had a new phone, it was a new unlock and I'd have to shell out another £20.
Now, I could understand this if I actually had a "new" phone, which techincally I do I suppose, but this is only because the first one was faulty. I surely can't be the only person to ever have been in this situation and the more I think about it, the more it has really dissapointed me with their otherwise excellent customer service. I even offered to provide copies of the exchange reciept.
What do you guys think? Am I being unreasonable here? :?

It's not really IMEI-Check's fault that your XDA died though is it? Here's an analogy:
You fill your brand new car up with fuel. Later that day, a major fault with your car develops and has to go back to the dealer. The dealer gives you a replacement straight away. Would you go back to filling station and demand some free petrol for your replacement car?
That said, it doesn't really cost IMEI-Check any money to calculate a new unlock code for you, although they've got their costs to cover...staff to pay and website hosting costs, etc. So it would really be up to them, there's no obligation.
I just wish someone would figure out how to unlock these things for free and there wouldn't be all this hassle!
-no1

Granted, and I very much like your analogy - appeals to my lawyer side!
However, it doesn't actually cost imei-check to generate the codes, as you say. It presumably costs them to develop the method, to which they are rightly entitled to earn back what they spent and make a profit.
My issue is, with the car example, I would be able to say to the dealer that I wanted them to top up the petrol, there is no way I can do this with o2 and therefore no provision for my XDA failing and being replaced.
Obviously, I'm not suggesting that imei-check are in any way bound to supply me with a new cose, but from a customer service point of view, it just strikes me as a bit dissapointing.
Ah well.

I would count yourself lucky - with the phone unlocked by a thrid party O2 *could* have voided any warantee and refuse a replacement altogether!
R

O2 xdaIII v. T-Mob MDAIII

Hi all
I've been using a pda for the past four years, currently use HP IPAQ 5550 with bluetooth and wifi etc. Separately I've got a Orange 3G phone. I am tempted to go for the Blue Angel with the keyboard, sold in the UK on O2 and T-Mobile, so that I've got a connected device, without having to apir the phone with the pda.
I understand the devices are the same, so is O2 any better than T-Mobile in terms of mobile data, gprs, etc? Or in terms of support? Restrictionjs re internet, off- walled garden browsing? Or in terms of upgrading to WM2005? I know that T-Mobile will eventually offer affordable data bunddles under the web'n'walk concept (in september), which may attract me to TMob.
Also, does any of the network prevent you from downloading additional softwares, such as avantgo, pocket informant, etc? I read that the sim lock -on orange pda devices?- prevented downloads of softwares by so-called non-approved third parties.
Is there anything I should know before choosing one or the other networks?
Thanks for your help.

there isnt much difference within the different providers of a blue angel. they are the same apart from there networks minor tweeks, software etc. the o2 rom is****, i not sure about the orange or t-mobile one tho....

Go with whoever is cheapest
Just buy whoever is cheapest overall for you. Coverage across the UK is roughly the same (ie whoever you get it will work everywhere *but* your house ) and the phones are the same too. T-Mobile doesn't install a lot of crap, but I highly recommend upgrading the ROM anyway (although it takes a while to get your head around it, if you're as retarded as me). If it goes to hell you can put the old ROM back again.
I *have* read bad things about O2 on these boards; I got hit with the noise problem (have a search for it), but after my 7 days courier return (still in my 28 days store return). I phoned them up, told them what was wrong and that the nearest T-Mobile store was 50 miles away, and they dispatched a courier anyway. O2 told the guy who had the same problem as me that he dropped it and charged him 150+ quid to get it fixed. That's a load of rubbish, and I bet they know it too.
All mobile phone operators are greedy, but only some of them are charlatans as well.
T-Mobile will also give you the MDA III for 80 quid if you sign up for 18 months at 30 quid a month (you can drop the price plan down afterwards if you like). Last I saw, O2 and Orange wanted 250 per handset.
Personally, I prefer Orange because at least you can talk to a real human being easily. T-Mobile make it difficult, but I'd rather save £170
HTH
Chris

Going to get the O2 XDA 2i tomorrow morning at O2 shop....hopefully can get it at £60 with £35 12 months contract. The cheapest I saw on internet is £69.90 with £35 12 months contract.
Will anyone of you feeling regret after you bought the XDA 2i?

The XDA IIi appears to be a better specced machine all round; with less chance of a keyboard to get loose...
If I'd known of that deal (I bought my phone online, but the O2 store didn't work and the other dealers like Carphone Warehouse didn't stock it), I would have gone with that
Chris

Thanks
Lewisham and Joey
Thanks a lot.
Is there an application lock on any of these devices? I guess all of them are sim-locked anyway...
Cheers

The SIM lock can be removed with an application on these forums, so that also answers no to app lock
Chris

Re: Go with whoever is cheapest
Lewisham said:
T-Mobile will also give you the MDA III for 80 quid if you sign up for 18 months at 30 quid a month (you can drop the price plan down afterwards if you like). Last I saw, O2 and Orange wanted 250 per handset.
HTH
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, been lurking for some time now and about to buy one of these units.... quick question though - how long did you have to wait before you where allowed to drop your contract down ?
Cheers
T

Ok...so which one again ?
So let's say...an enterprising individual happened to acquire both an
Orange SPV M2000
AND AN
O2 XDA IIs
both in identical condition ( New ), which one would you recommend this individual keep, and which one should he sell. An inquiring individual would like to know.
Marcelo

It's the same phone.
Whoever is cheapest.
If both cheapest; Orange has better customer service.
Chris

Lewisham said:
It's the same phone.
Whoever is cheapest.
If both cheapest; Orange has better customer service.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lewisham - did you see my question above.... I'm wondering if know of a get out clause that dont - ie take a 18mth high contract and your allowed to move down 6mths later ...
Cheers
Terran

No, you can't do that. Your contract is fixed length. All you can change is the price plan you pay.
At least, I don't think you can. I might well ask them tomorrow.
Chris

Posing the question differently....
Lewisham said:
It's the same phone.
Whoever is cheapest.
If both cheapest; Orange has better customer service.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was speaking from the stand point that I ALREADY have both of them, new, and I can only keep both. They're NOT under contract. Which in people's opinion makes the better "keeper".

Posing the question differently....
Lewisham said:
It's the same phone.
Whoever is cheapest.
If both cheapest; Orange has better customer service.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was speaking from the stand point that I ALREADY have both of them, new, and I can only keep both. They're NOT under contract. Which in people's opinion makes the better "keeper".

OK cheers.... I thought that was the case, just wondered cos of what you posted before....
T-Mobile will also give you the MDA III for 80 quid if you sign up for 18 months at 30 quid a month (you can drop the price plan down afterwards if you like).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Terran

ccsnet said:
OK cheers.... I thought that was the case, just wondered cos of what you posted before....
T-Mobile will also give you the MDA III for 80 quid if you sign up for 18 months at 30 quid a month (you can drop the price plan down afterwards if you like).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Terran
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, you can drop to say a 15 quid a month price plan, but AFAIK, the length cannot be changed, because of the way they calculate the subsidy of the phone. But I will try tomorrow.
I was speaking from the stand point that I ALREADY have both of them, new, and I can only keep both. They're NOT under contract. Which in people's opinion makes the better "keeper".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well they are the same phone aren't they? It's like saying I have a Sony Ericsson P900 from Orange, and a Sony Ericsson P900 from O2. Which do I keep? The one you haven't beat up the most? The one that looks prettiest after they put the operator badge on it?
You tell me
Chris

Lewisham said:
Well they are the same phone aren't they? It's like saying I have a Sony Ericsson P900 from Orange, and a Sony Ericsson P900 from O2. Which do I keep? The one you haven't beat up the most? The one that looks prettiest after they put the operator badge on it?
You tell me
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really, but I hear what you're saying. I wasn't thinking of "stylistics". Apparently their construction isn't all the same, the quality control in building them apparently hasn't been the same, and the software packages built-in, certainly aren't the same. I was talking about all those in the process of deciding. Not just because one is black and other is bronze-ish silver.

The build construction is the same; the hardware is identical, all that changes is the software preloaded.
But I would highly recommend installing 1.40, so the software is going to become whatever ROM you put on it, so it really does end up coming down to the hardware, and all that changes is the aesthetics.
Keep them both, and run them for a little bit. See if either develops the whistling screen.
Chris

Hi All, New member and new to PDA's....
I have just order my T-Mobile MDA III on an 18mth contract with 100 txt for £33/mth - 1/2 price line rental for 6mths?? They said that if I do not change tariff or upgrade, the 1/2 price line would be for life! after 18mths is complete.
They are out of stock at the minute, so will be waiting with bated breath!

Its official, 02 charge for GPRS usage.

I just got a ****ing huge bill for GPRS usage. According to 02, I have used 33986kb on GPRS last month. This has cost be £80 extra on the bill.
According to a few posts I read last month on this forum (which is complete bul****) 02 do not charge for GPRS.
Someone claimed to be working for 02 and said 02 does not charge, I mean, what the **** was that all about.
Anyone else in the same situation right now? I am already broke, this is gonna get me into serious debt now.
I mean.. WTF !!!!!!!!!!!!

80 GBP and you cry?
c'mon, you've gotta be kidding me. If thats your problem, lol
I just got a bill for 1600 euros and I couldnt care less
life's a *****, deal with it

i work for my money you ignorant prat!

Put your money where your mouth is and take that "paypal" button off of your website..
My 2 cents (the only ones you're ever gonna get)

They haven't charged for GPRS usage so far, but it's not exactly surprising that they'd make an exception for someone who uses such a high amount of data. Obviously if you're sensible and don't go too far over your allowance it's not going to be charged, but if you flaunt the system you're going to raise some flags.
The bottom line is if you aren't prepared to pay for your GPRS usage, then don't use it. If you do use it and you don't get charged it makes a nice bonus, but you can't expect something for free and then complain when it's not.

alitech said:
i work for my money you ignorant prat!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha, so do I
'serious debt'
80 GBP
lmfao
:roll:

frater said:
Put your money where your mouth is and take that "paypal" button off of your website..
My 2 cents (the only ones you're ever gonna get)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah yes and you have developed a website and spent countless hours on it too I guess?
I just think it is extremely funny someone can cry like a friggin baby over a 80 GBP bill
I am a student, I work weekends and have a limited budget yet I find time and money, which I spent out of my own pocket to help people. I dont want to get rich of it and I wont, since everyone has the same freeloading attitude like you do, but I dont want to spend truckloads on money either when the site is gonna attract more traffic
what did you do to help others btw?
lmao

If you think you can get something totally free in this world you must be from a different world... this is planet earth and we have something called Multi national companies who are greedy!
Come on... O2 giving GPRS for free... yes, they did have a promo, but you have to be responsible for your own actions... check it out with O2 first - phone them or check out their website.
If your money is worth so much to you should be responsible when you spend it.

w3rd up

£80 is over a weeks work to me as I have to work for free in a solicitors and study atop my normal job and would be crippling debt. It would take me a month to pay that off.
Anyway, as far as I was aware, we established on here that it was free, but if you go overboard 02 would clock on, and that they could choose to bill you for the lot if they want. So think yourself lucky they only charged you one months usage!
I only use about 2.5mb a month maximumand they haven't billed me yet. How did you use all that anyway? Your phone has WiFi, and in any town you're never more than 20 meters away from an unlocked network!

well i have heard of one guy getting charged for gprs but he was streaming radio and video. i think he got hit hard £300+
im on o2 and it has been a relief so far (touch wood) that i haven't been charged.
i would prefer for o2 to charge but at a fair rate, or even offer a package where for x amount you get y.

Let me get this right, you took the word of the people on here but you never checked with O2. You then proceeded to hammer your account because you thought you were getting something for nothing. It reminds me of a guy I saw in one of those "Eat all you can for a fiver" cafes, the fat bastard gorged himself like a pig at a trough and then said to his buddy "that ****ing food gave me indigestion". You have to pay the piper my friend.

Good luck to those who have not been charged (yet), but don't complain if you get a bill - if you use it you should pay for it!
I pay for my GPRS as an addition to my normal tarriff & it pains me a little to see some people getting it for free, but I suppose if I knew I could get it for free, I wouldn't be too quick to sign up to pay for it
O2 (UK) do offer a reasonable GPRS package - I pay £14.50 + VAT (=£17.04) for my O2 Data36 bolt-on to my monthly contract. It gives me 36Mb/month (more than enough for my needs) and extra data is £0.85 +VAT (=£1.00) per Mb. You'll find these tariffs under the business sections rather than the persoanl tariffs.
I know T-Mobile & Orange have similarly structured GPRS bolt-ons - prices & amounts of data vary etc, but the concept is the same.
I do think the providers are missing out by not offering a lower entry price e.g. £6 for 10Mb or similar.

I also use the same 02 bolt on package.
There is something strange in that i havent yet been charged for any over mb that I knew I had gone over And their computer is registering I am using it and logging the times , but it shows no data actually used.
sounds like a fault with their computers, but I am sure this will be fixed.

I made the mistake of using the internet on my old P800 in America. BIG phonebill.
TBH, as I said earlier, I puposely bought a phone with wifi so that I only only have to use GPRS as a last option. Seriously, ANYWHERE I have ever been, I have never had to walk more than 40 metres to get WiFi connection to the internet. Some other poor sod can pay for my usage

I was with O2 until July. I roam a lot and used the Internet a lot. I was never charged. Not even the minimum daily GPRS roaming charge listed on their website. I was lucky.
I think it may be down to your account provider. Even though the bill comes from O2, O2 has a number of account providers such as Carphone Warehouse or Tesco Mobile.
I originally signed up with BT Cellnet and my provider was Securicor Mobile.
I am not sure how account providers work but it is just a thought.

Hi
O2 were giving me free GPRS when it first went on line and it seems to still be free, though there was a period they were charging me and my bills were high, especailly for GPRS usage on my 3 and half month round the world tour when i roamed!
When we take a contract out for anything these days it is our repsonsibility to check that it suits us and if not, change. Occasionally O2 may not lead the providers with the best offers but like everything it swings in roundabouts and at the moment they seem to have good deals and popular.
Have to say that there XDA website support and updates are a bit thin.
I am with O2 and have been for 6 years without changing provider.
I was made an O2 'Select' customer which i believe they are no longer registering new customers as. This means that you are one of their top 200,000 users... did not think i would qualify.
They give me special offers like answering customer service calls 'IMMEDIATELY' and no queuing, free itemised billing, 60% discount off mobiles and accessories, new handsets before everyone else, and recently i swung a free XDA2i out of them that should have been £180.
From everyones comments above seems like our mate noddy with the £80 bill is the only one who can't manage his money! :lol:
drjrao

So erm...
how much data does msn messenger use then ?
:S
any idea how i could work out my costs on it :s ??

My Daft sister!
My dear sister uses T-Mobile. She decided that now she had broadband, she'd download Nortan Antivirus etc. She was so worried about connecting her laptop to the internet without this software, she decided that it would be more secure connecting to the internet via her GPRS enabled mobile phone to down load it! Anyway, £350 worth of GPRS later, the file still would not download all the way through. The phone account was locked out when it hit the £350 limit. T-mobile, once they'd stopped laughing were very sympathetic and agreed that she could repay them in installment over several month. She has incoming calls only and has had the GPRS disabled!

im very sorry for her, but that story is just hilarious

HTC TP2: Can anyone answer my MPD - Vodafone & T-Mobile contracts question

I wanted to ask MPD about two different contracts I am interested in below as I really would like to order a Touch Pro 2 today, but they never answer the phone!:
T-Mobile
700
Minutes
per month Unlimited
Text
+
Unlimited mobile web
per month £34.26
Line rental
per month
was £35.00 3 months
Free insurance
+
2.5% VAT Off
Line Rental
Looks good until you look at the info, maximum browsing cost per day £1!!!!
Vodafone:
300
Minutes
per month Unlimited
Text
+
Unlimited mobile web
per month £34.26
Line rental
per month
was £35.00 3 months
Free insurance
+
2.5% VAT Off
Line Rental
Now this deal looks good too but says nothing about daily browsing costs, nor does it on the Vodafone website.
Can anyone confirm that both above deals incurr EXTRA browsing/email/surfing costs?
I want to buy my HTC TP2 today but there is no point getting it and having to incurr large daily charges for a device that really is going to primarily be connected to the net daily.
Cheers

Both deals have inclusive internet so there will be no additional charge.
The T-Mobile £1 charge only applies if you don't have an add on Web n'Walk package, which the contract you quoted does have.
I think the W&W deal has a fair use policy of 1gb. I have had W&W for a few years now and despite tethering to my laptop and using data on my WM devices heavily I have never had a letter from T-Mobile asking me to reduce my use.
However I am concerned about the difficulty in contacting MPD. My TP2 is misbehaving. Not sure yet if it is a hardware fault but lack of communications with MPD worries me. Guess I will have to contact HTC but I want the option of a replacement handset rather than a repair.

Thank you for you're reply aerotec.
Well to be honest I have contacted them by email (wednesday) with no reply and called them around 10 times since then with no reply including leaving voice mail this morning - this is very worrying and a major issue if anything goes wrong with the phone, it has totally put me off.
I'm considering Expansys now as they have returned all my emails quickly, I didnt even have to call.
I hope yours gets sorted mate.

if you go directly to voda mate, on their bussiness page, you can get a free HTC TP2, 900 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet for £34.03 + vat... hold in, i'll link it.
HERE IT IS
18 month contract... are the ones you list 18mnth ?
It looks alot better to go directly to voda or am i missing something ?
EDIT : To get the plan i was on about, hit the 18 month click box and click 'view all plans'

The MPD deal is still pretty good. I took the 12 month deal as it worked out about the same as buying it unconnected.
I just hope I can sort out the handset problem though it has worked ok today.
I drove 5hrs yesterday and the TP2 kept giving me connection errors and Tomtom kept hanging on me. Why can't my gadgets just WORK!

drawflex said:
if you go directly to voda mate, on their bussiness page, you can get a free HTC TP2, 900 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet for £34.03 + vat... hold in, i'll link it.
HERE IT IS
18 month contract... are the ones you list 18mnth ?
It looks alot better to go directly to voda or am i missing something ?
EDIT : To get the plan i was on about, hit the 18 month click box and click 'view all plans'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the exact deal I got, although they don't have any more stock till monday apparently, but there was one available in my local store so she reserved it for me, and i picked it up same day.
MPD supply a non-brandaed, stock HTC TP2, where is vodafones is branded is the only real difference.

Thats a damn good deal, beats T-Mobile hands down.
I wish I could get one from my local store, but none have any.
I would prefer non-branded, but I'll definately take a look at that!
Thanks!
EDIT: Pretty sure -T-Mobile give you 1GB fair usage policy whereas Voda is 500MB?

I've just signed up for that deal aswell, and yeah, no stock till monday, I went to my local store and they'd just sold the only one they had... so i gotta wait
Apparently coz it's a bussiness phone local stores hold hardly any stock anyways..
More time to dowload goodies and fill up the 8GB card i just bought for it
EDIT : Also my local store didn't want to honour this deal as they said ' it's a bussiness only deal, were not a bussiness shop' so i'd recommend calling the number on the voda site, they were pleasant enough to deal with.

Don't go with T-Mobile, they're worse than useless.
In this thread, issues I've had with them:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=529984

SuperAdvan said:
EDIT: Pretty sure -T-Mobile give you 1GB fair usage policy whereas Voda is 500MB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, thats right... I can live with that though... i doubt i'll download anywhere near 500MB in a month over the air... but horses for courses.

You guys are a great help thanks.
Ok I phoned Vodafone, they are currently stocking them in:
Middlesborough (18!!)
Guildford
Thats about it according to the really helpful lady that I spoke to.
I wont be using T-Mobile then based on your issues mate, cheers.

By the way, how bad is the branding? is it possible to get rid of it using another ROM yet?

SuperAdvan said:
By the way, how bad is the branding? is it possible to get rid of it using another ROM yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I quite like it (not sure how many share my opinion here though).
Was getting bored of the black HTC theme on my other HTC phones (TyTN II/Touch HD).
To change the ROM you'd just need to install a new bootloader to unlock it and then install whatever ROM. I think the stock ROMs are available on the wiki, bear in mind it invalidates your warranty though. I've not done it myself since having the original TyTN handset and loading a custom ROM but it's fairly simple, a mate of mine did his TP1 the other day when he was round my place, didn't really pay much attention but it was basically the same process.

Ok sounds easy enough, thanks.
So would this also enable me to download the official HTC ROMs and the WM 6.5? or do you need to have an unbranded HTC phone for this?
Sorry if this is a stupid question.
MPD got back to me finally so all good.
So my choice is now unbranded (at extra cost £89 with a slightly inferiour voda contract) or branded (free with a better contract) - hmmm!

from how i see it... i might be wrong (i'm still wet behind the ears) you cant flash any rom to any TP2 yet untill someone comes up with a hardSPL for it (dunno about un-branded though) someone please confirm ?
From what i've read in the rom devolopment section they're working on it.
Once that's done.. you'll be able to whack any ROM on it and get rid of any branding.
Till then you gotta live with the branding i think.

Thanks - all my questions answered, much appreciated all.

The branding is AWFUL! pink white grey and black
But it is very easy to undo without flashing. There is a thread in the themes section, install one file and its gone

got mine from MPD and yeah they were a pain to get thru too via phone sometimes and email! i am very persistent so kept ringing till i got an answer sometimes 5 times back to back but i get thru. emails were answered quite quickly and i even had my contracts emailed to me for signing so i could get phone next day.............impressive! i did however speak to another gentleman who had no clue what i was on about when i enquired bout the postage of my phone. i got the t-mobile combi 30 deal where you got 700 mins plus unlimited texts w/out w&w as i already have a t-mobile line fully loaded on flext 35. it cost me £29.15 monthly and i paid £45 for phone!
that deal for £34.25 is quite good and phone is free. you get an unbranded and unlocked handset which is the biggest plus. getting the phone from voda direct means that it will come with their version of the stock rom which is not very good at all! keep ringing till MPD answers as they do eventually..............you need to get phone unbranded to truly experience the beauty of the phone. that IMO beats the lack of contact from MPD. when you do get thru you will get sorted. i think it gets rather busy in there and it is only a small shop with limited number of staff. it is also a walk in shop not online based like others. if they are busy dealing with walk in customers they won't answer phone!

stunno said:
The branding is AWFUL! pink white grey and black
But it is very easy to undo without flashing. There is a thread in the themes section, install one file and its gone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that doesn't get rid of the overal performance as base rom will still be voda branded and doesn't work well at all

SuperAdvan said:
By the way, how bad is the branding? is it possible to get rid of it using another ROM yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pretty bad from what i have been told! you can't flash custom roms at present till hard spl is released. this will also have a security unlock that will enable you to flash custom roms. ETA is not known but it is work in progress. in branded state you will only be able to flash voda updates. HTC rom or future htc updates you will not be able to use till hrad spl is available. even if you remove the look of the phone the base rom will still be voda and that is the issue. the unbranded handset with stock rom works far better than voda branded one! IMO the choice is clear!

Moving to UK and need to Buy the Desire

For someone just moving to the UK is it possible to buy a phone on contract?
Apparently some sites say you need a 3 year address proof before you can sign a contract? Is it not possible for some one who has just moved to the UK to work to get a phone on contract? Really want the Desire

There must be a way to as a lot of people come over to work. Surely they don't wait three years!

The way contracts work over here is you will need proof of identity and a utility bill with your current UK address.
If you lived within europe for the last three years then I beleieve you will be ok however if not then you should still be able to get a contract but they wont provide you with a phone for a certain amount of time.
My GF when we went to take her out a contract at the age of 18 because she had no credit history they would give her a contract but no phone even though she had been here 18 years! So in the end did it in my name.
Best bet is to phone up and ask around te providers see what they say. You might even have better luck doing a contract in store (will need photo proof)
Good luck getting the Desire though it seems this country is sold out of it I spent the whole day trying to source one (signed my contract over a week ago and T-mobile told me today they have no idea when they will be able to get one)
Stores all around my county had waiting lists of 20+ and refused to put me down as their lists where to big. After alot of searching (and arguing with T-Mobile because they wouldnt order from two places that had stock) I finally managed to get mine and went and picked it up this afternoon (after they conned me to paying another £30 for the phone!)
Good Luck

Can't you even get one SIM-Free? If you can afford it, obviously

max_carpenter said:
The way contracts work over here is you will need proof of identity and a utility bill with your current UK address.
If you lived within europe for the last three years then I beleieve you will be ok however if not then you should still be able to get a contract but they wont provide you with a phone for a certain amount of time.
My GF when we went to take her out a contract at the age of 18 because she had no credit history they would give her a contract but no phone even though she had been here 18 years! So in the end did it in my name.
Best bet is to phone up and ask around te providers see what they say. You might even have better luck doing a contract in store (will need photo proof)
Good luck getting the Desire though it seems this country is sold out of it I spent the whole day trying to source one (signed my contract over a week ago and T-mobile told me today they have no idea when they will be able to get one)
Stores all around my county had waiting lists of 20+ and refused to put me down as their lists where to big. After alot of searching (and arguing with T-Mobile because they wouldnt order from two places that had stock) I finally managed to get mine and went and picked it up this afternoon (after they conned me to paying another £30 for the phone!)
Good Luck
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Dam they made you pay a lot!
And thanks a lot

Sim Free would be quite expensive sadly for now.
This person who would be moving there would be working with a law firm and they would provide proof of employment and with his Annual salary and contract length specified and plus he would have enough money in his account so he should pass the credit check right?

I just moved from South Africa to the UK... three weeks ago. Walked into O2 last week and walked out with a Desire on contract. No problem. All u need is a bank account and debit card.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Thanks a lot mate. Just PM'ing you now.

sup330 said:
I just moved from South Africa to the UK... three weeks ago. Walked into O2 last week and walked out with a Desire on contract. No problem. All u need is a bank account and debit card.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
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What all did they need? They din't check your 3 years address proof? And as for credit check what did they see?

What you may want to look into mate is buying a PAYG HTC Desire i got my O2 one for £330 then get a simplicty sim.
From O2 at the moment I think they do 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet and your not tied to the contract its like rolling every 30 days. You ring them and cancel when you want to.
Won't let me post links yet but go to O2 then tariffs and Sim only Simplicty.
Also the website doesn't show the desire on PAYG but it is available in the shops.

Hmm but buying it for 330 is rather expensive right now. He'd rather take it up on contract. Thanks though

You may be able to do a full contract it all depends on what they decide its their discression. I just didn't have to provide 3 year proof of address nor did my finacee but because she had just turned 18 and didn't have a credit history like I said they told her she would have to be on contract for 6 months before they gave her a phone so I did it in my name for her.

I bought my first phone on a contract in the UK 1 week after I got here.
I bought it online, and I didn't have to provide anything... and when they asked on the form online for how long I have been living at the address I was renting, I said more than 12 months (as instructed by one of the indian online chat asistants ) ).
Actually I signed up to a £15/month contract for the phone (and got a free Nokia 6500slide) and also a 50% discounted £7.5 mobile broadband contract, so 2 separate contracts.
They called me the next day and said my credit checks are OK for the broadband contract but for the phone I had to pay a £75 guarantee which I will get back after the first 6 months of the contract... payed over the phone, everything came the next day, and that was it... (this happened in September 2008)
It was with Three.co.uk - but I won't recommend them because their coverage sucks if you come in the South-West around Swindon... The London area, Birmingham area are ok though... didn't use their network anywhere else in the UK...

zonkkk said:
I bought my first phone on a contract in the UK 1 week after I got here.
I bought it online, and I didn't have to provide anything... and when they asked on the form online for how long I have been living at the address I was renting, I said more than 12 months (as instructed by one of the indian online chat asistants ) ).
Actually I signed up to a £15/month contract for the phone (and got a free Nokia 6500slide) and also a 50% discounted £7.5 mobile broadband contract, so 2 separate contracts.
They called me the next day and said my credit checks are OK for the broadband contract but for the phone I had to pay a £75 guarantee which I will get back after the first 6 months of the contract... payed over the phone, everything came the next day, and that was it... (this happened in September 2008)
It was with Three.co.uk - but I won't recommend them because their coverage sucks if you come in the South-West around Swindon... The London area, Birmingham area are ok though... didn't use their network anywhere else in the UK...
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Oh. Thanks a lot
Hmm he can lie about living for more than 12 months I guess.
Will this work with other places like mobiles.co.uk? And what if he goes to a Carphone Warehouse shop.
From what I've read at various places the address should be not much of an issue. So hopefully he can get his phone.
If he does take the phone in the name of a relative then can he do something so that he's paying out of his own account?

You can't lie about how long you have been living at a certain place because they are likley to run a check and it is illegal.
And no generally the money has to be taken out of the account with the same name as the contract or a joint account with that persons name on it.
Try going directly for a contract in his own name with phone they may give it to him.

I got my Desire two weeks after my 18th birthday. No credit check required as far as I know. I did order online though. I haven't missed a payment yet XD. So I guess my credit score should be going through the roof!

Just because you haven't missed a payment on one contract doesn't make you credit rating go through the roof sadly. its also based on sex / age / location (if the rest of your street have bad credit ratings then that makes your bad as well)
Very unfair if you ask me....
And they would of performed a check if they are providing a phone on contract but they don't always tell you - not sure if they tell you when ordering online as I have never done that - but they still will do the check.

max_carpenter said:
You can't lie about how long you have been living at a certain place because they are likley to run a check and it is illegal.
And no generally the money has to be taken out of the account with the same name as the contract or a joint account with that persons name on it.
Try going directly for a contract in his own name with phone they may give it to him.
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Yeah that is what we want. He'll have all his address proof,employment proof and a ready bank account so hopefully he won't have any problem with it.
Is Vodafone's service good?

Vodafone are ok. We have them here at our company with about 100 mobiles and they are known for being the best coverage in the UK but in all honesty I would say my T-Mobile phone has better coverage then the Vodafone's we have here at work but they aren't bad.
Had a couple of problems with Customer Service in the last 4 months but they got resovled in a okish amount of time.

Hmm
That 30 pounds a month plan with the Booster seems decent.
Would I be able to get it at the Carphone Warehouse store though? Going online would take time and he needs to get his phone within 2 weeks.