Will a sim free UK Mobile Phone work in Ireland

danjo-xx · 15-11-2010 8:54pm #1

Just want to double check. After googling around the answer seems to be yes.

I want to get a Nokia 6303i from amazon which is sim free and use my tesco mobile sim card in it. Are there any hidden pitfall to watch out for.

Basq · 15-11-2010 8:57pm

Nope.. as long as it's sim-unlocked, it's be grand!

Cookie33 · 23-11-2010 8:30pm

so sim free is the same meaning as sim-unlocked then?

Im hoping to get a sim free one off amazon too cos i'm in n.ireland but moving to dublin in september so hoping my british and irish sim card will both work in it

Basq · 23-11-2010 8:32pm

Yep, sim-free means the same as sim-unlocked.

Both a British and Irish sim-card will work fine in one.

Cookie33 · 24-11-2010 5:48pm

Trying to google this but not getting a clear answer..

If I buy my phone from carphonewarehouse or o2 shop in Northern Ireland, will it work in Ireland?

I tried explaining it to them, even offered to give them my Irish sim card to test it but they wouldn't. They said it should but has anyone actually done this?

dannyboymed · 24-11-2010 5:51pm

Yep, if it's sim free that should mean it's totally sim free, there isn't any variation between UK and Ireland in terms of the insides of phones.

Cookie33 · 24-11-2010 5:54pm

what about if its a o2 phone in Northern Ireland but I will be putting my irish o2 sim card in it.

Same network but different countries.

Basq · 24-11-2010 5:59pm

Cookie33 wrote: »

what about if its a o2 phone in Northern Ireland but I will be putting my irish o2 sim card in it.

Same network but different countries.

Nope.. that won't work. It'll be locked to O2 UK.

You'll pay a fair bit more for a sim-free phone (and make sure you clarify it's sim-free before you buy off CPW) as it's not subsidised / tied to a network.

schnorkleborg · 24-11-2010 11:48pm

my phone is locked to the O2 UK network in Northern Ireland and Ive been able to use a meteor sim and currently a vodafone sim. Sorry dont know about Irish O2 sim but I'd assume its the same. Only prob is internet wont work on it and it wont work when i go to UK.

Mimikyu · 25-11-2010 3:08pm

This post has been deleted.

GerardKeating · 25-11-2010 3:34pm

Cookie33 wrote: »

what about if its a o2 phone in Northern Ireland but I will be putting my irish o2 sim card in it.

Same network but different countries.

Nope, not the same network.

O2 Ireland is a different network from O2 UK, just as Vodafone Ireland is a different network from Vodafone UK/CZ/DE/NL etc.

Oafley Jones · 25-11-2010 3:59pm

basquille wrote: »

Yep, sim-free means the same as sim-unlocked.

Both a British and Irish sim-card will work fine in one.

Be very careful as you can come across sellers, particularly on the likes of ebay, who distinguish between sim free (sold without a sim included but not necessarily unlocked) and sim free and unlocked.

leemaree · 05-05-2011 6:56pm

If I buy an phone in the 02 UK shop, bring it home and then put an irish sim in it, will it work without unlocking or do i have to unlock it?

dobsdave · 05-05-2011 7:02pm

Not widely advertised but all phones bought in cpw uk are sim free.

leemaree · 05-05-2011 7:04pm

I didn't say the cpw, I said 02 UK, i know about cpw

bd250110 · 05-05-2011 7:06pm

I think o2-UK generally sell their contract phones unlocked, even in their own retail stores. iPhone is the exception to that rule, but it can be unlocked for free via a o2 web site and iTunes.

leemaree · 05-05-2011 7:12pm

The phone I want to get is Samsung Galaxy S II. It is £399 in O2 UK. What I want to know is if I get it in 02 UK, bring it over to Ireland (where I live) take out the UK sim card and put in my irish one without unlocking it, or will I have to unlock it?

dobsdave · 05-05-2011 7:48pm

leemaree wrote: »

I didn't say the cpw, I said 02 UK, i know about cpw

My post had nothing to do with you, it was aimed at the person who opened the thread.:rolleyes:

leemaree · 05-05-2011 7:49pm

dobsdave · 05-05-2011 7:51pm

leemaree wrote: »

OK

Regarding the phone you are looking at, is it a pay as you go?

leemaree · 05-05-2011 7:53pm

yes it is Pay as you go

dobsdave · 05-05-2011 7:56pm

leemaree wrote: »

yes it is Pay as you go

You will need to unlock it.
Wife got one last month and it was locked.

leemaree · 05-05-2011 7:57pm

thanks

leemaree · 05-05-2011 8:01pm

Do I get it unlocked over in the UK or over here in Ireland or does it matter? Or is there a website that u can unlock for free?

Solair · 05-05-2011 8:50pm

If the phone's actually SIM-Free and unlocked, it will work on ANY GSM/UMTS network and all European GSM/UMTS networks are identical so any unlocked GSM/UMTS phone will work on any GSM/UMTS network in Europe. Frequencies, bands etc are all absolutely identical. It's a European standard.

While the networks may have the same parent company e.g. Vodafone UK, Vodafone Ireland, Vodafone Spain are all owned by the same company i.e. Vodafone Plc, O2 Ireland, O2 UK and O2 Germany are all owned by Telefonica/Movistar.

However, they're all still totally separate networks, so if it's locked to O2 Ireland, it will only work on O2 Ireland. The fact that other networks are called O2 / owned by the same company is irrelevant unfortunately.

Maybe, eventually they'll merge operations, but until then they'll just stick with little independent networks so we're ripped off while roaming.

RosemaryMcC · 10-11-2012 7:14pm

I live in Eire on the border. I want to buy an UNLOCKED nokia 800 for my son for Xmas in Carphone Warehouse in Northern Ireland. I have been told that I can then put his Eire 02 sim in it. Any pitfalls - particularly in relation to internet settings? (O2 Ireland are out of stock for this phone and phones are cheaper in NI anyway).

The Corinthian · 10-11-2012 7:27pm

Please do not raise old threads, but start a new one yourself instead. Thread locked.

Will a sim free UK Mobile Phone work in Ireland

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