Phone purchased in UK

all the stars

Hiya

So i broke my phone
I want to get a new one - the one i like is online from Orange UK... Im on Meteor... If i buy this phone am i going to run into all sorts of trouble with my irish sim card?

billbond4

What phone are you after?

You could buy it SIMfree from a website like expansys or pixmania which would be unlocked and therefore accept your Meteor sim.

The only other issue would be your MMS and WAP settings, but you can get easily enough, Sony Ericsson have a webpage that you can fill out and they send you the settings for their phones.

all the stars

Samsung F210 Pink

that the one i, after...
i seen the regular black one online for €279....
The one i want from uk is €99 sterling.. and i like the bit of colour..

billbond4

There is one on Ebay.co.uk going for 90£, its unlocked so it would work with your meteor phone
Search for "SGH-F210 pink"

pyramuid man

Orange have a highly modified version of Samsungs OS on all samsung phones that they sell normally. So if you unlocked it then the chances of getting it to work 100% on meteor is not always possible. Functionality is going to be different.

billbond4

Is it possible to debrand the Samsung OS?

BJC

all the stars wrote: »

Samsung F210 Pink

that the one i, after...
i seen the regular black one online for €279....
The one i want from uk is €99 sterling.. and i like the bit of colour..

If you do get one locked to a network its very easy to change. If you know anyone who works in any mobile phone shop (esp. carphone warehouse) they can get the codes for unlocking any phone and if you dont they are notorious for taking a tenner in a handshake and they'll fix all your woe's! Also you can buy "phone unlockers" for nothing under cell phone accessories on dealextreme.com
Basically don't let the fact that the phone is locked deter you!

Doctor DooM

BJC wrote: »

If you do get one locked to a network its very easy to change. If you know anyone who works in any mobile phone shop (esp. carphone warehouse) they can get the codes for unlocking any phone and if you dont they are notorious for taking a tenner in a handshake and they'll fix all your woe's! Also you can buy "phone unlockers" for nothing under cell phone accessories on dealextreme.com
Basically don't let the fact that the phone is locked deter you!

I wouldn't be too sure about that. I always had issues unlocking Samsungs.

I wouldnt do it until you have it confirmed by a reputable shop that the unlock can be performed, OP.

all the stars

thanks all for the feedback..

the exact one i am after is on ebay uk... i've never bought off ebay and am quite wary of it - you never know right?

I dont want to go buying it unless i know for sure that it will work - so perhaps when in town will pop into carfone warehouse or somewhere and explain & see what they think....

Why dont all these nice phones be available over here? Its weird that certain colours and versions are not available..

pyramuid man

If you are concerned about ebay then only buy from reputable sellers. Check the feedback and make sure it is not all from very recently and that it is different users for each item. I only purchase from people who seem very legit and it has worked so far. Powersellers and shops with high feedback scores are the best to go for. It might cost a little more but it is worth it.

lawhec

Orange, or at least when I bought a PAYG phone off them a few years back (Sagem My-X6) would give you the unlock code for your phone for a fee of £20 at any time if you called up and requested it. They take the money from the credit you have on your Orange SIM card.

Orange are notoriously known for branding their phones (they disabled the wi-fi capability of the original N95) but a quick google seems to suggest that it can be unbranded. This * website here seems to offer it & an unlock for £25 and would probably prove less hassle that dealing with Orange.

* Please note, I am not affiliated with the linked site, I am only giving it as an example as it was the first I came across.

Ah-Watch

I tried to unlock a phone from orange last september september 2nd to be exact and they refused to unlock the phone, they changed terms and conditions of unlocking 4 days beforehand... now u have to be activated andhave the sim and phone paired together for 3 months before they'll entertain u by unlocking even with a fee. I tried every single trick in the book from saying I didn know phones were unlocked... i live in ireland... ive had it several months but hadnt been using the sim that came with it.... no luck at all..... easiest thing is to buy sim free on ebay or try a Turbo sim(some nokia turbo sims unlock samsing too)

hope thats of some help to you!:D