If you factory reset the mobile you may lose access to corporate resources i.e email, WiFi etc on it. I would expect someone in IT to realise the device is not longer under their control. You probably also signed an acceptable usage policy so could end up in front of HR.
Company phone
- Thread starter Gti
- Start date
So, hang on. You don't carry a work phone because you're worried about being hauled up in front of HR for looking at smut... yet you access work emails on a non-corporate device?
Are you sure you're not breaking your contract there. I certainly cannot access my work emails on a non-corporate approved device, both via policy/contract and information security. I'd double-check your contract because for all your worry you might already be breaking it...Fair enough! Honestly going through summer with two phones is a royal PITA. Sounds daft but you want to nip round the corner to the pub or something in shorts and tshirts... no bag etc. Well there you gotta carry an extra phone. Does my nutAnyway, I work for myself, so it doesn't affect me either way
Yep. My info-sec guys emailed me to inform me I had the latest iOS update pending and if I didn't do it my phone would stop working in two weeks
yup, all cleared by corporate. they think i'm bonkers though given they offered me a phone. IT however are in total agreement with my reasons for refusing a company provided phone.So, hang on. You don't carry a work phone because you're worried about being hauled up in front of HR for looking at smut... yet you access work emails on a non-corporate device?
what do you want your work phone with you for if you're going to nip round to the pub?! admittedly having 2 phones can be a pain in the hoop but if you must have a work phone that's the route I'd go. what's the point in having a dual purpose phone when you are limited in what it can do when it comes to personal use?Fair enough! Honestly going through summer with two phones is a royal PITA. Sounds daft but you want to nip round the corner to the pub or something in shorts and tshirts... no bag etc. Well there you gotta carry an extra phone. Does my nut
especially if the 2 phones 'sandwich' one of them!
An email is hardly much hassle.
If a company is that petty on company mobile phones then maybe they are not worth working for.
but an employment tribunal is.
and what if you can't find the original email that granted you free reign to use the company mobile however you wanted? you expecting them to locate it for you on the server? that's a load of whatif's that can be avoided by not using a company mobile for personal use.
any company can be great to work for today and not so great tomorrow, only takes a minor change in upper management.
and what about a company that indeed remains to be great to work for but a knobber comes in above you and manages to get you binned on a technicality? even if they later discover this other person to be a knobber and rid, you're still binned and the company is still a great place to work (for the most part)
again, a lot of whatif's that can be avoided by not using a company phone for personal use.
All the reasons people are pointing out not to have one is exactly why I asked how to find out if there is spyware on the phone. If I took the offer and found I was being snooped on I would hand it back, it's not mandatory.
I'm contactable anytime now anyway which I don't mind as due to nature of the job it's rare and it's not expected of me.
As to doing a factory reset on the phone, can't you say the phone became corrupted and needed a factory reset?
I'm contactable anytime now anyway which I don't mind as due to nature of the job it's rare and it's not expected of me.
As to doing a factory reset on the phone, can't you say the phone became corrupted and needed a factory reset?
if it's not mandatory then just say 'no thanks'. maybe ask them to pony up a contribution towards your current monthly bill? if the phone became corrupted i'd imagine they'd expect you to return it to them for repair/factory reset.
eidt: to be clear, the issue's i've highlighted are unlikely to ever occur. i'm just of the opinion that you should never give any company, no matter good they currently are to work for, ammunition to potentially use against you.
Last edited:
If IT are happy with people using their personal phones for work use then I'm really surprised they offer work phones at all. Why bother, they could save a fortune lol.
Well, I work general office hours but the nature of my industry is that I might be contacted out of hours. It's rare, but can happen.
As for the second point yes well I'd love to use an Android dual-sim phone as personal+work but it's not allowed. And again, I don't feel I'd be limited by using a work phone as my personal phone, I'd just not gamble or look at porn on it!
because not everyone will be happy with using their personal phone for work. i am because it means i am in control of when i am contactable out of working hours. if they made a contractual change meaning i must be contactable then that would be a different thing altogether and i'd take the company phone and increased pay.
same as myself. but rather than give up my freedom to use my phone exactly as i wish i've chosen the option to use a personal phone for work (when it suits me) rather than using a work phone for limited/monitored/dictated personal use. the financial gain of using a company paid for phone is, for me, outweighed by the limits it would put on my 'freedom' (not in the Braveheart sense but you know what i mean
) Horses for courses and all that but from the OP's perspective, given he's already concerned about 'spyware', I'd suggest he keeps 2 phones or adopts the policy i have - assuming his company allows that. you maybe don't look at porn or gamble which is fair enough but i imagine there are things you don't do on the company phone that you would do if it was a purely personal phone?And again, I don't feel I'd be limited by using a work phone as my personal phone, I'd just not gamble or look at porn on it!
completely unrelated but it's nice to have a conversation with widely differing opinions and everyone keeping it light and friendly, if this was GD someone would have already weighed in with 'you're wrong/stupid/tinfoil hat wearer/i hate you/your sister smells/link to proof or you're a liar' or some other daft insult.
We have quite strict rules on company phones and the like.
You cannot use a company SIM in any personal phone. You can however use your own phone for work if you like, but you get no contribution to costs.
Company phones are completely locked down via Intelligent Hub - you can collect your email, browse the internet, but you're limited to around 15 apps that we have on the approved list.
If you want to use your own phone then we install an Airwatch container for your email - so we can still remote wipe that container should you leave the business etc.
We feel a lot of it is overkill - company mobiles cannot use SD Cards, if you plug the company phone into a USB port on a computer you cannot get a data connection.
But there, with a large American parent company, it's of no real surprise.
You cannot use a company SIM in any personal phone. You can however use your own phone for work if you like, but you get no contribution to costs.
Company phones are completely locked down via Intelligent Hub - you can collect your email, browse the internet, but you're limited to around 15 apps that we have on the approved list.
If you want to use your own phone then we install an Airwatch container for your email - so we can still remote wipe that container should you leave the business etc.
We feel a lot of it is overkill - company mobiles cannot use SD Cards, if you plug the company phone into a USB port on a computer you cannot get a data connection.
But there, with a large American parent company, it's of no real surprise.
Just recently our company blocked data roaming when abroad, after someone went very wild with data roaming on their work phone, whilst on a personal holiday in the US.
This has pretty much forced my hand to get my own personal mobile.
It's annoying having to spend ~£40 per month when the last 8 years have been free mobile use, but the consequences could be far more costly, so I will just suck it up.
This has pretty much forced my hand to get my own personal mobile.
It's annoying having to spend ~£40 per month when the last 8 years have been free mobile use, but the consequences could be far more costly, so I will just suck it up.
I've got a company phone.... outside of work hours its either in my work bag or in my work trousers upstairs. When I'm on Holiday its turned off completely. My personal phone is about the same size so while its a little more bulky in the pocket I've gotten used to it. Only thing I've got on the work phone that is personal is Lucky (it wasn't available on Android when I last looked...). Loads of people here use works phones for personal use, they see it as a perk.
I sound quite lucky - I work for a telecoms company (fixed line and mobile) and we get a work phone (I am currently running an iphone X) that can be used for both business and pleasure. We have no MDM in place and the only rule that is enforced is that we have to have a passcode on the phone if we put the work email on the phone (that can be our choice). The only reason they want us to have a phone is we are often onsite and so need to be reachable.
We get a new phone every two years and the old phone is ours to do what we like with. I like it as I have a single number and a single phone and the number is never rung out of hours (unless pre-agreed) by my work.
We get a new phone every two years and the old phone is ours to do what we like with. I like it as I have a single number and a single phone and the number is never rung out of hours (unless pre-agreed) by my work.
That's a nice perk!
It is, but then we generally only get offered at least 1 year old models. ie when I got the X, the XS had been released but I wasn't allowed that. Last phone I had was a Galaxy S6 Edge (release in 2015, offered to us in 2016
) that I ended up giving to my mum.Iv never really seen the fascination of having the greatest phone about, sure if you get given it then great. But if I was to pay for it id prefer to put the money towards house or a better car.
Iv never understood people who pay £80 per month or £1,000 on a handset just because its Apples latest flagship phone.
A phone is a phone, as long as it can text, phone and surf the internet i'm happy. Most budget phones can do all those.
Someone I used to work with used to pay £80 a month, and drive around in a £500 banger. Most weeks he'd break down and be late for work...We all wondering why on earth he'd prefer to spend his money on a fancy phone rather than a more reliable car, makes no sense at all.
I have a work phone and a personal phone, I keep them completely separate. On weekends and when I'm on holiday my work phone is turned off. I don't want colleagues and/or customers ringing me out of hours or when I'm away. I have access to work emails on my personal phone so I can choose to reply to any emails should I wish. If there's an emergency, HR have my personal number. Same with my MacBook Pro, it's signed into a separate Apple ID tied to my work email as is my work iPhone.