Poll: Standard Contract vs SIM Only vs O2 Refresh

Which option do you recommend?

  • Standard Contract

    Votes: 8 14.3%

  • SIM Only

    Votes: 44 78.6%

  • O2 Refresh

    Votes: 4 7.1%
  • Total voters
    56

azibux1

azibux1

azibux1

Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2011
Posts
3,335
Location
UK
Hi all,

What's your views on the above?

For someone who will have a package of (roughly) unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB or 2GB data and probably want to change the phone every couple of years

Is SIM only contract and buying the phone SIM free always best? What about the new(ish) O2 Refresh hybrid-style contracts?

What do you think?

Interested to hear views as I'm probably upgrading/signing a new contract of some sort when the M9/Galaxy S6 is released

Thanks! :)

EDIT: Can a mod please add a poll to this? I'm guessing only mods can do this since I can't see an option for it? Thanks
 
Sim only and Sim free phone for me all the time,

you need to do the maths and see which one works out cheaper

2 years with the same phone is way too long for me

the S6 though will most likely be a bit dear to buy sim free to start with but give it will drop in price
 
A few years back I would have thought two years with the same phone was too long, but things have slowed to the point that I think I'm now fine with that.

I've been very much in the buy up front camp for some time, but I'm no longer sure it's that much cheaper, though it does give you more freedom.
 
Depends on the contract you can get?

For example, I managed to get a limited time offer with mobiles.co.uk on the release of the Note 4, Unlimited Mins & Unlimited Texts + 1GB Data for £28 per month (and a free phone) plus £27 cashback so £645 over 2 years, when the phone was selling at £599 on its own, basically £1.88 a month for the contract :eek:

So depends really :)

[Edit: Forget to mention that I also managed to get my data up to 5GB a month for another £3, so £4.88 for unlimited mins, texts and 5GB data]
 
Some good points have been made, and it all depends on the scenario.

For me the last 3 phones (iPhone 4S, 5S and Nexus 6) have all been bought as unlocked hardware, and run on SIM only contracts. This has been cheaper than buying the phone on a contact each if these times and therefore a no brainer. Probably not helped by 2 of those phones being Apple hardware.

The other thing with a Android phone that annoyed me last time I owned one (on a contract) was that OS updates were from the network and not from the manufacturer or Google. This severely hampered the Android phone unless you rooted it.

For me the old days of heavily subsidised hardware on contracts are over, and therefore it is best to avoid contracts.
 
I have the one plan everything unlimited on 3 so choose to buy phones and put my sim in but I recommend you do the maths and pick the best for yourself as quite often these days a contract isn't much more expensive than outright purchase and sim only.

If it works out better to buy outright look at 0% interest credit cards to spread tge load if you need to.
 
Thanks for poll :)

Spacemonkey that is a great deal, my only concern would be warranty/returns in the event of a fault... If I had a problem I'd go back to carphone warehouse... Would you then have to go to Samsung or mobiles.co.uk?

Thanks for all responses, I have looked at a couple of current tarrifs, but the latest high end phone (for a good price comparison to the S6), is iPhone which is overpriced in comparison to most phones... But yes, even then SIM free seems a bit cheaper, as mentioned though it isn't by much... Maybe £20 or £30
 
azibux1 said:
Thanks for poll :)

Spacemonkey that is a great deal, my only concern would be warranty/returns in the event of a fault... If I had a problem I'd go back to carphone warehouse... Would you then have to go to Samsung or mobiles.co.uk?

Thanks for all responses, I have looked at a couple of current tarrifs, but the latest high end phone (for a good price comparison to the S6), is iPhone which is overpriced in comparison to most phones... But yes, even then SIM free seems a bit cheaper, as mentioned though it isn't by much... Maybe £20 or £30
Click to expand...

You can go through either, as they also supply unlocked/unbranded phones, its just as easy to go through the manufacturer as it is the supplier :)
 
Space Monkey said:
You can go through either, as they also supply unlocked/unbranded phones, its just as easy to go through the manufacturer as it is the supplier :)
Click to expand...

Are their prices/contract offers typically cheaper than what you can get direct from the network provider then?

Also, are their phones all unlocked by default (as I think Carphone warehouse is) or is it only if you buy a SIM free phone?
 
Find a nice refurbished set from O2 refresh for a reasonable price and cancel within 14 days just paying off the phone bit and go SIM only.
 
For the first time ever I've gone sim only this year, works out much cheaper plus I have the flexibility of doing what I want with phones.
 
azibux1 said:
Are their prices/contract offers typically cheaper than what you can get direct from the network provider then?

Also, are their phones all unlocked by default (as I think Carphone warehouse is) or is it only if you buy a SIM free phone?
Click to expand...

I see more one off amazing contract deals on mobiles (owned by CPW) than on any other site, and yes a lot cheaper than direct with the networks!

And all phones I've ever had from them have been unlocked and unbranded (other sites tend to mix up unbranded and branded phones, network and deal dependent) :)
 
neoboy said:
Find a nice refurbished set from O2 refresh for a reasonable price and cancel within 14 days just paying off the phone bit and go SIM only.
Click to expand...

Unlikely to be any refurbished S6's or M9's though... I'd ideally like to get the phone as soon as possible after it is released

andy_mk3 said:
For the first time ever I've gone sim only this year, works out much cheaper plus I have the flexibility of doing what I want with phones.
Click to expand...

Flexibility is good. Even if the saving is only a small amount I suppose it is worth it just for the flexibility in phone buying decisions

Space Monkey said:
I see more one off amazing contract deals on mobiles (owned by CPW) than on any other site, and yes a lot cheaper than direct with the networks!

And all phones I've ever had from them have been unlocked and unbranded (other sites tend to mix up unbranded and branded phones, network and deal dependent) :)
Click to expand...

Nice!! Will have to read some reviews and maybe check them out once they have S6 prices (if the phone is good).

Are they usually quite quick when it comes to new phones?
 
Contract - always.

Sim free prices of most handsets are extortionate - £5/600+

A very good contract always seems to pop up, you just have to get your order in quick because they don't stay up for long, my last 3 phones have been contracts where the total price of the handset + contract has worked out just a fraction more than the SIM-free cost.

Example:

Note 4 - FREE
£45 cashback
£31 a month contract
Total Cost: £699

SIM-Free Cost at the time: £599

For the £100 extra I paid I'm getting a 2 yr contract giving me unlimited calls, unlimited texts and 5GB a month of 4G data. Oh and this contract was actually £28 a month not £31 - I paid extra for some extra data allowance.

Always buy via the third party websites, if you go to the network directly they cannot touch them, some have even told me that themselves. I have some family members who have been with the same network for years and they think they are getting discounts every 18/24 months when they upgrade, yet several times I've found cheaper deals online within 5 minutes as a new customer, than what they've been offered.
 
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