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24 Month Contracts vs Sim Free Phone & SIM Only?

D

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I hear a lot of people saying its much better to buy smartphones SIM free and then buy a SIM only contract for it as its cheaper plus you get more minutes, texts and internet... However I have looked at a lot of phones, a lot of contracts, a lot of networks and a lot of SIM only deals and I have found it actually works out cheaper to just get a 24 Month contract! Am I doing something wrong or is it actually cheaper to go with a 24 month plan?

For my example I will use the Galaxy SII on Vodafone however I have found the same sort of results with all networks.

Take a look at the Vodafone plan here samsung galaxy s ii contract mobile phone from phones 4u on the 4th line down... It's
 
I guess if you plan on keeping your phone for two years then maybe a contract will be better for you? The reason i buy a phone separate and a sim only plan is partly because i change handsets quite often (my S2 isn't a year old and i'm already thinking about the next one) and partly because i don't want to be tied to a two year debt. I'd rather pay outright and be done with it.

You can get 12 month sim only deals which are better value than the 30 day ones.
 
New smartphones can be costly to buy outright and lose you money in longterm resale value and 24 month contracts give you a free phone and good useage allowance plus its yours to keep it sell at the end.
 
It will never work out cheaper to buy off-contract and add a SIM-only deal if the network offers an identical contract with handset. Using the above 24mth contract example, Vodafone are basically selling you the GS2 for
 
this is the thing i usually get a new phone every 8 months - 1 year so i dont want the phone for 2 years
 
In israel the phone industry isn't very good, and until last year or so people did not know that there even was a possibility of sim free phones.
a couple of months ago there was even a news story about how you can buy a sim free phone and they had to make a law that makes the phone operators give you the option of sim-only contract.
we have 3 phone operators, and until recently there was no other option but 36 months deal, and a galaxy s 2 costs around 930 euros over 36months, and that is without minutes and texts and data included.
changing a phone once in a while was not an option here, but now things are starting to look up - they make new laws to make the deals better for consumers.. there's still a long way to go, i think, but its getting better..

I got my s2 on ebay from singapore..
 
Slug said:
It will never work out cheaper to buy off-contract and add a SIM-only deal if the network offers an identical contract with handset. Using the above 24mth contract example, Vodafone are basically selling you the GS2 for
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If you can afford to buy the phone upfront that's the way I'd do it because you'll pay less each month then.

Overall you might not pay less but you'll pay less every month.

But that's just me... I'm not that rich so the amount I pay per month for stuff like phone contracts actually makes a difference to me :p
 
oooh i really dont know what to do, i dont like the idea of being locked into a 2 year contract again with 500mb data or whatever cos what if i suddenyl decide i need more or something? cant cos im on 2 year plan
 
ajh94 said:
oooh i really dont know what to do, i dont like the idea of being locked into a 2 year contract again with 500mb data or whatever cos what if i suddenyl decide i need more or something? cant cos im on 2 year plan
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Depends who you go with.. O2 always provide data as a bolton, so if you decide 500MB isn't enough you can upgrade to "the works" (1GB).

Most carriers offer different levels of data allowance.. think about it this way, what possible reason would they have for refusing to let you pay more every month if you want to? It's all profit to them. That's why you're usually allowed to upgrade anytime but not downgrade until you're midway through.
 
ah okay i see. so u mean could i like ask orange for 1GB do u think?
 
ajh94 said:
at what cost though, would it be likely to be a lot? :)
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I`m in Ireland but I got my SGS2 for 80 euro from Emobile, 12-month contract with unlimited calls and txts to mobile and landlines in Irl&UK, 15 GB data download allowance and all this as much as 80*12=960 i know it`s a lot but i really need that 15 gb data and unlimited calls as i like to talk and watch live tv;) its only in Unlimited plan. But its worth it as coverage is really good, "H" near coast :)
 
thats very good, i just called onrange and they said if i upgrade my handset only i can keep my 3GB allowance i have now so i think ill do that :D
 
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