Disqus
So again, on the same day that Orange goes live with the iPhone, O2 suddenly (in my eyes anyway) has decided that you can now unlock your iPhone. However, there are some conditions:
Unlocking your iPhone
From 10 November, the iPhone can be unlocked for O2 customers in the UK.
Pay Monthly customers
Your iPhone can be unlocked at anytime free of charge. If you unlock your handset and place a non-O2 sim into it, you will still have to honour the remainder of the minimum term on your contract.
iPhone Pay & Go customers
For iPhone on Pay & Go, unlocking can take place 12 months after you’ve bought your iPhone for a one-off £14.69 fee which will be deducted from your airtime balance.
What do I need to do?
Firstly, complete the unlocking form – it will take up to 14 days for the iPhone to be unlocked and we’ll text you to confirm the unlock request. Then place a non-O2 sim into the iPhone and connect to iTunes via a USB cable. iTunes will confirm that the iPhone has been successfully unlocked.
So there you have it – you can unlock, but if you are in-contract then you’ll need to pay your way out of it – and if you are on PAYG, then you have to wait 12 months, and pay about £15. It’s not hugely restrictive, but, with many people on the 18 and 24 month contracts, its likely to be a while before they are going to be unlocking!
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
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