[access-uk] Re: An O2 story with lessons to be learned
- From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:28:49 -0000
Hi David
No I don't, many people have asked me the same question. A locked phone is
where it is tied to your network provider. For example, if you purchase a
phone from O2, it will be locked to them, and if you want to put an Orange,
Virgin, Vodafone or other SIM card in it, you would need to get it unlocked
so this could be facilitated.
Branding means that when you turn on a phone that is locked to a network
provider, it normally carries their logo on the first screen, and sometimes
has slightly different software items in the menu. For example, you could
get something like O2 Services, or Vodafone Live if a phone is branded and
locked. They generally go hand-in-hand, because if the phone is locked,
it's also branded to that network.
Now, if you purchase an unlocked, unbranded phone, that means it has no logo
or branding on it, and you can simply put in a SIM card from any network
carrier of your choosing without having to get it unlocked.
I prefer phones this way, but the downside David is that they are more
expensive to purchase. These stores buy in bulk, so tend to offer deals
with phones locked and branded to their company. They aren't really
interested in selling you an unlocked, unbranded handset, because they know
you can go and put a SIM card in it from anywhere else. Places like
Expansys, Play and probably Amazon sell unlocked phones, where your usual
stores will always sell you something that is ready to go with their SIM
card and branding all done for you.
Does that make sense?
Kind Regards,
Jackie Cairns
J&M Work-Ability
jandm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.work-ability.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
David
Sent: 24 February 2011 15:19
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: An O2 story with lessons to be learned
Hi Jackie,
Can you tell me what is a branded phone or what is a locked phone. Sorry if
you think that I am a bit slow on the uptake.
David Weston.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 12:22 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: An O2 story with lessons to be learned
> Hi Carol
>
> Yes, this is where I've had to concede. I didn't want a locked or branded
> phone, I've never gone down that route. But when the chap yesterday
> offered
> me a fourth generation 32GB iPhone and keeping my Simplicity tariff except
> an extra fiver for the unlimited data, I felt it was too good an offer to
> refuse. It is locked to O2, and I knew that even if I took them to court,
> the likelihood of getting them to hand over an unlocked iPhone was very
> slim
> as it wouldn't have been like-for-like that got lost in the first place.
>
> So, in answer to your question, you can buy an unlocked iPhone, but they
> cost a lot of money. Mine is tied to O2, but my pay plan is SIM only,
> which
> means I can opt out after a year anyway, or upgrade - as he was very quick
> to point out - when the new phone comes out in the summer.
>
> For now, I'm sticking with what I have off them. My son has an iPhone
> with
> O2, and his tariff and pay plan is far more expensive than mine. You can
> go
> to Vodafone, but they'll likely offer you something tied to them.
>
> I hope that helps.
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> Jackie Cairns
> J&M Work-Ability
>
> jandm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.work-ability.co.uk
> -----Original Message-----
> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of
> Carol Pearson
> Sent: 24 February 2011 12:08
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: An O2 story with lessons to be learned
>
> Well done, Jackie, for your perseverance.
>
> A question springs from your account, which maybe others can answer if you
> can't.
>
> If I am offered an IPhone 4 as an upgrade by O2, is the IPhone in any way
> branded/changed for O2 which would limit any future use with another phone
> provider, should I ever go down that route?
>
> I hope this isn't considered too much of a hypothetical question but,
> while
> I get the point that Nokia phones are branded/unbranded, I'm not sure what
> happens with regard to IPhones in this respect. As they're all Apple, I'm
> thinking that this is where things differ. No doubt someone will put me
> straight! <Smiles>
>
> --
> Carol P
> ---- Original Message ----
> From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 9:23 AM
> Subject: [access-uk] An O2 story with lessons to be learned
>
>>I hope the moderator will forgive a long post, though I will try to
>>make it as brief as possible given it is a complex story that requires
>>the major points only for this purpose.
>>
>> In December, I switched from Vodafone to O2 because I get a better
>> signal with O2 over here. I was reluctant to do so as I had been with
>> Voda for many years, but I got a decent Simplicity tariff from O2, and
>> that was fine.
>>
>> Unfortunately, however, when I went to replace a SIM card in my N82,
>> the holder in which it sits came off in my hand, and I was unable to
>> put it back, so therefore couldn't get the card to lie in its slot so
>> it could connect.
>>
>> I took the phone to my nearest O2 dealer, explained what had happened,
>> and specifically requested they did not touch the software on it,
>> merely repaired the SIM card holder. They knew it was an unlocked and
>> unbranded phone. Now this is a very important point.
>>
>> One week or so later, their Repair Centre rang to say that the phone
>> could be fixed if I was willing to pay £28.81. I asked if the SIM
>> card holder had been fixed, and that everything else on the phone was
>> as I had left it, that is, Talks etc. They said it was, so I paid the
>> fee.
>>
>> When the phone came back a week later, I was shocked to discover an
>> N86, locked and branded to O2, sitting in a flimsy box. I contacted
>> the store and Repair Centre at this point. I was told that O2 do not
>> accept unlocked and unbranded phones for repair, and that mine had
>> either been lost, destroyed, or flashed, meaning my software had been
>> wiped.
>>
>> A very long and drawn out period then ensued. The Store Manager, who
>> had been initially very helpful, suddenly went on leave following a
>> bereavement, and his Area Manager took over, a less helpful person. I
>> refused to accept the N86 given it was locked, branded and
>> refurbished, and didn't even come with a charger which is different to
>> that on an N82 anyway.
>>
>> I sought legal advice, and that got things going in my favour.
>> Yesterday, the Area Manager received the letter I had been advised to
>> write and copy to various departments of O2, so they were willing to
>> listen to reason. Glenn Tookey at S and S had given them costings for
>> an N82 that he still has a few of, plus putting Talks onto a phone
>> etc, but they weren't really interested.
>>
>> During a conversation I had with the Area Manager yesterday, where I
>> advised him he had to settle the dispute within 14 days, he said he
>> wished he could give me any handset, but was limited in what he could
>> offer.
>> He happened to say: "I'd give you an iPhone, Blackberry, anything if
>> it was helpful to you". When he said iPhone, I decided instantly that
>> it would be my best route. I've always resisted going down that road,
>> and am happy with my iPod Touch. But when he offered me an iPhone
>> fourth generation 32GB, with my current Simplicity tariff plus an
>> extra five quid for an unlimited data plan, I took it.
>> He didn't know about VoiceOver, and wondered how a blind person would
>> use an iPhone, which is why he'd never offered me one in the
>> beginning. I explained how it works, and that Apple has a commitment
>> to accessibility.
>>
>> So everyone, the moral of this story is that if you have problems with
>> an existing Nokia phone which contains your Talks or K-Reader
>> software, don't assume it will go to Nokia to be repaired as I did.
>> Don't also assume that a carrier like O2 will accept an unlocked or
>> unbranded handset, because they don't. And be prepared for a
>> run-around if it goes wrong.
>>
>> I am not keeping too well at the moment with my back, and this took a
>> lot of energy and stress to deal with. But I made O2 give me
>> something suitable in the end. I could have stuck with the
>> refurbished N86, but I already have an N86. I felt that taking the
>> iPhone for £20 a month on my current tariff with the inclusion of
>> unlimited WiFi and Hotspots, 600 minutes and unlimited texts on a SIM
>> only contract was the best I could get.
>>
>> So, as my iPhone is coming within the next few days, I'm going to join
>> those of you who are working your way through the steep learning curve
>> to use it. An iPod Touch is one thing, but an iPhone is a bit more
>> than that, so I'll certainly welcome any help if I shout for it.
>>
>> Sorry for such a long rant, but there are things worth noting as I've
>> discovered over recent weeks.
>>
>> Kind Regards,
>>
>> Jackie Cairns
>> J&M Work-Ability
>>
>> jandm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> www.work-ability.co.uk
>>
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