Limeynic

I know this may seem like a petty question however my husband and I run a non profit in US & we are returning to UK to start a branch of it. We have been in the States for 14 years.

We move as a family August 12 however he went over this week to rent a house, buy a car, establish residency, get kids in school etc. & I'm pleased to say all went very smoothly except for one thing- getting a cell phone!

We both are heavy iPhone users in US due to email from work & lots of travel. Applied for cell phone in UK and due to lack of UK residency for 3 years we got turned down.

Anyone out there have any answers? Thanks in advance.

Dashie

You were likely turned down because you don't have a current credit rating in the UK, we're going to have the same issue when we go back too.

Expensive to buy an iPhone, but get one on pay as you go - there are other options as well as smart phones that will do email and basic internet too.

We saw a Blackberry for under 150 GBP on pay as you go in Tesco when we were there earlier this year. You can probably look them up on tesco.com, or try carphone warehouse, phones 4U, they do all makes as well. Not sure what the monthly/usage fees are, but from what I remember they're much cheaper than Canada whatever you choose.

Hope that helps!

Limeynic

Thanks for the reply. We had thought prepay might be our only option. Just wondered if anyone had got around that. We had thought lack of credit rating might be an issue however we didn't even get that far. They wouldn't run a credit check without 3 yrs residency in UK.

Limeynic

Another option were considering is jailbreaking our US phone. Has anyone done that successfully?

Brigette

Hi,

I just got off the phone with Apple and explained to them that I plan on moving to UK but won't be able to get an iphone there because of lack of UK credit. I was told that I can purchase an unlocked iphone at any iPhone store...the catch is, it is going to cost you. A 16 gig phone is over $600.00 dollars. Once you have one, all you would need is a carrier in the UK (according to the Apple customer care rep).

I heard through the grapevine that Jailbreaking the US iPhone is another option but I have no idea on how to do that.

I too have an iPhone and would like to keep it when I move to the UK. Even though my move is not until next year it's good for me to have this information before hand. Please let me know what option you choose and how it worked out for you.

Mummy in the foothills

There are people who advertise and unlock all kinds of phone in the UK, We had a local guy who happened to run his own business do it for my Mothers phone a few years back. Just ask around locally for a reliable person to do it.
My son in uk just got his first iPhone he's with O2 he had a pay as you go with them for a while, then recently switched to a plan.

Dashie

I think jailbreaking is different to unlocking - something to do with apps? It's very easy to get a phone unlocked in the UK, but for iPhones it's a software download - you can probably do it yourself for free if you find the software. Or, do you have any independent cell phone kiosks in malls there? Or just ask at a store that does all different brands, nt tied to one carrier, they might be able to direct you.

Be warned though, I've also heard stories of people trying to jailbreak or unlock an iPhone themselves and needing a new one anyway.

We likely won't be bringing ours from Canada because I will have to pay a fortune to get out of my contract still - hoping to find someone to take it over when we leave instead.

Rusty Chainsaw

Jailbreaking and unlocking are indeed different things. Jailbreaking is removing Apple's lockdown on installing apps that haven't been downloaded from the official Apple App Store. There's quite a few useful apps you can only use on a jailbroken iPhone like terminal software, emulators and stuff like that which isn't allowed on the official Apple store. Unlocking is releasing the phone to work on any GSM carrier. This is trickier, since Apple keep a database of all iPhone IMEI (phone identification) numbers, and unless it's marked as unlocked in that database, it can't be done by any easy means. However, it can be done using software to get around the lock, but you have to re-unlock it every time a new version of iOS comes out. It's inconvenient and will also void your warranty.

I say just swallow the cost of an unlocked iPhone. Compared to what a return to the UK is going to cost you, it's a drop in the bucket. Then, once you get there, you can get a PAYG micro-SIM card from any of the mobile providers and pop it straight into the phone and be up and running. O2 and Orange have the best rates for PAYG with data.

Brigette

Thanks so much for the info. I think that is what I am going to do when moving next year. Purchase my unlocked iPhone from Apple. Yes it is pricey but as you said, consider the cost to move back and it does seem like a drop in the bucket. Thanks

mayhemuk

Buy a second hand one on ebay. It's an option.
You can mitigate some of the risk by checking the phone on checkmend.com
Also if you pay using paypal you claim against them if you end up with a bricked phone.

I work for one of the pawnbroking chains and we get iphones 3/4 in and basically either recycle or ebay them.

Good luck.

Lorac05

I just moved back to the UK from the US after 22 years in the states - 3 months ago - and purchased a mobile phone after 2 weeks with no issues!!! Not sure why you husband had an issue unless it's because he isn't yet "resident" in the UK

Dashie

Did you get a phone on a contract, or purchase a phone on pay as you go?

If it was a contract, who accepted you with no credit rating?

Thx

jackthehat

Have you realised that you are being 'Traced' in the UK by means of your Mobile Phone? They know where you are, and where you go. All Numbers, Websites etc., are stored for two years.

Dashie

Not really sure how this is relevant to the thread?

Yes, they will store all of that information for 2 years. It's hardly top secret information, they need it in order to charge you for use and write your bill if you have one. For the same reason that any phone company does itemised billing, so you can see what you're being charged for. It also works in your favour if you need to query something later on.

This isn't exclusive to phone companies either - ANY company you do business for can keep hold of your information for 2 years afterwards, it's all part of the Data Protection Act. Your information isn't available to just anyone, only you, the company, and the police if they are doing a formal investigation and have warrants. Seems to me it's only a problem if you have something to hide?

We did a lot of DPA compliance stuff when I worked in insurance in the UK.

Considering the amount of CCTV cameras everywhere, and the fact that it's legislated very strictly as to who even has access to this information, it doesn't really bother me. If you're that worried, get a pay as you go phone and don't register it, and only top up with cash.

Rusty Chainsaw

This is standard practice worldwide. Pretty much all mobile phone companies keep records of calls made (ie, for your bill) and the cell towers used for the call (again, primarily for billing purposes - it's used a lot in the US where "local" call rates can apply to mobiles). It's not just the UK.

If you don't want this information associated with you directly, buy a pay-as-you-go phone, since then it's just a number with no personal information associated with it.

You can take your tinfoil hat off now if you like.