Eeyore

Thinking about getting a couple of iPhone 5s's using Du's discounted offer. Anybody know if they're SIM-locked or not? It's handy just being able to swap in a local tourist SIM card when we go on holiday.

Pongo

I am a Du customer although I don't know if the sim is locked. Generally I am happy with them, however I do get bombarded with email and text reminders that my bill is due, usually about 2 weeks before it is actually due. I used to get calls as well but ignore any numbers I don't recognise. Roaming is okay in the UK. The phone however is a pain, it keeps switching off then back on again.

Eeyore

I specifically need a non-locked phone because I don't do roaming, it's insanely expensive compared to buying a local SIM wherever you are.

Gozit

Totally hear you... According to my uncle Du/Etisalat phones are factory unlocked although beware, FaceTime is disabled on Dubai bought phones... (why I have no effing clue) So if you never ever want FaceTime on your iPhone then go ahead. Otherwise buy one from back home and have someone send it to you...
(Yes even after you take it out of the UAE and put another SIM in it there will never be FaceTime on the phone, UAE gov made apple whitelist by serial number and if it was purchased in UAE it will never have FaceTime )

Gozit

Here's a description of it (prob better than mine!) on another site: http://www.ifans.com/forums/threads/...in-uae.403476/

Eeyore

Thanks for that. I was reasonably sure they were. Obviously I could ask in the Du shop, but I'm not convinced they'd necessarily tell me the truth if they weren't...

BTW, if you jailbreak your phone, you can enable FaceTime. Jailbreaking is very quick and simple at the moment thanks to the evasi0n exploit, but it won't (yet) work with the iOS 7.1 update that's recently come out.

Gozit

Yeah I know but I'm rather averse to jailbreaking. I tried it once on a 3GS and it made the phone suuuper slow. I guess if you dont mind jailbreaking or dont use FaceTime you'll be OK

HTH

Eeyore

Never heard of that happening before. There's no inherent reason for jailbreaking to slow the phone down.

Gozit

It was rather odd the one I used, had to tether the phone to the computer just to restart the damn thing, so overall not a good experience, although in your case you may like it and it works Maybe its gotten better since 2009 (5 years ago! ) , I would think so at least

flood2

I had an Etisalat iPhone 5 bought direct from them. It did not have FaceTime when in the UAE, but when i worked in Qatar and put in other sim card when in Doha, FaceTime appeared on phone.

Gozit

Oh really? Thats good. People online were saying that it doesn't work even when you leave the UAE... If you go for the Du iPhone 5S Eeyore you'll have to let us know if FaceTime works outside UAE! Interesting enough, it works on non-UAE iPhones whilst in the UAE, my uncle FaceTimed us alot when he lived there (from his iPhone brought from US) and still does now he lives in Doha.