Sim free phones - how do they work

[Deathraystare]

I know. Stupid question but does that mean you put in a sim yourself or it simply doesn't need one? I am baffled!

hi op,

You put in any sim yourself so the phone is usually unlocked to take any sim not a particular one.

It means it comes unlocked and with no SIM, so you can put any network SIM in it.

Every phone has to have a sim!

It just means you have to buy a sim to put in it as it will not come with one

A sim locked means that the phone is locked to a particular network so only a sim from that network will work in the phone. It's usually bought at a "discounted" price for signing up to a 24 month (for eg) contract. In a sim free phone is more expensive upfront as you aren't getting the network subsidy, but you will probably be able to get a cheaper plan on sim only so over the course of the eg 24 months you may pay less than the original bundle of phine and package from the network. Plus there's no hassle of breaking contracts and trying to get your phone unlocked to go to another network.

Thanks a lot everyone and thanks for not making me seem a right dope!!

We always buy a handset and then get a sim card separately. Currently with EE for the SIM