2nd hand iphone and SIM only deals

[strongblackcoffee]

Please help me, I'm trying to find a way that I can justify paying for an iphone. I'm wondering about paying outright for a 2nd hand one, and taking up Virgin's SIM only deal, which is £12ish per month. Please please explain to me the details about unlocking phones, etc. If an iphone says it is unlocked then is this definitely okay for any SIM card? And is there anything else that I have overlooked in this masterplan?

THank you thank you

OK, you need to be careful.

If you are say buying from eBay, then make sure the phone is "officially unlocked" rather than unlocked using Jailbreak/ultrasn0w.

The latter means if you later update the phone, you may find the sim lock returns.

Other than that, enjoy the Apple revolution!

Thank you, that's helpful. I saw Jailbreak advertised, I wondered whether it was any good. How does the phone become officially unlocked? I'm just wondering how I'd know it was actually the proper way...

Maybe I should just go for a straightforward monthly contract with a 3gs...!

Does 'factory unlocked' mean the same as 'officially unlocked'?

If the advert says unofficially unlocked then you should be ok.

If it says "unlocked via Jailbreak" (or words to that effect) then its not.

I'd just drop the seller a note and ask if the phone is unlocked by the carrier or unlocked via Jailbreak.

You could go for a monthly contract and the advantage is the guarantee but you do end up paying for it.

Yes, factory unlocked is fine.

Thanks very much, that's really helpful! I'm starting to feel the iphone excitement building, I think I can justify it if I'm not locked into a very long and expensive contract