Stupid questions about locked mobile phones and stuff

[itchyandscratchy]

So please be patient with me as I know these are probably all blitheringly obvious, but...

I'm on a contract with Orange. Contract runs out next Nov but I want a new phone and have set my heart on a particular one.

1. Can I give my old phone to dh who is also on Orange (his is payg) and he put his sim in my old phone?

2. Can I buy an 'unlocked' phone and then just put my sim in and continue on the orange contract I already have? Do I have to let orange know or as long as i pay my monthly bill do they not give a monkey's?
   Thanks

1. Yes
2. Yes.

Orange don't need to know.

hurrah, that's fab.
thanks v.much

Right then, been doing my research and I've come across this:

If I want to buy it from a dealer they won't sell it 'unlocked' but will do it through a network, payg, with a compulsory £10 topup added to the bill. We obviously won't be using this top up as we've already both got our sim cards and own numbers which we want to keep.

Is this just a run-of-the-mill annoyance when buying payg mobiles? or is there any way round it?

It's fairly normal. The networks won't sell them unlocked because they subsidise the price. Most phones can be unlocked for around a tenner at a market stall.

If they will give you the right price on an Orange PAYG phone and you want to use it on Orange, you should be OK just putting your existing SIM in and writing the other one off. It's probably still cheaper than buying the same phone unlocked.

thanks. you're right; I've now bought the phone and just had to pretend to myself it was £10 dearer. cheers

You could perhaps 'redeem' that 10 quid by selling the SIM on Ebay (with satrt price at say 9.50 and include recorded delivery postage).

For anyone else reading, although most sales now include mandatory top-up of 10 or 20 pounds, some phones (at Asda) may still come locked to a network but without any SIM or voucher so you just pay for the phone.

EG prices from 10 quid on T-Mobile (which will also take a VM SIM), or 25 quid on Orange, seen today. In fact the 25 quid said "10 pound voucher" but I suspect it's the SIM that has that credit... could be used up on odd voice calls/texts until it runs out, or sold on Ebay, as suggested earlier.

TJ Hughes (chain in the north) also has phones without top-ups sometimes (remember the pre-Christmas adverts). Sorry too late for OP, but might help someone else...