Someone help me understand phone contracts & upgrades pls

[simplyrunning]

Advice needed by an old and not tech savvy mum please!

DS14’s phone is broken but still in contract until June. He’s got an Android but would like an iPhone. If I do an early upgrade or get his repaired it’s going to cost me hundreds which I can’t afford.

I have a somewhat ancient iPhone which also needs upgrading but it’s working and the upgrade can wait six months. Crucially though, mine is out of contract (currently paying for SIM only).

If I got an upgrade for mine but actually gave it to DS, so he puts his SIM in it (it’s the same kind of SIM card, I checked), and then in March when he qualifies for a penalty-free upgrade, I get one but actually put my SIM in it and use it myself, is this going to cause any issues? It’s two different providers (mine is Three, his is EE/BT).

Can the companies somehow tell if we do this? Will it cause any billing or data issues? Most importantly, will my ‘old’ iPhone still continue to work in the meantime if Three think that I’ve ‘upgraded’ and therefore retired it? I use it for work so I can’t risk it dying on me. But I know when you get a new Apple device it just subsumes any previous Apple devices. Obviously I’m paying for both phones so both contracts are in my name.

Thanks

I'm afraid I can't answer your question because I never buy on contract. I've always purchased a phone separately and not got tied into contracts. I'd always thought that the overall cost ends up being much more when bought via a contract?
I get fairly new phones, but 2nd hand. I used to buy from CEX but recently from backmarket.co.uk. Once out of contract, I'd certainly look at doing similar.
Hopefully someone with more knowledge can advise though on your specific question.

If you upgrade via your network provider you may find it is sim locked which means it will only work with a sim on that network. Ie phones bought via Three will only work on Three.

The issue will come if you have a fault or insurance claim and the opines don't match the contract but otherwise no it shouldn't create a problem.

The phone might be locked to to the SIM card provider and not work.

IPhones are so incredibly expensive and screens crack often. I would really suggest a Nokia smart phone either for you or him, paid out right (£99 for a cheap one), £179 for a better one and a cheap £4.50 SIM from I'd mobile. DD and I both use Nokia now and really rate them

Nokia also do fixit kits for simple home repairs like replacing a cracked screen. Or even have a subscription service where you can switch phones every few months for a set monthly price.
They are also great for sustainability and carbon with eco friendly packaging, planting trees when new phones ordered etc

Thanks but I’ve only ever had iPhones for the past 10 years and don’t want to change now.

usually, phones bought on contract will only be able to use sims from their data provider, so i don’t think it would work. i’d buy your son a cheap nokia to use in the meantime for emergencies and wait for his contract to expire.
for the future, i’d recommend buying applecare with the new phone – i think it’s a bit pricey, but if your son is prone to breaking his phone, it’d be good. iirc, it covers all (or a good percentage of) repair costs for the phone.