New Town, same iPhone
January 6, 2010 1:32 PM   Subscribe

LondonMobileServiceFilter: Will be in London for 4 months as a student, have an iPhone, would like to continue using it but don't want to use the AT&T overseas rates, what should i do about this? Do I have to jailbreak my iPhone in order to use another service? And what service is the best in London?

Would like a service that has a very nice data plan, one that wouldn't be charging me for any Internet browsing on my iPhone, because I plan on using it alot to looks up stuff around the area, etc.
posted by Del Far to Travel & Transportation around London, England (7 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: The only PAYG IPhone contract is with Tesco. A supermarket but they use O2.
posted by TheRaven at 1:55 PM on January 6, 2010


You'll need to unlock the iPhone to use it on a dedicated network here, yes. O2 will unlock phones here, but I doubt AT&T are so accommodating.

Once here, Orange are just about the best 3G network. They have a Pay As You Go iPhone plan that includes data, any Orange shop on the high street will be able to sort you out. Alternatively, O2 also have a plan -- the key phrase to ask for is "O2 simplicity for iphone" -- that you get. Both include visual voicemail and scads of data. (Orange limit at around 750mb, which is more than it sounds for the phone, o2 is limited-unlimited.)

Either way, expect to pay £25-£35 a month. I don't know what AT&T's roaming charges are like; this might alter the balance. WiFi is fairly plentiful in London, so you should still be able to get data even if you don't use your roaming.
posted by bonaldi at 2:09 PM on January 6, 2010


O2 has really cruddy service in parts of London.
posted by i_cola at 2:26 PM on January 6, 2010


Following up bonaldi's comment, there's more information about the O2 simplicity plan here: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/o2s-secret-20-iphone-simplicity-tariff. You might also want to consider Giffgaff, as you can use your iphone on their service (see here).
posted by davemack at 2:30 PM on January 6, 2010


You have to jailbreak your iPhone to use it here. Neither AT&T or O2, or Apple for that matter, can or will unlock a US iPhone. O2 now unlocks iPhone from the UK (perhaps EU too, but I don't know).

It's not difficult to unlock using blackra1n. Once it is unlocked, you'll be able to use a SIM from the UK. I did notice that once unlocked and used here, my battery life was cut in half. I have no idea if it is related. I've since turned off push notifications and that has helped. I think it might be due to the weak 3G signals in many parts of town and the phone working overtime to maintain a signal. Anyway, without push on, I'm close to normal again.

I've been using O2's Pay-As-You-Go with the "unlimited data bolt-on". It cost me about £25 to set up, and then I can top-up online or through an ATM. Service has been fairly good, but 3G inside many buildings is crap. I don't think there is actually a really robust 3G network in London, so I wouldn't worry about finding "the best".

Orange just started selling iPhones too, so you could use their service as well. As noted, you can get an O2 account through TESCO, but you can just as easily go to one of the gazillion O2 shops about town. In theory, I suppose you could use any 3G networks SIM and data plan.

One thing to note, on PAYG, you can't access certain features like "find my phone" or "remote wipe" through MobileMe.
posted by qwip at 2:54 PM on January 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


I was there for only 10 days, and was happy with Tmobile UK walk n web PAYG. This was before I got my 3G iphone, so it was only on Edge but it worked great for me. I spent time working in Reading, and tourist all over, and stayed at a hotel near Earl's Court.
posted by thilmony at 5:37 PM on January 6, 2010


I have a PAYG iphone in the UK and spent some time researching this a few months ago.

- You will need to jailbreak to allow you to put another SIM in. If you're running Windows, blackra1n is the way to go for jailbreaking. I used successfully use yellowsn0w for unlocking (installed through Cydia) before I got mine officially unlocked

- I'm on the O2 Simplicity 20 tariff. I get 600 minutes and 800 texts plus a free bolt-on for 20 pounds per month. Naturally with the iPhone you take the unlimited internet bolt-on. This is a rolling 30-day contract, so you'll need a bank account to set it up, as they take payment by direct debit. They may also do a credit-check against you, which would fail spectacularly if you can't prove your address with a utility bill or lease agreement. You also don't get visual voicemail or call merging on this tariff

- Both Orange and Vodafone have similar products, although they may be a little more expensive and the data usage is capped. Wherever you're staying, there will be a high street nearby that will have most or all of the cellphone operator stores. Go in and speak to them to see what they offer that would work for you

- When I signed up for my Simplicity 20, I went through a cashback site called Quidco and I got 100 pounds back. I've since switched to TopCashback as they don't charge an annual 5 pounds fee. This might not be possible for you without them being able to do a credit check, but may be worth a try

- I'm in London and O2 is pretty poor. The data service is OK, but the voice service is terrible. I regularly can't make calls, people call and go directly to voicemail when the phone has full reception, and it often takes 30 seconds to connect a call. I've been on all the other networks, and for me, O2 has been the worst for voice calls. Also, they have the slowest delivery time for text messages. I'll be switching to either Orange or Vodafone later this month
posted by quiet at 12:50 PM on January 7, 2010 [1 favorite]


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