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[Bowdon]

As the subject says I'm thinking of moving from my current pay as you go phone to a paid monthly phone.

I'm currently with Three and will probably keep with them.

Though I have a couple of questions.

1. Is it easy to transfer a pay as you go number to a pay monthly contract?

2. I noticed on the pay monthly contracts they usually give away the phone and charge an expensive monthly price. I've always assumed this is to pay back the money value of the phone they just give away. But what happens when the value of the phone is passed? Does the monthly fee drop to a reasonable level? Or am I best buying a phone outright and then buying a separate pay monthly sim?

[roseway]

O2 do SIM-only pay monthly contracts, and they say that you can transfer a number. I've got one, and to the best of my memory I started off with a PAYG SIM and converted it to pay monthly.

[jelv]

Look at idMobile which is on the Three network. https://www.idmobile.co.uk/sim-only-deals

I moved from Three to IdMobile without any issue - you just have to get your PAC. See https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/switching-to-idmobile

I bought my own phone. When you are looking around you want SIM only deals which is where you buy your own phone - main advantage is shorted (usually monthly) contracts.

You could also look at https://smarty.co.uk/ - a Three subsiduary.

[Ronski]

As Jelv says you do not need a new phone to go pay monthly, its usually an expensive way to buy a new phone, and more often than not you're locked in to a 24 month contract. Often the price will not drop after the contract ends to account for the fact the phone is paid off, but I think new regulations are coming in. If changing networks and keeping your existing phone just be careful its not locked to your current network.

All providers do pay monthly SIM only deals, I've always purchased my phones outright and used pay monthly.

It's very easy to transfer your phone number between providers, you can get a PAC (Port Authorisation Code) code via text now,just text PAC to 65075 regardless of network - see here

You give the PAC code to your new provider, and they transfer your number.

Moving a number from PAYG to pay monthly whilst staying with the same carrier can sometimes be a bit trickier but Three seems to have it covered - see here

I have heard that IdMobile and Smarty don't get the full speed of the Three network, not sure how true this is though.

If staying with Three they do some great deals (although ID & Smarty will be cheaper), but you need to look around for them, then go into a Three store with proof and ask them to match it. I'm on Three with 8GB data, unlimited minutes and texts for £10 a month, although the cheapest I've seen that for is £8, but the store couldn't go that low - I got a free months, so effectively around £9 a month.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I noticed on the pay monthly contracts they usually give away the phone and charge an expensive monthly price.

Indeed, no such thing as a free lunch.   Anytime I’ve ‘done the maths’ on monthly contracts, I get the impression the value of the phone is written off over about two years - hence the contract term.    If you like a new phone every two years, monthly phone contracts are worth considering.

I personally don’t want a new phone every two years.  I usually stick with a phone four or five years, so I use PAYG which works out cheaper for me.   If I were to move away from PAYG I’d consider a SIM only monthly contract, which has similar benefits, with overall saving for folks who keep their phones longer.

Personally I still prefer PAYG vs SIM only as it largely avoids the possibility of unexpected liability for charges.   For example, if I accidentally enable data roaming in an expensive place, the maximum I can possibly lose is the current credit.   Similar if phone is stolen and used by crooks for calling home to far off countries.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Last time I had a contract, O2 kept the tariff and phone cost independent, so the price goes down once the phone is paid off.

Other networks I think you have to re-contract, they will happily keep on charging you full price even after the phone is paid off.

Its worth noting, that if you only use data or only make calls, PAYG generally works out cheaper than a lot of contracts, as you don't lose the credit every month vs contract where your minutes/data DO expire each month, so you can end up paying for nothing if you have a quiet month.  I very much regret getting the Three data contract as I'm paying way more than the data I've used would have cost.

[broadstairs]

I've had pay monthly mobile phones for a number of years now but last time I wanted a change I decided to buy the phone outright and use a pay monthly sim and kept my same number I've had now for years.  I managed to get a phone I liked at a good price and used a lot of Nectar points to reduce it even further. I do understand the bit about someone getting your phone and using it but I am very careful and have never lost a phone in the past 20+ years or more.

Stuart

[jelv]

Its worth noting, that if you only use data or only make calls, PAYG generally works out cheaper than a lot of contracts, as you don't lose the credit every month vs contract where your minutes/data DO expire each month

Not true for all providers!

idMobile: You carry forward unused data from one month to the following month (i.e. you can start the following month with up to double your monthly allowance).

Smarty: On their data discount plans they give you money back for unused allowance.

[gt94sss2]

It's worth being aware of changes in the rules governing bundling phones and contracts together : https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2019/new-measures-fairness-for-mobile-customers

Three seem to be the only large network not cooperating with Ofcom over these.

Personally, I buy my own handset and go for a SIM only contract from a cashback provider such as e2save.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Not true for all providers!

idMobile: You carry forward unused data from one month to the following month (i.e. you can start the following month with up to double your monthly allowance).

Smarty: On their data discount plans they give you money back for unused allowance.

I've used Smarty, its a nice idea but there is still effectively a minimum payment per month which if you have months where you use very little, PAYG is cheaper.

Its nice there are so many options though.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I've used Smarty, its a nice idea but there is still effectively a minimum payment per month which if you have months where you use very little, PAYG is cheaper.

Its nice there are so many options though.

Can’t speak for others but for Vodafone PAYG at least, the only way to get a credible amount of data is to pay for monthly ‘bundles’ or ‘extras’.   They roll over to some extent but not indefinitely.   I choose to pay £10 per month, which gets inclusive calls and data, far more of either than I can use.

The main downside of PAYG is that the fancier network features may be missing.  In the early days, late 1990s, you couldn’t even roam.  Roaming’s long since been allowed of course but more recently, until just a year or few ago  Vodafone used to state that tethering was not allowed on PAYG (though actually, it always worked for me).   I don’t think WiFi calling works on PAYG either, on some networks.  And I don’t think Apple Watch cellular versions can be used in any useful way for for gsm calls, on PAYG.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Correct, I don't get VoLTE or VoWiFi on O2, sadly.  But the cell tower is practically next door, so its not a huge issue.  Although it would probably be useful on the train, assuming their free WiFi supports VoIP.

I'm just frustrated as I'm right in the middle of a two year contract on Three (I have dual-SIM) and find myself not using it nearly enough (mostly due to the speed being too slow where I would have used it heavily) to warrant the price.  Lesson learned I guess.