If you’ve purchased a SIM-free iPhone from certain UK retailers, it may have locked itself to the first mobile network you used on the handset.
Typically, a SIM-free mobile phone is also an unlocked smartphone. As you’ll have paid the full retail price for your handset upfront (up to £1,000 for the latest flagship smartphone), you’ll normally be able to use the handset on the mobile network of your choice. For instance, you could get a cheap SIM-only deal or you could use a free Pay As You Go SIM card inside the handset.
Historically, things haven’t always been so simple when purchasing a SIM-free iPhone in the UK. In the past, SIM-free iPhones from certain UK retailers (including the Carphone Warehouse) would lock themselves to the first mobile network used on the handset. The iPhones were also restricted to only working on UK mobile networks. Nowadays, this is no longer the case for newly-purchased iPhones but you may still be affected if your iPhone was purchased in the past.
We’d currently recommend buying your SIM-free iPhone from John Lewis. You’ll benefit from a 2-year guarantee at no extra charge, along with the John Lewis “Never Knowingly Undersold” promise. The standard warranty on an iPhone is just 1 year when purchased from most other retailers.
In this article, we’ll discuss SIM-free iPhones in the UK and we’ll look at how the unlocking status differs depending on where you buy it. We’ll also look at the best places to buy a permanently-unlocked iPhone and how you can unlock a SIM-free iPhone from your mobile network.
Continue reading →
The BenQ WiT is a curved LED lamp designed to illuminate your desk so you can work and read in the evening.
On this website, it’s not very typical for us to be reviewing desk lamps or other everyday household gadgets. Typically, our thing is more mobile phones and tablets along with the mobile networks and tariffs behind them.
However, as we approach the Christmas giving period, we also wanted to have a look at some other gadgets that can enhance your digital life and that can solve some everyday problems.
As someone who spends a lot of time working at a computer, getting the right lighting environment has been a constant challenge for me. During the summer, I’m fairly lucky to get lots of natural light around my working environment. However, as the days get shorter and as we approach the winter, the amount of natural lighting has drastically reduced. Therefore, when BenQ offered me the opportunity to try out their new high-tech desk lamp, I jumped at the opportunity to see whether it could help me out.
Continue reading →
Find out your international phone number so you can receive phone calls and texts from abroad.
If you’d like to receive a phone call from someone in another country, you’ll need to convert your UK phone number into an international phone number. The easiest way to do this is to replace the zero at the start of your phone number with +44.
Continue reading →
Find out which size of SIM card is required by your new smartphone: Standard SIM, Micro SIM or Nano SIM.
If you’re getting a new smartphone, you’ll need to make sure you have a SIM card of the right size to fit in your phone. If you’re changing mobile networks (e.g. to a SIM-only deal or Pay As You Go SIM), you’ll also need to make sure you order a SIM card of the right size.
Depending on the model of smartphone you buy, there are three sizes of SIM card that can potentially be used in your phone: Standard SIM, Micro SIM and Nano SIM.
In this article, we’ll look at the differences between the three types of SIM card. We’ll list the required SIM card size for different handsets and we’ll discuss how you can order a SIM card of the right size. Finally, we’ll look at how to change the size of your SIM card (e.g. into Micro SIM or Nano SIM).
Continue reading →
Newer handsets typically require a Micro SIM or Nano SIM. Therefore, if you’re changing handsets, you may also need to change the size of your SIM card at the same time.
If you’ve recently upgraded to a new smartphone, there’s a good chance it’ll require a Micro SIM or Nano SIM. Before you’re able to use your SIM card in the new handset, you’ll first need to make sure it’s of the right size. If not, you can replace your current SIM card with either a smaller Micro SIM or Nano SIM.
In this article, we’ll explain how you can change your current SIM card for a Micro SIM or Nano SIM. We’ll discuss the process on each UK mobile network and also how much you can expect it to cost. We’ll then discuss the option of manually cutting down your SIM card, and how to use a smaller SIM card in an old handset.
Continue reading →
Find out how to use up your remaining Pay As You Go credit when moving to another network.
In the UK, it isn’t possible to get a refund for unused Pay As You Go credit, nor is it possible to transfer your credit to another network. This can be an issue if you’re changing to another mobile network and if you have some leftover credit on your old Pay As You Go account.
For this reason, we typically recommend trying to use up your remaining Pay As You Go credit before moving your phone number to another mobile network. Alternatively, you could donate your credit to charity or you could keep your old SIM card as a backup.
Order Free Pay As You Go SIM Card → Transfer Your Phone Number →
In this article, we’ll explore the four things you can do with remaining Pay As You Go credit.
Continue reading →
In the UK, there are four main providers of free public wi-fi: BT Wi-Fi, O2 Wi-Fi, The Cloud and Virgin Media Wi-Fi. Find out how to get access to each of these services.
It’s now fairly straightforward finding free wi-fi when you’re out-and-about here in the UK. Whether you’re in a high-street coffee store, supermarket or bank, there are four main providers of free wi-fi internet you’re likely to come across: BT Wi-Fi, O2 Wi-Fi, The Cloud and Virgin Media Wi-Fi.
In this article, we’ll review and compare the main public wi-fi providers in the UK. We’ll discuss the level of service available on each provider and how you might qualify for their free wi-fi internet. We’ll also show you to how to find nearby hotspots.
Continue reading →
Find out how to contact your UK mobile network for a range of issues like billing, coverage, lost & stolen, leaving the network or making a complaint.
In the UK, you’ll occasionally need to contact your mobile network. This might be to discuss billing and coverage issues, or it might be to report your phone or SIM card as lost or stolen. You may also need to contact your mobile network if you’d like to move your number to another provider, if you want to end your mobile contract or if you’d like to make a complaint about the service.
The following table shows information about how you can contact your mobile network. For each network, we’ve provided the customer support phone number along with opening hours for the service and a link back to the official website. Below, we’ve also provided some additional information which should help you when making some common enquiries.
Continue reading →
The Nexus 6P is Google’s latest flagship smartphone. In this article, I review the handset and the best value deals available in the UK.
Each year, Google teams up with a major smartphone manufacturer to release an own-brand Android smartphone as part of the Nexus device family. Now in its fifth year, Google has this year chosen to team up with Huawei and LG. There are two new devices including a new flagship smartphone in the form of the Nexus 6P and a new mid-range handset in the form of the Nexus 5X.
I’ve been trying out the Nexus 6P over the past month and I can confidently say it’s my favourite smartphone to date. The Nexus 6P has a really solid aluminium construction and is well-built using the latest technology and components. It also has a fantastic camera and a super-smooth interface. It comes with some highly impressive apps from Google; most notably the Google Photos service. Finally, it’s about £250 cheaper than Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus. This makes it a really good choice if you want the latest cutting-edge technology at a highly reasonable price point.
In this article, I’ll share my experiences of using the Nexus 6P.
Continue reading →
For the past four and a half years, we’ve been tracking the popularity of UK mobile networks and how consumers are switching between them.
The UK has one of the most competitive marketplaces in the world for mobile telephony. There are more than 83 million active mobile subscriptions for a population of only 64 million. Given this, many customers taking out a new mobile phone plan will be switching their service over from another network.
At present, there are 4 network operators in the UK: EE, O2, Three and Vodafone. There are also more than 20 virtual network operators (MVNOs) that use one of the big four networks as a coverage provider. Current MVNOs include BT Mobile, giffgaff, iD Mobile, TalkTalk, Tesco and Virgin. MVNOs target a wide range of verticals including ethical, low-cost, international, supermarket and quad-play providers.
When switching from one mobile network to another, many consumers choose to keep their existing phone number. The UK has offered mobile number portability (MNP) since the 4th January 1999. To transfer an existing phone number from one network to another, customers need to obtain a PAC Code from their old network. The PAC Code is then provided to their new network operator.
Here, at Ken’s Tech Tips, we provide an online tool which can help consumers to get a PAC Code from their old network. We’ve been operating the PAC Code Finder tool since October 2010 with an average of 4,000 people using the tool every month. By monitoring usage of the tool, we can track in great detail how British consumers are moving between different mobile networks in response to different product offerings.
Continue reading →