Vodafone sim cards assistance required.

[smithers]

I have a sim card from a recently used but now shagged fone, can i buy any fone and use my sim or do i have to buy a vodafone programmed fone. i admit i am a bit of a dipshit when it comes to fones but i don't use it very often so please no urine taking!

[whiskygalore]

You can buy a handset without a SIM card - it usually costs a fortune though. E.g. a 'SIM free' Nokia 3310 costs about �90. See if you can get an upgrade from your provider (wherever you bought the phone) as you may be able to get a free replacement if you've had the handset for a year or longer. Failing that there are a couple of other options, reply to this if this doesn't cover it.

[smithers]

the handset was a cheepie pay as you talk effort but i want a decent replacement hence no contract no upgrade. i know u can get reconditioned phones in the vodafone shop would this be ok. the whole problemo is that i don't want to change numbers.

[moonacre]

Vodafone and O2 use one frequency band, T-mobile (+Virgin) and Orange use another. All new phones are dual band and will work with both. Old phones tend to be band specific. However most phones sold as a connection package and are heavily subsidised. To protect their investment the operators will normally lock the phone use to the network. The phone can be unlocked with the right code which the operator will give you if you are out of contract. If you buy a second hand phone ensure it is dual band and unlocked to be sure your sim will work.

[AndyAvery]

You don't have to get a Vodafone phone providing that the replacement isn't locked to a non-vodafone network. They lock the phones to a provider so you don't buy a cheap phone then use another network. Orange are the worst offenders as they lock contract phones as well as pre-pay.