iPhone 5S 4G from Apple using O2 Simplicity

[Anonymous]

I currently have the legacy O2 simplicity with unlimited internet.  I now know that I'm going to lose that if I sign up for 4G which is a shame but you can't fight city hall.

I'm using it in an unlocked iPhone 5 bought on the release day from the Apple Store so it SHOULD have been 4G ready but I guess nobody knew then that not all 4G was the same.

So my question is, will the iPhone 5S from the Apple Store be compatible with O2 4G or should I just buy direct from O2?  And if I bought from O2 will I be treated as a new customer rather than an upgrader as I have a legacy Simplicity Sim?

 The reason I buy direct from Apple is that I'm free to move on when I like if circumstances and/or reception changes or a better deal comes along.

[jonsie]

From what I know the iphone 5 will only work on the 4G spectrum provided by EE and not O2.

From the website : http://www.o2.co.uk/4g/4g-tariffs

Calling all iPhone 5 customers

Did you buy your iPhone 5 from us between September 2012 and 31 March 2013? Our 4G Phone Promise means you can upgrade anytime during your contract and get your hands on a brand new 4G phone.

Not only that, we'll help you fast track your upgrade and take 25% off the cost of your remaining line rental.

[Bambino]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I currently have the legacy O2 simplicity with unlimited internet.  I now know that I'm going to lose that if I sign up for 4G which is a shame but you can't fight city hall.

I'm using it in an unlocked iPhone 5 bought on the release day from the Apple Store so it SHOULD have been 4G ready but I guess nobody knew then that not all 4G was the same.

So my question is, will the iPhone 5S from the Apple Store be compatible with O2 4G or should I just buy direct from O2?  And if I bought from O2 will I be treated as a new customer rather than an upgrader as I have a legacy Simplicity Sim?

 The reason I buy direct from Apple is that I'm free to move on when I like if circumstances and/or reception changes or a better deal comes along.

---

If you still have a legacy contract you would be mad to give it up now. I'm sure that the iPhone 5S will be 4G compatible, but O2's 4G is only rolling out in London, Leeds, and Bradford at the outset, and there's no timetable for the rest of the country, but it will be a very long time before it's available everywhere. You'd be much better off buying your new phone from Apple and give the 4G spectrum a chance to catch up. You can upgrade to 4G any time, but once you give up your legacy contract it's gone forever.

By the way, I too have a legacy contract and I have no intention of giving it up yet.

[Anonymous]

That kinda misses the point of what I was trying to say.  Yes I know I have unlimited 3G but to be honest, most of the time it's too slow to be usable.  I work in London so having the option to use 4G for better speed and reception is quite attractive and I'm wondering if 3G is going to become even slower.

My other point is, will the Apple iPhone 5S be compatible with the O2 4G or will I be forced to buy it from O2 if I decide to get 4G?

Incidentally does anybody here know what the real-world data usage of a 4G user actually is?  The advets show people downloading and streaming movies - sure it's quicker but it's still a shed-load worth of data (did you see what I did there?)

[jonsie]

Your present iphone is not compatible with O2's 4G as I stated previously.

[Anonymous]

Yes I know it's not compatible (I thought I'd already said) - I will be buying a 5S on release day but do I need to buy an O2 iPhone 5S or will the Apple Store unlocked version also work with O2 4G should I wish to upgrade to it in the future?  

I'd prefer to buy from Apple and use Simplicity for future flexibility (although clearly that didn't work last time!)

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

The iPhone 5s /6 bought as unlocked from your local Apple Store will work on the 02 4G Network that launches today as long as the frequency specs that are said to be in it are true. It would be common sense that they would be as if not 02 would not be able to sell any new 5s/6 iPhones to work on their new faster data service ,and I don't see that being allowed to occur. So until the Apple Keynote on the supposed 10/9/13 it's unconfirmed. But that's still gives you plenty of time to sign up for 02's 4g before the extra data offer cut off time !

I'd sell your iPhone 5 to raise some capital to help buy the new iPhone ,and if your resolve is to have the 4G Service then sign up / upgrade before 1/10/13 to take advantage of the 'extra' data offer.

I've used 4G on my friends ee network and it seemed to be the same ratio of use like 3G. However the strain on the battery in my case did show. Many users across the pond talked about Lte draining their batteries quicker , although on balance I'm sure this happened when the Networks moved from 2G to 3G as a standard !

Take care.

[Anonymous]

Yes my iPhone is already on eB*y so I'm good to go...   will be a shame to lose my unlimited internet though (but to be fair I only get through 2-300MB a month on average)

I'd rather not be tied down to a contract so I still prefer to buy the phone outright - and that's the problem buying from O2 because I don't want to be stuck with 2 years.

[Anonymous]

just had a quick check on O2 Refresh - the price of iPhones to buy outright are considerably more than from Apple for example the iPhone 5 32GB is £699 vs £599 from Apple. Maybe Refresh is not such a good thing after all!?

[adamtemp64]

4g sim only tariffs now showing on the shop pages https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/simplicity/SmartPhone/?is4G=true