Ques: Is the 3 contract phone bought directly from Samsung locked?

[heavylynx]

Need help from someone who has bought any S25 series phone with Three contract directly from Samsung. Are these phones locked to Three network?

I checked with Three customer support and they said that they always sell unlocked devices even under contract deals. But, Samsung customer support told me that phone will be locked and I won't be able to use the second sim.

Any idea how this works?

If I can't use the second SIM then it'll be a deal breaker for me.

[lminvti · Accepted solution]

Hi there

"Phones bought from Three after December 13, 2013 are not locked"

"mobile phone companies were banned from selling network locked phones in the UK as of December 2021. This rule was implemented by Ofcom, the UK's telecommunications regulator."

Meaning you will be able to use any network sim card on your device.

[BandOfBrothers]

@heavylynx the phone will be unlocked to all networks. 

It may have some Network Bloatware apps on it. 

It may have the networks csc on it. 

[Joshkh · Accepted solution]

Will be unlocked, have been for a long time, but will have a couple of Three apps and 3 symbol on start up.

[heavylynx]

Thanks a lot guys, will go ahead with the order. it's strange that Samsung guy told me categorically that second SIM wouldn't work and then abruptly ended the chat.

[PaulC59]

I bought a previous phone via EE which was directly from Samsung and unbranded I.e no EE apps. There is a difference between unlocked and unbranded I.e you can have an unlocked phone but the firmware could be different for a branded phone which can cause delays with things like updates etc you might also notice logos or branding on the case or start up screen when you switch the phone on. Some network providers now do a separate purchase wen upgrading I.e you get the contract and have a separate payment for the device which are not usually branded so it's worth checking out. I doubt that branded or not would affect any of the phones functions such as sim cards etc at least in the UK. Hope this helps

[heavylynx]

This is really helpful, wasn't aware of all this.Never bought a contract phone before.

[PaulC59]

I used to always get my phone upgrades via contract as you can get some great deals or at least could. The benefits of buying via a network provider are always worth checking out thoroughly as you can end up paying more if you get a high monthly payment. It's always worth comparing when upgrading e.g compare the monthly cost with a network provider phone upgrade with getting a sim only upgrade and buying the device direct from the manufacturer as you can sometimes save a lot of money especially when the device is paid off as you continue with the low monthly sim only tarrif. Always worth comparing deals especially with the price of higher end devices and a variety of discounts and offers

[heavylynx]

Yeah, didn't realise this earlier. Saw some really good deals on mobiles.co.uk as well. And, finally got my phone, it's both unlocked and unbranded. Not even any three specific app.