My daughter wants to spend her Xmas money on a used iPhone. If the ad names a network I’m assuming that means you’re stuck with them. I dont mind that so much, but does it mean you are stuck with a contract or can she can just put a new pay as you go sim card into it?

Yes if for example it’s locked to Vodafone you could put a Vodafone PAYG sim in, or you can get the handset unlocked and then generally use any network SIM in there. GifGaff seems popular.

The contract if there is one will be with the original owner. If the phone is locked to a network you need to either use that networks PAYG sim or get it unlocked then use any sim. However, you might struggle to get an out of contract iPhone unlocked as you have to do it via the original network provider and usually they are not interested once it’s out of contract and been sold on.
Forget the local market and all those ads for iPhone unlock codes, it’s can only be done reliably by the network provider in conjunction with Apple and iTunes.

Oh and just word of warning, sometimes unscrupulous people will sell a phone then report it stolen, claim off their insurance and get a new one. Meanwhile the phone you just bought from them suddenly doesn’t work as it’s been barred and you can’t contact the seller again.
I’m not sure how common it is but I’ve seen our happen a few times.

That’s what’s always put me off buying a used phone. All you need is the IMEI number and you can get the network to block it.

I just bought a s/h iPhone off a riding pal; probably the safest way to buy one.

Not sure whether I’d buy one from someone I didn’t know.

Did somebody say iphone?

Used iphones, buy one unlocked, there wont be a contract to pay off, unless its an old gen phone where the max 24 months will be up, and ask for the imei. Whack it in http://www.icloud.com/activationlock and if it says on, ask them to follow the instructions. If they cant walk away. Then head over to http://www.checkmend.com costs a quid.

Or buy one from me..

O2 are pretty relaxed about unlocking out of contract iPhones, I’ve had two unlocked so far, and I keep meaning to get my iP5 unlocked so I can sell it on.

And of course some PAYG are on other networks – GiffGaff are O2 (as are Tesco I believe) so a ‘locked’ O2 phone will work on GiffGaff without unlocking – just do the research before buying.

Dunno what happened with mine. My mates Mrs gave me her phone (Galaxy Ace), I stuck my sim card from my old Nokia Whotsit PAYG C5 & It works fine. (I’m easily pleased though)

wysiwyg you sell iphones? I could be interested. email is profile name at hotmail.com

Thanks all. Will take care buying a 2nd hand one. Cheers

OP I got my old 4S unlocked and now it’s my backup / foreign phone. Works fine with a variety of different sims as you would expect (hope !). One word of caution is battery life, iPhone seems to go 18/24 months before needing a new battery and a proper one costs £50 from Apple. I did mine myself of £10 but something to consider when buying used.

Many of the cheap replacement batteries may not be all the seem as well.

Just sorted my daughter with my old iPhone (4S). I wouldn’t bother with PAYG, get a SIM only contract. A tenner a month with unlimited everything on 3