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Skerminkel
Expert Member
I think lobbying the operators not to do it would be a better solution. We have too much red tape in this country already.
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Question of the Day: What is the best form of potatoes?
Local mobile operators can lock your phone to their network
- Thread starter Kevin Lancaster
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- network lock
deweyzeph
Honorary Master
It's time that South Africans got out of this mentality of getting their phones via contract from cellphone service providers. You wouldn't buy your laptop from your ISP, so why buy your phone from your cellphone service provider?
cozinsky
Expert Member
To my knowledge, our service providers rarely lock phones. I remember specifically that Vodacom did in days long gone by. So your motivation for buying a phone outright, is not convincing. I always felt that the best value is buying on contract because you get the added benefits of airtime and data which you have to buy anyway.
If we got a free laptop with our uncapped interwebz we probably would. But big +1 for not being locked into 2 year contracts etc. Cash monies+prepaid ftw.
deweyzeph
Honorary Master
There's no such thing as a free phone from any service provider. That's a complete fallacy concocted by the service providers to con people into signing 24 month contracts. One way or another you always pay for that "free" phone.
deweyzeph
Honorary Master
I know many people who you would normally consider to be "contract" people, high income earners, professionals, etc who have started to see through the BS of cellphone contracts, and are now buying their phones cash and switching to prepaid, and saving themselves a lot of money every month in the process.
As I've said many times before, cellphone contracts have now become nothing but finance agreements for poor people and the financially illiterate and the service providers are making a killing from it.
As I've said many times before, cellphone contracts have now become nothing but finance agreements for poor people and the financially illiterate and the service providers are making a killing from it.
Have you seen contract clients are being charged more because of the terms and conditions. It has never happened before and yet it has happened now. The same with this, they can start any time they wish.
Exactly - they could have been doing it, well, ever since they stopped doing it… but they havent.
Nephew_
Senior Member
I agree, Cellphone contracts and upgrades are tax on stupid people. Ok, just kidding, depends on your situation, right?
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
I would never buy a network locked phone, but then I've only ever used the Vodacom network for the last 20 years. 
How do you know your phones aren't network-locked?I would never buy a network locked phone, but then I've only ever used the Vodacom network for the last 20 years.
Swa
Honorary Master
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Think it's more a technical thing and manufacturers no longer supporting it so they no longer bothered with it really. What did happen sometimes is they would get the phones third party already network locked. Happened with the Huawei E220 modem. The one I got was an open original Huawei but later they started importing Vodafone branded ones en masse and some were network locked to Vodacom.i also understood handsets used to be network locked, and then the networks stopped doing that... probly when network porting came in.
still it says something when you need to lock people in to force them to stay your customer.... much better to let them stay loyal out of choice due to good service .... yes, lol
It's a legacy issue. Before electronic manufacturers like LG and Samsung entered the market most phones were imported by the networks so no choice really. Even the Nokia I bought a few years ago the only other option was a demo unit but it still came from one of the networks.