Ever since I bought an iPhone, I've paid around £30-35pcm for its use. First was with O2 and I bought a 3GS. Then I switched to Orange because of reception issues and bought the 4S.

Debating on whether it's worth going for the 5S, whether to buy outright or pay monthly, or just stick with the 4S.

Reception issues limits me to Orange and Vodafone. Speaking to other staff members, they're my only options because I work out in the sticks.

Data usage for the last month was around 150MB. Voice and text have been well within usage limits.

Any suggestions?

Do you really need the new iPhone 5s? Have you splurged a lot on accessories?

Unless your battery is running low rapidly you could stick with the current phone and drop to a cheaper contract. If you think you might want the iPhone 6 in a years time then opt to buy outright as you will be able to upgrade when it is available. What I did when I bought mine was to work out the costs of buying outright and two years sim only deals, or a two year deal. While a two year deal might mean slightly more over the two years it does also mean you might keep an extra few hundred quid in your account as the contract acts like a low interest loan for the phone.

Nothing in the way of accessories. If I went with a sim only contract, I could be looking at £8-10/pm compared to £36 at the moment. The only thing I would then do is buy a new case for the iPhone.

I haven't felt like this since the K800i - up until that point, I always wanted a new phone (started with a 3330). After buying that, I reached a point where I didn't care and TBH I'm feeling the same way now.

Unless you really need one then stick with what you have and pocket the difference, and go for a SIM only deal. I am stuck in my contract for another year but I am seriously considering sticking with my iPhone 5 for a few more years, as I have a few accessories. I have already got it opened for when I need to switch.

I'd keep the phone and go SIM only. Vodafone do year long contracts from £9 per month, Orange from £8 per month.

Rolling one months contracts cost significantly more.

Following on from that I might suggest prepaying for a years contract it can sometimes be a much better deal.


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I see little benefit to the new range unless you're heavily into your games or really need that extra sliver of battery life - you'll probably still be charging it as often anyway.

I wonder how long it will actually last in real world usage? Though the games aspect is probably more apparent if you are getting Infinity Blade 3. The camera seems a worthwhile improvement but overall I definitely do not see the need to upgrade yet and more so if you consider the Android options.

Can you still do that? I did that in the late 90's with Vodafone, but then they stopped letting me do that.

Strangely my land line supplier started to offer that method of payment a couple of years ago.

A friend who was with T-Mobile was able to do it. It might not be publicised as it does not make the telco a lot of money.

3 have a great deal on the iPhone 5 (or they did, worth checking) - I moved to a rolling contract that's £18 a month for everything, more texts than you could use, all you can eat data and minutes and I could've had the 5 for about £30 or something.
I'm currently waiting to hear what they can do for me with the 5s.

I think he is restricted in choice of carriers because of location. Three do some great deals but if you cannot use them it is hardly worth considering. I am with Three so I know what a good deal they can offer.

Yup as above, restricted to Orange and Vodafone. I could go with other companies but there's absolutely no reception out in the sticks other than with those two carriers.

I'm leaning towards a sim-only deal. Happy to stick into a 12 month contract and reassess from there.

Why not go for a PAYG sim only deal? It all depends on your data usage though as excess usage charges can be penal. It would give you options if something new appeared. In addition if the telco see that you can move at a moments notice they might offer a better deal.


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I'm already with Orange so happy to stick with them.

I do use a fair bit of data on a monthly basis and need around 250MB limit per month minimum IMO. That's based on my usage history. PAYG will give you data if you top up. I would want it irrespective of how much voice/txt I used.