[gorilla]

If you buy a PAYG iPhone it comes with a sim card. Can that sim card be used in a mobile dongle? I'm sure this would violate O2's T&Cs as it's such a heinous crime, but could you get away with it for occasional use?

[Ben]

I'm guessing you probably could, if you set up the APN correctly...

*doesn't know for sure*

[miffed]

I'd say "don't do it !!" - or at least not without a bit of investigation and trial !

I have noticed that O2 take APN's seriously , and they are obviously pretty relevant

For example , to use my iPhone on PAYG I had to change the APN to "Payandgo.o2.co.uk" - (can't remember what it was originally !! ) - I also had tried a different APN (one that was specific to the O2 Web bolt on I was using) , but that didn't work either - Now I have updated to 3.0 I note that the APN's have changed to "idata.02.co.uk" And when I set up my Dongle , I think this was (yet) another APN -

The worry I can see , is that O2 are going to be offering the tethering service on the iPhone , and I can only see the one APN on the iPhone itself - suggesting that o2 do indeed have a means of telling what you are up to.
My advice would have to be buy an iPhone PAYG sim like this one Handson posted - http://tinyurl.com/nygk3j - that way if it goes boobs up you have not ballsed up your iPhones connection !

It's not a case of "getting away with it" IMO , more a case of O2 may have been careful to stop it working ! and if they have taken those steps , it is probably safe to say they'll be ready to implement "revenue protection" measures - Otherwise they'll essentially be giving away a year s free broadband with every such sim !!

[gorilla]

Ok thanks, seems O2 are going to try and squeeze as much out of their customers as possible :)

[miffed]

Ok thanks, seems O2 are going to try and squeeze as much out of their customers as possible :)

Yeah , which is quite the turnaround , I remember when al the others were charging at least £3-4 per MB of GPRS data , but o2 were giving it away for free !!

[miffed]

Well , I ordered the SIM with £10 credit in the above link , it arrrived quickly , well packed ,sealed ,and with detailed instructions (penned by the seller) on how to use the SIM with various phones, the guy went above and beyond what I expected in this respect !

Unfortunately though , the SIM did not work ! I just get a "No Service" at the top of the screen , tried it in both iPhones and also a couple of "normal" phones and no joy

I must stress at this point that I do not think for one minute that the seller is ripping me off, The SIM pack is obviously genuine and he could have had no way of knowing that it is faulty or (worryingly) de-activated

I mailed him for a resolve , and although he has not responded yet , I am sure he will in due course

I must admit I find the situation worrying though - Have O2 caught on and started blocking missng batches of SIM's or something ? Not sure I'd want to have a number cut off and lose any credit once I'd gotten attatched to it !
On the other hand , maybe I just got a dodgy SIM ?

[Hands0n]

Bugger! Thats a nuisance for sure.

I'm sure you're right about the seller - they have to behave on eBay or end up with ruined ratings or worse. And if you've paid with PayPal there's ways to get your money back.

The "No Service" is a bit odd - If the number was disconnected you'd get a different message, or the iPhone would just constantly be stuck at "Searching".

I suspect that once the SIM is registered onto the network and activated the automated number recovery that O2 use will not apply.