Now this a first post on this particular forum and don't flame me for not searching the forums until I can find the answer as I know that's what you are supposed to do!! BUT having trawled through numerous pages I canot find the simple answer.

Currently I have a 2G Iphone and have watched with interest the recent progress on the 3G version. Now ehen I bought my Iphone in UK I walked into a well known Telephone shop and was given the phone and contract and told to activate it. As is well documented those on non "Iphone networks" did nothing of the sort and phones continue to work and nobody from O2 (UK carrier) has ever come back asking for the contract.

So my question for users in the UK is if you buy phone from shop or O2 on £45/month contract the phone comes free. The phone until now was unuseable (without hardware fix)unless activated. If the recent fix works, and there appear to be mixed reviews so far, is the activatable without then having to pay the £45 an what is O2's policy on non-activated phones as I read somewhere that there was some suggestion that the IMEI number would be blocked and the phone unuseable and are they known to seek to clawback the subsidy. I should add I have an O2 contract but it is the normal monthly tariff as against an Iphone tariff.

If this has been addressed elsewhere then I'd be grateful to be directed to right place.

Anyway, keep up the good work on this site as it has it enabled me succesfully to use my iphone without an iphoen contract so far.


Steve