Can i buy a phone to use with another provider?
I have a 50$ coupon to buy a phone, and I want to use it to buy a pre-loved phone. Its a gift for my brother in law, but he lives in Toronto, so he can't use it with Fizz.
From what I know, the phone should be unlocked, so I think it should be ok to use with any carrier. Does Fizz have any problems with this?
Best Answer
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Yes you can and the provider doesn't have to know from who come the phone
If you bought your phone from a Canadian provider after December 1, 2017, it is unlocked by default.
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Answers
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We had a conversation in French just few hours ago about the condition of Fizz preloved phone and they are pretty good.
Here is a link from Fizz about preloved phone.
And The conversation we have in French about the battery, people received preloved phone and the battery state is at 100%
Good evening
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Do you know if Fizz has any restrictions, like I have to use the phone with my account? I want to keep my current phone
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Please ask fizz directly (through the chat bubble here: https://fizz.ca/en/contact-us) as MyRewards Terms and Conditions apply. Thanks!
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Any restriction? In short: none for using it with a competitor, some for purchasing it.
In a bit longer:
- phones sold nowadays (used or refurbished) are no longer blocked now, it's the law (if old ones are still locked, your provider must unlock it at your demand, free of charge).
- it's a gift to your brother so we understand that the payment is yours to handle. But when there is a rebate and you financed it usually you must keep your FIZZ mobile account active (which you assign your new phone to). Failure to keep active will only result on you paying the remainder of the phone if it was not paid in full to start with.
- you can assign multiple phones to your mobile account. Assigning a new phone will not disrupt your service/billing/... or existing plans. During the phone purchase process, Fizz asks you to create a new plan or choose an existing plan. Pick "existing plan": it will not affect your existing plan, it is only to make sure you keep THAT service active for the financing period of the newly acquired phone.
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Hello, all phones are sold unlocked. If you buy a pre-owned phone, it is your's to use with any carrier of your choice. If you buy a phone and finance it through PayBright, you can use it on another carrier and your commitment is with PayBright, not Fizz.
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You are correct for PayBright, but just to be clear, if the phone has a rebate Fizz also usually specify the following fine-print commitments shown at the bottom of the store's product page:
The rebate is conditional on (i) maintaining for an uninterrupted period of 24 months a Fizz mobile plan that is already active at the time of the phone’s purchase
Source: for instance, https://fizz.ca/en/product/9076?upc=673512001720
So financing a phone having a rebate keeps you with Fizz for a certain period. If you leave Fizz before the end of that period, you will be fairly charged the unpaid balance.
Also, when financing, there is another Fizz commitment
(2) Limit of one phone financed with PayBright per mobile plan per year
Source: Legal notes of https://fizz.ca/en/phones/financing-my-phone
The FAQ How do the promotional rebates offered on some phones sold by Fizz work? has other points that might interest @a13anand .
Cheers!
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It's rare to return your phone after your contract is done. The phone that you get now is yours and you can do what you want with it.
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Philemon24, that is interesting. The discount Fizz offers is the same whether you pay up-front or finance, according to the Fizz website and Fizz does not clearly state the cost of borrowing, interest rates, etc. A look at the PayBright site indicates interest rates can be up to 30%. Shame on Fizz for not clearly stating these details but instead concealing these details in smaller and more difficult to read fine print, certainly not in keeping with the image Fizz wants to portray as a customer friendly company conducting business differently than the Big 3.
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The interest that Paybright charges is NOT controlled by Fizz. Paybright is a service that is offered to their customers, and it is their customers' responsibility to check the TERMS (interest, fees, etc..) offered by Paybright (which is a 3rd party service). It is just like trying to deal with payment plans at furniture stores. The stores are not responsible for it. They offer you a service. They get their money up front and you deal with the financing company.
However having said that, the amount you see (before accepting a Paybright agreement) is the amount you will be paying and that will not change throughout your agreement with Paybright. The amount they choose to charge the consumer can vary from one purchase to another, but once the agreement is signed/accepted, the amount does not change. So if it is not what you are willing to accept, then don't accept it.
Now for buying a phone from Fizz to use with another provider, technically, there is nothing to stop you (as other explained, all are unlocked). However if the phone has a Fizz discount, you will need to keep a plan associated to the phone, active for the period listed in the "legal notes" at the bottom of the phone listing. Otherwise, you will need to pay Fizz the amount of the discount back prorated for the months that you did not maintain an active plan.
Now, if you don't have a Fizz phone on your existing plan, then just tag it to your existing plan, and you can give it to whoever you want. It doesn't have to be used on FIZZ. If you already have a phone with Fizz, then that is where they would need you to activate a new plan to assign it to the phone within 7 days or something like that. If you fail to do that, you need to pay back the discount you were given.
BUT, for the $100 and $50 discount perks that we received in Mid Nov... I don't see anything specific conditions (at least I could not find any). So for that discount, you may be OK. It is only for any phone discount which you see on the phone sale page (usually identified by a price, crossed out, and a lower price next to it). That is usually a FIZZ discount which carries the TERM conditions.
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It's tied to your account tough. As long as you keep your plan active for 24 months, no issue to give that phone away.
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