Simply Mobiles - bargain mobile phones online - Frequently Asked Questions.

Since our incarnation as one of Australia's cheapest (if not the cheapest) online mobile phone retailer, we have had the occasional question from you guys out there in WWW land.

As we know that time is a valuable commodity in this day and age, we have taken the time to pop up the answers to our most frequently asked questions to save you having to spend time jotting us an email.

Of course, if you do have any queries that we haven't pre-emptively answered, feel free to drop us a line.

Is your stock Australian?

Indeed it is. We only sell 100% ACMA compliant Aussie stock. This basically means that the mobile phones are the same that you would receive if you went into any reputable shop in Australia and are approved to work with all Aussie telco's.

Are you an Australian company?

Yes we are. We are 100% Australian owned. Simply Mobiles is a registered trade mark of M2 Telecommunications is an ASX listed company (stock code MTU) and has been in operation since 1999. We are based in the sunny southern state of Victoria.

Are your mobile phones unlocked? Will they work on all networks? Are they branded?



They will work with all networks that are compatable with the handset, all handsets list the networks support on their individual detail page.

None of our mobile phones come with any external network branding however some handsets may have preconfigured internal software for use with a specific network, this will not impact on your ability to use the handset on any other handset supported Australian network and in some cases may be removed or disabled free of charge by downloading a software update from the manufacturers website or making simple changes in the phone configuration.

Do you have a shop and if so, where is it?

No, we do not have a physical shopfront as such. This is what enables us to keep our costs so low. Our parent company does have offices throughout Australia though (check them out at http://m2.com.au)

Is your site secure?

Our site is sealed with Thawte premium SSL certificates. All information entered when you make a purchase is encrypted using state of the art, 128 bit encryption.

How do I contact you?

We can, as always, be reached via our contact form here.

We don't actually offer service, support or take orders via the telephone as this enables us to keep our costs down and continue passing the savings on to you (and besides, our monkeys haven't learned to speak just yet.)
 
Where do you deliver to?

We will deliver to anywhere in Australia - including Tasmania ;)

How long does it take for you to deliver my shiny new phone?

If the discount mobile phone you have ordered is in stock, we will generally send it out within seven (7) business days.

What does it cost to get my mobile phone delivered?

Delivery via our couriers is at the rate of:

  • $15 for a single item
  • $5 for each additional item thereafter

How can I track my order? How do I know when it will be delivered?

When we ship your mobile phone(s), we will email you with a tracking number and a URL. You can excitedly monitor the progress of your parcel via the courier company’s website.

Can I send a courier to your offices to pick up my cheap new mobile phone? Can I drop over to pick it up myself?

We are a pretty shy bunch here at Simply Mobiles and prefer limited human contact. Our couriers are a reliable mob and should be able to get the mobile phone to you fairly speedily.

What if I am not there to pick up my discount mobile phone?

We would prefer it if you were there because we know how exciting it is to get a shiny new mobile phone and like hearing reports of glowing smiles and rosy cheeks from our couriers.

All deliveries will be made during business hours (08:00 - 17:30 Monday to Friday excluding public holidays) so the address you pop down as the delivery address should be wherever you think that you will be during these times.

If you are not around, our delivery people will leave a note for you to call them and arrange an alternate time to pick it up.

Another option would be to nominate a (trusted) alternate contact person who will also be at the delivery location.

What kind of warranty do the phones come with?

All our mobile phones come with applicable manufacturers standard warranty, this is generally 12 months however you should check with the manufacturer first. 

Can I get the Nokia E65 in bright magenta with cyan trimming?

When there is a choice of colours for different mobile phones we will list the coloured mobile phone as a product in its own right just to make sure that you get the colour you are looking for.

What is in the box?

The mobile phones come with all the accessories that you would expect to were you to purchase them directly from the manufacturer. If you would like to know what these are, check the appropriate mobile phone manufacturers website.

How can I pay for my cheap mobile phone?

We are a shallow bunch and prefer plastic - we don't really mind if is it VISA or Mastercard - so long as it is one of them we are happy. We do not accept Amex, Diners, Cheque, Bpay, PayPal or a carrier pigeon with $100 notes tied to its legs.

If you don't have a credit card (or don't want one), most banks offer a VISA or Mastercard debit card that allows you to use your own money for online purchases. Check it out with your bank.

Privacy

We respect your privacy to the nth degree.

Should you wish to read our privacy policy, please click here

What is your return and refund policy?

Sorry, no refunds will be given on purchases.

All our mobile phones carry a full 12 month manufacturer’s warranty. Mobile phones may only be returned if they are faulty and must be returned to a manufacturer as per warranty instructions, authorised service centres can be found on www.imobile.com.au/servicecentre.

Simply Mobiles is not responsible for service and warranty claims.

If you receive a faulty or dead mobile phone on delivery, please contact Simply Mobiles immediately and we will arrange to replace or repair the mobile handset under the Early Life Failure warranty. If the handset becomes faulty within 14 days of the date of invoice (30 days for Nokia handsets) please contact Simply Mobiles and we will also arrange for the handset to be replaced or repaired.
Only those faults that are deemed by the manufacturer to have been caused by the mobile phone's internal software or as a part of the manufacturing process will be covered by the Early Life Failure warranty.

But phones are cheaper on [insert name of auction site or other site name here] why should I buy from you?

One thing that it is important to make sure of when buying a mobile phone online is that it isn't a "grey import".

There are some vendors who are able to sell their mobile phones online at seemingly impossibly cheap prices. This may be because they have imported non-Australian stock.

These imported phones may work on Australian networks though this is not 100% guaranteed.

Additionally, many grey imports do not come with an Australian manufacturers warranty which means that if anything happens to them, they may need to be sent back to the country of origin for repair or replacement. This can be a costly and time consuming exercise.

All the mobile phones at Simply Mobiles are guaranteed to be 100% Aussie approved stock - sourced only from authorised wholesalers, approved by the phone companies themselves.

All of our mobile phones also have the full 12 month Australian manufacturers warranty.

When you buy from us, you know that you are getting the real deal.

Which discount mobile phone should I buy to work with [insert service provider name]?

In Australia there are presently three GSM networks (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone), all three use a combination of the GSM 900 and GSM 1800 bands which are available on every handset currently available from Simply Mobiles.

In some other countries GSM services are provided via GSM 850 and/or GSM 1900 bands, one or both of these bands are supported by many handsets currently available from Simply Mobiles.

There is an increasing move towards third generation mobile tecnologies in Australia (3G) available from four providers (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Three). Three of these networks (Optus, Vodafone and Three) operate on the 3G 2100 band which is supported by a large number of handsets currently avilable from Simply Mobiles.

An additional network operated by Telstra and branded NextG operates on 3G 850 (not to be confused with GSM 850), this requires a handset that supports the network and due to its low usage worldwide there are very few handsets that offer this band, Telstra also operates a 3G 2100 service in areas where Three's 3G 2100 network is available.

By mid-2008 Optus have planned to increase their 3G coverage by using a combination of 3G 2100 and 3G 900 bands, handsets which support 3G 2100 only will be compatable with this network only while in areas covered by 3G 2100 outside of these areas these handsets will switch to Optus' GSM 900 or GSM 1800 or lose coverage all together.

Vodafone are expected to also commence extending their current 3G coverage using 3G 900 however there has been no confirmation of this.

What if I need a phone that will work in Ethiopia, Angola or the Democratic Republic of Congo?

All mobile handsets available from Simply Mobiles will work with Australian GSM networks and others may work work with one or more 3G networks, however, if you need to use your mobile handset overseas please refer to

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml

for a list of comprehensive list of networks and network bands used in almost every country that current have mobile communications. All handsets available from Simply Mobiles list the network bands that they support to make it easier to find the right phone for your needs.

I don’t know which network I need. Can you help?

In Australia there are several major carriers; each has their own network and each network is different. So, how do you know which mobile phone will work with each network?

First, a brief history lesson:

In 1993, when the old analogue mobile network was finally closed, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone began offering mobile services using GSM networks operating on a mixture of 900MHz and 1800MHz around Australia – these networks are still widely in use today and supported by every handset available from Simply Mobiles.

In 1999 Telstra began offering services using a CDMA network around Australia, the CDMA network was very popular with rural users, particularly sheep and cattle merchants, miners and farmers; as the coverage provided by CDMA extends further than GSM.

Soon after this a new carrier entered the market, Orange; using a mixture of their own CDMA towers in metropolitan areas and borrowing Telstra’s towers outside of the capital cities.

In 2003 the company behind Orange, Hutchison Whampoa, started offering Australia’s first 3G services under the brand name 3 – like they had done with Orange, 3’s network was a mixture of their own towers in the capital cities (this time 2100MHz 3G) and outside of these area’s users would be able to use Telstra’s GSM towers.

In 2005 Optus and Vodafone began offering services using a combination of 2100MHz 3G networks in metropolitan area’s and their GSM networks outside these zones.

Also in 2005 Telstra began offering services on its own 3G network this time using 850MHz 3G, branded as NextG, but instead of downgrading to GSM like their competitors Telstra planned to extend their 3G network out as far as their CDMA network currently reached.

In 2007 Orange stopped offering their CDMA services and transferred their customers across to 3 and in 2008 Telstra was finally able to shutdown their CDMA network after moving their customers to NextG

In 2008 Optus announced they were going to extend their metropolitan 3G network out to compete with Telstra’s NextG network this time using 900MHz 3G

Finally 3 has announced that sometime in the next few years they will be switching from using Telstra’s GSM network to using Telstra’s NextG network to extend their coverage

So which network do you need?

If you currently have GSM services with Telstra, Vodafone or Optus (or any of the other telecommunications companies that use their networks) then any handset available on Simply Mobiles will be compatible, at least for the next few years until these networks are switched off.

If you currently have or you wish to receive 3G services from Three, Optus or Vodafone in metropolitan area’s (refer to their websites for exact coverage area’s) you will require a handset which lists 3G 2100 as a supported network will be compatible.

If you currently have or you wish to receive 3G services from Telstra or wish to future proof yourself for the time when 3 change over to NextG for extended coverage, only those handsets that list 3G 850 as a supported network will be compatible.

If you want to take advantage of Optus’ new national 3G network you will require a handset that lists 3G 900 as a supported network.

How do I tell which network each mobile phone supports?

Here at Simply Mobiles we have tried to make things as easy as possible for you, in the specifications for every mobile phone we have listed the various networks each handset supports.

EXAMPLE: 3G 850/2100 / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 – this handset supports 850 3G networks so will be compatible with NextG, 2100 3G networks so will be compatible with Vodafone, 3 and Optus’ metropolitan 3G networks and four different GSM networks.

I didn't receive my email order confirmation or tax invoice - why?

Unfortunately some email providers (in particular Hotmail and some of the other free web mail sites) think that the order confirmation emails that we send out to you is spam. This means that it is either sent to your trash or spam folder. You can generally retrieve it from there however.

We aren't yet sure why this is but we are investigating a way around this.

If you require us to resend any invoice or email, we are happy to do so.

My credit card was debited but I have nothing to show for it - why?

We use a secure credit card portal that is situated in a specialised, state of the art, secure facility. For your safety and security, this gateway does not actually communicate your financial information with our website.

During the payment process, after your card has been authorised, the portal needs to let our website know that your purchase has been approved.

In order for the portal to be able to pass on this information, you must click on the "Next" button:

Next

When you click on this button, our website knows that a successful payment has been made and will then process and complete your order.