GIVING MY UPGRADE TO MY SON - HOW WILL IT WORK?

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
December 1, 2025
5 replies
236 views

Hey 👋 so my son would like a new phone for Xmas and my upgrade was due so I figured that I’ll upgrade, give him in the new iPhone 16 and I’ll stay on the iPhone 15 I’ve got as it works fine no damage etc. So when it comes, I assume it’ll be locked to ID mobile so do I take the new sim and put it in my iPhone 15 and buy a seperate monthly sim only for the iPhone 16 that he’ll be having and would the iPhone 16 accept that or is it locked to my contract?! Anyone done this and it’s easier than it sounds? 🙂 Thanks

Best answer by Lamiya C

Hi @catandrews1987 ,

I completely agree with what @JoeKing mentioned , all iD Mobile phones are SIM-free in the UK, so they’re not locked to our network. This means your new iPhone 16 will accept any SIM, whether it’s from us or another provider.

If you requested a physical SIM with your upgrade, it will have your current number. Otherwise, if you’re using an eSIM, you can continue with that on your iPhone 15. For your son’s iPhone 16, you can easily get a SIM-only plan with us – we offer 30-day, 12-month, and 24-month options.
This setup should work perfectly for what you’re planning, and it’s definitely easier than it sounds.

Lamiya

JoeKing

Silver Contributor

@catandrews1987 Mobile devices don't come locked to a network they are sim free in the UK. Unless your currently using an Esim and you requested a physical sim card which will have your current number with the upgrade it won't come with a sim card.

You be able to get a sim with a new number for use in the new iPhone there are 30 day, 1 year and 2 year sim only Contract with IDMobile.

Joe

Android OS 16 - Nothing Phone 2, (Samsung Galaxy S 25 Ultra Here to help, I do have a life. 😉

Lamiya C

iD Mobile Employee

Hi @catandrews1987 ,

I completely agree with what @JoeKing mentioned , all iD Mobile phones are SIM-free in the UK, so they’re not locked to our network. This means your new iPhone 16 will accept any SIM, whether it’s from us or another provider.

If you requested a physical SIM with your upgrade, it will have your current number. Otherwise, if you’re using an eSIM, you can continue with that on your iPhone 15. For your son’s iPhone 16, you can easily get a SIM-only plan with us – we offer 30-day, 12-month, and 24-month options.
This setup should work perfectly for what you’re planning, and it’s definitely easier than it sounds.

Lamiya

Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.

Lamiya CAnswer

iD Mobile Employee

Hi @catandrews1987 ,

I completely agree with what @JoeKing mentioned , all iD Mobile phones are SIM-free in the UK, so they’re not locked to our network. This means your new iPhone 16 will accept any SIM, whether it’s from us or another provider.

If you requested a physical SIM with your upgrade, it will have your current number. Otherwise, if you’re using an eSIM, you can continue with that on your iPhone 15. For your son’s iPhone 16, you can easily get a SIM-only plan with us – we offer 30-day, 12-month, and 24-month options.
This setup should work perfectly for what you’re planning, and it’s definitely easier than it sounds.

Lamiya

Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.

C

catandrews1987Author

New Contributor

@catandrews1987 Mobile devices don't come locked to a network they are sim free in the UK. Unless your currently using an Esim and you requested a physical sim card which will have your current number with the upgrade it won't come with a sim card.

You be able to get a sim with a new number for use in the new iPhone there are 30 day, 1 year and 2 year sim only Contract with IDMobile.

Joe

Thank you so much for the reply last night!!

it’s made me feel super old thinking that phones are still locked to a network! 🫣 I can’t remember which sim I chose at upgrade, think I stayed Old school and asked for a proper SIM card.. again… Old. Haha. thanks again feel more reassured!

C

catandrews1987Author

New Contributor

Hi @catandrews1987 ,

I completely agree with what @JoeKing mentioned , all iD Mobile phones are SIM-free in the UK, so they’re not locked to our network. This means your new iPhone 16 will accept any SIM, whether it’s from us or another provider.

If you requested a physical SIM with your upgrade, it will have your current number. Otherwise, if you’re using an eSIM, you can continue with that on your iPhone 15. For your son’s iPhone 16, you can easily get a SIM-only plan with us – we offer 30-day, 12-month, and 24-month options.
This setup should work perfectly for what you’re planning, and it’s definitely easier than it sounds.

Lamiya

This is great, thanks so much and i was looking at the rolling monthly sim last night with ID Mobile seems quite reasonable too! Will wait for the phone to arrive (can’t quite remember which sim option I chose) and go from there, still got lots of time before Xmas to figure it out! My 10 year old will be so so happy! Thanks again ☺️