Best budget smartphone?

guzzbuzz

Hi Just needed your help/advice on the best budget smartphone i should go for?

I want something as cheap as possible (it'll be used as a 2nd phone) and dont mind if its 2nd hand/refurbished. Ideally only wanting to spend £50-£70 or so.

Only really thing i would like it to have is 4g

Can anyone offer any advice on what i should go for please?

Thanks

J_B

Maybe ask on the mobiles board?


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14

d123

guzzbuzz wrote: »

Hi Just needed your help/advice on the best budget smartphone i should go for?

I want something as cheap as possible (it'll be used as a 2nd phone) and dont mind if its 2nd hand/refurbished. Ideally only wanting to spend £50-£70 or so.

Only really thing i would like it to have is 4g

Can anyone offer any advice on what i should go for please?

Thanks

You would likely get a Huawei P Smart/Honor 9 Lite for around £80 second hand. It’s a decent phone that works really well, including 4G Calling/WiFi Calling.

that

The potential issue with a second hand phone is battery life, and if like most newer phones where you can no longer drop a new battery in, then that phone will need a usb battery pack and cable too, otherwise you will have to disassemble and replace your own battery which is tricky on most devices

Samsung note 4 and S5 are last version on which a user could replace their own battery. easily. S5 is within your budget

another issue is to check that usb power connector as it could be worn, broken etc.

Also on a phone of this age you may want to reflash the rom to more modern android version

CvPiper

I’ve had a few Xiaomi phones now, and just bought an unlocked Redmi 6A from Three at £69.99 for a family member. For that budget, certainly the route I would take.

[Deleted User]

Does it have to be unlocked or for a particular carrier?

System

LG G3 or Samsung Galaxy S5, install LineageOS on it. The LG G3 and Samsung S5 are 4G phones with a user replaceable battery. LineageOS will give you an up to date version of Android on them.

d123

Tarambor wrote: »

LG G3 or Samsung Galaxy S5, install LineageOS on it. The LG G3 and Samsung S5 are 4G phones with a user replaceable battery. LineageOS will give you an up to date version of Android on them.

Wasn’t the LG G3 the phone where a significant number of handsets had the bootloop fault due to faulty manufacturing and a lack of quality control?

guzzbuzz

d123 wrote: »

You would likely get a Huawei P Smart/Honor 9 Lite for around £80 second hand. It’s a decent phone that works really well, including 4G Calling/WiFi Calling.

thanks. These both seem to be closer to the £100 range though, just had a quick look on ebay. Will search again later

guzzbuzz

that wrote: »

The potential issue with a second hand phone is battery life, and if like most newer phones where you can no longer drop a new battery in, then that phone will need a usb battery pack and cable too, otherwise you will have to disassemble and replace your own battery which is tricky on most devices

Samsung note 4 and S5 are last version on which a user could replace their own battery. easily. S5 is within your budget

another issue is to check that usb power connector as it could be worn, broken etc.

Also on a phone of this age you may want to reflash the rom to more modern android version

What about buying manufacturer refurbished phones from places like argos then? Would that be a better idea?

guzzbuzz

CvPiper wrote: »

I’ve had a few Xiaomi phones now, and just bought an unlocked Redmi 6A from Three at £69.99 for a family member. For that budget, certainly the route I would take.

Thanks, i also have a xiaomi phone myself they are fantastic

Not sure about the Redmi 6a though it has a mediatek processor which i heard is really bad and sluggish when opening apps etc.

I already have an old samsung J2 which is driving me mad because it so slow and the apps take ages to open etc

Thats why i thought id get another phone but a newer one which wouldn't be as slow as the samsung J2. I thought going 2nd hand/refurbished might get me something fairly decent that still functions at speed?

(or am i being too optimistic?!)