Buy new mobile phone

Susan1942

I need to replace my current phone.   I want to buy the phone rather than have a contract.  I have got a SIM only currently. 
 I went in to EE and the salesman asked me what I wanted to do with a phone,  Really write and receive emails, Facebook, Messenger,  Look on line at various website etc. He suggested Samsung A35 which they retail at £330,  I checked John Lewis and they have it for £289.
The phone is on Amazon at £179 to £288.  I looked at some of the reviews on the lower priced phone but there were a lot of reviews with people saying that the boxes were either opened or had another seal put on them.  There were also stories of the phone being for the Asia market.  Some ordered a specific colour but didn't receive that colour,  I am very nervous by what I am reading.  I can't justify paying the high prices for a high spec Samsung or iPhone.  I would appreciate some advice  Sue 

MikeJXE

Go to John Lewis, Curry’s or Argos and see what you are getting before you buy it 

I wouldn’t risk a phone coming in the post 

p00hsticks

I'm asking for this to be moved over to the Mobiles part of the forum  

sammyjammy

Have you considered a refurbished phone?  I got mine from giffgaff, came all packaged up, I went for like new, it comes with a warranty, good for the environment as well

Ayr_Rage

Look at the likes of Honor and Xiaomi, lots of very good products in the £200 range and ideal for your needs.

Argos sell several.

Edit : Don't rule out OPPO

https://oppostore.co.uk/

This YouTube reviewer is good and amusing too

https://www.youtube.com/@TechSpurt

eskbanker

Susan1942 said:

I need to replace my current phone.   I want to buy the phone rather than have a contract.  I have got a SIM only currently. 
 I went in to EE and the salesman asked me what I wanted to do with a phone,  Really write and receive emails, Facebook, Messenger,  Look on line at various website etc. He suggested Samsung A35 which they retail at £330

Use MSE's phone finder tool to locate something more suitable for your needs - if your requirements are as basic as you suggest (not an insult btw!) then any cheap handset will do so it would be quite un-MSE to fork out hundreds of pounds unnecessarily: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/phone-finder/

Susan1942

sammyjammy said:

Have you considered a refurbished phone?  I got mine from giffgaff, came all packaged up, I went for like new, it comes with a warranty, good for the environment as well

I have not thought about that but my son told me he purchased a refurbished iPhone and saved a lot of money.  

Susan1942

eskbanker said:

Susan1942 said:

I need to replace my current phone.   I want to buy the phone rather than have a contract.  I have got a SIM only currently. 
 I went in to EE and the salesman asked me what I wanted to do with a phone,  Really write and receive emails, Facebook, Messenger,  Look on line at various website etc. He suggested Samsung A35 which they retail at £330

Use MSE's phone finder tool to locate something more suitable for your needs - if your requirements are as basic as you suggest (not an insult btw!) then any cheap handset will do so it would be quite un-MSE to fork out hundreds of pounds unnecessarily: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/phone-finder/

I do realise that I use the phone for social media.  I never order anything on my phone as I do that on my laptop.  I play the odd song and sometimes I will get Irish radio on my phone or on Alexa 

Kim_13

Argos also sell it. Due to the boxes only being sealed with tape rather than plastic now, they can look a little worn but if you stick to the likes of John Lewis you should be OK. I would suggest collecting it from Sainsbury’s (if ordering from Argos) or Waitrose (if ordering from John Lewis) so that it can be opened in view of the store counter/CCTV to ensure that the phone is present and correct.

These phones had a £50 cashback offer on them at launch and Argos reduced them further after that, so potentially not the best time to buy from there at the moment, as they look to be full price (in fact I found the same price as JL via Google, but when I clicked into the Argos site it was higher so recently changed perhaps.)

I can’t comment on the A35 but my mum has the A55 and is very happy with it. John Lewis has the lilac, navy and white versions available for £364, but the lemon is more (pretty much at full price.) There will be plenty of YouTube videos offering a review/comparison of both models.

Edited to add: John Lewis seem to sell both the 6GB and 8GB RAM versions of the A35, with the 8GB currently cheaper. I didn’t realise they were selling the 8GB A35 in the UK - Argos only have the 6GB. The extra RAM (A55 is 8 as standard) was one of the reasons mum chose the A55, as she doesn’t upgrade often.

400ixl

Make sure you look at how long the OS and security updates will be available on the phone if you plan to keep it for a while. Some of these phones at the more budget end only guarantee 1 OS update and 2 years of security updates,

Google and Samsung have some of the better support periods, Motorola some of the worst and the Chinese ones somewhere in the middle mainly.

EnPointe

MikeJXE said:

Go to John Lewis, Curry’s or Argos and see what you are getting before you buy it 

I wouldn’t risk a phone coming in the post 

The Networks  aren't really interested in selling phones without a new  contract and plan, although sometimes  the  physical stores can be persuaded to, especially if your existing contract is with them . 

 Currys  both online and in store  and Carphone Warehouse online  will happily sell you a  phone  on device only / 'Sim free '  basis ,  as others have Said  John Lewis and Argos also pffer   phones on a 'sim free' / 'Device only' basis. 

IN store you will be able to see the  sealed box  on collection and Currys / PCW  use  very secure UK based  Distribution  run by GXO and  Delivered  by GXO's own loogistics if sent to store or by DPD if sent to home /work and for  some store deliveries