Protection for my Android phone

Alderbank

oldernonethewiser said:

You can buy a phone on a monthly contract or pay for it outright.

You can buy used or new.

Is your current phoned owned by you and do you just pay for the SIM, either monthly or PAYG?

There are a lot of phones on the market, you need to decide what you want the phone to be able to do and how much you want to pay.

This site has a good search facility for phones

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/

That site also has a useful beginners' guide about the different types of phones, contracts, sims, etc.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/

400ixl

oldernonethewiser said:

400ixl said:

Get a phone which is getting security updates and you don't need either of your subscriptions.

As for the number, if you just bay a new phone and keep your current contract then you just swap the sim from one to another. If you upgrade with you current supplier it will be the same.

If you buy a phone / contract with another supplier then you will need to transfer the number. That is as simple as requesting the PUK code from your current provider and giving it to the new one.

The PAC surely?

Yes, no idea why I put PUK other than it was something I was helping someone with the other day. Fixed the post.

FDa65rdk

oldernonethewiser said:

You can buy a phone on a monthly contract or pay for it outright.

You can buy used or new.

Is your current phoned owned by you and do you just pay for the SIM, either monthly or PAYG?

There are a lot of phones on the market, you need to decide what you want the phone to be able to do and how much you want to pay.

This site has a good search facility for phones

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/

'Is your current phoned owned by you and do you just pay for the SIM, either monthly or PAYG?'

The fact that I'm not immediately sure of the answer to that question shows you how little I know about phones!

I got the phone seven years ago and I've long forgotten what the deal is!

I pay about £25 a month to Vodafone for 'unlimited mins and texts, 120GB data, 40GB additional data, 5G'.

I don't make any other payments related to the phone.

Does this info help in giving any tips on what I should do next?

oldernonethewiser

The tips on what you do next have already been outlined.

You need to find out what contract you are on and does it have a minimum term which you have passed or are you tied in for some time yet?

Do you need 160GB of data each month?

How much do you want to spend?

FDa65rdk

oldernonethewiser said:

The tips on what you do next have already been outlined.

You need to find out what contract you are on and does it have a minimum term which you have passed or are you tied in for some time yet?

Do you need 160GB of data each month?

How much do you want to spend?

I've logged into my Vodafone account and it says that I have an airtime plan for £24.68 a month with 120GB red data and 40GB additional data. I don't even know what airtime or red data is.

It states that the 24 month contract ended in March.

I wouldn't have thought I got this nearly three years ago but time does go quickly.

I pay an additional £1.20 for Vodafone Secure Net.

I think the previous deal was 16GB for £50 a month. As I recall, I chose 160GB because it was a special offer and much smaller amounts of data on other offers cost the same if not more.

Earlier, you asked me 'Is your current phoned owned by you and do you just pay for the SIM, either monthly or PAYG?'

I still don't know the answer to that question.

Can you tell me what the answer is based on what I've said so far?

Sorry, I'm not good with phones at all. I just use them and that's it.

FDa65rdk

What are the implications given that it says:

Contract Agreement & Term

Contract ends on 01/03/2024

24 Months

Does this mean that I can now look for a new deal as the contract has expired but the previous deal will continue until a new deal has been arranged?

400ixl

If you got your S8 3 years ago, it was already an obsolete phone when you got it. It came out in April 2017. 
So, it sounds like you are on a contract phone so could do an upgrade for the handset with Vodafone.

You could get a Google Pixel 8 with 50Gb for £23ppm, or a Pixel 7a with 50Gb for £17ppm. Those are just examples of Android devices with the longest committed updates for under £25 a month for phone and contract.

But saying that, you can have your choice of the whole market as your committed term is complete. 

FDa65rdk

400ixl said:

If you got your S8 3 years ago, it was already an obsolete phone when you got it. It came out in April 2017. 
So, it sounds like you are on a contract phone so could do an upgrade for the handset with Vodafone.

You could get a Google Pixel 8 with 50Gb for £23ppm, or a Pixel 7a with 50Gb for £17ppm. Those are just examples of Android devices with the longest committed updates for under £25 a month for phone and contract.

But saying that, you can have your choice of the whole market as your committed term is complete. 

I got the S8 seven years ago, almost to the day.

If I recall my initial deal was 16GB for £50 a month and I changed that (presumably in March 2022) for the current deal of 160GB a month for half the price.

FDa65rdk

400ixl said:

You could get a Google Pixel 8 with 50Gb for £23ppm, or a Pixel 7a with 50Gb for £17ppm. Those are just examples of Android devices with the longest committed updates for under £25 a month for phone and contract.

Thanks.

When you say longest committed updates are you referring to security updates?

And if so, how long are they for?

400ixl

Yes, both the Android updates and the security updates. The Pixel 8 gets updates and security fixes until at least October 2030 and the 7a being slightly older gets security updates until at least May 2028.

https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en-GB#zippy=,pixel-a-pixel-and-pixel-pro,pixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-pixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-and-pixel-fold

It makes it a choice of an extra £6pm for the Pixel 8 over 3 years to get an additional 2 years of OS updates and security updates. It is also a better and newer model as well though.

Some Samsung phone are getting updates for 6 years now, but do check the exact version as it is still a bot hit and miss as they get towards the Google promise.