Cheap smartphone required

mnbvcxz

Or left field you can still get a Nokia candybar keypad phone for £15 from argos with 4g calling for modern networks… Or you can buy one from Sky mobile for £2.50 a month including calls for two years, which is £70 but unlimited calls and texts… No Whatsapp, GPS, internet and such but does fit in your pocket…

QrizB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81986506#Comment_81986506

Personally I wouldn't choose either of those when I can buy an Android from a highstreet store for the same or less money.

Oldwonam

"Where do I start looking for a cheap smartphone, probably second-hand, of some type or a cheap Chinese one? My old 2g phone is going to be turned off soon"

Do you mean 2G or 3G? It looks like 2G will be around for a little while…

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/3g-switch-off

You don't mention what you want to use it for. Like, only phone calls? What's app? Web browsing? Camera?

At at guess, reading between the lines, 4G will suffice, if you're looking at second-hand.

More important is what version of Android is needed for the critical apps you want, if any.

You could potentially keep the phone you're familiar with (on 2G) and supplement it with an up to date phone or tablet for apps, messaging, and web-browsing. That's what works for me, main number on a 'proper' phone and effectively data-only on a second device, albeit with a spare throw-away phone number. Data is so cheap now.

As for Chinese phones and Aliexpress, Caveat emptor - mine's a Soyes XS16 (Android 10) from Aliexpress and I love it, but the first one died after a few weeks, and the second was dead on arrival. Third time lucky and the first two were refunded without quibble.

"Or left field you can still get a Nokia candybar keypad phone for £15 from argos with 4g calling for modern networks…"

I tried the Nokia 105 (4G, USB-C charging). It's far from what I would call pocket sized, and it's functionally inferior to my now ancient but smaller Nokia candy bar, which I have reverted to. It seems like Nokia stopped making phones and now just licence the name. The 6310 4G may be worth a look but it's also huge by today's standards.

PHK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81994630#Comment_81994630

Regarding 2G, although the technology won’t be turned off for a while. The operators have migrated or started to migrate users away from 2G so that it is reserved for emergency calls, machine to machine and internet of things.

For example, O2 started the migration in 2024, businesses were moved by June last year and from last October it was no longer possible to roam on 2G.