My wife is getting a new phone to replace the Samsung S5 she's giving me. I am aghast at the prices T-Mobile wants for new phones. So I'm looking at previous generation Samsung and Google phones. I've seen some decent prices on refurbs. But I haven't really kept up, so I'm approaching the collective SigForum wisdom. What's the best deal on a couple year old phone?

A month ago I bought a Motorola Z2 Play at Best Buy for $9.99 a month on my Verizon plan. Now down to $2.99 a month.

Seems like a good phone. No issues so far.

YMMV

EasyFire

If she is good with Android, I'd suggest going to Costco, and picking up a Moto G5 Plus. If I recall correctly they are under $200.

Here is a review of the phone:
https://www.cnet.com/products/...moto-g5-plus/review/

What carrier does this phone operate on? I can only receive ATT at home.

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
What carrier does this phone operate on? I can only receive ATT at home.

Read the review that is linked in the post immediately preceding your question.

quote:

From the linked review:
Since the G5 Plus is a universally unlocked phone, it will work on all major US and UK carriers. It's worth checking compatibility with your carrier if you're unsure.

Most phones sold today, if they are not locked to a specific carrier, will certainly work with standard GSM networks. In the U.S. this would include AT&T and T-Mobile, and all the MVNOs that re-sell air time on these networks.

If she is not staunchly android it might be worth a look on Amazon for Un-locked iPhones. You can find lots of 6's and 6s's and 7's that are un-locked for a fairly good price. Be sure and read the sellers feedback and users reviews. I got the 6s I am using a couple of years ago and it is serving nicely. It will also work with GSM and CDMA carriers alike.

Staunchly Android, but not necessarily Samsung.

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
If she is good with Android, I'd suggest going to Costco, and picking up a Moto G5 Plus. If I recall correctly they are under $200.

Here is a review of the phone:
https://www.cnet.com/products/...moto-g5-plus/review/

Beat me to it. This is a very good phone for a great price. And it comes unlocked so you're not tied to a cellular provider.

I just bought a Galaxy S9 from T-Mobile and got $200 off by trading in a Galaxy S4 that I had sitting in a box for a couple of years. I have to keep my line on T-Mobile for the next 2 years and they will give me a bill credit of $8 a month for 24 months to make up the $200.

The reason I got the S9 is because it is one of the few phones that support T-Mobiles extended LTE frequencies. These are the phone bands that T-Mobile recently acquired the rights to in the 600 and 700 Mhz range to extend their coverage in some areas around the country. I could never get a signal when I visited my sister in Kermit, TX. According to their coverage map, T-Mobile has implemented that frequency in her area now. Hopefully I will be able to actually receive calls and connect to the internet the next time I visit.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
If she is good with Android, I'd suggest going to Costco, and picking up a Moto G5 Plus. If I recall correctly they are under $200.

Here is a review of the phone:
https://www.cnet.com/products/...moto-g5-plus/review/

Beat me to it. This is a very good phone for a great price. And it comes unlocked so you're not tied to a cellular provider.

My local Costco had them today for $180. It really is a very good phone for the money.

I'm not and Android guy but had the chance to play with the Motorola MotoZ. It's a damn nice phone with a way above average camery. Also the MotoX. Not too expensive either.

You may want to consider an Honor 6X or 7X. They are unlocked phones you can buy on amazon for around $200. My company switched to them about 6 minths ago and they have been great. There is no bloatware on them, just clean android 7.0 with EMUI interface. The newer 7X even comes with gorilla glass (and still around $200). I consider them the equivalent of the newer Samsungs but 1/4 th the price.

Ken

quote:

Originally posted by SIG 229R:
If she is not staunchly android it might be worth a look on Amazon for Un-locked iPhones. You can find lots of 6's and 6s's and 7's that are un-locked for a fairly good price. Be sure and read the sellers feedback and users reviews. I got the 6s I am using a couple of years ago and it is serving nicely. It will also work with GSM and CDMA carriers alike.

Good grief! The buyers feedback is disastrous!

Unlocked doesn’t mean it works with any carrier, it appears.

Details matter!

Look at the LG k20. a great value on a pretty nice simple smart phone imho. Cheapest one verizon had too!

quote:

Originally posted by KenS:
. . . There is no bloatware on them, just clean android . . .

The same is true of the Moto G4 and G5, if you don't buy them from a service provider. I got my G4 from Best Buy, and if I was in the market for a phone today, I'd get the G5 Plus from Costco. No, bloatware.

I got my son a G5 for Christmas, and it has been very good.

I had been using a Moto X2 for the past three years, and just recently moved to the new X4. It has great water resistance, very good performance, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The screen is not AMOLED, but I can hardly tell that it isn't; it looks great. It is only slightly taller than my X2, which is good. The case is glass, which is not so good, but Spigen makes a nice flexible cover.

I chose this over the Z2 series for the water resistance and size, but also for the screen material. The Z2 has a polymer shatterproof screen that is truly shatterproof, but is also highly scratch prone.

I paid $300 buying directly from Motorola during a sale. Good luck with the search!

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
If she is good with Android, I'd suggest going to Costco, and picking up a Moto G5 Plus. If I recall correctly they are under $200.

Here is a review of the phone:
https://www.cnet.com/products/...moto-g5-plus/review/

Beat me to it. This is a very good phone for a great price. And it comes unlocked so you're not tied to a cellular provider.

My local Costco had them today for $180. It really is a very good phone for the money.

But it's the 32 GB version, correct? Depending on how much video etc the OP uses, this may not be enough.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by DMF:
If she is good with Android, I'd suggest going to Costco, and picking up a Moto G5 Plus. If I recall correctly they are under $200.

Here is a review of the phone:
https://www.cnet.com/products/...moto-g5-plus/review/

Beat me to it. This is a very good phone for a great price. And it comes unlocked so you're not tied to a cellular provider.

My local Costco had them today for $180. It really is a very good phone for the money.

But it's the 32 GB version, correct? Depending on how much video etc the OP uses, this may not be enough.

It has an expansion slot for a micro SD card, up 128GB.

Right now you can get a 64GB card for about $20, or a 128GB for about $40, on Amazon. That's SanDisk and Samsung, not some off brand.

That's plenty of space to store photos, video, music, etc.

By comparison a 32GB iPhone7 (not the 7+) is $550, and a 128GB iPhone 7 is $650.

A Sumsang S8 has 64GB internal memory, which can expanded with a 256GB microSD card, but it costs $600.

Where is the slot on that moto?

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Where is the slot on that moto?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn9h2KKyTeE