So my wife needs a mobile phone upgrade as hers on its last legs and not working with some of the new Apps.
It also ties in with her remit of reuseing older tech and extending its life.
Has anyone used any of the refurbished phone companies?
My Galaxy 52s has worked well so ,looking at one of these as a refurb.
I was going to pass my one to her and then upgrade but new phone prices look huge now.
I would be worried i damage it on the bike or something and do not really need an upgrade myself.
So any company reccommendations for a refurb mobile phone.
I've bought 3 from giffgaff. Two had issues and went straight back. That was their "like new" grading, and they were poor.
Cheapest Electrical on ebay is apparently Tesco. Have a couple from there, no issues at all.
I got a Galaxy S21 off Ebay a couple of years ago. It was described as A grade. It was absolutely spotless and looked unused. It was about £200. It still does everything I need with no problems.
If I was looking for one now, I would probably go for a S23 for a similar price.
We have regularly taken 'Grade A' phones from ID mobile or some of the other big companies. Never an issue, most are boxed but clearly opened, one was no box.
We've had a fewyand they've been spotless. Last couple of devices were from backmarket IIRC. YMMV and use your consumer rights if you're not happy!
Cex is very good as their grading is very accurate – if they say Grade A – Mint, it really will be like new.
I have had issues with GiffGaff grading (as mentioned above), although they were very happy to sort it out for me.
bought phones, iPad and headphones from backmarket, all much better than expected, with no issues, and their returns etc are good if needed (but not had to)
My partner and one of our daughters both recently bought Grade A refurbished Pixel 7s from eBay. Totally indistinguishable from new, and also cheaper than the likes of Backmarket/CEX etc.
CEX and Music Magpie are very accurate on grading. Used both.
I bought a 6 month old iPhone pro max from giffgaff. I can't remember the price, but it was waaaaay less than buying new. It was supposed to be a 'B' grade, but I couldn't see a mark on it. I'm still happily using it 18 months later.
My sister and brother-in-law were so impressed they also bought refurbished phones from giffgaff, and are also pleased with them.
Someone mentioned CEX earlier. I haven't had a phone from CEX, but I have bought a Playstation, HomePods, and Apple TV from them. All were Grade 'B', and were (in fact are) in great condition. I think they were 'B' because they didn't have the right boxes. I'd trust them to sell me a phone.
I'm sure you can get bargains from eBay as stated above, but I usually stick to established companies where there is some chance of comeback if anything goes wrong.
I've bought from Backmarket. Great quality and good prices.
Thanks for the replies. Very helpful.
I will check some of these out .
I just need the phone not the sim so will do some enquiries.
All our family phones have been either A or B grade iPhones from giffgaff (bought outright rather than contract) not a mark on any of them
we have used CEX and musicMagpie both been very good
Got the MiL a refurb from Blackmarket. Much better quality than I expected. Highly recommended
My partner and one of our daughters both recently bought Grade A refurbished Pixel 7s from eBay. Totally indistinguishable from new, and also cheaper than the likes of Backmarket/CEX etc.
How much were they now, out of interest?
I love my 7a but it's been dropped once too often so is on borrowed time.
I've had a couple of grade B's from CEX in the past. They're absolutely fine on the face of it, but it does become apparent that they're *however long* into their lifespan already. e.g. charging port became unstable sooner than expected, battery degraded quicker etc. It will depend obviously on the device and prior usage, which you can't know.
I'd only get grade A refurbished if doing again, but prefer to find a good deal on new.
CEX been good for me too - for both refurbs mobiles and other electricals.
We've also used seller 'idoodirect' on eBay for 3 refurbed iPhones over the past 18 months and no issues: https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/idoodirect
had 2 pixel 8s from backmarket for family members - both were indistinguishable from new really other than the lack of original box.
Another shout for back market to purchase an iPhone. They had good info about the age and capability comparing different versions so you could find the sweet spot of age, cost and performance plus potential future software support.
fast delivery, well packed and absolutely mint.
Another option is your local phone/ipad shop/repairer that there seems to be at least one of in every town.
One of daughters needed a new iphone and I popped in to one of those places near us as I’d had a phone repaired there in the past. The bloke was brilliant and had loads of phones in that he’d refurbed himself, probably a bit cheaper than giff gaff etc and there’s the bonus that you can have a look and try them before you buy.
When it’s come to upgrading/replacing phones I’ve now had a few off him over the years. All came with a warranty, but we’ve never had any issues
Had my Huawei P30 Pro from Reboxed almost 4 years ago. Never a problem and still going strong. But it didn't receive LTE calls and when EE finally bought mobile to the valley I was forced to "upgrade". So bought a Samsung S22 from Back Market. Again, was perfect condition and after 6 months has proven to be absolutely reliable. Have no problem recommending either company. In both instances I paid the higher price for the best quality ones so cannot comment on the B grade stuff
Last 4 family phones have come from iOutlet, and they have been reliably good, buying grade A.
I bought an iPhone SE recently as i wanted a small phone to run Komoot on my bars. I ended up with Amazon. They do a range of conditions. I've bought from 02 before in a 'like new' condition which lasted me years.
I've just bought a second hand phone (iPhone 13) from The Big Phone Store - reasonable value and in excellent ("pristine") condition with good battery health, as advertised. Nothing to complain about. It was a toss up between them and iOutlet (both have good Trustpilot reviews).
Bought a phone from backmarket a few months back, screen had a small dead zone so returned. They received it and according to their own rules should have sorted in 48hrs, as in back with me.
a few days later not even an update, chased (via some shit chat as you can’t get hold of them on the phone) ignored for 48hrs and then a reply to say they are busy will be in touch. I’m the end wrote formally that I was rejecting and to refund me.
They held my money for another 3 weeks. They are just a reseller site, they don’t have the phones.
Based on this I’d never use them again.
bought one from GifGaf and was fine.
I would be worried i damage it on the bike or something and do not really need an upgrade myself.
That’s why you get a good, tough case with a screen protector. I’ve used a case on all of my phones since I got an iPhone 4G, and I’ve never damaged any of my phones. Now, I always use a case with a fitting for a lanyard, just in case the phone slips out of my pocket, which has happened once while riding my bike; I just hadn’t put it back into my pocket properly after taking some photos, so that saved it from bouncing down the road at 20-odd miles per hour! It’s in an Otterbox at the moment, but the new phone will have a Casetify Bounce case.
I’m on O2’s Step-Up contract, so I’ve upgraded my phone every year for the last four years or so, and when I took one phone into the shop, the assistant looked it over and asked me if I’d actually been using it!
I think it was that one I got a £50 refund on it as well.
IlSomeone mentioned CEX earlier. I haven't had a phone from CEX, but I have bought a Playstation, HomePods, and Apple TV from them. All were Grade 'B', and were (in fact are) in great condition. I think they were 'B' because they didn't have the right boxes. I'd trust them to sell me a phone.
same here. 2 year warranty on (most of?) them. Maybe i could have saved another 10% online but it's nice just to be able to show up to a shop and look at the stuff irl
It's kind of a bad time to buy a phone right now, because of ''bullshit friday'' the prices are all over the place.
Ask again in a weeks time lol
her remit of reuseing older tech and extending its life.
Im very happy with my FairPhone.
Extended/Very long Software support. Easily repairable and fixable. Good Environmental credentials.