Here’s a question for the STW hive mind.

I’ve got an iPhone 4S on o2 – battery life is now poor, I’m lucky to make it to the end of a working day without it turning itself off and the 16 gig hard drive is only just big enough these days.

Before I got this I had an HTC Android something and it was ok but I do remember getting a bit frustrated with things. The iPhone was a lot better initially and other than the battery life and the memory it’s been great.

I currently pay £15 a month on a legacy contract that I don’t get enough data on and I’d like to change.

I could just get the battery replaced and get a new contract with someone for 4G of data for less than I’m paying but I’m still going to have to hold off updating the IOS and still won’t have 4G. I’m no great Apple fan but we’ve got a couple of iPhones and a couple of iPads in the family so I’m obviously erring to that side.

So the question is what options for a new 4G phone?

My initial thoughts are a 32/64Gb iphone 5S but there’s not that many deals out there being Apple and not a current model.

So 2 questions:

What kind of deal have you got out of a provider on a relatively lowly tariff and what else should I look at?

WHY?

Buy a phone outright and go SIM only. I use Giff-Gaff and get 2Gb per month for 12 quid a month. As for phone, look second hand or brand-new the Wileyfox looks good for only 129 quid.

https://www.wileyfox.com/swift/

I got a Lumia 640 last month, although its probably firmly in budget phone territory (£100 when bought as unlocked PAYG from Carphone Warehouse) its a million times better than the ancient Xperia X10 it replaced. As far as anything goes the battery life is great, I can go a few days between charges, it’s snappy and it’s actually bloody good at most things if I’m honest. It gets good reviews for a reason.

Windows phone 8.1 is okay but 10 should be out this quarter, the much more powerful (and expensive) 900 series ones have it already which probably deals with the app gap I’m currently finding. Nothing major but some of the usual ones are conspicuous in their absence. Windows phone as a whole is good though, it’s no differnt an experience than switching from any other OS but Microsoft, in their wisdom, actually provide a user guide. Transferring contacts was nothing more than a bluetooth handshake and everything so far has been just as simple (yes, a couple of times the manual has been referred to but not hours of frustrating forum trawling)

My wife and I have been using Nokia Lumia’s for the last couple of years and I’d recommend them. Hers is the 1080, mine the 950 I think.

Cubot x17 £120 as good as any £400 android device I have used. £13 for 4g with 4g data on three I think.

I’ve got a Galaxy S6 on Vodafone unlimited txts and minutes and 6GB of data a month for 23.40 on a 2 year contract. It was a retention deal of a 40% discount on a 39/mo contract. Not sure if you could try a retentions rohte and get something similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-Nexus-UK-Smartphone-Black/dp/B00GDD9N60
Nexus 5? Buy outright, it will be running the latest android version and is a great phone. Only upgraded as I smashed the screen – downside is the glass is stuck to the lcd so not a cheap repair.

That nexus 5 is available from China on eBay for about 110. Make sure you go for the d821 rather than d820. 821 has the right 4g frequencies for UK.

Or moto g 16gb from Amazon for 169. This has expandable memory via SD card slot.

I’ve heard very mixed reports about the wileyfox swift.

Windows 10 isn’t available for my work lumia 930 yet. Hence the over frustration with 8.1 and me replacing it with the nexus 5.

Yup buy outright and look for sim only deals. If you’re with broadband they do cracking offers £10 for 2Gb as its EE there’s a very strong coverage behind it.

Sim only and buy outright. I’ve just moved from a iphone 4 to a VF Smart Ultra 6 – £115 and £3 to unlock it on ebay (you get sent a code to tap in). Other than the fact it’s quite big, it’s ace and very quick. Seems quicker than my other phone which is a iphone 5s.

Sony experia z5 compact on Vodafone for £25 a month. 600mins, unlim texts, 2gb.

Sony z5 compact on 3, £15 for 1gb, 300 mins, unltd texts. Took some haggling.

Thanks everyone that’s some food for thought will investigate those. First off lets see what retentions can do (though I’ve no illusions that I’m in any way a valued customer)

Kids are on ee, I phone 6 unlimited mins/texts 1gb data 150 upfront for 20 quid a month. That deal is still available.

Kids are on ee, I phone 6 unlimited mins/texts 1gb data 150 upfront for 20 quid a month. That deal is still available.

Being a cycnic I have to ask. Does that deal exsist because they know that lots of people will go over and then they’ll make the money back on data charges?

Is there a link to it so i can check

BT Mobile are offering a deal just now 20Gb Date unlimited texts and calls £16 per month.

As soon as EE stick a mast up in the town 4miles away we’re moving to bt from Vodafone.

2gb for £10pm

Actually scratch that, I’ve just seen their roaming call and data charges 🙁

2nd the Vodaphone Smart 6 Ultra of you can handle a big phone. I wanted something smaller otherwise it was to of my list.

Far enough and the battery life is fantastic.
Cost you about £5 a month over a typical 24 month contract period.

But Vodafone are atrocious for data coverage.

Yes, but Vodafone are the only mobile coverage provider at all in our corner of Albion.

They’re OK once the train to London has gone past Oxford too.

The reason we put up with their lousy UK coverage is because for £3 a day I get UK plan phone and data while on the continent.

BT want to charge £175 per Gb

My EE plan has Euro calls, texts and data as part of the plan – just look for the “Extra” plans.
Costs me the extortionate amount of £2.50 extra per month.

Second the suggestion of buying outright though.

BT want to charge £175 per Gb

Seems fair. Don’t they do a daily price option too? I’ve not looked for ages though.

Not that I could see in their tariff doc.

I might consider EE as opposed to a VMO running off their network.

Vodafone 4g in London is pretty good though. Their 3g around the nation is shite though

What 3G?

Indeed.

Drac – Moderator 

But Vodafone are atrocious for data coverage.

Having thought this myself, I moved from being with Vodafone for 17 years to going with three network only to be more disappointed with the signal problems 😥
I personally don’t think it saves buying the phone outright and going sim only.. Get yersen on phone supermarket and look for the stonking contract deals.. some of them it’s like getting the phone for free!
Example, I bought an iPhone 5c about 18 month ago unlimited minutes and texts with 2gb through EE network for £23.50 a month, so if you’d have gone sim only for something like that I’d say you’d be paying no less than £12 pm and so it’s like paying £11.50 x 18 for the phone itself, less than £200 for a brand new iPhone 5c! I still don’t think you could get it that cheap

I’ve just bought a galaxy s4 and it’s like a rocket ship compared to my s3.
Also got a big fat battery and it easily lasts all day looking at rubbish on here.
Paid £100 for it off eBay and it’s like new.

It depends – maybe for an iPhone, but there are much cheaper phone options which are very decent, as mentioned above. Personally I’ve just bought a Z1c on ebay (maybe not the newest phone, but it flies compared to what I had before, and I doubt I’m missing much not having a brand new one), which if I spread the cost of that over an 18 month equivalent contract works out at £11.50 a month for 1GB data.

Admittedly mrs aracer is paying £7 a month on a contract deal with a S3 mini, – that’s kind of a low spec phone and only 250MB data I think – but still a great deal for a light user without demanding requirements.

so if you’d have gone sim only for something like that I’d say you’d be paying no less than £12 pm

£10 with BT mobile on a 12 month contract. You can buy an iPhone 5c for around £200 but you can keep that longer than 12 months.

£10 with BT mobile on a 12 month contract. You can buy an iPhone 5c for around £200 but you can keep that longer than 12 months.

Yeah but not 18 month ago you couldn’t! Plus BT I’ve heard aren’t very good plus you don’t get unlimited minutes with that deal unless you jump up to £16… definitely better deals if you go contract.. Some deals it’s like getting a phone for nothing.

I think the key here is not buying a phone every 2 years, because its ‘free’, ive been doing it for years, but actually not expecting to pay 5, 10, 15 or more per month is the key, upgrade when it breaks or you actually need a new feature. After 2 years put a new battery in my samasung, and i can put a 64gb upgrade in all for a few quid. Downside is its a 2 year old phone that samsung are rubbish at releasing updates for.
If you are going to upgrade every 24 months, contract is a nice way of spreading the payments.
My tuppence

Yeah but not 18 month ago you couldn’t! Plus BT I’ve heard aren’t very good plus you don’t get unlimited minutes with that deal unless you jump up to £16… definitely better deals if you go contract.. Some deals it’s like getting a phone for nothing.

Ermmm! The OP is looking now not 18 months ago. Just checked you get 500 mins which is pretty huge. BT are EE they have amazing coverage I pick up 4G in the middle of Northumberland parks.

Love to see these deals where you get the phone free. The pricing can be close on buying the phone vs a contract phone though.

Love to see these deals where you get the phone free. The pricing can be close on buying the phone vs a contract phone though.

I think lots of deals work on some one paying over the odds

Some are things like a rebate and they make on those that forget to apply

Some rely on some people going over on data or minutes and then applying a huge charge

For me the cheapest is a used phone and 3 pay as you go

I paid £125 for an M4 aqua. Open box but unused. I top up at most £50 per year. So that is under £10 a month. Less if the phone lasts longer

Another bonus about buying a phone is popping a 3 sim in for holidays in Europe.
3 reception is rubbish at home so I can swap whenever.

Ampthill, just type cheap iphone 6 into Google, it will bring up the uswitch deals. All I can say re the charges is the kids know their dad’s a miserable bastard when things cost him 😀

I haggled with existing provider vodafone and get about 2.5GB 4G a month and more texts and minutes than I will ever use for 8 quid a month

Bought a Z1c off ebay for #150 quid (my civil service pentium pc running xp has no pound symbol), from a ‘british shop’, was a French phone shipped from Hong Kong but couldn’t be bothered sending it back and arguing. It’s great but doesn’t work well as a phone, doesn’t seem to switch from 4G fast enough to pick up or make a call, is fine if I leave it in 2G when not using data though. Not sure if it is the phone or vodafone

To clarify my last post ref. Vodaphone Smart Ultra 6, you can unlock them for use on any network so if you don’t like Voda, use someone else.

If your 4s is in good nick (doesn’t matter about the battery) you’ll get a £75 trade in towards a 32gb 5s at the apple store. I’d then go for the 2gb data plan on Three for £11 per month

Drac – Moderator 

Yeah but not 18 month ago you couldn’t! Plus BT I’ve heard aren’t very good plus you don’t get unlimited minutes with that deal unless you jump up to £16… definitely better deals if you go contract.. Some deals it’s like getting a phone for nothing.

Ermmm! The OP is looking now not 18 months ago. Just checked you get 500 mins which is pretty huge. BT are EE they have amazing coverage I pick up 4G in the middle of Northumberland parks.

Love to see these deals where you get the phone free. The pricing can be close on buying the phone vs a contract phone 

Oh dear drac, I’m making an example of how cheap phones are when you look around and you compared it with your prefered sim only deal and then you made it clear that your sim was cheaper and I only explained that the deal I was referring to was 18 month ago when I took it out…

Also be careful with BT, as no tethering, not sure if they use 4g and also they’ve stung customers with huge bills if you do go over your tariff.