The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Reader Recommendations => Topic started by: Michael in ABQ on August 16, 2018, 10:13:06 PM
-
My current phone is a 2013 model that I bought around 2014-2015. It's still adequate but the battery life is starting to degrade and it has to be plugged in just right to charge and will not work reliably with some of my other charging cables. In addition, some apps are starting to not work because it's still running Android 4.4.4 and I think the current version is 6 or 7. I'm on Verizon and don't plan to switch because they are generally the only carrier with service where I work and in remote areas for Army training. I do not want to spend $500+ for one of the new phones on their website. I use my phone for talking, some texting, reading books, and listening to audiobooks. I'm not interested in an iPhone but it seems like there's about a million different Android phones out there. Can I just buy one on eBay? I remember my first phone many years ago had an easily removable SIM card that you could easily swap between phones but it seems like everything today is all sealed up. Do I need to buy a particular type of unlocked phone or one that is specific to the Verizon network? Is eBay going to be my best bet or is there other options I should consider. I'm looking to spend $100-200 and don't mind something used as long as the battery life is still good and the screen is in good condition. I've had my phone for 4-5 years with no case or screen protector of any kind and aside from a few minor scrapes on the back it's held up fine.
-
Get a Moto G5, they can be purchased at costco, amazon etc unlocked for about $200. Its an excellent smartphone that should last many years and has good bang for the buck. Ive been buying the Moto G line for a few years now, every other generation basically.
You could probably save money switching off verizon.
-
my Galaxy S7 is holding up pretty well
-
You could probably save money switching off verizon.
Probably. But I can't count the number of times I've been somewhere and had service while everyone around me with AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile has nothing. Especially living in a large and mostly rural state like New Mexico.
-
Looking at the Verizon website, there is this Motorola that is essentially $120 ($5.00 a month for 24 months). That's my price point when the battery starts failing on the current phone.
https://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/moto-g6/#sku=sku3050009
Motorolas are ok. The glass screen on mine is very resistant to cracking, and the phone has been dropped numerous times. It's a Motorola Play Z Droid I bought a year and a half ago on special.
-
Looking at the Verizon website, there is this Motorola that is essentially $120 ($5.00 a month for 24 months). That's my price point when the battery starts failing on the current phone.
https://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/moto-g6/#sku=sku3050009
Motorolas are ok. The glass screen on mine is very resistant to cracking, and the phone has been dropped numerous times. It's a Motorola Play Z Droid I bought a year and a half ago on special.
Thanks, looks like a good deal.
-
MVNO's RedPocket and PagePlus both sell Verizon service for quite cheap.
-
MVNO TotalWireless, available only at Walmart, also resells Verizon. I end up paying $27/month for unlimited talk and text and $2/gig for all the 5g LTE data I actually use.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
-
Motorola (technically Lenovo) has, hands down, the best budget lineup. I'm currently using the Moto X4 on Cricket (ATT network) and I have zero complaints about the phone.
Easily the best thing about Motorolas, especially the more recent models, is that they receive security updates and OS updates right after the Pixel line. My wife and I spent years with Samsungs, and it was SOP to wait 9 months to a year after a new OS was released before getting it. We each updated to Oreo 8.2 within a few weeks of its general release.
-
Motorola (technically Lenovo) has, hands down, the best budget lineup. I'm currently using the Moto X4 on Cricket (ATT network) and I have zero complaints about the phone.
Easily the best thing about Motorolas, especially the more recent models, is that they receive security updates and OS updates right after the Pixel line. My wife and I spent years with Samsungs, and it was SOP to wait 9 months to a year after a new OS was released before getting it. We each updated to Oreo 8.2 within a few weeks of its general release.
Also have an X4 and it's a great phone. Motorola announced it will be getting updated to Android Pie in the coming months so it will see support for awhile.
The G6 is low $200's and has similar specs. If you're a Prime member there are discounts for getting phones through Amazon that are pre-loaded with their apps.
-
@michaelsaves Yes, that's exactly what I do. I could never tell for sure from the marketing material that you could do that. But I tried it and found out that it works.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
-
I added an iPhone 6S to my Verizon account for $120 last night. It's the usual Verizon bs where you pay $14.xx a month for two years, but they start refunding you $9.xx a month to bring it down to $5/mo. Not a bad deal for an iPhone, and my daughter's old Moto was getting so out of date that she couldn't update a lot of her apps any more.