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Cheap Android phone recommendations

Since I've only ever trusted my Moto phone on the supplied charger or my PC / USB hub .. and have seen some horrific teardowns of cheap USB supplies (only IKEA ones impressed and they still only seem to do very basic ones), I suspect I will order the official Google one ... I see Amazon do a bundle ...

I don't trust ones integrated with 13 amp sockets for the same reason ...

 
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So I have lovely HIFI Bluetooth audio on my new Pixel 7A, switched the SIM to my new phone after finding a suitable piece of wire to open the SIM tray - in lieu of the tool which I'm sure I would have noticed had it had been in the box...
So my new phone is now my old number and my contacts are there, but I lost my call history :p
I was able to phone it.

Pop a new giffgaff SIM in my old phone and activate it with credit, but even after rebooting it comes up with no SIM...

Is it because my old phone is still in GIFFGAFF's database ?

My Google messages has my text messages but tries to send new ones from my old phone which still has text and call histories...
My new phone at least has my contacts...

I've asked a question on the GIFFGAFF forums ...
I read elsewhere that sometimes it takes a while for the network to accept a new SIM - and coincidentally the local O2 service is showing H+ - though the status is green ...
 
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gentlegreen said:
Since I've only ever trusted my Moto phone on the supplied charger or my PC / USB hub .. and have seen some horrific teardowns of cheap USB supplies (only IKEA ones impressed and they still only seem to do very basic ones), I suspect I will order the official Google one ... I see Amazon do a bundle ...

I don't trust ones integrated with 13 amp sockets for the same reason ...

Click to expand...
Excellent charger, have been using it for a few years now , came with a Pixel 4 in my case.
 
hmm.

the old phone i use as a spare phone and for one or two things that use a phone number for login but i don't want to be found by everyone who knows my usual phone number, is coming to the end of its useful life - must be 10 years old, and is on android 4.something so an increasing number of things don't work any more.

my regular phone is 3 and a bit years old - a moto g8 - and is perfectly adequate for what i do.

looks like anything decent / refurbished is going to be 50 quid upwards, as a replacement for the spare phone, or can get something new and basic for not much more.

or do i get something for 100 - 150 quid as a new main phone and put the current one in to semi-retirement?

am i pushing my luck expecting the g8 to keep going much longer in regular use?
 
Puddy_Tat said:
hmm.

the old phone i use as a spare phone and for one or two things that use a phone number for login but i don't want to be found by everyone who knows my usual phone number, is coming to the end of its useful life - must be 10 years old, and is on android 4.something so an increasing number of things don't work any more.

my regular phone is 3 and a bit years old - a moto g8 - and is perfectly adequate for what i do.

looks like anything decent / refurbished is going to be 50 quid upwards, as a replacement for the spare phone, or can get something new and basic for not much more.

or do i get something for 100 - 150 quid as a new main phone and put the current one in to semi-retirement?

am i pushing my luck expecting the g8 to keep going much longer in regular use?
Click to expand...
There's a coupon for £20 off a Poco M6 that make it £99. And it's fine. I'd personally get something a bit beefier, but it just about meets my minimum standard for being a decent day-to-day phone. It's shedloads better than a Moto G8, at any rate.
www.mi.com

POCO M6 - Xiaomi UK

POCO M6 - 108MP pro-grade main camera | 3X in-sensor zoom | Supports 33W fast charging | Massive 5030mAh (typ) battery
www.mi.com www.mi.com
Only thing against it is no 5G for the future (it's fairly irrelevant now).
 
Puddy_Tat said:
thanks

it would help more if she went at a speed where you had time to do one thing before she's 3 steps along the process...

but when i select 'mobile network' i don't get all those options.
Click to expand...
This? Obviously be careful. I don't wanna be responsible for knackering your phone. 🤣
Screenshot_20240930_220739_Google.jpg
 
xsunnysuex said:
This? Obviously be careful. I don't wanna be responsible for knackering your phone. 🤣
Click to expand...

Thanks.

May try another day. I've got some sort of bug and not quite at my best, and have had to deal with a mum-tat telecoms related crisis this evening already. I'm not sure I want one here as well...
 
Puddy_Tat said:
does 5G soak up battery more than 4G does?
Click to expand...
The simple answer is that 5G is data only, so your phone needs to power both the 4G and the 5G antennas to be able to receive calls. Also, early 5G modems were an additional chip on the phone that required quite a lot more power than later integrated ones. Something new shouldn't drink too much juice on 5G, but it's definitely still more.
 
Chz said:
The simple answer is that 5G is data only, so your phone needs to power both the 4G and the 5G antennas to be able to receive calls. Also, early 5G modems were an additional chip on the phone that required quite a lot more power than later integrated ones. Something new shouldn't drink too much juice on 5G, but it's definitely still more.
Click to expand...

Silly question then. Could theoretically 4g be disabled and just 5g and 2g be used?
 
UnderOpenSky said:
Silly question then. Could theoretically 4g be disabled and just 5g and 2g be used?
Click to expand...
In theory, but 4g antenna is just as efficient (if not moreso) as the 2G antenna, and 2g is being switched off across the country as we speak.

Having just 4g for both is best for battery. A lot of money has been spent to blanket the country in 4g signal.
 
Chz said:
Only thing against it is no 5G for the future (it's fairly irrelevant now).
Click to expand...
don't know anything at all about mobiles but I'm eyeing up the poco m6...my phone broke today, so need something sharpish.

silly q alert ---> what does the 4g / 5g thing mean for now, the immediate -, and long term future? anything for me to worry about?

I'm using my phone for a few calls, whatsapp, snap shots for memories, and the tiniest bit of internet browsing. Not into apps or anything. Will the poco be sufficient?

also - how niche is it, eg can a cheap repair outlet deal with issues like broken screens etc?

and last but not least:
Chz said:
There's a coupon for £20 off a Poco M6 that make it £99.
Click to expand...
where can i find that voucher? eta - found it, never mind
 
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also - (i really don't know anything about phones, nor do I really want to, but...) can I just pop in my ee sim card? will it be compatible?
 
klang said:
don't know anything at all about mobiles but I'm eyeing up the poco m6...my phone broke today, so need something sharpish.

silly q alert ---> what does the 4g / 5g thing mean for now, the immediate -, and long term future? anything for me to worry about?

I'm using my phone for a few calls, whatsapp, snap shots for memories, and the tiniest bit of internet browsing. Not into apps or anything. Will the poco be sufficient?

also - how niche is it, eg can a cheap repair outlet deal with issues like broken screens etc?

and last but not least:

where can i find that voucher? eta - found it, never mind
Click to expand...
4G will be around for a long, long time because 5G doesn't support voice. It's a data only standard. So you miss out ona faster download speed, but that's it. Personally, my phone supprts 5G and I turn it off for better battery life.

It's sufficient in that it's the lowest spec I'd be comfortable using. And I'm a fussy git. It's not gonna be great for games, no lie, but it will get all the normal stuff done without too much waiting or stutter. Helps that it's 6GB of RAM and not 4 like most of the cheapies - that's why I'd prefer it to Samsung's cheapest A class.

Poco is a sub brand of Xiaomi, and Xiaomi is the third largest seller of mobile phones on the planet. Nothing weird goes into Pocos, it's all standard Xiaomi parts, and there's probably a nearly identical Xiaomi phone with a different camera or something.

Specs go up fast at the bottom end if your budget can take it though. Amazon has the Honor Magic 6 Lite for about £150 and it's quite a lot better. The M6 is just the very cheapest thing that I'd call half decent.
 
klang said:
can I just pop in my ee sim card? will it be compatible?
Click to expand...

so long as the phone you get is 'unlocked' (as in not tied to one particular network) or set up to do EE

only possible issue might be if current phone is a larger sim card size than the new one - there's 3 sizes. they tend to come now so that you can easily take the outer bit, or the outer and middle bits off, but if your existing sim card is too old, it won't be compatible with the smallest size. think i had that last phone but one, and i just requested a new sim card.
 
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