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Looks like we are getting our 13 yo his first mobile - we think now is the right time, he's going away with school next autumn and it would be good to be able to take photos, call us etc while he's away.
looking for a sim-free mobile around £100 - £120, there are a few new options around or just above this price that look decent enough, but would we get more going second hand (or same for cheaper?)Is it worth buying from CEX etc or from a private sale?
Requirements are pretty low - playing games like Minecraft, watching YouTube and TikTok etc.
Cheers.
I'd go for a new handset like the Samsung A13.
I have an A12 from work and it's decent enough, I was quite surprised how cheap they were when I looked up the price.
Whichever Motorola is in budget. Pretty vanilla install of Android so minimal bloatwear. That's what we got ours 2 years ago (promoted by lockdown) and still going strong.
I'd be asking him what he wanted and take it from there.
2nd hand from GiffGaff, Music Magpie, etc. would be my vote. That's what we did for our 13 year old. Ended up with an iPhone for £100 that looked new once you put a case around it (a couple of scuffs on the back from memory).
2nd hand and tell him he's replacing the screen when he inevitably drops it...
Used/refurbished. It's going to get dropped, abused, dirty as hell.
We've had a quite few 2nd hand phones in really good condition, almost new. I'd definitely go that route, get a lot more for your money.
Giffgaff refurb is great. Don’t let it out of the house without a glass screen protector (jettech from Amazon) and a cheap silicon case from ebay, Amazon, local foneshop
And stick with the same OS that you use.
I assume you mean contract-free, not sim-free? They need a sim to use the phone.
Used/refurbished. It’s going to get dropped, abused, dirty as hell.
It's a funny one this - we got our girls phones when they were 11 and starting to go out unaccompanied. They were cheap and we weren't precious about them and that view somehow reflected in how they looked after them - ie, they got broken, dirty etc. However we got one daughter a newer phone (an Apple 11) and she is *SO MUCH* more careful with it as she values it.
I assume you mean contract-free, not sim-free? They need a sim to use the phone.
Planning to buy the phone and then pick up a PAYG sim depending on what the best deals are around.
Talking of which - any recommendations? Ideally to be able to use it in France for a week with minimal extra cost although this isn't something I've looked into yet.
Got the boy (11) a Moto E30, does the job and the free unlimited social (not that he has any) and youtube (+other videos) is a good deal from Voxi.
It’s a funny one this – we got our girls phones when they were 11 and starting to go out unaccompanied. They were cheap and we weren’t precious about them and that view somehow reflected in how they looked after them – ie, they got broken, dirty etc. However we got one daughter a newer phone (an Apple 11) and she is *SO MUCH* more careful with it as she values it.
Yip. We've experienced precisely that too. In fact, she's coming up to the point where she's due an upgrade before long and the decent phone she's had for the last two years is still absolutely pristine.
With regards to refurbs, we were recommended one of the numerous phone repair type place that are everywhere, we've had a few phones off the same guy now who's a lovely bloke, buys and refurbs them and then they come with a warranty, so its worth asking if anyone knows anyone like that locally
Just gone through with my daughter. I went out and bought seodn hand hand hauwei from CEX. Great value perfect nick dual SIM with 2 year warranty. Simultaneously my wife got one new.
New one is utter garbage compared to the secondhand one. No surprise when you're comparing to a phone that was £700 new and still is pretty up to date - when it's like new and carries the exact same warranty... So I don't get a box? Ok I can live with that I guess.
Luckily for me the decision was taken out of my hands and I'm typing this on the Huawei. Second hand everytime and even for me now when I want a new one I will just scout out the options at CEX. 2 or 3 year contracts on new ones... Not for me now.
We went down the cheap Motorola route. Not the end of the world if they break, but so far they have been ok.
Sent from my cheap Motorola.
We did hand-me-down iPhones, so our kids got our iPhone 6S's a few years ago. If I was doing it now, I'd be looking at refurb iPhone SE 2nd gen.
I find it amazing how many people seem to have been upgrading every 12-24 months for the last two decades yet don't have a drawerful of the buggers by now.
Planning to buy the phone and then pick up a PAYG sim depending on what the best deals are around.
Talking of which – any recommendations?
I jumped ship to Smarty recently. They were unbeatable on price.
Son number 1 got a refurb iPhone 8 from one of the online shops, was in good nick and he looked after it well. He has since sold it on and bought my old iPhone XS.
Son number 2 got a second hand XS from Facebook marketplace, we paid the same as the online shops wanted for a refurb iPhone 8.
As above, if it's a decent phone they really look after them! I was expecting number 1s iPhone 8 to get destroyed, lost, stolen, whatever but it was good as new when he sold it on.
If you're wanting them to use it on specific trips (like the one to France above) then check whether a PAYG sim let's you buy a package of call and data for month.
I'm on giffgaff and it PAYG but you can buy calls / data from £6 for a month and upwards (more money more data) all work in the EU.
I think most now let you do similar.
Also get a friend on your chosen network to recommend you from their account. Most give a few quid sign on bonus that would normally be paid to the phone shop.
There is of course nothing to stop you (him) swapping SIMs temporarily for overseas trips, should a good domestic tariff be poor overseas.
Got my son one of these recently (was on offer for £45 at the time)
mint condition, box etc
xiaomi has a bit of bloatware, but phone runs well
either way S/H is best bet
Okay this is moving on and I have a couple of follow up questions. Is it worth getting a 5g phone? Doesn't seem worth it to me for the use he will get out of it. I appreciate the resale value would be higher but I don't think that's a big concern for me considering much lower cost of a half-decent 4g vs a 5g phone. Settled on a Motorola Moto G8 unless 5g is a must.
Secondly - I know nothing about phone contracts as I don't own a mobile myself, looks like a monthly contract may be best. Any guidelines for how much data he might need? Should I start off low (10gb???) and buy swap to a plan offering more data if he needs it? He'll be paying for it himself but I'm setting it up for him.
Cheers.
Should I start off low (10gb???) and buy swap to a plan offering more data if he needs it? He’ll be paying for it himself but I’m setting it up for him.
10Gb is quite a lot IMO but then I'm not a teenager so what do I know? I'd be inclined to start him off low and he can upgrade if he wants to and can afford it. Lebara are doing 5Gb for less than a fiver, and it's on a rolling one month contract so there's no long tie-in of he wants to switch to another provider if a better deal comes up.
edit - I see on MSE Lebara are doing 12GB for £1.99 a month for the first 6 months, then it goes up to £6.90. Monthly rolling, so he could ditch it after 6 months if that's too rich for him (and he's not got addicted to using 12GB!).
Personally I'd speak with him and ask him what his pals are doing. Particularly with the phone model, whilst your son and his circle of friends might not care what phone they have it can be an issue. And 10gb wouldn't last my eldest a fortnight. Fortunately we are all with the same provider and can share data. But don't underestimate how important the brand of phone can be, like when your kid asks for Nike's and you've found these Aldi trainers.
looks like a monthly contract may be best.
Why?
iphone so they can face time their friends.
Nothing else will do.
For sims - I use Plusnet. Capped at £6.60 / mo and you can lift the Smart Cap if they go overseas.
(Thump was in Barcelona for two weeks. He got calls/text and a £10 smartcap gave him other functionality which he found useful).
They will burn through whatever data you give them. Ours have 3GB / mo. It's enough.
Teenagers still use Facetime? I'd have thought that was passé by now.