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As the title really. Not really into phone tech, always had a work phone in the past, so just got whatever Android model they were issuing.
I have a Galaxy S8 but it really needs a new screen. Looking on Ebay, it would be cheaper to just get another S8.
Came across a Galaxy S10e refurb, in "excellent" condition on Amazon for £170.
Is that a good choice, or should I be looking at something else? £200 max budget.
I had the S10e and it does everything you need, only the battery is a bit rubbish. If the refurb includes a new battery its a good phone, not sure its worth more than £150 though.
Bought an S10 from Amazon Renew a couple of months ago. Very happy with it and can't see the "benefit" of spending £1K+ on the latest model.
not sure its worth more than £150 though.
No one is selling any refurbs with guarantee for £150!
If the battery has been changed, then for the sake of £20 that sounds a decent price. You’re asking what I thought of the price so let you know
I had an S10 and it's still a good fast phone, but the battery was poor even when new. Ensure it's been changed as part of the refurb.
My wife has had the S10e for 2 or 3 years now and seems happy with it. Did need a new battery a couple of months ago though.
Even as a Samsung owner I'm not sure I'd spend that much on an old phone when "refurbished" rarely means anything more than a factory reset and wipe over with a cloth. Similar money could get you these for example:
https://www.hotukdeals.com/share-deal-from-app/3975878
https://www.hotukdeals.com/share-deal-from-app/3961733
I got an S10 off ebay, "user refurbished" inevitably just means factory reset, blow the crap out of the USB port and a wipe with a glass cloth. In my case it looks like it was a small company selling off old work phones.
Battery health is at 78% which still comfortably lasts 2-3 days in my pocket, or a day if I open facebook, instagram or any other timesucking app. New batteries are £60 fitted by Samsung if that matters to you, but you do have to send the phone off to them. I was thinking of doing that at the end of the year as I figure there's probably another 2-3 years then before they stop making updates for it.
I tried a few £200 off-brand smartphones all were awful in at least one way or another.
Cameras - generally rubbish
Screens - older LED screens
Glass - all smashed fairly quickly
Durability - one bricked itself falling from the bed to carpet.
They tend to have the processors, ram, megapixles and OS of a 3 year old flagship phone so look good on paper. But miss out on all the peripheral stuff that made the flagship phones £800 to begin with.
Personally I think you'd be mad to go for a 'refurb' s10e £180.
This OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is £220 after applying the amazon £70 voucher. I'd find the extra 40 quid tbh
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XY5277X?th=1
There are loads of new options. Keep an eye on the hotukdeals mobile phone page daily:-
https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/mobile-phone
I have the S10 bought it new and still find it good enough for what i need it for, i dont use my phone a massive amount but the battery does die quickly after these years, not so much i think it needs replacing but occasionally ill get in from work and need to plug it in.
Overall a really good phone.
Refurb S10 here.
Bought from 4gadgets in June 2020. Still going strong and battery is ok.
Was looking to get the new pixel or iPhone but can't justify the price as the S10 is still a good phone so will keep it for another year.
Poco f3. An 'off brand' phone that's superb. Excellent vfm imo. Put it in the supplied case.
This OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is £220 after applying the amazon £70 voucher.
That's a good deal. Think I might go for that.
My stock answer on these type of conversations is get the latest you can afford. A new £200 phone will get security updates for longer than a 2-3 year old refurb so your online shopping etc will be far more secure. I don't care if you say you won't use it for anything like that. You will and your data won't be secure.
I recently bought a Poco M4 Pro as a spare phone whilst my S21 was being fixed then replaced with an S22. The M4 is a bit bigger, the camera is not as good but everything else is on par with the Samsung and it beats it hands down for battery life.
The Poco was £180 and I wouldn't hesitate having it as my primary phone now I know what I know. I wouldn't buy an old S10 instead of a new Chinese phone.
My stock answer on these type of conversations is get the latest you can afford. A new £200 phone will get security updates for longer than a 2-3 year old refurb so your online shopping etc will be far more secure. I don’t care if you say you won’t use it for anything like that. You will and your data won’t be secure.
Obviously depends on the manufacturer, and is subject to change, etc, etc.
But taking the above example, OnePlus Nord CE was released June last year, and they've only committed to 3 years of security updates. So that's June 2024. The 2 resets that by another year, but then that's over budget.
Samsung say 5 years for their flagship phones, so the S10 is also supported until 2024.
It's a bit crap TBH that the systems aren't a little more open so you can't (as someone who doesn't want to make it another new hobby learning how to root/jailbreak phones) just install android like you do windows on your PC and get the updates straight from google. Because 3 years (or less than two now) is really crap for a new phone.
The S10 isn't that old and was expensive new. The refurb price is pretty good and given that it will be supported for a while yet, it's nice to not consume more resources than needed.
A refurb Xiaomi from these guys will get you S10 spec for £150
Something like these
https://www.thebigphonestore.co.uk/refurbished-phones/xiaomi
I have the S10 bought it new and still find it good enough for what i need it for, i dont use my phone a massive amount but the battery does die quickly after these years, not so much i think it needs replacing but occasionally ill get in from work and need to plug it in.
Overall a really good phone.
Same here, still going strong despite a cracked screen! My battery is still as good as it was when new though, easily lasts a day even with decent usage. Can run Google Maps as a Satnav for 6 hours solid without plugging in from 100%, 4 hours if I have Spotify running too. The trick to looking after the battery is to not charge it fast, especially if left plugged in, I've got an ancient Nokia charger with a cheap adaptor to use for overnight charging and as it only puts out 100mA it really looks after the battery. Takes nearly 7 hours to charge from 20% but as I'm asleep it doesn't matter!
Obviously depends on the manufacturer, and is subject to change, etc, etc.
But taking the above example, OnePlus Nord CE was released June last year, and they’ve only committed to 3 years of security updates. So that’s June 2024. The 2 resets that by another year, but then that’s over budget.
Samsung say 5 years for their flagship phones, so the S10 is also supported until 2024.
It’s a bit crap TBH that the systems aren’t a little more open so you can’t (as someone who doesn’t want to make it another new hobby learning how to root/jailbreak phones) just install android like you do windows on your PC and get the updates straight from google. Because 3 years (or less than two now) is really crap for a new phone.
I linked to the Nord CE2 which was released in February 2022 so has most of it's three years of support left - runs out Feb 2025.
Samsung only introduced the 5 years of support from S21 onwards, the S10e sits on 3 android updates (so it won't go beyond 12) and potentially another year of security updates from Feb this year, so runs out Feb 2023.
Point being I still think £220 on a brand new phone with 2 year manufacturers warranty and massive battery with very fast charging is a much better deal than a punt on an ebay refurb with at most 1 year of security update support left and what was originally a pretty ropey battery life.
Nord CE2 works out at £73/year of update supported life.
S10e works out at £180/year of update supported life
ive got an old s10 in the cupboard. i wouldnt spend 150 quid on one!
Samsung stop their software updates after a period of time. If an old model phone is your preference, I'd be looking at a pixel to get the software updates.
I've had good experiences with 'refurbished'. If careful research about the seller, they should turn up in the advertised graded condition.
I bought two refurbished s10e phones about 18 months ago from eBay. One for me, and one for my wife Used those 20%off vouchers that occasionally pop up, si they worked out at about £150 each.
The batteries were terrible, one of the phones was replaced immediately by the seller as the battery was so poor. The replacement, even though it has a new battery is still pathetic. My wife seems happy to put up with it though, and the camera is pretty decent.
I'd just come from a cheapy MotoG phone with a huge battery, and lasted a week with the S10e before selling it on and replacing it with the latest MotoG thing with a huge battery.
£180 feels like quite a lot, given they were available cheaper than that 18 months ago, and the phones are probably the same age.
There is currently an ebay15%off code. If you are set on the S10e there are sellers that accept the code, if not then you can buy a brand new Moto G22 for £105 with the code