Anyone successfully navigated the iPhone upgrade trap and paying less per month on phone?

[unconditional83]

Caveat - I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have this first world problem. My iPhone X contract with 3 comes to an end soon and I want to get out of the cycle of upgrading and spending a fortune each month, which I've done since about 2005!

Yes I know I could buy a Nokia 3210, but aside from that option, how do people keep their iPhone bill down?

I guess I can purchase the handset and do SIM only? But then I don't know if that's worth it as the iPhone handsets seem to mysteriously "die" or slow down once they are a couple of years old, or they make the software obsolete.

I know it's all a capitalist trap but I do kind of still want an iPhone for work and life, so can I have my cake and eat it?

I'd love to hear some tips about how others manage it. Just want to keep monthly outgoings a bit lower really.

iPhones sadly do not last for five years…

Yes they do. I tend to upgrade mine (I use it heavily for work) and give my old one to my husband. None have died before five years.

The five year thing is a throw back to when Apple used to bloat out old phones to get people to upgrade; which stopped a long time ago. It’s now used by people to justify upgrading more often.

Unless your phone is old enough that the operating system is about to go obsolete, it’ll be fine.

Iphones really do only last a couple of years now- if you want a smart phone that will last- a samsung galaxy will do you for a good few years. I get about 18 months out of my phones these days

I’ve had my iPhone 11 since March 2020 and it’s still working fine.

Yes, I buy second-hand phones and have a SIM only contract. I changed my iPhone 7 to an iPhone 12 last year because Apple were no longer supporting the 7 with security updates. The 12 should last 5 more years.

We only buy second-hand plastic items for environmental reasons.

This is easily avoided. Just don’t upgrade.

iPhones last a very long time, not least cause they keep supporting old operating systems.

As a family, we just buy refurbished iPhones from CEX. Just check what OS they’re on and buy the cheapest phone with current os at time of purchase.

Paying full whack for a new phone as part of upgrade cycle is fine if you have lots of disposable income, but madness otherwise.

Can I ask why you think this? It’s not my experience at all.

I buy an iPhone outright then get a really cheap sim (usually less than £10 a month).

I only upgrade my iPhone when it looks like the next software upgrade won't be supported and then I sell the old one on one of those sites that buy them.

Therefore over the years it doesn't actually cost that much.

I've just upgraded my phone from an iPhone 11 to 13 around 6 months ago. I ended up moving provider to get a better deal as I had a SIM only plan after the 2 year contract ran out and the old provider was expensive to get a full contract again.

The 11 was around 4 years old and the battery was dying within a couple of hours for me. However my teen DD uses very different things on it to me so she's now taken the 11 and is very happy with it and it lasts well for her.

Does your current phone still work well, OP? If so, just don't upgrade (the phone will be yours at the end of the contract) and get a sim only card that suits your needs. Easy.

If your phone breaks, you can look at buying one outright or starting a new contract.

SIM only deal then buy the most up to date refurbished one you can afford:
https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/l/iphone/aabc736a-cb66-4ac0-a3b7-0f449781ed39

I have an iPhone 11 and pay £8 a month for 30gb data which I can also use abroad. When I get a new phone I’ll buy it directly rather than pay via contract which is a rip off.

This. I used my 11 for years with £13 pm sim.

I just switch to SIM only and keep each one until it dies. I normally get another 18 months- 2 years out of them after the contract has ended.

Surely you don’t need to buy a handset though? Just keep the one you’ve got.

I wouldn't advise OP or anyone else to keep the iPhone X. Apple are no longer supporting it with iOS updates.

I recently replaced my old iPhone SE. Did lots of research first looking at different contracts. Instead of taking a phone contract I bought the iPhone 14 from Apple Store on 2 years interest free credit £25 a month. I’ve now got a fantastic sim only deal with Lebara who use the Vodafone network. I don’t use much data as I’m mostly on WiFi.

99p a month, yes 99p!!, for the first 6 months. There’s no contract, you can leave at any time. If you’re still with them after 6 months it increases to £7.90 a month. Over 12 months that averages out at £4.45 a month.

That’s for 15gb data, unlimited mins, unlimited texts and 100 international mins. I’m delighted with it. There are bigger bundles for anyone who needs more data. The best deals are to be found via USwitch. Smarty have similar deals on Three network.

Catch up with Martin Lewis on This Morning today.
He explains all about how to avoid this n cheaper sims etc..

This is the deal I mentioned

I get a new iPhone every 3-4 years depending on how the battery life lasts. I am sim only got £9 a month and then I buy an older phone outright usually spending £500 on the new I phone. This time I got an older (but brand new)version as I didn't feel the newer versions would be any benefit. I used to pay for a contract which was £55 a month which I would not dream of paying for now.

I buy my phones outright and get at least 5 years out of them -just handed my XR to one of my DCs as a first phone. I have a £4/month Smarty SIM and buy the handset on Apple interest free credit. I get a great phone for far less lifetime cost.

I’m on my third round of buying an iPhone and getting a sim only contract. First one I got a bit over four years out of, second was around 3.5.

With the first one I was carrying a powerbank with me a lot by the end as the battery life was shocking. It just got to the point of generally not really coping with newer apps.

The second was getting a little unreliable, shutting itself down unexpectedly occasionally.

This time I will probably make the phone last three years. My experience is that they are very reliable up til about then. I don’t like the feeling of “hmm, this might go at an inconvenient moment” I get about my phone after that.

I have a Samsung.I part exchange direct with Samsung. I got a flip4 the day it came out, free buds and a wireless charger, plus free year of Disney for £24 a month and a 50gb sim with O2 for £8 .

My iPhone 8 work perfectly.
I'd previously been using iPhone 5 up until this year.... it was also fine but I wanted something new.
They definitely don't become obsolete. I pay ten pound a month

I kept my 6s 4 years, then my 11 for 4 years, gave the 11 to DS who reports that it still works well, hope my 15 lasts 4 years. Always buy outright and use a Tesco sim

I would be very interested to see what the battery Maximum Capacity is of those who say their iPhone lasts years. I can only imagine they aren’t heavy users!

My current iPhone is less than two years old and the BMC is 81%. At 80%, you are advised that the phone needs a replacement battery.