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Can anyone please help me find a phone for DD?

31 replies

ilost · 20/11/2021 11:29

She's 13.
Her phone since starting highschool has been a iPhone 6, which was 2nd hand from a family member.

It's completely out of date and she can't get the games she wants on it so constantly asks to borrow mine.

For Xmas she wants a new phone.

She would prefer an iPhone because that's what she knows.
She's not one of these kids that wants the latest and greatest.

I know NOTHING about phones at all.

She need some mobile data for travelling to and from school but not masses.

My budget is 35 max a month (already paying for mine and 2 other DD phone 😩)

Any suggestions please

OP posts:
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careerchangeperhaps · 20/11/2021 11:40

I'd buy a refurbished one. Anything from an 8 upwards would be ok. The X / XR models upwards have bigger screens without being enormous, which may appeal. I've always bought DD's from Music Magpie on eBay, there's often discount codes too and they offer a 12 month guarantee.
Then get a SIM-only contract. Plenty under £10/month (I pay £5/month for 12 year old DD's with Lebara). Try Tesco mobile, BT mobile, GiffGaff as well as the major networks).
If you were looking at paying £35 / month on a 24 month contract, that's £840 over the 2 years. Allowing £8/month for a SIM only (£192 over 24 months) you could easily spend well under £300 on a decent return phone, saving a huge amount over a contract phone.

cliffdiver · 20/11/2021 11:43

We recently bought DD1 an iPhone 11 with Three. £25 per month for unlimited everything.

ilost · 20/11/2021 11:57

@cliffdiver

We recently bought DD1 an iPhone 11 with Three. £25 per month for unlimited everything.
I can't find anything on 3 for that price.

Why do Vodafone have 36 month contracts now?! Ridiculous

OP posts:
Enko · 20/11/2021 12:04

giffgaff refurbished £25 up front and 14.60 a month if you cant afford it in one go. Last 5 phones we have got in our family has been giffgagf refurbished you can not see they are refurbished

cliffdiver · 20/11/2021 12:12

Just checked the link I sent to DH, and it's gone up to £31 - apologies.

We bought through Mobile Phones Direct (part of AO).

HalfShrunkMoreToGo · 20/11/2021 12:16

I have the iPhone SE (2020) and really like it but I bought the handset outright rather than on contract

BeautifulTulips · 20/11/2021 12:17

Sky have some good deals

Idontlikeprosecco · 20/11/2021 12:25

If you definitely want to go down the contract route then I recommend mobile phones direct, I've had my last 3 phones from there.
They offer cheaper deals than the phone companies themselves, they said to me it was something to do with where they source their phones.

Oblomov21 · 20/11/2021 12:29

Could you stretch to buying it outright? I know not everyone can. There are some very good deals atm. On eBay on Facebook local etc. Dh is currently selling my bil's iPhone 10 for £275.

Dh sells about one phone per year, sometimes 2, for £150 - £300. if he himself upgrades and also then he sells his brothers and his sisters, once they upgrade, if they haven't given it to their teen. They only take a couple of days to sell!

Saladcreamormayo · 20/11/2021 12:39

@cliffdiver how was it so cheap? was there any upfront cost for the phone or do you already have lots of contracts with three as sometimes they offer extra phones for family members at a reduced cost.

Haudyourwheesht · 20/11/2021 12:42

I got an iPhone se (the newer model) from apple for £13 a month. That's without a contract tho, but it's a brand new phone. Loads of the kids I teach have the same one!

ilost · 20/11/2021 12:55

Thanks everyone.

I could but outright upto maybe 450?

Going to ask her dad to look tonight. He's much more tech savvy than me.

OP posts:
Saladcreamormayo · 20/11/2021 12:57

and we are a samsung users here I've just bought myself a brand new samsung S20fe outright for £358 which I thought was a really good price from a website called tech in the basket. I was a bit wary of buying from them at first but checked them out on trust pilot and decided to go ahead, phone arrived bnib within a week and is great. it is also sim free so I can chop and change network whenever. at the moment I've got a PAYG sim in it which gives me unlimited calls, unlimited texts and 3gb data for just £5 for 30days which I think is quite good, I don't need much mobile data as mostly connected to the WiFi at home. would your daughter consider a samsung? as they can generally be much cheaper.

WitchSharkadder · 20/11/2021 12:59

I got my DS an iPhone SE last Christmas from Tesco £16 per month. You don't get a huge amount of data but it's enough for him and you can get more for £20pm, I think.

HerbivorousRex · 20/11/2021 13:06

iPhone SE 2020 is £17.99 per month with Tesco mobile
www.tescomobile.com/shop/apple/iphone-se-2020?queryID=eb4293d982e696577ce4315f7c58e328&objectID=39054&indexName=prod_default_products

You can vary the contract length (anything over 18 months is within your budget).
I’ve been with Tesco mobile for years and would really recommend them (whenever I’ve had to call customer services they’ve been great and for basic issues it’s really convenient to just pop in and speak to someone when you’re doing your shopping!)

HerbivorousRex · 20/11/2021 13:07

@WitchSharkadder I think I cross posted with you! 😂

Idontlikeprosecco · 20/11/2021 13:09

I've just looked on mobile phones direct and they have the iPhone 12 mini for £31 a month with 100gb data on a 24 month contract.

LynetteScavo · 20/11/2021 13:52

You could buy an iPhone SE or 11 outright for your budget, and then get a Voxi pay as you go - I think my DC get unlimited data on social media plus unlimited texts and and I'm not sure how many minutes, but more than enough for £10pm.

DD is perfectly happy with her SE.

BillDates · 20/11/2021 14:03

Another vote for the SE2020, you might get some even better deals on the handset outright in black Friday deals.

Tractordiggerdump · 20/11/2021 14:05

www.virginmedia.com/mobile/pay-monthly/apple/iphone-se

cliffdiver · 20/11/2021 14:54

[quote Saladcreamormayo]@cliffdiver how was it so cheap? was there any upfront cost for the phone or do you already have lots of contracts with three as sometimes they offer extra phones for family members at a reduced cost.[/quote]
£99 upfront.

No other contracts with Three.

Iggly · 20/11/2021 14:55

I bought my dd an iPhone 6s and got a new battery. It’s not out of date 🤷🏻‍♀️

Cocolapew · 20/11/2021 14:57

Another vote for Tesco, I've been with them to for years, they will buy your old one as well.

PlanDeRaccordement · 20/11/2021 14:59

I still use my iPhone 4s because I refuse to recycle something before it dies on me. It still works...I drop it all the time too.

However, I hate playing games on a phone. You could consider her keeping her iPhone 6s and getting her an iPad for games. It is also useful for homework and watching lessons online.

liveforsummer · 20/11/2021 15:28

I have an XR with virgin for £26. Wait til next week as they usually do very good Black Friday deals

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