Unlocked Refurbished Cell Phones

[TickTockMan]

Can anyone recommend any unlocked refurbished phones for around $100? Any make, model or year, but needs to work with Mint Mobile.


My phone is dying and I need to get one soon as half the time I can't call out any more. Decent camera on it would be nice and a loud speaker as well. I mostly just call and text on phones so screen size is not much of an issue, but bigger the better as I don't see well.

I currently have a Moto, but I have never found a brand I find worth being loyal to. They all seem the same to me.


Thanks

 

[bendted]

Too bad you are married to Mint Mobile. You could do something like this (below) with 1 year of service, 1500 text units, 1500 mins. and 1.5G of data, in a nice big phone all for $49.99, and using code HSN2023 for $10 off, $39.99. Tracfone, unlocked and new. I do this every year; current phone is a Moto G I bought in September for $43.

Samsung Galaxy A03s 6.5" HD+ Tracfone Bundle with 1500 Min/Text/Data - 20751378 | HSN

Shop Samsung Galaxy A03s 6.5" HD+ Tracfone Bundle with 1500 Min/Text/Data 20751378, read customer reviews and more at HSN.com.

www.hsn.com

 

[TickTockMan]

Too bad you are married to Mint Mobile. You could do something like this (below) with 1 year of service, 1500 text units, 1500 mins. and 1.5G of data, in a nice big phone all for $49.99, and using code HSN2023 for $10 off, $39.99. Tracfone, unlocked and new. I do this every year; current phone is a Moto G I bought in September for $43.

Samsung Galaxy A03s 6.5" HD+ Tracfone Bundle with 1500 Min/Text/Data - 20751378 | HSN

Shop Samsung Galaxy A03s 6.5" HD+ Tracfone Bundle with 1500 Min/Text/Data 20751378, read customer reviews and more at HSN.com.

www.hsn.com

I will look into it. I believe my year it up next month or so.

 

[Peloso]

Do you receive disability or any other entitlement? Then you may be eligible for a phone from Assurance Wireless. The phones they give out are ornery and obstinate, but they're 100% free.

 

[me203]

Do you receive disability or any other entitlement? Then you may be eligible for a phone from Assurance Wireless. The phones they give out are ornery and obstinate, but they're 100% free.

This would be one of the Lifeline carriers. There are other such programs. I techncially could qualify, but I've noted they may or may not have free phones at any given time. Recnetly, I've noted it seems like the free phones are only availabel for people signing up for ACP (subsidized Internet) as well as phone service. So ACP wouldn't be available to use for home Internet service. Of course, a lot of people only use a phone these days, but I'm not sure I'd want to use whatever cheap phone a Lifeline carrier wants to dump on me as my primary Internet device.

 

[Alistair]

They usually don’t give you a good phone with the Lifeline providers. They were giving out a Chinese brand that was reportedly bloated with adware and possibly spyware I’d steer clear of them if possible.

 

[Alistair]

I’d also stay away from Boost mobile. Once it was bought out by Dish Network it went downhill fast. Once you reached a certain limit on data it wouldn’t work even though you have an unlimited data plan.

I’m pretty happy with Metro by T-Mobile. It’s a prepaid plan for $48 a month with unlimited text and data. You can get a cheaper plan if you don’t use that much data. I got an iPhone SE for $50 bucks when I switched over.

Metro will also give you a free cheaper Samsung brand if you don’t want to buy one.

 

[Peloso]

Yes, the phone sucks. Using it to go online is like eating spaghetti with a toothpick while wearing mittens. But for my purposes it suits me fine.

Litle radioactive portals for advertisements, that's all smartphones really are.

 

[me203]

They usually don’t give you a good phone with the Lifeline providers. They were giving out a Chinese brand that was reportedly bloated with adware and possibly spyware I’d steer clear of them if possible.

Well, unless one gets a phone aimed at privacy, spying is going on. It's just a question of who gets the data about you...

Although I'd imagine that free Lifeline phones probably are the worst offenders in terms of how many might be getting data about the phone user. I also imagine the phones aren't going to be particularly good--maybe too frustratingly bad, even for someone who doens't really expect much from the phone. (I know I've read reviews of cheap <$50 phones from someone who bought one becuase it should be good enough to get by on...and found it hugely frustrating.) I aslo imaigne these phones may not have the latest software and may not have good software updates.

 

[me203]

Yes, the phone sucks. Using it to go online is like eating spaghetti with a toothpick while wearing mittens. But for my purposes it suits me fine.

Litle radioactive portals for advertisements, that's all smartphones really are.

No, that's NOT all they are. They are also devices that spy on the users! Part of this, of course, in order to decide what ads to display.

Quibble aside, I love the "radioactive portasl" wording!

 

[me203]

One thing that occurred to me--if we are talking $100 or so, we are at a point where new is an option. Admittedly, a lot new phones are probably terrible. But something possibly decent might be obtainable with some shopping.

Usually, I like buying stuff used... I'm cheap. But one minus to a used phone: the battery is probably a gamble.