unlocked smart phone for DH

[EmilyGF]

So, DH had to travel this weekend - and he had to take my phone because his is too old and lousy to download the Lyft app onto! Time to get him a new phone!

 

We use a monthly non-name-brand plan, and buy phones in cash. Ideally the phone would be good enough to last a few years without becoming crazily obsolete.

 

Suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Emily

[Tree Frog]

I'm following because I'm looking for a newer phone than my LG G3. The Moto G5 Plus is going on sale at Costco; both of my daughters have one and like it very much, so I may go that route.

 

ETA: corrected model number of phone

Edited November 6, 2017 by wilrunner

[Okra]

My college age kids have a Moto G4 and a Moto G5. They are both very happy with them.

 

They are both unlocked and seem to be good quality.

 

Middle daughter got a BLU phone and didn't like it at all.

Edited November 5, 2017 by Okra

[Random]

I'm following because I'm looking for a newer phone than my LG G3. The Moto 5 is going on sale at Costco; both of my daughters have one and like it very much, so I may go that route.

 

This phone looks like an okay option for us, but I wonder how you know it's going on sale? 

[Sandwalker]

If you don't mind used, you can get all kinds of great phones in Swappa.com . I've bought 2 and sold one there. No complaints.

[Tree Frog]

This phone looks like an okay option for us, but I wonder how you know it's going on sale? 

 

I misspoke. It's the Moto G5 Plus going on sale between Nov 17-27. It's in the Holiday Savings flyer I received in the mail. It will cost $169.99 on sale.

[Random]

I misspoke. It's the Moto G5 Plus going on sale between Nov 17-27. It's in the Holiday Savings flyer I received in the mail. It will cost $169.99 on sale.

 

Thanks for the tip.  I didn't read the flyer. :)

[Lanny]

I'm following because I'm looking for a newer phone than my LG G3. The Moto G5 Plus is going on sale at Costco; both of my daughters have one and like it very much, so I may go that route.

 

ETA: corrected model number of phone

 

That's what I recommended to a someone here on WTM, months ago. She was going to use it on Trac and on Verizon where she lives in a rural area as I recall.  

 

Except for my old 2014 low-end Samsung phone, there are 3 Motorola phones, one Lenovo phone (Lenovo owns Motorola Mobility) and one Lenovo Phablet in our house.  

 

NOTE:  I had suggested to the person in NE that she buy her Motorola G5 Plus directly from the Motorola web site, to be certain that it was not only UNLOCKED, but also that it was UNBRANDED when it left the factory. The phones we buy in a superstore are like that and have a one year manufacturer warranty here in Colombia.

 

The last phone our neighbor (he is an Electronic Engineer for a cell provider for 20+ years) bought was a Motorola. Most of the phones he has purchased are Motorolas but he has had a couple of Samsungs also over the years. More bang for the buck with Motorola or Lenovo.

 

Good luck with what you buy!

 

P.S.

Our luck with various high end LG products was bad. The worst was an LG phone my stepson bought that was a Lemon. There are no LG products in our house now, but many people have very good luck with them. We have a lot of Samsung things in the house.

[Tree Frog]

That's what I recommended to a someone here on WTM, months ago. She was going to use it on Trac and on Verizon where she lives in a rural area as I recall.  

 

Except for my old 2014 low-end Samsung phone, there are 3 Motorola phones, one Lenovo phone (Lenovo owns Motorola Mobility) and one Lenovo Phablet in our house.  

 

NOTE:  I had suggested to the person in NE that she buy her Motorola G5 Plus directly from the Motorola web site, to be certain that it was not only UNLOCKED, but also that it was UNBRANDED when it left the factory. The phones we buy in a superstore are like that and have a one year manufacturer warranty here in Colombia.

 

The last phone our neighbor (he is an Electronic Engineer for a cell provider for 20+ years) bought was a Motorola. Most of the phones he has purchased are Motorolas but he has had a couple of Samsungs also over the years. More bang for the buck with Motorola or Lenovo.

 

Good luck with what you buy!

 

P.S.

Our luck with various high end LG products was bad. The worst was an LG phone my stepson bought that was a Lemon. There are no LG products in our house now, but many people have very good luck with them. We have a lot of Samsung things in the house.

 

I have liked my LG; I chose it because it wasn't terribly expensive and it had a good camera. (I was going to Europe with dd and wanted good pics. It did exactly what I wanted for that trip.) However, after about a year, it suddenly stopped sending texts or sent them incredibly slowly (24 hours to send), among other problems. Sometimes it looked like the texts didn't send, but the receiver responded to my unsent text. It was strange. So I tried a factory reset twice and ended up replacing the phone with an identical one. The camera is only half as good as it used to be and I still have inconsistent problems sending texts. So I'm looking to replace it.

 

My concern with the Moto phones is that Lenovo doesn't send regular updates. (Honestly, I don't know if I have regular updates with my LG G3. I suspect I do based upon the fact that something will work on my phone one day and not at all anymore the next day. I do have an anti virus on it that runs regular scans.) So there can be a known security issue on the G5 Plus, but there aren't any patches sent to correct the problem. That was the single most common complaint with the G5 Plus. Yet, it's an incredibly popular phone. Someone suggested downloading/running regular security checks; would that cover the potential issues? Seems like it would be reactive to the problem rather than proactive. 

 

I have never owned a high end phone and likely never will, at least until the kids are out of college. I would like a phone with a good camera, though!

[nixpix5]

I have a Samsung Note 3 and I use it for everything. I have had it for 4 years and it is still going strong. I love this phone to death.

[Hypatia.]

If you don't mind used, you can get all kinds of great phones in Swappa.com . I've bought 2 and sold one there. No complaints.

 

This is where we get our phones, we're also on a bring-your-own-phone carrier. 

[Lanny]

I have liked my LG; I chose it because it wasn't terribly expensive and it had a good camera. (I was going to Europe with dd and wanted good pics. It did exactly what I wanted for that trip.) However, after about a year, it suddenly stopped sending texts or sent them incredibly slowly (24 hours to send), among other problems. Sometimes it looked like the texts didn't send, but the receiver responded to my unsent text. It was strange. So I tried a factory reset twice and ended up replacing the phone with an identical one. The camera is only half as good as it used to be and I still have inconsistent problems sending texts. So I'm looking to replace it.

 

My concern with the Moto phones is that Lenovo doesn't send regular updates. (Honestly, I don't know if I have regular updates with my LG G3. I suspect I do based upon the fact that something will work on my phone one day and not at all anymore the next day. I do have an anti virus on it that runs regular scans.) So there can be a known security issue on the G5 Plus, but there aren't any patches sent to correct the problem. That was the single most common complaint with the G5 Plus. Yet, it's an incredibly popular phone. Someone suggested downloading/running regular security checks; would that cover the potential issues? Seems like it would be reactive to the problem rather than proactive. 

 

I have never owned a high end phone and likely never will, at least until the kids are out of college. I would like a phone with a good camera, though!

 

Well,   I only know that we have 3 Motorola phones, 1 Lenovo phone, and 1 Lenovo Phablet and they all work fine.  At least 2 of the phones get extremely heavy use.   I suspect that if there were something critical, that Motorola or Lenovo would update their Firmware

 

My old Samsung was manufactured in September 2014.  It's Rooted and I think the Firmware I installed last April is from October 2014.  Samsung just came out recently with newer Firmware for it.   3 years...  It is working OK now and I have it configured the way I want it, so I am not going to risk upgrading to the new Firmware and then trying to get it back the way it is now.  And I remember the weekend I did that, last April, that initially I installed the wrong Firmware and turned it into a "Soft Brick" and I was not happy and my wife was not happy. The next day, I got the correct Firmware and restored it to life...   

 

About Security stuff.  My phone has very little Memory (RAM) and is on Android 4.4.2.  I did install a Kaspersky free App on it, but then when the U.S. Government came out with their declaration, a few months ago, I uninstalled the App.  Also tried an Avast Security App (I run Avast on my Laptop) but it seemed to take up too much of the Resources. So, now, I don't have a Security App installed on my Android phone. I am careful about what I install, which is even more important for my phone than your phone, because I Rooted my phone. I try to only install what I need and to only install Apps that are extremely popular within their category on the Google Play Store. 

 

And about Moto phones. I really doubt that our neighbor would buy them, repeatedly, if he felt there were Security issues with them. He works with Cell Phone towers all day.

[Lanny]

OP in post #8  I mentioned the word UNBRANDED along with the word UNLOCKED.   We do not buy phones that were BRANDED to a carrier before they left the factory.  They always make changes. Not all of the changes are cosmetic. That can lead to a lot of issues. Annoying or worse.

 

That's why I recommended to someone here, months ago, that she buy her Moto G5 Plus from Motorola.com

 

Motorola has a reputation for shipping phones with a version of Android that is quite pure. In contrast to companies like Samsung who change so many things.  When my old 2014 Samsung dies, I will go to a Motorola or Lenovo.... The book I bought, "Android Phones for Dummies", when he explain things, almost always has a "but if you have a Samsung, do it this way..."