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Time to cave to iPhone

geekette

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Bargain shopping, found 2 reconditioned unlocked 6S with 32g capacity. I don't plan to live on the thing, take gobs of pics, load up on apps, etc. Just simple phone and texting usage.

Aside from 6 losing support sooner than something more modern, what are pitfalls??

$150 is compelling, I can upgrade later.
 

Ken555

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Spend a little more and buy a 7 at minimum. Be sure it has a relatively new battery or else plan on ~$100 to get a new one in the near future.


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Excellent info!! $300 is doable, but, as mentioned upstream, not paying Big Bucks.

Nice tips on battery life, etc.

Thanks so much, everybody!
 

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The 6s will very likely unable to update to IOS 15 in September/October of 2021. This means the phone will no longer have the latest updates for security purposes. If all you are going to do is receive phone calls, then it won't matter. But if you are going to use the phone to receive texts for 2 factor authentication or perhaps put a banking or financial services app on the phone, then it will be an issue of security.

Walmart has been offering a brand new iPhone SE for $200.00. I would check there before buying a used iPhone.
 

geekette

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The 6s will very likely unable to update to IOS 15 in September/October of 2021. This means the phone will no longer have the latest updates for security purposes. If all you are going to do is receive phone calls, then it won't matter. But if you are going to use the phone to receive texts for 2 factor authentication or perhaps put a banking or financial services app on the phone, then it will be an issue of security.

Walmart has been offering a brand new iPhone SE for $200.00. I would check there before buying a used iPhone.

Outstanding info! Won't do fi stuff on the phone, that's laptop tasks for me, but, security info is much appreciated!

$200 brand new is exactly the kind of deal I was looking for. Thank you!!! Walmart happens to be on my way home from doctor tomorrow.
 

emeryjre

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Not sure if the $200 price is still being offered. But the people at the Walmart Cell Phone Sales Desk are usually pretty knowledgeable and up to date. They will also tell you (if you ask) about any upcoming specials. I have bought all my IPhones for the extended family through Walmart and have saved significant money over retail prices. About the only thing I shop for at Walmart. Costco has the worst deals on iPhones and I shop for everything else there.
 

rboesl

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Why not check with your current provider? Mine, Consumer Cellular, offered excellent prices on upgraded devices. AT&T is offering free upgrades to new & existing customers. It's happening because all the providers are upgrading their service to support 5G.
 

DaveNV

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Let me toss in my two cents: After almost 20 years as a Verizon customer, I jumped ship, and switched to Consumer Cellular a couple of years ago. Cut my cell bill way down, (by more than half), with zero difference in coverage or service, and without a contract. I'm very happy. They use cell towers for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. They offer plans that are pretty good, and for not a lot of money. No contract means you can cancel at anytime. (I have two lines, with unlimited data, texts, and calls, and I pay about $40 per line for the service, including all taxes.) They sell new phones in a variety of brands and such, and also have payment plans if you want a fancier phone without spending a lot up front. Before spending money on a reconditioned phone that will likely go out of useful service in a few months, maybe investigate a new phone that will run the current and future operating system. There is a reason that phone was turned in. I just checked the Consumer Cellular site, and they have a 64gb iPhone SE for sale for $250. That may be higher capacity than the one at WalMart mentioned above, if that's even available.

Also, about your reconditioned phone plans: I gave up my 6S after an iOS upgrade basically rendered the battery useless. Where it had been running fine previously, after the upgrade it wouldn't hold a charge for more than about six hours. I got tired of always having to have the phone plugged in to charge itself, or have it die while I was talking on a call. My new phone is much better for such things, and I'm happy. (It's a 12 Mini, way more phone that you might want, but the price wasn't that bad.)

Let me know if this is something you want to pursue, and i'll get you a referral code that will save you some money on the initial process. I think it's $10. If you use the referral, I get the same thing.

Hope this helps.

Dave
 

geekette

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Not sure if the $200 price is still being offered. But the people at the Walmart Cell Phone Sales Desk are usually pretty knowledgeable and up to date. They will also tell you (if you ask) about any upcoming specials. I have bought all my IPhones for the extended family through Walmart and have saved significant money over retail prices. About the only thing I shop for at Walmart. Costco has the worst deals on iPhones and I shop for everything else there.
Nice tip!

I generally don't find Costco electronics of any kind to be exceptional deals. Might depend on what one is shopping for, and I admittedly am not a big consumer of anything. I felt that the combo wireless keyboard and mouse at $40 from Costco years ago was a great deal. Both items still run like new.
 

geekette

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Why not check with your current provider? Mine, Consumer Cellular, offered excellent prices on upgraded devices. AT&T is offering free upgrades to new & existing customers. It's happening because all the providers are upgrading their service to support 5G.
I'm with Sprint, I do sometimes click on their mailers to see but it's usually crazy price. I figured my best bet was to stop in since offerings will vary store-by-store.
 

DaveNV

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Nice tip!

I generally don't find Costco electronics of any kind to be exceptional deals. Might depend on what one is shopping for, and I admittedly am not a big consumer of anything. I felt that the combo wireless keyboard and mouse at $40 from Costco years ago was a great deal. Both items still run like new.

Take note: Costco isn't selling those phones. The cell company vendors are selling them. They are just allowed sales space for their kiosks at Costco.

Dave
 

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Let me toss in my two cents: After almost 20 years as a Verizon customer, I jumped ship, and switched to Consumer Cellular a couple of years ago. Cut my cell bill way down, (by more than half), with zero difference in coverage or service, and without a contract. I'm very happy. They use cell towers for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. They offer plans that are pretty good, and for not a lot of money. No contract means you can cancel at anytime. (I have two lines, with unlimited data, texts, and calls, and I pay about $40 per line for the service, including all taxes.) They sell new phones in a variety of brands and such, and also have payment plans if you want a fancier phone without spending a lot up front. Before spending money on a reconditioned phone that will likely go out of useful service in a few months, maybe investigate a new phone that will run the current and future operating system. There is a reason that phone was turned in. I just checked the Consumer Cellular site, and they have a 64gb iPhone SE for sale for $250. That may be higher capacity than the one at WalMart mentioned above, if that's even available.

Also, about your reconditioned phone plans: I gave up my 6S after an iOS upgrade basically rendered the battery useless. Where it had been running fine previously, after the upgrade it wouldn't hold a charge for more than about six hours. I got tired of always having to have the phone plugged in to charge itself, or have it die while I was talking on a call. My new phone is much better for such things, and I'm happy. (It's a 12 Mini, way more phone that you might want, but the price wasn't that bad.)

Let me know if this is something you want to pursue, and i'll get you a referral code that will save you some money on the initial process. I think it's $10. If you use the referral, I get the same thing.

Hope this helps.

Dave
Good tip!

I will definitely look into that! Looks like my local Target has a new SE, 64g, for $250. I had no idea I could find Consumer Cellular in Target.

Piggybacking on the towers of others should mean great coverage for my 'out in the boonies' adventure. I currently have so-so Sprint coverage at camp, but, some of that could be the aging-fast flip phone.

I certainly don't want to be holding a fancy paperweight too soon.

Could you go ahead and pm the code to me? I'm not sure if I'll be phone shopping tomorrow or put it off to next week, but decent monthly rates is a major selling point, even more important than price of phone. I will circle back to let you know what happened, but if I choose this path, just so you know, the tip alone is worth much more than $10!!!
 

geist1223

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We have Android Fones (A10) and Tablets. So 4 lines. We Pay T-Mobile $110 (taxes included) for all 4 lines on the over 55 plan. Service in Mexico and Canada for no extra charge. Texts Worldwide are free.
 

DaveNV

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Could you go ahead and pm the code to me? I'm not sure if I'll be phone shopping tomorrow or put it off to next week, but decent monthly rates is a major selling point, even more important than price of phone. I will circle back to let you know what happened, but if I choose this path, just so you know, the tip alone is worth much more than $10!!!

Sending you a PM.

Dave
 

geekette

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We have Android Fones (A10) and Tablets. So 4 lines. We Pay T-Mobile $110 (taxes included) for all 4 lines on the over 55 plan. Service in Mexico and Canada for no extra charge. Texts Worldwide are free.
oooooh, over 55! I am now 55, hadn't thought about 'senior discount' on phone service, thank you So Much for that idea.

It sounds like a really great deal you have! I was thinking that once I get to camp and settled, we might want to pool into one internet/phone account.
 

x3 skier

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When I need a new Apple thingy, I always check the Apple Store for refurbished items. Same warranty as new and refurbished by Apple. Hard to find an iPhone there but it happens occasionally.

Cheers
 

elaine

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I had a 6s for 3 years. Fine. Battery got a little low but no issue. Got a free se when we swapped phone plans-kids got bogo12s. Just Get the se for $399. AppleCare is &79 of yoi want it. Use Amex for the extra year on top and get AppleCare and effectively get a warranty for 3 years!
 

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I know to never say never but I don't see me spending $1,000 for any Smart Phone. I intend to ride my clam shell to the bitter end...

George

You do know these are programmed to self destruct like mission impossible don’t you?
 

Ken555

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Take note: Costco isn't selling those phones. The cell company vendors are selling them. They are just allowed sales space for their kiosks at Costco.

Dave

I’ve bought phones at Costco during special events and saved significantly as compared to other offers. Costco definitely can be a good source for an iPhone, but usually the best deals are immediately after a new model is released and only available for a couple weeks.


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Ken555

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I'm not sure if I'll be phone shopping tomorrow or put it off to next week, but decent monthly rates is a major selling point, even more important than price of phone. I will circle back to let you know what happened, but if I choose this path, just so you know, the tip alone is worth much more than $10!!!

Be sure to also check out mintmobile.com (plans: https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/). I switched to them last year. They use the t-mobile network, and since I was with t-mobile I knew the coverage was fine. I don’t need unlimited data on my phone (especially now when I’m home most of the time) so I paid for a year of coverage with unlimited voice and text with 3GB data per month for $15 plus taxes per month. After two referrals and an AMEX promotion, I paid just under $90 for the entire year. If you prefer this, send me a pm and I’ll send you a code.

If t-mobile coverage isn’t good where you are also look at usmobile.com which offers Verizon as an option. They also have very good rates. I’m now using them for my iPad and since it’s month to month I don’t need to pay at all currently when I’m not using it outside my home.


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Ken555

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BTW, keep in mind that whatever phone you purchase be sure it is unlocked. And if it’s a used iphone, be sure the seller confirmed that it is iCloud unlocked, as well.


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