It may also have been faulty and returned for repairs, or sold back to the company before an upgrade. To help you choose the best phone for you in a condition you expect, many sellers of refurbished phones will include a grade in the description of the handset. These tend to be:. It will probably come with its original box and accessories too. But it will be in full working order and any damage should be cosmetic only.
Grade C — handsets in this category will look obviously used but should be in full working order. One of your main motivators for considering a refurbished phone is probably the money it will save you, but how much could you save? You can search for refurbished phones on the internet and buy from the manufacturer or from the many sites that specialise in this market. Select Region. United States.
United Kingdom. Advisor Mobile Phones. Advertiser Disclosure. Updated: May 5, , am. Read more: Here is a list of the best cheap Android phones you can buy. In this article, we take a look into what refurbished phones are and where you can buy them. We also have some tips and tricks that will help you make a better purchase decision.
You might also want to look at our list of the best cheap phones around if you want something new. Even mid-tier smartphones perform amazingly nowadays, so the list we are linking to below is worth a look too. Refurbished phones come with some stigma around them. These are all interchangeable terms that describe the same thing, most of the time. These terms mean that someone previously purchased the phone and then returned it to the manufacturer, wireless carrier, or retailer.
In other cases, the refurbished phone may have had some hardware problem or manufacturing defect. This is typically preferred for consumers. However, third-party refurbished phones can still be a good deal. Just shop carefully. A refurbished phone should work just like new. If you want to save some money by going this route, you need to keep some things in mind. There are actually plenty of places where you can purchase them.
They include well-known retailers, wireless carriers, and smartphone makers, along with companies that sell refurbished phones exclusively. This online second-hand shop originally only sold tablets and phones, making it a great place to find quality products. The service has become even better by adding gaming, laptops, cameras, and VR to the mix.
The big difference is that the seller sets a price, and you can simply pay it, or you can request that they lower the price. Overall, this is a great and trustworthy place to buy from. This is one of the best-known places to buy refurbished phones.
Unless you opt for an iPhone that is, in which case your warranty is six months. We found a deal from mobilesphonesdirect. Compare mobilephonesdirect. Compare refurbished prices with new Samsung Galaxy phone deals to see which you'd prefer.
Samsung Galaxy phone deals. With some brands and retailers you can make significant savings, especially if you don't mind whether you've got the latest handset. It's not guaranteed whether you'll receive other accessories that were originally bundled with the phone, such as headphones. Refurbished phones tend to come in plain boxes or network-branded packaging. But if you manage to save money on the deal, that might not bother you. Lots of networks and specialist phone retailers sell refurbished phones, including O2, Vodafone and Mobilephonesdirect.
You can also pick up a refurbished phone from auction sites, high-street retailers and specialist re-sale-and-recycle sites such as Envirophone. That depends. So you may as well buy brand new. Discontinued models, such as the iPhone 5s, can he had very cheaply on refurbished phone contracts.
And same goes for Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse subsidiary Mobiles. So you've got peace of mind in every way. All refurbished phones are given a grade that reflects their condition. Grade A. This is as nearly new as nearly new gets. At best, it'll be a phone returned within the day cooling-off period, so is to all intents and purposes still a brand new phone.
At worst, it'll show negligible signs of wear. Grade C. Grade D. A grade D refurbished phone will be broken in some way, will look second-hand and will have been well used. Most networks will only sell grades A-C.
To complicate things further, some networks use their own grading system. But where networks do use their own system, you can usually find a key explaining grades on their site. You can compare SIM only contracts at our dedicated comparison page. SIM only deals. From how to write product descriptions to tips for cleaning up your phone so it looks its best, head to our guide to help you get the best price when you sell your phone.
And environmental charity Hubbub is helping reconnect households with their loved ones and essential online services by refurbishing and redistributing used smart phones. To donate your old phone, visit Hubbub's website. Just bought a refurbished phone? You'll want insurance to protect your new purchase from accidents, damage and loss.
Check out this useful mobile insurance comparison tool and find the best insurance plan for your shiny new phone. Rather go with a new phone? See all our latest mobile phone deals here. Mobile phone deals. We use cookies and similar technologies. You can use the settings below to accept all cookies which we recommend to give you the best experience or to enable specific categories of cookies as explained below.
Find out more by reading our Cookie Policy. A complete guide. Uswitch Mobiles All articles. Should you buy a refurbished phone?
0コメント