OT: T-Mobile cell phone replacement recommendations.

[Lewis Moon]

Welllp...the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime is toast. I dropped it while juggling field gear in the parking garage. Im typing this through shattered glass.
I loved the Samsung but the Prime had very little memory and it was starting to refuse to update due to no space, even with the bare bones for apps and everything possible saved onto the SD card.
I'm looking to buy a better ANDROID phone but would like to keep it under $200. My research has turned up the Galaxy S6 as a good candidate. 32 gig of memory, SD slot, fast processor, Gorilla glass, fast charge, can be updated to Nougat 7.0...any other suggestions?

[tiretrax]

I just bought a LeS3 from Micro Center for $99 on a flash sale. It's great for the money, and I will get something later this month during the Black Friday sales (I expect the s8 to be under $400, but I'm hoping to find a deal on a Note 8.). If you want to stay at $200, then check out the Huwai Honor 6, Moto 5, and ZTE Max. There is a Sony, an ASUS, and a few others I considered before I found the Le.

The s6 is probably a good phone, but I wanted an octa-core processor, 3gb of RAM, and a 5.4" screen in my temp phone.

BTW, I put clear packing tape across my screen until I bought the Le. It worked fine.

[Lewis Moon]

I just bought a LeS3 from Micro Center for $99 on a flash sale. It's great for the money, and I will get something later this month during the Black Friday sales (I expect the s8 to be under $400, but I'm hoping to find a deal on a Note 8.). If you want to stay at $200, then check out the Huwai Honor 6, Moto 5, and ZTE Max. There is a Sony, an ASUS, and a few others I considered before I found the Le.

The s6 is probably a good phone, but I wanted an octa-core processor, 3gb of RAM, and a 5.4" screen in my temp phone.

BTW, I put clear packing tape across my screen until I bought the Le. It worked fine.

Love the tape hack. I was starting to worry about glass shards.

[eddief]

work good, killer camera...for a phone. I notice no difference between the two but 7 is supposed to be waterproofish. not a power user, no streaming. just talk, text, email, surf.

[berserk87]

I'm in the same boat, Lewis. I'm glad you posted this thread. My phone screen was cracked mysteriously (no one seems to know what happened - found it broken on the countertop one day). I've been dealing with it for months.

I'm a T-Mobile customer and looking for something decent, in the same price range. Thanks for the suggestions folks.

[93legendti]

Motorola g5 Plus

[Lewis Moon]

I'm really counting on Black Friday

[559Rando]

I'm on T-Mo as well. I upgraded to the LG G6 this summer and kicked myself for spending that much on the phone so I did some research and found the Blu brand of Android phones on Amazon and got an R1 Plus. It was a great phone. I am not demanding of my phone but I do want a strong battery and Blu REALLY delivered in that regard.

Postscript: Unfortunately before I could sell my G6, I dropped it and cracked the screen. Then a week later I ejected the Blu out of my bag while commuting and cracked it. I stuck with the Blu but the crack continues so I'm back to the G6. Wah-wah-wah...

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

[Jaybee]

I'm in the same boat, Lewis. I'm glad you posted this thread. My phone screen was cracked mysteriously (no one seems to know what happened - found it broken on the countertop one day). I've been dealing with it for months.

I'm a T-Mobile customer and looking for something decent, in the same price range. Thanks for the suggestions folks.


I thought "nobody" lived in my house. Apparently he/she lives with you also?

[berserk87]

I thought "nobody" lived in my house. Apparently he/she lives with you also?

I have 3 "not me's" in my house. We are in the same boat.

[modernfuturist]

Here's a good article (https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-budget-android-phone/) that details all the budget options.

T-Mobile runs on the GSM network so just make sure your targeted phone is compatible.

Search Slickdeals through the archive history to see what the historic prices and deals for these phones are and that will give you a good idea of how much they go on sale for and how often.

IMO (I have to manage the family's fleet of phones and plan options) the Motorola line of phones (the Moto E on the budget side and the Moto G for slightly more money) offer good value and great usability for basic phones. The main thing is if you buy a phone from T-Mobile (or any other cell phone carrier), it will be loaded with bloatware (apps and other junk). It's often very hard to remove these programs and have a clean running system.

FWIW, I use a Google Pixel phone and really like the clean system feel, quick updates and lack of bloatware. Not the fastest hardware but a really good camera and an overall great experience if you do not like the Apple iOS systems...

[Lewis Moon]

Here's a good article (https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-budget-android-phone/) that details all the budget options.

T-Mobile runs on the GSM network so just make sure your targeted phone is compatible.

Search Slickdeals through the archive history to see what the historic prices and deals for these phones are and that will give you a good idea of how much they go on sale for and how often.

IMO (I have to manage the family's fleet of phones and plan options) the Motorola line of phones (the Moto E on the budget side and the Moto G for slightly more money) offer good value and great usability for basic phones. The main thing is if you buy a phone from T-Mobile, it will be loaded with bloatware (apps and other junk) that advertises pay T-Mobile to load the phone with. It's often very hard to remove these programs and have a clean running system.
Yeah, bloatware is a problem. I hate not being able to remove schite I don't use.

[likebikes]

i have a s6. it doesn't have a sd slot.

[jruhlen1980]

Yeah, bloatware is a problem. I hate not being able to remove schite I don't use.

Then avoid Samsungs -- they make it really hard to root your phone and modify it to run custom ROMs and remove bloatware. It used to be the t-mobile of samsung galaxy phones would let you do it, but ATT wouldn't -- but apparently with the Galaxy S7 even the t-mobile phone is difficult to root.

Which sucks because Samsung is one of the only manufacturers that still includes a Micro-SD card.

[Lewis Moon]

i have a s6. it doesn't have a sd slot.

Fahk....I assumed the S6 would have one, but I see Samsung skipped the SD on the 6 and brought it back on the 7. That's a deal breaker.

[Lewis Moon]

Looks like the Moto G Plus 5th Gen is the current leader...any comments on that model?

[fkelly]

Had an S4 until Spring 2017. Got an S8. Expensive, but great phone. The battery on the S4 could hardly make it through a single day (with not much use and few phone calls too). The s8 has 50 percent left at the end of the day. S8 has SD card and an easy means of swapping out SIM cards for travel. Still filled with bloatware because the Samsung and Verizon software is all bloat and junk and hard to get rid of short of rooting the thing.

I wonder if the Google phones would have less bloatware. A bargain basement S7 might be what you want.

[Richard]

I dropped my phone into the spokes while talking while riding and replaced it with a G5 Plus. A little over your $200 budget, but a really fine mid priced phone.

[staggerwing]

FWIW, if budget sensitive, Amazon offers the Moto G5 Plus with lock screen adds, and their apps pre-installed (easy to delete those) for a $50+ discount.

Good, mid-level phone (under $300), which is about a pricey as I'm willing to go.

[93legendti]

Another option would be a refurbished Moto Droid Turbo 2 thru Amazon. I see them often for ~$150

[Lewis Moon]

Another option would be a refurbished Moto Droid Turbo 2 thru Amazon. I see them often for ~$150

Isn't that exclusive to Verizon?

[93legendti]

Isn't that exclusive to Verizon?

All recent Verizon phones are unlocked. I have a Motorola Droid Turbo I picked up for travel and/back up phone ($90 from Amazon) and used a Droid Turbo 2 this past summer in Israel.

There’s a few settings you need to add when setting up the TMobile sim, but it takes less than 3 minutes.

http://apn-settings.com/t-mobile-apn-for-android/

[Lewis Moon]

Update: I popped for a 64/4 Moto G5 Plus. I kept an eye out and got a new one for less than the 32/2s were selling for on sale.
This little phone is larger, faster and more powerful than the first four or five desktops I've owned. Yay technology.
Now if I can just keep from dropping it.

[93legendti]

Update: I popped for a 64/4 Moto G5 Plus. I kept an eye out and got a new one for less than the 32/2s were selling for on sale.
This little phone is larger, faster and more powerful than the first four or five desktops I've owned. Yay technology.
Now if I can just keep from dropping it.


Where did you buy it from?

[Lewis Moon]

Where did you buy it from?

Ebay....not completely happy with that but the seller has a 99% satisfaction rating (over 28000 sales) and is giving 30 days money back. It was "New Other" of the Amazon models. I suspect it was an open box. Hitexstore.

[93legendti]

Ebay....not completely happy with that but the seller has a 99% satisfaction rating (over 28000 sales) and is giving 30 days money back. It was "New Other" of the Amazon models. I suspect it was an open box. Hitexstore.

Good score. Thanks.

[weisan]

Update: I popped for a 64/4 Moto G5 Plus. I kept an eye out and got a new one for less than the 32/2s were selling for on sale.
This little phone is larger, faster and more powerful than the first four or five desktops I've owned. Yay technology.
Now if I can just keep from dropping it.

Excellent choice.
Great camera!