ULTRA - REFURBISHED OR NEW?

[Handymanphill]

I'm due an upgrade very soon and got my heart of an Ultra. What I'm trying to decide is whether I'm actually saving money getting a refurbished one from O2, or getting brand new. Will I be giving myself headaches or not actually gaining anything by getting a used one, even refurbished. Any experience people?

[smiley]

Personally if my budget allows then I would buy new and direct from Samsung. Unlocked and new sealed gives some reassurances in terms of warranty, and without an unknown history of its handling and repair work.

Often refurbished can also mean it has been opened, perhaps to replace a damaged screen or another reason. There is no history of this.

Also, from O2 you should hope to be OK, but some handsets are from other regions and not the UK. This can present a problem.

If you do buy refurb because it is significantly less in cost, then make sure you check it over well. Bear in mind you likely won't have manufacturer warranty for 2 years and phone insurance might be harder to get. Some insurers require the phone to be within a few months old.

If the cost differential is not a lot between old vs new, then just buy new.

The S25 ultra that i own is an amazing phone, but does come with the high cost of being the newest Samsung have. A good compromise 'bang for buck' would be the S23 ultra, which can be achieved for a few hundred quid these days, and it a great piece of hardware second hand...for the costs. Just be selective and try and find a good one.

Smiley

[Glenntech]

My preference is new.
With refurbished id have to look into who did the work and more importantly a decent warranty.
Opening up the phone to replace the battery compromises the water resistance and if not done properly, may not retain that water resistance.
Second hand is even more important you do your homework. You don't know what's happened with the device and need to make sure its a phone for the UK.
Imported phones are common and may not get updates or able to use Samsung Wallet for payments etc

[Moiramon]

Have you looked into buying direct from Samsung. You can get up to 3 years interest free credit with PayPal credit. Then get a SIM free contract. Currently the 256gb and 512 are about £37.

[smiley]

On another subject, I know mobile contract terms can work well for some people and especially in a business. However, in a cost effective way, to get a sim card with a 30 day short term rolling contract and to buy a phone outright, will nearly always aave money over the contract terms.

Usually it is a LOT cheaper method than an upgrade through a carrier or to get a new 24 / 36 month contract.

I did a post a few months ago on this subject... if you are interested it might be worth a read.

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/samsung-lounge/changing-carrier-providers-sim-only-transfers-a-w...

Smiley

[keith30]

O2 have a summer sale on at the moment and you can get the S25ultra £500 off the current price. I'm with them so it's worth looking at.

[smiley]

That sounds like a great price !

[Star_girl]

I prefer new myself, but recently I bought two tablets refurbished from EBay and they don't have any problems whatsoever, however, phones are a different matter for me, as I rely on them for my daily use, they are the base for my phone book, messages, and all the useful apps that you need for your daily living, also you want to be sure the battery is in perfect condition. All in all, I prefer a phone out of the box, brand new, and from a very reliable shop, as I don't play around when it comes to your daily companion, brand new is always better and safer. Some people like to play around with software, you never know. My advice is to get a brand new phone for peace of mind.

[Chappell101]

I've only ever bought a second hand tablet for bargin price at the time as I was stripping Windows from it for Linux anyway negating any security issues. Totally agree I wouldn't want any banking apps on something I wasn't sure hadn't been rooted though.

The lack of battery cycles makes a new purchase worthwhile on offer alone. If you know anyone at a mobile network store you can often get some great offers. I got a huge discount with Tesco through family. £10 unlimited contracts and 15% off at the start of the months.