You've had an S3 for 6 months? That's a 4 year old phone you muppet not the 'most highly rated android phone'! No wonder you're finding it rubbish.

Jesus, the people who post on this site....

Android:

Pros: Fully customisable, unlike any other OS, loads of apps.
Cons: Has to work on a myriad of differing hardware, so experience can vary massively between phones, OS updates are a mess. User interface can and often does vary between phones due to various manufacturers using their own user interface such as TouchWiz on Samsung phones, which makes it harder to use if you swap to another Android device or use a friend's for example.

IOS:

Pros: There's only been 12 models of iPhone, and Apple design/create both the hardware and software, so it's highly optimised. If you pick up an Apple device then use another one you instantly know where everything is.
Cons: You accept what Apple has given you, a massive divide between Android and IOS in terms of customisation. It's Apple and people hate Apple because they hate Apple.

Windows Phone:

Pros: Same as IOS. Possibly the slickest/fastest mobile OS to date which still exists as a mass adopted platform.
Cons: Massively lacking in apps in comparison to Android and IOS. People say this isn't a problem, if you've migrated from Android or IOS and you're a moderate user of apps, trust me you'll find it a problem. You can't do stuff like Tasker and Autocast on WP, in fact there's a lot you can't do in comparison to Android.

That's a very rough guide to the main mobile OS's. I like all three of the above and I use all three. My devices are: Galaxy S6, iPad Air currently and I had a Lumia 435 to mess with. However since I work in this field which is refurbishment of phones, tablets and laptops, I get to use them all.

Life is too short to hate, embrace the technology of today and make the most of it.

​Depends how you define "better". I had an iPhone 3G, 4 and 5. I thought I ought to give Android a go so I switched to the Galaxy S3, the most highly rated android phone (the price, extra memory and swappable battery aren't that big a deal to me). I've had it for six months so in used to all the quirks and differences so I can give an informed opinion on this better phone - it's crap. I cannot wait to get back to an iPhone.

12 months warranty I don't think so

Shame this wasn't posted yesterday... would've been great with an extra £50 off :disappointed:

isn't the max cashback is £50?

Nope, it's a bit of a leap in the dark as it doesn't actually tell you what points you're getting but it's 25x over £200 total purchase. Max on this one is stated as 40,000 (£400) if you were going to buy a couple of em :wink:

Purchased iPhone 6 plus 64gb for £370 with code yesterday in new other category. Don't know what it will come out as.

Oh god I just ordered one for a present for my mum! Thought I was safe buying through eBay but reading the reviews it appears not. They already saying problem with supplier so delivery late.

Some retailers give more. John Lewis for example, give 2 years.

Still happy with my 64GB Space grey i bagged for £150 :smiley:

I like how most of the five star reviews have "sister" five star reviews that are on the same (or that are very close in) date... :stuck_out_tongue:

It is not well advertised but almost everything you buy new in the EU by law has to come with a two year warranty

'Refurbished'. What does that mean for an iPhone? New screen? Nope too expensive.

I imagine that all these 'refurbished' iPhones that we see advertised are simply the phones sold to the mobile phone recycling firms. Give them a wipe over and then sell them as 'refurbished'. Add a meaningless warranty and off you go.

Not the best deal around. I got a iPhone 6 64gb off a reputable seller with 100% feedback and a 12 month warranty in as new condition which was £389 before the £50 voucher code.

It's just a 6... and was a gumtree sale :P saves me over £1100 over a 2 year O2 contract so am happy :smiley:

Genuine question but..why would you buy an iPhone when you can get a much better phone for less money?

Hahahahahahah really?!

100% agree. If I could get the same experience with any other phone I wouldn't be paying more for an iPhone. But nothing compares.

I can only see x5 on site not x25

Be careful with purchase. I got a refurb earlier in year and it turned out to be from Hong Kong carrier. It accepted UK sim but kept trying to send some kind of activation text to 3 HK, that only showed up in my bill.

My UK carrier wouldn't refund the Intl text costs, so phone sent back, took some arguing to finally get refund.

Do not buy anything from these jokers, they send faulty phones out with stuck buttons and dirt in all the holes. Then when you want to return as its faulty they will charge you the return postage if your even lucky tot get to this point. They will plain ignore your requests and eBay will not help you as this company sells so many leaving bad or negative comments doesn't bother them.

The warranty will be with them so good luck getting anything from them, I couldn't get a faulty button fixed within a few days under the 14 day return sales of goods act and had to pay return postage.

If you have a problem it will take them days to respond when it's not about spending money with them.

Buy from anywhere else!

They still live, must be just your internet.

You've had an S3 for 6 months? That's a 4 year old phone you muppet not the 'most highly rated android phone'! No wonder you're finding it rubbish.

Jesus, the people who post on this site....

The recently bought a 4S from this seller, looked brand new. Only issue I had was they took 3-4 days just to dispatch it which was irritating. I've no doubt they changed the case and screen etc for generic copies but seems to work fine and no faults yet.

These won't be Apple refurbished.


eBay's case system just isn't what it used to be.

iOS updates are not wholly implemented on older models, features get removed owing to marketing reasons, sorry I mean technical differences....

It always amazes me that some people are obsessed with OS versions especially when it doesn't really make much difference, Jellybean is 3 years old now and still runs everything that a device can support that a device running Lollipop (or marshmallow) can. There's no cutting of features from Google to force an upgrade either, all the latest versions of all the apps still work, you can usually even change the launcher to look like the latest version too.

Android:

Pros: Fully customisable, unlike any other OS, loads of apps.
Cons: Has to work on a myriad of differing hardware, so experience can vary massively between phones, OS updates are a mess. User interface can and often does vary between phones due to various manufacturers using their own user interface such as TouchWiz on Samsung phones, which makes it harder to use if you swap to another Android device or use a friend's for example.

IOS:

Pros: There's only been 12 models of iPhone, and Apple design/create both the hardware and software, so it's highly optimised. If you pick up an Apple device then use another one you instantly know where everything is.
Cons: You accept what Apple has given you, a massive divide between Android and IOS in terms of customisation. It's Apple and people hate Apple because they hate Apple.

Windows Phone:

Pros: Same as IOS. Possibly the slickest/fastest mobile OS to date which still exists as a mass adopted platform.
Cons: Massively lacking in apps in comparison to Android and IOS. People say this isn't a problem, if you've migrated from Android or IOS and you're a moderate user of apps, trust me you'll find it a problem. You can't do stuff like Tasker and Autocast on WP, in fact there's a lot you can't do in comparison to Android.

That's a very rough guide to the main mobile OS's. I like all three of the above and I use all three. My devices are: Galaxy S6, iPad Air currently and I had a Lumia 435 to mess with. However since I work in this field which is refurbishment of phones, tablets and laptops, I get to use them all.

Life is too short to hate, embrace the technology of today and make the most of it.

When was the S3 the most highly rated android phone? maybe for 5 mins after it was launched. Can't believe you're offering an 'informed' opinion on an S3 in 2015, serious late review.

You failed to point out that if you don't like the manufacturers user interface you can simply change it on Android, you're not stuck with what the manufacturer supplies.

Yes although that's not the intention of me posting that information, the intention was to indicate that Android interfaces vary considerably and this can be cause of frustration/difficulty when using another Android device, you never feel completely at home. This is a minor frustration I concede. Android is really for people who want an open device they are free to do what they like with. Jailbreaking IOS and Rooting Android, although not the same thing do allow a similar outcome whereby the user takes more control over the OS.

One thing to point out that even though you can change a user interface, the manufacturers embedded interface can and usually does take a performance hit on Android, which is why Android geeks prefer a stock experience, which can be achieved on any Android phone for more technically experienced users.

I like to think that rather than failing (an over used pejorative), I succeeded in providing a rough guide to mobile OS's.

You don't need to root Android tho to do the majority of what folk want to achieve either its only if you want to do something that the manufacturer blocked say like my old Parrot Asteroid system that wouldn't let you access Google's Play Store. For most people, sideloading apps and changing the launcher are about the limits of customizing they want to do and both are easily done without rooting.

You're over analysing what I'm saying. My information vis a vis the Pros and Cons are a rough guide. After all what do we see in all technology threads? Argumentative attitude and stupidity. My information is rough but correct, if you wish to express it further in depth then post your own Pros and Cons. I'm not here to flesh out the finer details. A rough guide speaks for itself.

Just to balance the bad reviews slightly, I ordered a 4s refurb from this seller for my other half in May last year and haven't really had any issues. The phone itself seems to be a US/Asian version (it refers to cellular data and menus are slightly different from my old UK model) but it still works fine 18 months later. I made use of the 20%/£50 eBay voucher to upgrade her to a 64gb 6 as her birthday is coming up- waiting for delivery at the moment so I'm hoping we have the same experience with that as we had with the 4s. Sure I'd rather have got her a brand new one with a 2 year warranty from John Lewis but that would've cost £539 and we couldn't really afford it. This one was less than £330 after eBay voucher and bonus nectar points, so probably worth a go. If it goes wrong in the future and we have to pay to fix it, as long as it doesn't cost more than £200 it'll still be worth it

Bought a A grade 6+ from these guys earlier this year. Came in tip top condition. 12 month warranty is a bit of an issue but there's nothing stopping you paying a little to get it fixed if it goes wrong

Topcashback

There's no argument, a rough guide is only a guide if it's accurate, I simply pointed out an inaccuracy in your guide.

Of course :smiley: That's the nature of the beast that is technology, we can all fall in to the trap of trading what we feel is right about certain devices. Which is why we've always had the versus wars; ZX Spectrum vs C64, Atari ST versus Amiga. PC versus Mac. iPhone versus Android. I prefer to enjoy all the platforms and the ones I choose as a 'daily driver' (I hate that expression but I just used it!) are usually what are right for me at the time. I experience pain in my decision to choose the Galaxy S6, due to the battery life. I live with it on power saving mode, which cripples the performance somewhat but makes the phone usable throughout the day. I bought an iPad Air because I want to use it as a recording/guitar fx platform, but I've found it to be leagues ahead of my Tegra Note 7 tablet, not suprisingly so I use it as a tablet too.

Whether I stick with Android on my phone next year is debatable, I might go Windows Phone for a change or even Apple and use my tablet for all the complex customisable stuff. Who knows, but that's the richness of the modern era in computing, we have choice and almost too much choice. It used to be in the 80's lots of choice, but nothing was compatible, then the 90s to mid 2000's there was little choice but compatibility and now it's flipped to lots of choice and compatability and the Internet kicked in at the right time.

One of the best and worst times to be alive as technology both improves and depresses our lives depending on the person. The pros and cons of technology are complex and I probably shouldn't even go there :smiley:

Well bully for John Lewis!

iPhone over any other phone any day. Free iMessages, free video calling (over wifi) and airplay to an Apple TV. Came in handy hundreds of times for me, probably saved hundreds of pounds when no credit. Haters gonna hate.

Wrong. All iPhones (iPads, Apple Watch etc) from Apple now come with TWO YEARS warranty. In fact most retailers (John Lewis etc.) are moving to TWO YEARS as standard to comply with EU regulations.

You're comparing I phones with an age old android device.

Get yourself a Galaxy S6 and then decide...or even a Note 5.

The seller's feedback is 99.1% which is actually pretty poor. Lots of people complaining they bought defective phones despite being refurbished. Personally I like both android and apple operating systems = slight prference for android as I like to set up information on screen in a way apple wont allow but most of the bickering on here is very off point as to whether it's a deal. If you get a good one it is a very good deal.

Good value but this seller's definition or refurb is very bad. A grade more likely used with scratches..

At the end of the day of you prefer Apple then great...same with android. My big gripe is that a lot of people pick the iPhone because they think it's the best phone. Only last year a female work colleague picked up the latest iPhone..I asked her out of interest why she chose that phone and she turned round and said 'because it's the iPhone and they alway make the best phone don't they'....I cringed.

People do genuinely buy them because they assume they are the best because the adverts and because Ronaldo has one (paid to have one should I say)

Cold not an iPhone.

Taken from the description:

"Moderate scratches and scuffs on the aluminium back casing and sides"

No thanks.

400 bones for a non new year old phone.

Oh dear. I wouldn't take a chance with them after reading their horrendous negative reviews.
Thanks for posting.

it always is the case. but i think apple products are well worth it.

its like a £50 phone buy a proer android phone like a g4 or s6 and youll see android is better

Lots of comments about this but the reality is this is a refurbished phone warranty is with the seller not apple and since it's a refurbished there is no EU warranty.

You get a free sim tool! Buy it now before the deal ends!

"It is an IPhone, so most probably will go cold" - i hate when people say that, how stupid does it sound??

the iPhone is the most sold phone ever!

Nothing like that whatsoever.

Did this and did not get the postage back for sending it back so ended up £8 down as they said it was not faulty!

"Free sim tool" hahahahaha cudos to them for handing over a free paper clip

Cold because of the seller and the feedback
Cold because they still say 10+ in stock yet telling customers delay in stock
Cold because of the stupid freebie

​Until the original owner reports it as stolen to his insurance to get the newer 6s. It's happened to me before, got left with a £400 HTC one m7 which is barred, even though I have the original box and it was working fine when I bought it, don't expect the network to help, they'll just block it.

Have had various iphones for around 10 years, bought an black LG G4 for £300 couple of months ago, and all I can say is I'm well impressed so far. Not sure about apps having more virus's on android as long as you download from official Play store (much the same as ios, don't install cracked ipa's)

S3 is really not a good phone tbh. That's like me trying a Iphone 3 and saying apple sucks and then buying a galaxy s6.

S3 is widely accepted to be a really **** phone plagued with endless issues.

careful, checked feedback and a lot of people have received phones in bad condition.. can pick up like new second hand phones for 400

I bought a brand new iPhone 5S from them a few weeks ago. Delivery was around 2weeks but it did arrive as described, brand new sealed.

Since when was the galaxy S3 the most highly rated android phone six months ago? Talk about comparing apples and pear's.

The Galaxy S3 was by far the most popular Android device of it's time, but by no means the best (especially today). If you want a superb Android experience, get the Nexus 6P and if you don't like it, you can return it in 14 days for a full refund including shipping costs (presuming you buy it from the Google Store). Numerous websites have called it the best Android phone ever made, and I've ordered it myself. I think you should give it a go, then if you don't like it you can always switch to an iPhone.


---
Thread voted hot because it's a decent deal.

Three 5 star reviews on same day compared to the others with big problems - know who wont be getting my money!

seller refurbished is never as good as factory refurbished. don't expect like new phone.

This makes little sense.

You had an iPhone 5, which was released after the Galaxy S3 - so purchased an older phone than you had.
The S3 was released in May 2012
You've "had it for six months" and "cannot wait to get back to an iPhone"......what? How have you had it for 6 months, when it was released in 2012? Did you buy a phone several years out of date and now are comparing it to the latest iPhone?

I don't care for the Apple / Android arguments. Go with which you prefer, but your post doesn't make sense.

Well why not? Surely an explanation is worthy.

And the certainly is your subjective opinion based on a Galaxy S3. Which never been the best Android device out there.

Apologies to everyone berating me for calling a Galaxy S3 phone up to date - as you might have guessed, it's actually an S6. And, among many other flaws, it's autocorrelation is terrible. I very nearly called someone named Malcolm malformed this morning.

Apple fan but voting cold due to poor reviews on the "warranty" itself from the shop seems non existent.

This site is full of mongoloids - hence why I tend not to come here in any regular spurts at this point in time.

I always wonder about these things. There's load floating about on the internet on unregulated sites for way too little and I always wonder about these - I guess there's no protection? I don't know enough about blacklisting to know if there's a way round it....still, have assumed if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

The point went over your head then.

Please don't buy from these jokers, I bought a iphone 4 16gb and it was described as new, the screen had been replaced and didn't fit correctly due to the metal frame being slightly bent, and the phone wouldn't connect to wifi. If you want a iphone in good nick buy from a reputable seller, I learned the hard way about this company as it didn't read the feedback (My Fault)

Not at all - it's just the likes of you who has to pop up in EVERY thread to say 'John Lewis has a longer warranty'.

Can you show us the link where this spec of iPhone is £394 at John Lewis? I think it would probably be £600+ if they still sell them.

Depending on how old these phones are, Applecare can perhaps be added quite inexpensively - is John Lewis still definitely the best option? I need to know before I go and buy one :smiley:

eBay's case system is more anti-seller than it's ever been. Returning stuff a the sellers expense is childs play and people abuse the hell out of it.

People dont hate Apple just because, its things like the hipster brigade acting if its the second coming and everything else sucks, how locked down everything is (not talking about the actual OS as such but the features even things like replacing a battery is a nightmare) and how Apple products are so overpirced

Apple is a good OS but you are paying for convenience and bragging rights mostly.

Apple fan too who has voted cold as I am sure looking at the reviews that many people cant be wrong. The below deal is 50£ more and only for a 64gb, but I would rather the below with apple warranty then use a refurb from a poor reviewed source!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Apple-iPhone-6-Latest-Model-64-GB-Gold-Unlocked-Smartphone-/271870082373?hash=item3f4cb83d45:g:vBcAAOSwv0tVD9iZ

It's not child's play in every situation and if something goes wrong don't expect any helpful response or logical support at all. For reference I've made over a thousand purchases on eBay at least, in this case I initiated a return and order a different one as the quality wasn't very good as well as the item being faulty, because I ticked the box for a return ebay and the seller would not pay for my return postage even though I had evidence of the fault. I was even going to be buying the alternative from them!

The eBay support system for buyers and sellers isn't good and can be a nightmare for both.

This company is by far the worst I have dealt with, they are just zombies repeating the same lines over and over. Zero aftercare sales, would have taken them to small claims if I had the time, they have no idea about how to treat customers.

Wow, I don't think I have seen an eBay seller with so much negative feedback!!!

S3 LOL.

Try quad core, 3gb, 5.5" 1440 x 2560 pixels (~534 ppi pixel density), SD card up to 128gb, removable battery, quick charging, 4k recording, 4G, Gorilla Glass 3 and 2 yr EU warranty.

Oppo Find 7 £299 in Feb off Amazon. Same specs even cheaper now.

£400 quid for a second hand phone which was behind the times even when released that some Albanian gave a quick spray of Mr sheen to and called refurbished?

No thanks.

https:[email protected],0.1193115,181m/data=!3m1!1e3

Their address on google maps if anyone wants to go in person to chase an order up.

Let the Apple hating commence....

Risky buying these iPhones as most of the time they are repaired and when you try to update software they don't update.

I got my iphone 5s from them... Didnt have any issue and it was looking as good as new without any scratches even though it was grade 2 phone as per their spec. I would again purchase from them but now this model is 40 pounds more on their site.

lot of fakes on ebay so not sure but hot if genuine

That's the retailer not Apple

Where I can get the best deal for iPhone 6 64GB?

cold, don't trust it, would trust your average joe on HUKD more

Vote hot if you are an I-Sheep

BB10 an excellent OS but of little consequence these days.

There's always the new Blackberry Priv handset.......£559.99!! Ha ha. They should have called it the Blackberry Final-Nail-In-The-Coffin

Majority of the times they don't use original parts e.g. Digitiser,lcd etc so what happens is when you try to update or restore it gives a error code and it does not update until you don't replace the faulty part.

​We are on s6 s3 is about 5 years old??? no wonder u going back to iphone lol I would too

​or apples **** battery and crap storage entry models

​ebay known for selling fakes and pretending they are not

Can't comment or discuss various phone merits, as I'm mainly out of this, being a total tech- dunce. I have an iPhone, and so do my lot. Suits me for what I need it for. Can say that I've bought from this seller, doh, ordered wrong thing, totally my mistake, their customer service was great- got back to me quickly, arranged a swap for me, no probs with phone. I was dubious about buying iPhone from eBay, think I happened upon this seller thru a link from MSE. I got a phone with only light cosmetic scratches to case. All good.

​Absolute rubbish

I can't agree with you on that - no other "OS" offers enterprise level solutions on par, BYOD doesn't come close to what BB can do...

http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2015/06/23/the-real-reason-blackberry-isnt-dead-yet/

Can you post the link for Rakuten!

What code ?

Damn, bought an iPhone 5s from these guys with the 20%, didn't even occur to me to question the authenticity and warranty procedures.

Are refurbished models approved by apple to have them replaced/repaired in store? :/

I don't think the phone is fake but concerned what parts were used in the refurb process....

Ha ha maybe have a wild guess at the answer to this question!

I think you and me know the answer to this

really nice with such price, I bought it for my sister. she likes it very much.

Almost £400 for a phone , daylight robbery

Phones for people with more money than sense

I paid £50 for a Moto G which apart from an inferior camera , is more than sufficient for most needs

My phone arrived from them today, charger not genuine and doesn't work at all, certainly isn't grade A and won't accept any sim at all even though meant to be unlocked. Not happy

I ended up going with one from envirophone. Turned up next day. It was supposed to be a b grade but looks brand new.

You should be able to claim your money back through an eBay dispute.

its one year warranty, if you buy it directly from apple they MIGHT fix it if you mention the EU law (which is not clear as it says the fault must be at time of purchase), but if you buy it from networks as most phones you will not get the second year, O2 advised me to go to court after 15 months.
AFAIK John Lewis is the only one who gives 2 years as standard.

It's not, 'they might fix it if you mention the EU law'. Apple have become pro-active and now clearly display the 2 Year EU regs and 6 Year SOGA details on their website. They have changed significantly. I have never had a problem with Apple and I buy most of my hardware from sources other than Apple (mostly eBay, Amazon etc.) and Apple has always taken the date of activation as the start of warranty and applied this to the relevant period.

did they fix it after one year cause they refused to fix my iphone and asked for £200 (its from O2)

Yes they did.

If they refused yours I would suggest you show them their own web page or better still write to Tim Cook and tell him his staff are breaking the law.

Please tell me it wasn't the Westfield Stratford City branch, the staff in there are absolutely useless and a bunch of shysters.

In any case if you purchased the phone from O2, they are your first point of contact and should comply with the law.

Had an argument with them there. Took me 7 weeks for an appointment. My iPhone 6 Plus Touch ID wasn't working, I spoken to the managers on the phone before going in to the Stratford city branch, they said they will replace my Devices screen, and it would work? Lol ? My phone keeps freezing, calls can not be taken as the reception just falls. In front of the employee the reception dropped. I can't even make an call in emergency because my phone would work, they refused until I caused an argument because quite frankly I was peed off. Made me wait near 3 months and before his 7 week appointment and for them to do this to me. I was told my device would be replaced. Not fixed as this issue was common in some iPhone models. The guy I spoke to, the Apple genius wasn't much of a genius, he said he called his manager when on the other guys tag said customer service or something. 1/45 of waiting they said they cancelled my appointment. Which was even meow p1ss taking. Finally a REAL Manager came out and fixed my issue. Replaced my device and was on my way.

it was in Bristol, I am with Resolver at the moment making complaints (Apple wanted £200 and O2 says its one year warranty and EU law is not UK law, she also gave me the info how to go to court !! )

That's a shame. I am flabbergasted as to how ignorant most/many UK retail staff are. EU rules on sale of goods is part of UK law, so someone to state it isn't is talking out of their lower posterior. In those situation you should always write to the CEO of the company concerned with screenshots of the relevant EU rules from the .gov.uk website.

Sorry that you've experienced the worst the UK has to offer in terms of customer service.

If the phone was purchased from O2 then that's who the customer's contract is with - not with Apple. Apple are not obliged to do anything. Telling Tim Cooke that his staff are breaking the law is comedic gold.

You are right about the O2 contract element. Clearly I hadn't noticed the O2 bit until later. However, in terms of warranty Apple has taken upon itself to deal with all warranty matters (even the 3 year etc from John Lewis is dealt with by Apple). There is also a matter of responsibility upon the manufacturer, although contractually it is the seller that the contract is with.

Even if Apple are not directly breaking the law, as in this case, by taking the matter to Tim Cook creates a situation where his Executive Office will liaise with the Telefonica Executive Office to ensure that a resolution is found, especially if EU rules are seen to be broken. Most Executive Offices are pretty good, some are just as shoddy as their retail staff.

P.S. One of the many reasons for buying directly from Apple is the ability to enforce the 2 EU rules and the 6 Year SOGA protection is much easier.

Thanks for post, a few nice deals from the supplier

Expired - now £408.99

Not expired and price came down to £372.99 but still too expensive for a phone. Cheaper and better phones out there.
Voted cold.