Best used Android device for 4.1 thru 4.3

[sonicadventure]

Hi I am an Apple user and have been for the last 3 years, however I was not very happy recently when Apple recalled the 6S for battery issues and I was without my phone for almost two weeks. To Apple's credit, they did replace the battery free of charge.

During my downtime, I used my SIM card in an older Blackberry and used my Samsung tablet for email - not very convienient, but it worked OK.

The things I like least about Apple is that you have to have your phone linked to iCloud and so if you're just going to drop your SIM in another iPhone while the main one is in for repairs you have to do all that iCloud setup which is a pain.

So...I'm in the market for a used Android device that runs at least 4.2.2 that works on T-Mobile that I can set up as a backup phone with 8 email accounts hooked up to it. I want it to be roughly the size of the iPhone 6 in screen size.

I don't care about brands at all whatsoever. I care about reliability and parts availbility in case I need to repair it. My logic behind have a ready to go Android device is so that if anything ever happens to my iPhone in say, the next 2-3 years I can just drop my SIM in the Android and have no downtime while I decide what to do from there.

I had a phone stolen in 2011, had a phone drop in soup and be out of commission for a week in 2014 and had this battery issue with Apple last month. While I am pretty careful with my phones I know that things can happen, that's life. But each of these three events caused considerable hassles while I scrambled for a workaround. I want to have one ready to go, just waiting patiently in the sock drawer...

Any suggestions as to devices? Probably don't want anything much older than 2-3 years at this point.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Moved from the Jellybean forum to the General Help forum, since you specifically said you don't want anything much older than 2-3 years at this point (KitKat, which is 4.4, was released in 10/2013, which is already more than 3 years ago).

Judging from what you're saying, it sounds like you'd be best off with a phone that has a removable battery, since you mentioned parts availability in case you need to repair it. Samsung phones might be your best bet. If you just need it as a backup phone, a used S5 might fit the bill, since it has a removable battery and an SD slot, and at this point it's about 2.5 years old (released in 4/2014). The problem with the S6 is that it doesn't have a removable battery.

The LG flagships also have removable batteries and SD slots, but the G4 has had a notorious bootloop issue, so it's not the most reliable phone. The G3 (released 5/2014) might be reasonable, because I believe the bootloop problems hadn't yet started with that model.

 

[sonicadventure]

Welcome to Android Central! Moved from the Jellybean forum to the General Help forum, since you specifically said you don't want anything much older than 2-3 years at this point (KitKat, which is 4.4, was released in 10/2013, which is already more than 3 years ago).

Judging from what you're saying, it sounds like you'd be best off with a phone that has a removable battery, since you mentioned parts availability in case you need to repair it. Samsung phones might be your best bet. If you just need it as a backup phone, a used S5 might fit the bill, since it has a removable battery and an SD slot, and at this point it's about 2.5 years old (released in 4/2014). The problem with the S6 is that it doesn't have a removable battery.

The LG flagships also have removable batteries and SD slots, but the G4 has had a notorious bootloop issue, so it's not the most reliable phone. The G3 (released 5/2014) might be reasonable, because I believe the bootloop problems hadn't yet started with that model.

Thank you for your quick response. Yes, the removable back and battery pack is another requirement for me. I forgot to say that. I'm not a fan of the new unibody trend in smartphones, on one hand I'm sure it makes them more secure but I miss the old Blackberry days of having the ability to get inside them.

Anyway, I was leaning Samsung but I suppose I could do with a slightly down-model from an S5 because this will never be a primary phone. But at the same time I want to be sure parts will still be generally available even 2-3 years from now. And since the S series phones were so popular I figure they would be a good choice.

As far as having 7-8 emails on an Android device running 4.3 or older, do you think that will ever be a problem? Also as far as future app support, how long can I reasonably expect developers to support apps for a 4.3 or less device 2-3 years from now? Mainly I would want to make sure my banking apps (mainstream banks) worked and also Fitbit-type apps i.e. Popular apps today tied to well established products.

What about Motorola devices from this era? Or any Blackberry models that offered Android? Any good ones to check out? And thanks for the input on the LGs I like them but I really would want to get involved with a phone with known major issues, esp looking to still be using it 2-3 years from now.

Thanks!

 

[B. Diddy]

I've never tried it before, but I would guess that having 7-8 email accounts synced with the stock Email app or the Gmail app would be fine.

I'm not an expert in the field by any stretch of the imagination, but most apps these days typically support 4.0+, so unless they're taking advantage of newer features, I think you're safe there as well. Integration with newer accessory devices (along the line of Fitbits) might start requiring more recent versions, like 5.0+, depending on what functionality they have.

Moto phones like the X and G series have generally been solid and reliable, and have been popular enough that 3rd party repair shops can probably repair them easily. But they don't have removable batteries. The main Blackberry models with Android are the Priv, DTEK50, and DTEK60. The Priv was the first, and has a relatively small but enthusiastic following. It does have a removable battery and an SD slot, and you can find one for around $400 or so, so it might be a reasonable choice.