Recommend a burner phone?

Zarathustra[H]

Zarathustra[H]

Extremely [H]
Joined
Oct 29, 2000
Messages
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Hey all,

So I will be spending 3 weeks in Brazil soon, and I am trying to figure out what to do for a phone while I am there.

I looked into Verizons international roaming plans, and they are absolutely pathetic, with only 100MB of data.

Then I looked into pay as you go SIM's in Brazil, and a popular carrier named TIM has SIM's with 1,5GB per week for 25 Reals per week (approximately $6.50 at current exchange rates) which seems like a much better deal.

Next problem. While Verizon claims all their phones are unlocked, my Droid Turbo - it seems - can use other SIM's, but guess what, they have locked the APN editor in settings so you can't get data over any other SIM than theirs. (It was editable in Kitkat, but with the 5.1 update it disappeared, and there is no way to downgrade) This seems kind of disingenuous Verizon

Plan C: Get an unlocked burner phone for cheap, and use that with a Brazilian SIM.

This has the added benefit of if I get pick-pocketed or robbed (which isn't unheard of in Brazil) it's not a big deal!

So, rather than overpay for a crappy "pay-as-you-go" phone at retail, I figured, why not get a used previous gen premium android phone.

My budget is ~$100-200, prefer to be closer to $100, for what amounts to a disposable phone, but that might not be possible. I prefer them in "gently loved" condition. After all, it's a burner, so condition isn't THAT crucial, but I'd also prefer it to not be too gross/banged up.

Must be GSM/LTE Quad Band compatible (or at very least 1800Mhz band 3) and still be able to get decent battery life, and preferably easy to throw Cyanogenmod on.


I have been looking at 16GB Nexus 5's and Oneplus Ones.

I have found some Nexus 5's in the ~$150-$170 range, and One Plus One's at about $200 on swappa. Maybe a 2013 Moto-X would do it, but I am not sure how easy they are to put recovery on, to install custom ROM's, and they are getting to 2 years old now, so batteries may be a concern.

I have some concerns about reports of Nexus 5's having batteries that die too soon, so I am not sure this is the best choice.

I'm not looking for balls out performance, or super high resolution or storage space, just something that will be useable and not piss me off coming from my Droid Turbo.

Any other recommendations? Cheaper options are better, but I don't know if I can go too old due to battery longevity issues.

Appreciate any suggestions!

EDIT:

Looks like the LTE bands I need compatibility with are 3 (1800Mhz) and 7 (2600Mhz) which are uncommon on U.S. phones. Anyone know which U.S. models include support for these bands?
 
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^ these people above don't know how to check frequency bands

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Brazil

TIM
2G 850, 1800
3G 850, 2100
LTE 2600 (B7), 1800 (B3)#, (700*)

LTE is available on prepaid plans w/o surcharge

Moto G 3rd gen XT1541 has full LTE, but doesn't have 850 3G. not to mention it's out of your budget and this model is hard to find in USA

Moto E 2nd XT1524 has full LTE but doesn't have 850 3G either, and not USA model either

nexus 5 international model has full LTE and 3G>.. but hard to find in USA too



your choices:
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?s2Gs=GSM850,GSM1800&s3Gs=UMTS850,UMTS2100&s4Gs=3,7

(note that devices may show up above, but have many versions, and don't have one versino that supporst all the bands you want)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1181964-REG/asus_ze551ml_18_4g16gn_zenfone_2_ze551ml_us.html
Asus ZE551ml - full support and can work on ATT/tmobile <- easy resell value, but $229
 
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paperwastage said:
your choices:
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?s2Gs=GSM850,GSM1800&s3Gs=UMTS850,UMTS2100&s4Gs=3,7

(note that devices may show up above, but have many versions, and don't have one versino that supporst all the bands you want)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1181964-REG/asus_ze551ml_18_4g16gn_zenfone_2_ze551ml_us.html
Asus ZE551ml - full support and can work on ATT/tmobile <- easy resell value, but $229
Click to expand...

Thank you. yeah, took some time to narrow down all the bands in brazil.

The problem with the list on GSM Arena is that many of those are International models not available here. I started taking those models and looking for matches on Swappa, in many cases with rather limited results.

The OnePlus One still looks like a contender as it has both band 3 and 7 support, but it is towards the top end of my price range...
 
Zarathustra[H];1041977388 said:
Thank you. yeah, took some time to narrow down all the bands in brazil.

The problem with the list on GSM Arena is that many of those are International models not available here. I started taking those models and looking for matches on Swappa, in many cases with rather limited results.

The OnePlus One still looks like a contender as it has both band 3 and 7 support, but it is towards the top end of my price range...
Click to expand...

think there is an Asus ZE551ml at $150 on swappa... should verify that it's the correct model obviously (gsmarena shows several submodels... but most should work on LTE 3/7)

or used - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/1134352/?gclid=CMKglZeumMkCFYU_Gwod76UChw, can guarantee to be working (B&H is reputable company)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/1134353/?gclid=CJaNvr6umMkCFSgXwwodXDgDtA
$140

yeah, 3+7 are very uncommon in usa....
 
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Don't know if you can order from Motorola Brazil and ship to the US or just buy it when you get there.

http://www.motorola.com.br/

It has the compatible models for Brazil unlike second guessing above. Moto E 2nd gen is cheapest but only single LTE band and Moto G 3rd gen looks like it supports all three LTE bands but is above your budget.

LTE there is scarce anyway so not sure why you're losing sleep over it when it's only a 3 week trip. Is it business or for pleasure? Just use global GSM model or if for pleasure and you don't need to be always connected maybe use Hangouts with US Google Voice # over WIFI where supposedly incoming calls from Brazil are free and international outbound rates to Brazil landline is 1c or 6c to mobile.

https://www.google.com/voice/b/0/rates?p=hangout
 
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I've done lots of international travel, in my opinion of you can't by it unlocked from the factory don't buy it. I buy nexus now which is too expensive for a burner but you get idea
 
mi7chy said:
Don't know if you can order from Motorola Brazil and ship to the US or just buy it when you get there.

http://www.motorola.com.br/

It has the compatible models for Brazil unlike second guessing above. Moto E 2nd gen is cheapest but only single LTE band and Moto G 3rd gen looks like it supports all three LTE bands but is above your budget.
Click to expand...

Because tech there tends to cost a lot more than it does here? Every Brazilian I know packs their bags full with stuff requested by friends and family before they go back :p

Ipads, phones, even diapers, and baby wipes :p


mi7chy said:
LTE there is scarce anyway so not sure why you're losing sleep over it when it's only a 3 week trip. Is it business or for pleasure? Just use global GSM model or if for pleasure and you don't need to be always connected maybe use Hangouts with US Google Voice # over WIFI where supposedly incoming calls from Brazil are free and international outbound rates to Brazil landline is 1c or 6c to mobile.
Click to expand...

I'm going to be visiting my fiances family, and I don't speak the language. There are going to be many times when I am either waiting, left behind when they go to the spa, etc. where I am going to be going stir crazy.

I'm going to need internet to amuse myself, and I have been told some of the places we are going will have spotty WiFi :p

I'll be mostly in downtown São Paulo but some time around the beach in Guarajá, an di have been told to not expect any real internet service there. I'm also not a beach person, so I will definitely be miserable :p

Having a phone with decent data will be the only thing keeping me sane on this trip. I fear. I hate the heat, I hate the beach, and I'm going to Brazil in the middle of their summer :p I would much rather have traveled to Iceland.
 
Does that prepaid plan even include LTE? Most prepaid plans only include 3G, especially at that price(this was in for Germany, I would assume other countries are similar).

As a side note, an iPhone 6(or 6s) has all those LTE bands plus a ton of others. I'm not sure why Apple is the only one to include a bunch of LTE bands in their phones, everyone else seems to limit themselves to the 1-3 required on their specific carrier.

Also, is LTE really that important to you while on vacation? Does Brazil not have WiFi? Not needing LTE would make this a lot simpler at your price.
 
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Does that prepaid plan even include LTE? Most prepaid plans only include 3G, especially at that price(this was in for Germany, I would assume other countries are similar).
Click to expand...
as mentioned above, prepaid plans in Brazil include LTE

gunbust3r said:
T-Mobile Lumia 640
Click to expand...

it's missing 2100mhz 3G and band 3 LTE...

sigh...
 
I wound up getting a Asus Zenfone 2. The cheapest one on B&H ($140) was already sold, so I got one for $159. It just arrived today, and it looks great. Apart from the box being slightly ripped in a corner (those things are always difficult to open) I wouldn't have known it was used.

I wonder if it makes sense to re-flash the image to it just to make sure it is clean. I've never bought a used phone (or fone) before.

Since it is in such great shape, I may even try to sell it in Brazil when I leave. I understand tech there is more expensive due to all the import duties. I may even turn a profit.
 
my link to the $140 version is still up... oh well

buy another one to resell :D (though be careful about import taxes.... customs may be wary if you try to bring multiple phones with boxes into the country)
 
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paperwastage said:
my link to the $140 version is still up... oh well

buy another one to resell :D (though be careful about import taxes.... customs may be wary if you try to bring multiple phones with boxes into the country)
Click to expand...

That is weird.

I clicked on that link, and it came up as "sorry, this item has already been sold". So I searched manually on their site (I have bought cameras and lenses from B&H in the past, but I had no idea they sold anything but photography stuff, so I had never thought to look there for a used phone) and nothing came up at that price.


Maybe someone added it to their cart, and then decided not to buy it, or something like that.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041982244 said:
That is weird.

I clicked on that link, and it came up as "sorry, this item has already been sold". So I searched manually on their site (I have bought cameras and lenses from B&H in the past, but I had no idea they sold anything but photography stuff, so I had never thought to look there for a used phone) and nothing came up at that price.


Maybe someone added it to their cart, and then decided not to buy it, or something like that.
Click to expand...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?sts=ma&InitialSearch=OS&usedSearch=1&N=0&Ntt=Asus+Zenfone+2

I have it on my cart, shows up as available in in-cognito mode.... strange


yeah, B&H has a lot of international phones/tablets/... (similar to expansys).... they do have a table full of working display models in their store
 
So I just played around with the Zenfone 2 a little bit.

I have to say I am VERY impressed. This is A LOT of phone for the money.

I don't much care for the default Asus keyboard, but I can always replace it. It does come with a disconcerting amount of bloatware pre-installed but I understand installing custom recovery on it is easy, and there is a Cyanogenmod image.

The question is, will I significantly hurt the resale value in Brazil by putting recovery and Cyanogenmod on it..
 
For what it is worth, I actually think the 1080p screen at 403ppi is sharper than the 565ppi of my 1440p screen on my Droid Turbo.

Colors are less saturated, but I actually like this. They really turned up the saturation way too high on the Turbo IMHO.
 
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