Phone Dilemma

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

My current phone, on left, is starting to go to sleep, and not turning on, even though I press the power button 100 times. Like CPR.  

I tried factory resetting it, and nothing changed. So it's the hardware failing.

I currently am using Twigby as my service provider. Cheapest I can get around here. But all their phones are carp..

https://www.twigby.com/shop/twigby-phones

A friend warned me about the Moto G, as his neice has one, and isn't that good at $130. Also the Samsung A15 is laughable at best. Everything else is expensive af.

I want android, (hate iOS) any version, that works with Twigby, under $100, please. Refurbished/Used is OK with me, as long as it isn't beat up.

 

If you know the IMEI number, you can see if it works with Twigby: https://www.twigby.com/page/byod

[cork1958]

Here's a good laugh for you then. My brother, his girl friend and my son all have the Galaxy A15 5g and they are working absolutely great. My wife and I both have the A16 and they are working great also.

Maybe you are laughing at the specs, but for under $100 I would hope you aren't expecting much.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

My friend says that the Samsung A gen are a piece of trash. But the S or J series are better. Is he a pro at this, no. But everything else that he suggested to me worked fine, so I'd believe him before a store representative tells me.

And that Moto  G, that was a different one my friend warned me about. They are good for battery life. A good budget phone.

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

I am using a Moto G Stylus (2025) and happy with it.  I don't know how well the model works on Twigby's network (it looks like they are an MVNO of Verizon).  They offer a BYOD plan, though, so as long as you find a device that works on their network you should be okay.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky 

Edited Wednesday at 21:39 by goretsky
edit for clarity

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

On 10/06/2026 at 19:37, Mindovermaster said:

My friend says that the Samsung A gen are a piece of trash. But the S or J series are better. Is he a pro at this, no. But everything else that he suggested to me worked fine, so I'd believe him before a store representative tells me.

And that Moto  G, that was a different one my friend warned me about. They are good for battery life. A good budget phone.

Mate, you’re looking to spend about $100 - what are you expecting. The A series is not the high end model, no - but “trash” is nonsense. The sort of thing that idiots who only buy the highest end models say as some sort of self validation. They will do everything you need of them.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 10/06/2026 at 14:29, goretsky said:

Hello,

I am using a Moto G Stylus (2025) and happy with it.  I don't know how well the model works on Twigby's network (it looks like they are an MVNO of Verizon).  They offer a BYOD plan, though, so as long as you find a device that works on their network you should be okay.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky 

Can you tell me what the difference between the Moto G and the Moto G Stylus is? They look similar. 

[+virtorio MVC]

Moto G Stylus has better specs and a stylus. Search for the specs to see if they they're important to you. 

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

I see it has more memory, more storage, a better CPU, and a stylus, as you said.

Might be a good alternative. I see some refurbished for $150-200.

I'm not scared of refurnbished, as a lot of parts in my house are refurbished/used. All are working atm.

[+virtorio MVC]

My only concern would be the state of the battery. I'd be getting one from a place you trust and perhaps has a decent warranty.

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

On 11/06/2026 at 08:04, Mindovermaster said:

Might be a good alternative. I see some refurbished for $150-200.

I'm not scared of refurnbished, as a lot of parts in my house are refurbished/used. All are working atm.

If you are willing to go to approx $200, then as mentioned in your other thread I think a refurbished Pixel 8 will be a great deal that will last you for years.

I recently recommended that to someone at work, he was on a strict £200 budget, which got him an excellent conditioned refurbished Pixel 8 here. He's since told me its the best phone he's ever had and feels its a massive upgrade over his old Samsung A series device.

I don't know the sites which deal in refurbished devices in the US, however I’m sure you will have some options like we do here. Failing that Ebay is also quite good in my experience.

If you wanted something a bit cheaper, then you could maybe go for an older Pixel 7, these will still get security updates until the end of 2027. Even after that you have good third party OS support from LineageOS.

It doesn't have to be a Pixel though, you can buy many older devices for a good deal that would be better than a new $100 phone and flash LineageOS to them: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 11/06/2026 at 04:31, InsaneNutter said:

If you are willing to go to approx $200, then as mentioned in your other thread I think a refurbished Pixel 8 will be a great deal that will last you for years.

I recently recommended that to someone at work, he was on a strict £200 budget, which got him an excellent conditioned refurbished Pixel 8 here. He's since told me its the best phone he's ever had and feels its a massive upgrade over his old Samsung A series device.

I don't know the sites which deal in refurbished devices in the US, however I’m sure you will have some options like we do here. Failing that Ebay is also quite good in my experience.

If you wanted something a bit cheaper, then you could maybe go for an older Pixel 7, these will still get security updates until the end of 2027. Even after that you have good third party OS support from LineageOS.

It doesn't have to be a Pixel though, you can buy many older devices for a good deal that would be better than a new $100 phone and flash LineageOS to them: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

Can you recommend me a good Pixel 7 on eBay? Because some are saying Gen 1, and I don't think that's what I want, right?

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

On 11/06/2026 at 21:09, Mindovermaster said:

Can you recommend me a good Pixel 7 on eBay? Because some are saying Gen 1, and I don't think that's what I want, right?

You'd have to show me an example of a listing that says Gen 1, usually i'd expect that to mean Snapdragon Gen 1 (a type of chipset, which the Pixels don't use).

Pixel 7 - White - 128gb - Unlocked - 85%+ battery - Grade B+ - $159 with free delivery - https://www.ebay.com/itm/398046617206

Pixel 7 - Obsidian - 128gb - Unlocked - 80%+ battery - Very Good - $157 with free delivery - https://www.ebay.com/itm/355617734563

Both look to be sold by companies with good feedback, dealing with refurbished phones and state the phones are unlocked with a clean IMEI.

Obviously I can't vouch for either company though, but the listings look good in my opinion.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I would recommend the Nothing 2a. The battery life is awesome, 2 or 3 days without going into battery power mode.

The only thing that I've been looking into recently is that it doesn't "support" Graphene OS. I'm pretty sure there is a way, I just need to do some more looking.

[Circaflex]

On 12/06/2026 at 02:42, Nick H. said:

I would recommend the Nothing 2a. The battery life is awesome, 2 or 3 days without going into battery power mode.

The only thing that I've been looking into recently is that it doesn't "support" Graphene OS. I'm pretty sure there is a way, I just need to do some more looking.

According to the developer(s):

 

Quote

It's not possible to support it because it doesn't meet the security and alternate OS support requirements listed here:

https://grapheneos.org/faq#future-devices