Most Americans trade in their cellphones every two to three years, according to Statista. My Moto E4 is five years old this month. It runs on outdated Android 7.1 and holds a charge for only a few hours. A new phone is warranted.

I imagine that many people are fine with buying locked phones usable only with their wireless carrier. But wanting to find the best deal, I recently hunted online for an unlocked, preowned phone.

Shopping took a lot of hours. What I learned may make snagging a used phone easier for others.

• Google “best places to buy used smartphones” and “best used smartphones under [insert your price]” for advice. (I found Well Kept Wallet and Wired helpful.) Decide on a model and a couple of vendors before your head starts spinning.

• Make sure that the model is compatible with your wireless carrier and isn’t locked to another carrier. A network-unlocked older phone should work with other carriers on the same network, GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile, others) or CDMA (Verizon, US Cellular, Sprint, others). A factory-unlocked phone should work with all carriers. 

• If you hope to keep the phone for several years, buy one with expected software updates and 5G compatibility.

• On sites like eBay, you’re safer buying from a tech company than from an individual. Tech companies usually put phones through an inspection process and offer warranties. For more security, buy from a seller who accepts returns and offers free return shipping. 

I ended up buying a Samsung Galaxy A32 5G, released in January 2021 and praised in reviews of budget 5G phones. Samsung has promised three Android OS updates and four years of security updates, taking the phone into 2026 at least. 

The first Galaxy A32 5G I bought isn’t the one I ended up with, however. I was lured by eBay’s prices and thrilled when I found a preowned Galaxy A32 5G in pristine condition for $120. A problem appeared, however, when I tried to activate the phone with my new wireless carrier, Mint Mobile. Although listed as unlocked, the phone was locked to another carrier. The seller may not have known that, and he paid for the return, but the experience reminded me that buying from a private individual is risky. 

I spent the next several days obsessively searching tech companies’ eBay listings for another Galaxy A32 5G. Bids were approaching $200. Buy-it-now prices were higher. Persuading myself that the first $120 pricetag for the same model had been a fluke, I bought a factory-unlocked Galaxy A32 5G for $149.95. The seller, a tech company, offers a 30-day, postage-paid return.

Was it worth it to buy used? A new Galaxy A32 5G costs $279.99. The time I spent was probably worth more than the $130 saved, but I now feel more tech savvy, so it’s a tradeoff. 

*****

Along with a new phone, I’ll try out a new wireless carrier.

Mint Mobile had a promotion that was impossible to resist, especially when I saw that many reviewers rank it the number one carrier now. Buy three months of service at $15 a month and get three months free. 

I’d been with Republic Wireless from way back when it was regarded as the best deal. Happy with Republic, I didn’t bother to look into whether it remained the best deal over the years. With Mint Mobile I’ll get four gigabytes of data for $15 a month, while I’ve been paying Republic $20 a month for one gigabyte.

I’m ready to take my mind off phones and wireless plans, but I still have to activate the phone when it arrives. Fingers crossed that there aren’t problems.