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Is now an OK time to buy s4?

Sento

Sento

Well-Known Member
Been thinking of getting a galaxy s4, is now an OK time to buy if I want a good phone for cheap? Do they still run silky smooth or have they started to get slowed down? Found some on eBay for around 200$ that are labeled new but they are open box/returns/etc, so is that a good idea?

Currently have Google nexus 4, but mine is pretty beat up and there are some issues with the n4 that will never get fixed like how Skype makes the phone randomly reboot and how snapchat causds crashes too (you can Google if you want but these issues have been going on for years now)

Also my volume buttons have stopped working which can get very annoying...

So is the s4 a good buy for me?
 
I like how the galaxy s phones are really nice and how they have replacable batteries and sd card slots!! I hate running out of space on iPhone and nexus 4, also If the battery. also i like how the s4 uses microsim just like my n4 so i dont have upgrade :D though i dont like how they went all appley with s6 they made so many different models, s6, s6 edge, s6 edge plus, :S cus it just makes the lower models useless and people are gonna only want the top end which they just use the low models to have a base price to increase the higher models cus nobody wants to get caught with an iphone 6s instead of 6s+ or people will be like "oh u dont have the plus? how quaint..." thats how ****ing people are these days, everythings about vanity, which is why i dont socialize much at all anymore cus people = poison so i just kinda keep an arms length from the world.
 
Depending on your carrier .. and your personal preference if you want to be updated to Lollipop, the Galaxy S4 is awesome. It hasn't slowed down any. My carrier stopped offering support for it as for as Android updating so I'm not on Lollipop but I don't mind it one bit. I just purchased it this past November 2015 - no problems at all.
 
I have the S4 mini for about 3 weeks, it seemed to work awesome, but the wife could not understand how to use it.

and she wanted to play Candy Crush and the icons were too small.

So, I traded up to the Galaxy S5.

I also have an HTC One M9, and in my personal opinion, it is a POS.... awkward to try to use, menus are clusterfkd..... my daughter has figured it out, and is now using it, but for me, it is useless.

I have a Galaxy S Fascinate that still works like it did when new 6 years ago, original battery even....
Two S5s in use and one Note 4.....

I just like the way Samsung products do what they are supposed to.... but I have Nova Prime Launcher installed on all of them.... and that changes things up for the GUI interface.... kind of gets around TouchWiz a bit.... ( it is still there, just can't see it anymore )
 
Best $200 device I got a hold of this year was the lg stylo. If you have to nickel and dime it that's the way to go. Tmobile/metro variant only. I know some of that cheap Chinese stuff was loaded pretty good this year but I didn't get a chance to mess with it.
 
Still have mine(2 yrs.). I keep cache clear and it still runs smooth. Cannot find a good reason to use my upgrade yet.
 
I have 3 Galaxy S4 i9505. Two got the Samsung upgrade to Lollipop and worked 100% sweet as. The other lost the Back and Return button actions. (many complaints about this problem). I tried all the suggested fixes-no luck, so I took the leap and 'rooted' the phone and installed CM13 ROM version 6.0.1 Marshmallow and it works a treat. All buttons and Touch operations work 100%. Originally these phones run KitKat and the move through Lollipop to Marshmallow gives it a whole new feel and appearance. The system takes a bit to get used to but it's great. This may be worth your consideration as the Logic board obviously handles v6.0.1 and it's real fast.
 
I'm not saying to avoid ebay but just don't forget the usual warning about ebay vendors -- check their ratings. Buying a 'new' phone that's actually one still locked by an open contract with a previous owner isn't an uncommon situation and will be a real hassle to reset so you can use it. You might want to take a look at swappa.com, a phone reseller that checks everything they sell so there won't be any locked phones. Another good source for used phones is gazelle.com, like Swappa everything gets checked and verified. Both have good return policies too. (Although Swappa does have a much larger selection on a wider range of products to choose from. )

https://swappa.com/buy/devices/samsung?search=s4&type=phone&platform=android

http://buy.gazelle.com/buy/used/cat...lling&brand=48&category=22&is_category_page=1
 
Yes, it's definitely OK to buy S4 NOW. I have been using for almost two years and never felt to upgrade...
 
If you are in the US and think you might want to use a custom rom,stay away from AT&T and Verizon versions. Locked bootloader.
 
Go for it. I'm on AT&T and my phone is over 1 1/2 yrs old. (used warranty because of power button stuck and lower part of screen flickering) Its a great phone with a lot of features. I have Lollipop, but won't be getting any more software updates, because Samsung is no longer supporting it. I just upgraded to the S7 and my S4 will be my back up phone.
 
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