A decent phone for 5,000 baht?

[norbra]

1 hour ago, NextG said:

https://gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a21s-10239.php

Sorry to burst your bubble, but your phone is not 5G capable. 
There is no 5G variation. If you can post a link to one, I will happily donate 1000 baht to the charity if your choice. If you cannot, may I name a charity for you to contribute?

The WLAN on the A21 has dual band Wifi capability 2.4 g and 5 g for connecting to a wifi network 

[lopburi3]

19 minutes ago, Elkski said:

I can't imagine she would need but 1 gb of data  each month.

Sorry missed that - not sure as stick with Nokia less than smart phones myself but grand child in university pays about 400 baht per month and seems to take care of everything, including computers (and she in online most of the time).

[lopburi3]

4 minutes ago, norbra said:

The WLAN on the A21 has dual band Wifi capability 2.4 g and 5 g for connecting to a wifi network 

Yes but 5G in phone talk is 5th generation - not 5Ghz frequency as in WiFi.  Apples and oranges.

[treetops]

4 minutes ago, norbra said:

The WLAN on the A21 has dual band Wifi capability 2.4 g and 5 g for connecting to a wifi network 

That is 2.4 and 5 GHz.  5G refers to the network technology (5th Generation).

[NickyLouie]

Oppo is the local brand most Thai like, you can score a decent model with a larger screen made by same company that supply Samsung.

 

[NextG]

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

Her screen is cracked real badly.   I think she just uses it with wifi as they only go to town and back and don't need Google maps. However in one trip she heard her buffalo was loose soaybe texts?   She uses line for calls and video chats at home.  Her old one is an Hawai or that brand,  so android.  I will have to inquire if she  has or is interested in a phone plan for calls.  I can't imagine she would need but 1 gb of data  each month.  How much is a phone plan like that.  

Yes a cover and hardness 9  uv glue screen protection is nice. 

If she already has a phone, is she likely to want to change her number? If not, you’ll either have to add a plan to her existing number. If AIS, you can pay for her Internet access for a year by applying a Marathon pack to her existing number costing 1890 baht. This will give her 100 GB per month for twelve months ???? 1GB is not enough for video calls. Plus there has to be headroom for everyday usage such a YouTube music etc

Alternatively, you can port her number to a new network for the best and cheapest deals.   

[NextG]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Sorry missed that - not sure as stick with Nokia less than smart phones myself but grand child in university pays about 400 baht per month and seems to take care of everything, including computers (and she in online most of the time).

400 baht is too much these days ???? 200 baht gets you unlimited at a speed good enough for anything other than 4K streaming. 

[vinny41]

1 hour ago, NextG said:

The issue is the price point. All manufacturers have different policies for their lower end phones. You’ll have difficulty finding one at that price point that gives the guarantee that you have suggested. 
Try finding at least one model that fits. 

Wild goose chase?

Not really you just need to look 

Example flagship store Xiaomi Poco ( for anyone that isnt aware Xiaomi has a number of different brands that target different customers Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco are examples of some of their brands they may have others.

Its important to note that security updates and Android os updates are based on the date that they phone was released into the market not the date that you buy the phone.

So if security updates and Android os updates are important to you look for phones that were released into the market in 2022 ideally in the last quarter of 2022

POCO M5S 4GB+64GB ฿4,650.00 or POCO M5S 4GB+128GB ฿5,140.00

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/poco-m5s-4gb64gb-4gb128gb-15-i4213861380-s16599070323.html?

Xiaomi Poco M5s Android update status

Currently: Android 12

The latest official Android version available for Xiaomi Poco M5s is Android 12. This is the same Android version the phone was originally launched with - it hasn't received any Android updates as of yet. This phone was originally released on 9 / 2022.

Upcoming updates?

Expected: Android 13 and Android 14

Xiaomi has promised to deliver these major Android versions for Xiaomi Poco M5s: Android 13 and Android 14.

However, this is only the manufacturer's promise, as far as we know - Xiaomi might release even further updates to the phone later or might end support earlier on.

https://www.androidupdatetracker.com/p/xiaomi-poco-m5s

 

Poco normally provides 2 year's security updates 

 

Phones that have been updated to Android 13 or the brand has indicated they will update are listed here

Android 13 Update Tracker

Android 13 was officially released on August 15th, 2022

https://www.androidupdatetracker.com/android/13

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/

is a good site for comparing smartphones also it will show release date of the phone 

 

I use a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro good phone but over budget as far as the op price range and was released in March 2021 so nearly 2 years of security updates and Android os updates used with maybe 1 year of updates left

we see some messaging apps that have issues warning that they will no longer support older versions of the Android os so it not only banking apps

 

 

 

 

 

[vinny41]

5 hours ago, Elkski said:

Her screen is cracked real badly.   I think she just uses it with wifi as they only go to town and back and don't need Google maps. However in one trip she heard her buffalo was loose soaybe texts?   She uses line for calls and video chats at home.  Her old one is an Hawai or that brand,  so android.  I will have to inquire if she  has or is interested in a phone plan for calls.  I can't imagine she would need but 1 gb of data  each month.  How much is a phone plan like that.  

Yes a cover and hardness 9  uv glue screen protection is nice. 

I suspect she has no need for a phone plan it sound like she uses phone mainly using wifi facebook messenger, line chat and line video if all her friends and family are using ais or dtac  they have promotion days where you can call other people with ais for very little cost

I use my phone mainly to receive delivery calls, messaging via whatapps and line all via wifi email checking and internet all via wifi and normally top up 20 baht a month to keep the sim active

[vinny41]

Another phone to consider release date was between October and December 2022

Buy Galaxy A04 today, get a free gift worth 2,089.-

Get a free shockproof case and glass film, total value 1,390.-
Promotion on 1 Dec. '22 - 8 Jan. '23 only
at samsung.com.

phone price ฿3,999.00 

https://www.samsung.com/th/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a04-deep-green-32gb-sm-a045fzgdthl/buy/

 

Galaxy A04 receives quartely security updates

https://security.samsungmobile.com/workScope.smsb

[Elkski]

Thanks everyone.  I learned some things about phones from your posts.  I had never thought about updates and security updates lasting different times.  

I buy used phones from private parties.  My last purchase was  a S21 ultra for I think 600usd it was factory refurbished with  new screen and battery.  It's camera is amazing.  That qide angke and 10x optical is amazing.   My S9+ sim card stopped reading I thought it's camera was good but not now. 

 Back to sister's phone and her usage patterns.  She does have Dtac but only adds about 100 baht month load for a few calls when she isn't home.  Rest of the  time she uses line and messenger on good wifi from home.  Her and bro in law are real hard workers from 4am till 8pm.  He doesn't have a phone.  We did plan to take her cracked screen to get fixed at MBK and send it for him to use but that may be kinda dumb to spend $ on such an old phone.  I will inquire if he needs a phone.  He may as he is going to start working for a company soon.  He is a general handyman.  No complaints about this part of my Thai family.  

I'm sure sister isn't one to need a iphone or phone for show.  

Edited January 5, 2023 by Elkski

[Elkski]

Got her a Samsung A03s 64 gb 3900 with a free Bluetooth speaker

[NextG]

30 minutes ago, Elkski said:

Got her a Samsung A03s 64 gb 3900 with a free Bluetooth speaker

That doesn’t fit any of the suggested criteria.

 

Released August 2021 with Android 11. So doesn’t follow vinny41’s guidelines. 
 

Relatively low quality camera and lens. As someone wrote before, pictures are forever. 

 

https://gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a03s-reviews-10937.php

 

There will be the last OS update(to Android 13) this month. 
 

vinny41 suggested the A04 because it was released just a few months ago and I suggested just getting the ‘best bang for your buck’. 
I would have gone for the phone with the better specification. 
In fact vinny41 and I recommended the same phone; Redmi Note 10s and the Poco M5s are the same phone, but the Poco was released with Android 12 just a few months ago, so the better choice.

https://m.gsmarena.com/poco_m5s-review-2478.php

A much nicer phone than the entry level Samsung in my opinion. 
https://m.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=11832&idPhone2=10937

 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by NextG

[ChaiyaTH]

I don't call anything decent for that money + usually it either breaks or the battery is a mess within half a year with the amount Thais use it.

 

Would rather try to get a second hand iPhone in that case or even do a down payment + contract. I know contracts sucks but it could be paid for in 2 years while the phone lasts 3 years and still is worth 5K or more.

 

I replaced my iPhone 11 battery now after 2.5 years daily use (work and private), as well the glass, for like 3K in total AAA parts, and it is like new and will last me another 2 years easily. All this for just 17K new today's price. Not to forget how amazing iphones work too.

Edited January 5, 2023 by ChaiyaTH

[Elkski]

A04 was 5999 bayt and only 32 gb.   It's not like her sister has a computer to look at the pictures.  Battery is 5000 mAh.     I'm sorryi didn't take your exact suggestions to heart but this group doesn't like spending time shopping for deals.  It was hard for me to get them to go to a 2nd store.  We have bought the family so much the past 2 weeks I took the cheaper route but sister is happy.   Most likely the screen will be broken in 12 months.   It Did come with a screen protector and any case and the case is a closeable one.  

[NextG]

14 minutes ago, Elkski said:

A04 was 5999 bayt and only 32 gb.   It's not like her sister has a computer to look at the pictures.  Battery is 5000 mAh.     I'm sorryi didn't take your exact suggestions to heart but this group doesn't like spending time shopping for deals.  It was hard for me to get them to go to a 2nd store.  We have bought the family so much the past 2 weeks I took the cheaper route but sister is happy.   Most likely the screen will be broken in 12 months.   It Did come with a screen protector and any case and the case is a closeable one.  

Why did you need to take them with you?? ☺️

vinny41 kindly posted you a link to the A04 for 3,999, replete with a free case and glass film. 
https://www.samsung.com/th/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a04-deep-green-32gb-sm-a045fzgdthl/buy/

[NextG]

It’s nice you got her a new phone anyway. They won’t be thinking about OS and security updates. They’ll be happy enough to have a clear screen. 
You might have some luck with calling DTAC to obtain an unlimited data at 4Mbps pack for 150 baht per month.

Since they offer that to new numbers, it will be worth it to them to agree to that rather than to lose you to a rival. 

Then she can stream music whilst she works ????

 

[Elkski]

She works near her wifi most of the time.   She Never uses the phone for banking so I'm not sure security is that important.   A very basic user.   I didn't want to open an account and wait to get something shipped here.    Bro in law is the driver and sister was with us to sorta approve a phone color or case and buy some things at the market.      She said thank you .    She may start taking pictures now that her screen works.  Bro in law doesn't want a phone.  He doesn't like doing two things at once and doesn't want to be bothered by a phone.  Very simple life here.  

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

I replaced my iPhone 11 battery now after 2.5 years daily use (work and private), as well the glass, for like 3K in total AAA parts, and it is like new and will last me another 2 years easily. All this for just 17K new today's price. Not to forget how amazing iphones work too.

Not only that but you will get OS and security updates for anywhere from 5 to 8 years from initial release date, so I would expect your phone to be supported at least for the next 2.5 years and useable for several more.

Edited January 5, 2023 by sometimewoodworker

[NoshowJones]

On 1/4/2023 at 10:37 PM, vinny41 said:

Not really you just need to look 

Example flagship store Xiaomi Poco ( for anyone that isnt aware Xiaomi has a number of different brands that target different customers Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco are examples of some of their brands they may have others.

Its important to note that security updates and Android os updates are based on the date that they phone was released into the market not the date that you buy the phone.

So if security updates and Android os updates are important to you look for phones that were released into the market in 2022 ideally in the last quarter of 2022

POCO M5S 4GB+64GB ฿4,650.00 or POCO M5S 4GB+128GB ฿5,140.00

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/poco-m5s-4gb64gb-4gb128gb-15-i4213861380-s16599070323.html?

Xiaomi Poco M5s Android update status

Currently: Android 12

The latest official Android version available for Xiaomi Poco M5s is Android 12. This is the same Android version the phone was originally launched with - it hasn't received any Android updates as of yet. This phone was originally released on 9 / 2022.

Upcoming updates?

Expected: Android 13 and Android 14

Xiaomi has promised to deliver these major Android versions for Xiaomi Poco M5s: Android 13 and Android 14.

However, this is only the manufacturer's promise, as far as we know - Xiaomi might release even further updates to the phone later or might end support earlier on.

https://www.androidupdatetracker.com/p/xiaomi-poco-m5s

 

Poco normally provides 2 year's security updates 

 

Phones that have been updated to Android 13 or the brand has indicated they will update are listed here

Android 13 Update Tracker

Android 13 was officially released on August 15th, 2022

https://www.androidupdatetracker.com/android/13

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/

is a good site for comparing smartphones also it will show release date of the phone 

 

I use a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro good phone but over budget as far as the op price range and was released in March 2021 so nearly 2 years of security updates and Android os updates used with maybe 1 year of updates left

we see some messaging apps that have issues warning that they will no longer support older versions of the Android os so it not only banking apps

 

 

 

 

 

Avoid Xiaomi like the plague, mine is full of hundreds of never used apps and I cannot get rid of them, my camera and torch keeps coming on and the screen keeps changing even though I do not touch it.

[vinny41]

8 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Avoid Xiaomi like the plague, mine is full of hundreds of never used apps and I cannot get rid of them, my camera and torch keeps coming on and the screen keeps changing even though I do not touch it.

Have you performed a full factory reset sounds like you might have some malware

I have owned Xiaomi phones for over 5 years never encounter any problems that your having as for apps i don't need I just uninstalled them

[NoshowJones]

6 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

Have you performed a full factory reset sounds like you might have some malware

I have owned Xiaomi phones for over 5 years never encounter any problems that your having as for apps i don't need I just uninstalled them

it is impossible to uninstall mine. The "disable" does not work, neither does the "force stop".

[vinny41]

8 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

it is impossible to uninstall mine. The "disable" does not work, neither does the "force stop".

Some people have stated  that to uninstall apps you need to uninstall via  settings > Apps > Manage apps?

 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by vinny41

[NoshowJones]

51 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

Some people have stated  that to uninstall apps you need to uninstall via  settings > Apps > Manage apps?

 

 

Yes! and it's a disgrace.

[NoshowJones]

1 minute ago, NoshowJones said:

Yes! and it's a disgrace.

I cannot install the apps. I have done what you have said and all I get s disable and force stop, but when you click on them nothing happens.

[treetops]

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

I cannot install the apps. I have done what you have said and all I get s disable and force stop, but when you click on them nothing happens.

Can you tell us the names of some of these apps?  They may be operating system ones rather than Xiaomi bloatware.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 1/4/2023 at 2:48 PM, lopburi3 said:

Samsung is likely the best choice as most know how to use and they work well

Why Samsung, in particular?  Is there any brand of smart phone at that price that doesn't work well?

[BananaStrong]

3 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Avoid Xiaomi like the plague, mine is full of hundreds of never used apps and I cannot get rid of them, my camera and torch keeps coming on and the screen keeps changing even though I do not touch it.

Xiaomi was NOT as good as I hoped it would be.   A disappointment, but I used it for a few years.

Honor phone better than I thought.

Oppo worse

Apple worse

Another apple worse

Google much better, but not 5000k sorry

and never Samsung.

 

I think Honor is a sub of Huawei, so I guess that's my recommendation around 5k if possible

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, treetops said:

Can you tell us the names of some of these apps?  They may be operating system ones rather than Xiaomi bloatware.

Yes, the majority of them start with com.google.android.ov or

com. miui.core with lot's of other things ie systemui, wallpaper etc.

there are also some of them with com.qualcom.qti--------.

Hope that helps.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

6 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Yes, the majority of them start with com.google.android.ov or

com. miui.core with lot's of other things ie systemui, wallpaper etc.

there are also some of them with com.qualcom.qti--------.

Hope that helps.

 

None of those are apps.

They are all system files. They are usually hidden 

virtually no apps have a “.” In the name none that I know of have more than 1

Edited February 19, 2023 by sometimewoodworker