Lately I have been getting through phones like they are going out of fashion, I have had 3 Motorola G4s and 2 Wiley Fox fuckers this year, both of which have developed serious faults in the first few months and have had to be returned. My phones don’t have a hard life, I always use a hard backed shock-proof case and they very rarely get bashed. Looking for something with at least 16GB, preferably 32GB + expandable with memory card, and all the usual whistles and bells. I am not willing to spend a fortune so £200 max. Any (sensible 
) suggestions?
Oneplus get good reviews and the Oneplus 3 is around £200 on ebay
They seem to be more like £300 and up Chris.
Should have said I would like to buy new mate. Considering this:-
In all seriousness, why not separate the phone and mp3 functions? Go for a tough, brutal non-nonsense phone if you need to and use whatever mp3 player in your pocket along the way? It maybe a pita to have the 2 items to pocket, but can’t be more of an issue than 6 replacements in 12 months either?
As I said, they don’t get knocked about, most have failed in the 1st 3 months from either battery failure or like the current one, which is slightly under a week old and randomly turns itself off. Also on this job earphones are a no no, so bluetooth to speaker is essential.
I assume your backing these to the vendor under the warranty?
Yes Jim.
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I must be a careful owner.
I get 2 years + use from all my smart phones and then put them on music server duty playing mostly Swedish radio in to various radios…
I did have the now ancient Nokia 520 just die, would not power up at all.
My Lumia 640 retired to radio duty last July is still going strong and my current Lenovo (Moto G5) is going well.
I use it a lot in the workshop to check specs, dimensions and materials mass calculators.
It’s my sat nav both in car and on bike.
Gestures to camera and torch working are used all the time.
I got the Lenovo based on having several laptops of theirs that have been excellent.
I still use a x200 daily. That started out on XP and is very happy on W10.
So I have a history of devices lasting well.
Is the G4 of different lineage then the G5?
Recently got a Nokia 3 for the wife.
Fits in the Lumia 640 case and seems solid at £99!
It has the best signal reception in our poor area of any phone we’ve had. Inc. a Nokia 5…
The Moto g5 was £90 on black Friday, might still be around at that price or close. It’s the standard rec for cheap phones.
Ultimately, if you get to use it for free for a few months and then return, is that so bad?
I use one of these:
It makes phone calls and everything 
TBF I use summat very similar. I don’t have a need for a Smartphone yet.
It’s just a pita having to post them back and transfer all the info and music etc.
I’ve had loads of mobiles over the years and not one has ever gone rong.
You obviously have the same effect on phones as you do on carts John…
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I’ve had a couple go wrong; in each case I got a refund after 6-12m of use. Frankly I was delighted to have the free use of expensive devices for ages!
Why? I have bought my last three phones off eBay, secondhand, and they were all like new, and much cheaper, and none have given me any trouble.
There are always lots of people who want to try the newest phone in the first couple of months, then move on to something else. A great way to save, and it is not as if you are having good luck buying new!