Yet another what phone thread! Up to £300

Pho

Pho

Soldato
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I woke yesterday morning to a smashed screen, I must have put my elbow on it during the night or something. There's a massive round black spot, ghosting, and mirroring of the image with rainbow colours all over it. The touchscreen still works and I can pull any files off I need but I think it's dead :(.

I'm looking for something which matches these requirements:

  • Rootable (and can be hidden so Android Pay can still be used) - I'm a developer and SSH access is handy
  • Can run custom ROMs - so I can keep current with the latest Android OS, lineageOS or something popular preferably
  • Decent camera
  • Decent bright screen
  • SD card would be great but not a deal breaker
  • Somewhere around a 5.2" - 6" screen

I've spent quite a bit of a time looking and I keep getting deeper down the rabbit hole of choice. I'm more than happy buying second hand, I'd rather get more for my money than buying a new one.

I've come across a whole load of options;

Any ideas before I drive myself mad? I'm currently thinking the S7 Edge or OnePlus is probably the one to go for, leaning towards the OnePlus but I'm not sure! Design wise the OnePlus looks so much nicer than Samsung though.

Other than eBay where else should I be looking? The for sale section on here doesn't have many of these coming up, and eBay works out quite a lot more expensive.

Cheers :)
 
Soldato
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I just picked up an LG V20 for ~270 - worth a look!

5.7" screen, 2560*1440
So very bright
Camera seems fine so far
SD card and Dual SIM

No idea about the rootable/custom ROM thing. Got out of that some time ago!
 

Pho

Pho

Soldato
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I just picked up an LG V2A0 for ~270 - worth a look!

5.7" screen, 2560*1440
So very bright
Camera seems fine so far
SD card and Dual SIM

No idea about the rootable/custom ROM thing. Got out of that some time ago!

Ah good call, I was looking at a V20 quite a while back actually. Hopefully LG have finally sorted themselves out.

I only want custom ROMs so I don't end up running a really outdated version after the manufacturer abandon them as I tend to keep phones until they die.

Out of all of those the OP3T is probably your best bet if you want to run custom ROMs. I'm using one now with Android 8.1 and it's a fantastic phone.

Awesome :). Looks like the battery isn't too difficult to change either if it eventually ends up going too. You have to pull the screen off the Samsung's to get to it :/

The only thing I'm slightly put off by is the PPI. Shame it doesn't have ~500 :(
 
Soldato
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Ah good call, I was looking at a V20 quite a while back actually. Hopefully LG have finally sorted themselves out.

I only want custom ROMs so I don't end up running a really outdated version after the manufacturer abandon them as I tend to keep phones until they die.

Only real downside is an LCD screen instead of AMOLED but I'm not finding it a big deal tbh!
 

Pho

Pho

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Only real downside is an LCD screen instead of AMOLED but I'm not finding it a big deal tbh!

Heh. My old LG had a pretty excellent screen and that was LCD - I guess a top quality LCD is better than a cheap AMOLED.. at least that's how I'll justify it to myself!
 
Associate
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essex
I just picked up an LG V20 for ~270 - worth a look!

5.7" screen, 2560*1440
So very bright
Camera seems fine so far
SD card and Dual SIM

No idea about the rootable/custom ROM thing. Got out of that some time ago!
Hi,Seriously thinking about trying the lg v20,can I ask if you purchased via eBay? and if you wouldn't mind which seller? Thanks
 
Soldato
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Hi,Seriously thinking about trying the lg v20,can I ask if you purchased via eBay? and if you wouldn't mind which seller? Thanks

Yeah eBay special from buybuybox3 I think it was. Took ages to get shipping but then next day once it entered the postal system. I suspect when you ordered they get a phone sent from HK to EU and cover import fees that way and then send it on.

Price has shot up since I bought though!
 
Soldato
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Awesome :). Looks like the battery isn't too difficult to change either if it eventually ends up going too.

The only thing I'm slightly put off by is the PPI. Shame it doesn't have ~500 :(

Battery life on the 3T on Oreo is absolutely fantastic as well. Can get over 5 hours SOT when on wifi at home.
The screen is only 1080p but it's good enough.
 
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If your after a long battery life then maybe this >
Smartphone 4G Android 7.0 with 10000mAh Big Battery,OUKITEL K10000 PRO Sim Free Mobile phone (MTK6750T Octa Core 1.5GHz,3GB RAM + 32GB ROM,5.5" FHD Display,13MP camera Fingerprint OTG GPS) - Black
 

Pho

Pho

Soldato
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Completely forgot to update this thread but I went for a OnePlus 3 in the end. Really nice phone, and was pretty simple to unlock and root :).

OxygenOS is really nice but setting up my sound preferences how I want them is a complete nightmare. Calls: vibrate, work VOIP app: vibrate, everything else: silent. Do not disturb doesn't let you turn the volume down to 0 - apparently this was a "feature" !

I'm a massive fan of the fingerprint sensor though, I thought they were just a gimmick at first but it's really handy
 

Pho

Pho

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I just can't fathom why they'd not just let you slide it down to zero, it makes no sense.

Yeah I seem to remember reading that. I think I read this was the last major OxygenOS update for this phone so once Lineage goes stable I'll jump ship I think.
 

Pho

Pho

Soldato
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Thanks Pho, was looking on the usual chinese/Hong Kong sites but will check out ebay options. You got it for a good price.

Yeah if you're patient you can get some good deals on eBay.

I've a friend who lives in Hong Kong so I was thinking about asking him to nip to the tech district, buy me one for cheap and ship me it but figured I'd not save too much in the end :).
 
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