Samsung S9 - worthwhile upgrade from S7 Edge?
Discussion
I've had my S7 Edge for 3 years - first 2 on contract, last year on SIM only. It's time to renew the contract again.
I'm with Vodafone, as it is the only network that gets a signal in my house. Shame, as most of the other networks seem to be a bit cheaper for SIM only.
I can sign up for another 12 months SIM only for £15 a month (5Gb data), or get an S9 on a 2 year contract for £32 a month.
Going for the upgrade, I'll be paying an extra £408 over the 2 years, although I could sell the S7 for about £100.
Is the S9 enough of an upgrade to warrant spending an extra £300 on a new contract?
I'm with Vodafone, as it is the only network that gets a signal in my house. Shame, as most of the other networks seem to be a bit cheaper for SIM only.
I can sign up for another 12 months SIM only for £15 a month (5Gb data), or get an S9 on a 2 year contract for £32 a month.
Going for the upgrade, I'll be paying an extra £408 over the 2 years, although I could sell the S7 for about £100.
Is the S9 enough of an upgrade to warrant spending an extra £300 on a new contract?
£32 sounds kind of expensive when you consider the S9 is nearly 2 years old.
Its a shame you're limited to vodafone due to signal issues, I ditched them 18 months ago because despite being a customer for over 15 years and having a 10% discount via my employer and speaking to retentions several times I could still get a better deal by walking in to an O2 shop. I ordered my PAC code and off I went.
They rang me up several weeks after I transferred and asked if I'd cancel my new O2 contract and go back to them if they could to a deal. Too little, too late.
Its a shame you're limited to vodafone due to signal issues, I ditched them 18 months ago because despite being a customer for over 15 years and having a 10% discount via my employer and speaking to retentions several times I could still get a better deal by walking in to an O2 shop. I ordered my PAC code and off I went.
They rang me up several weeks after I transferred and asked if I'd cancel my new O2 contract and go back to them if they could to a deal. Too little, too late.
£32 is expensive considering Mobile Phones Direct are doing them for £24. A little less if you can be bothered with Cashback. I think £32 would get you an S10, unless that was a black friday only deal last week.
I just got an S9 to replace an S7 (non-edge) for my wife, it's mile miles better. The sim-only equivalent from O2 is £15 a month, so it worked out at £270 for the phone, which is a bargain. New they're £350-400 on eBay.
I just got an S9 to replace an S7 (non-edge) for my wife, it's mile miles better. The sim-only equivalent from O2 is £15 a month, so it worked out at £270 for the phone, which is a bargain. New they're £350-400 on eBay.
Still a very good phone but not at that monthly - I was looking at an S9+ via one of the resellers 6 months ago, 6gb on EE, for £26pm.
Also the S11 will be out in March, it'll be two generations old and Samsung aren't exactly notorious for long term support.
Get on to VF and tell them you're leaving, they'll sort you something decent out IME - my Mrs has been with them for around 15 years and haggles the hell out of them whenever her contract ends, she got an Huawei P20 Pro (think it was 3-4 months after it released?) and 30gb data for £31pm. If retentions can't offer a reasonable deal ask for your PAC code and wait until they call you in a few days with a revised offer.
Also the S11 will be out in March, it'll be two generations old and Samsung aren't exactly notorious for long term support.
Get on to VF and tell them you're leaving, they'll sort you something decent out IME - my Mrs has been with them for around 15 years and haggles the hell out of them whenever her contract ends, she got an Huawei P20 Pro (think it was 3-4 months after it released?) and 30gb data for £31pm. If retentions can't offer a reasonable deal ask for your PAC code and wait until they call you in a few days with a revised offer.
Thanks for the replies so far.
It seems that the S9 would be a worthwhile upgrade, so the choice is getting one from Vodafone as an upgrade, or buying one SIM-free.
Looking around, buying a SIM-free S9 doesn't save that much - maybe a pound or two a month over 2 years. Probably worth buying from Vodafone to save any warranty hassle.
There are some deals with third-party sellers on Vodafone that have lower monthly cost, but only because they charge quite a lot up-front.
I'll try and get Vodafone to lower the cost a bit by calling them.
I stated in my original post that I'm stuck with Vodafone because it's the only network that works in my house. I think that a lot of other providers use the 3 network, and it's impossible to hold a voice call indoors on 3. The phone will probably ring when an incoming call is received, but signal drops as soon as the phone is moved away from the windows. Tried with phones on BT, Tesco, 3, EE, TalkTalk, etc. Various iPhones, Samsung and Sony. Same problem with all of them.
It really does have to be Vodafone.
I wonder what happens if I do nothing, don't sign a new contract now, but wait a few months for the next Samsung product launch? Presumably they will just keep my existing SIM-only contract running at the current price?
It seems that the S9 would be a worthwhile upgrade, so the choice is getting one from Vodafone as an upgrade, or buying one SIM-free.
Looking around, buying a SIM-free S9 doesn't save that much - maybe a pound or two a month over 2 years. Probably worth buying from Vodafone to save any warranty hassle.
There are some deals with third-party sellers on Vodafone that have lower monthly cost, but only because they charge quite a lot up-front.
I'll try and get Vodafone to lower the cost a bit by calling them.
I stated in my original post that I'm stuck with Vodafone because it's the only network that works in my house. I think that a lot of other providers use the 3 network, and it's impossible to hold a voice call indoors on 3. The phone will probably ring when an incoming call is received, but signal drops as soon as the phone is moved away from the windows. Tried with phones on BT, Tesco, 3, EE, TalkTalk, etc. Various iPhones, Samsung and Sony. Same problem with all of them.
It really does have to be Vodafone.
I wonder what happens if I do nothing, don't sign a new contract now, but wait a few months for the next Samsung product launch? Presumably they will just keep my existing SIM-only contract running at the current price?
Look at mobilephonesdirect prices, Vodafone will bend you over. And if you stay on your contract and wait for the S11 you'll be paying the rental on the S7 for longer than necessary, it's just money down the toilet.
When the S11 comes out you'll have 6 months at £50 a month before it starts to drop to a sensible amount so that's a long time paying extra on the S7. You might as well look at S10 prices as there's no reason not to take the later phone other than it'll cost you a bit more.
If you have to stay on Vodafone and you want to keep your number, then you can take out a new contract at a sensible price, then PAC your number to a PAYG sim on another network and then PAC it back to Vodafone on the new contract. Pain in the arse, but getting a new phone via Vodafone direct will cost you at least a couple of hundred quid more.
When the S11 comes out you'll have 6 months at £50 a month before it starts to drop to a sensible amount so that's a long time paying extra on the S7. You might as well look at S10 prices as there's no reason not to take the later phone other than it'll cost you a bit more.
If you have to stay on Vodafone and you want to keep your number, then you can take out a new contract at a sensible price, then PAC your number to a PAYG sim on another network and then PAC it back to Vodafone on the new contract. Pain in the arse, but getting a new phone via Vodafone direct will cost you at least a couple of hundred quid more.
paulrockliffe said:
Look at mobilephonesdirect prices, Vodafone will bend you over. And if you stay on your contract and wait for the S11 you'll be paying the rental on the S7 for longer than necessary, it's just money down the toilet.
When the S11 comes out you'll have 6 months at £50 a month before it starts to drop to a sensible amount so that's a long time paying extra on the S7. You might as well look at S10 prices as there's no reason not to take the later phone other than it'll cost you a bit more.
If you have to stay on Vodafone and you want to keep your number, then you can take out a new contract at a sensible price, then PAC your number to a PAYG sim on another network and then PAC it back to Vodafone on the new contract. Pain in the arse, but getting a new phone via Vodafone direct will cost you at least a couple of hundred quid more.
S9 on contract with Vodafone will cost me an extra £17 a month over the cost of a SIM-only contract - same data allowance.When the S11 comes out you'll have 6 months at £50 a month before it starts to drop to a sensible amount so that's a long time paying extra on the S7. You might as well look at S10 prices as there's no reason not to take the later phone other than it'll cost you a bit more.
If you have to stay on Vodafone and you want to keep your number, then you can take out a new contract at a sensible price, then PAC your number to a PAYG sim on another network and then PAC it back to Vodafone on the new contract. Pain in the arse, but getting a new phone via Vodafone direct will cost you at least a couple of hundred quid more.
Over the 2 year contract, that's an extra £408.
Best price that I can find for a brand new S9 is £379, although refurbs can be found for a little under £300, or secondhand for a bit over £200. I could save £30 by buying a new one elsewhere, or just over £100 if I bought a refurb and took a chance on it having been repaired properly.
I've not been able to find any way of saving more than £30 (for a brand new S9) and sticking with a Vodafone contract (SIM-only, or SIM and phone).
The S7 is currently a couple of weeks away from the end of a 12 month SIM-only contract, for which I've been paying £17 a month.
clockworks said:
paulrockliffe said:
Look at mobilephonesdirect prices, Vodafone will bend you over. And if you stay on your contract and wait for the S11 you'll be paying the rental on the S7 for longer than necessary, it's just money down the toilet.
When the S11 comes out you'll have 6 months at £50 a month before it starts to drop to a sensible amount so that's a long time paying extra on the S7. You might as well look at S10 prices as there's no reason not to take the later phone other than it'll cost you a bit more.
If you have to stay on Vodafone and you want to keep your number, then you can take out a new contract at a sensible price, then PAC your number to a PAYG sim on another network and then PAC it back to Vodafone on the new contract. Pain in the arse, but getting a new phone via Vodafone direct will cost you at least a couple of hundred quid more.
S9 on contract with Vodafone will cost me an extra £17 a month over the cost of a SIM-only contract - same data allowance.When the S11 comes out you'll have 6 months at £50 a month before it starts to drop to a sensible amount so that's a long time paying extra on the S7. You might as well look at S10 prices as there's no reason not to take the later phone other than it'll cost you a bit more.
If you have to stay on Vodafone and you want to keep your number, then you can take out a new contract at a sensible price, then PAC your number to a PAYG sim on another network and then PAC it back to Vodafone on the new contract. Pain in the arse, but getting a new phone via Vodafone direct will cost you at least a couple of hundred quid more.
Over the 2 year contract, that's an extra £408.
Best price that I can find for a brand new S9 is £379, although refurbs can be found for a little under £300, or secondhand for a bit over £200. I could save £30 by buying a new one elsewhere, or just over £100 if I bought a refurb and took a chance on it having been repaired properly.
I've not been able to find any way of saving more than £30 (for a brand new S9) and sticking with a Vodafone contract (SIM-only, or SIM and phone).
The S7 is currently a couple of weeks away from the end of a 12 month SIM-only contract, for which I've been paying £17 a month.
I haven't looked at Vodafone, but just had a quick look now; they'll do you an S8 rather than the S9 on a similar deal, which seems poor. I did leave Vodafone recently because they're just not competitive these days, but you said you need to stick so perhaps buying outright will be cheapest.
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