Sorry as I imagine this question must have been asked at some point.
Both my wife and I have ancient Softbank iphones (Gen 7 and 8), and mine has finally given up the ghost (my son shattered the screen). Because my wife’s whole family is enrolled in Softbank’s family plan, we don’t intend to change the provider, or want to switch from iphone.
I don’t think we need latest gen phones, as I’d like them to be affordable, so a 12 Pro Max is probably about right for me (big hands). Currently, I’m leaning toward one of the refurbished ones sold on Amazon without a sim-card, so I can just transfer the card over from my 7. Are there any better ways to do this when both of us need new phones?
Now if only someone would come break my 10-year-old television, too…
5 comments
Grab a second hand one from Mercari. If you don’t want to spend a lot I’d recommend iphone 11, they are decent enough and shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg by now. Ahhh make sure it accepts the same sim card size as your 7/8, I can’t recall what was it otherwise you’ll have to contact softbank for new sim card.
Basically, amazon or Rakuten or mercari, wherever you buy it just make sure it’s sim free. I’d go with whatever shop offers the best price.
I’d be happy to give you one for cheap as I’m sitting on a pile of them (recently swapped my entire office to 14s) but sadly my manager is not keen on selling them for some reason.
As much as it pains me to say this, go to the SoftBank store. They have brand new phones on installments and carrier and store specific promos running all the time. Plus if your buying two they will love you more.
If you want used, I would buy from iosys or some other physical store in Tokyo that has a store and you can pickup the phone and see the scratches before you buy.
I suggest switching to Y-mobile. This way you get to keep that family plan while probably also reducing your monthly bill.
As for the device, I suggest just grabbing a second hand from iosys/mercari or buying a new one from apple store. You can get interest-free installment using paydi, if that’s what you are after.
Generally speaking, I think that while carriers do offer some discount on the device, they tend to overcharge the monthly fee to make that money back.
If you prefer refurbished iphones, you can check apple’s refurbished store [https://www.apple.com/jp/shop/refurbished/iphone](https://www.apple.com/jp/shop/refurbished/iphone)
The stocks are updated periodically (I’ve seen iphone 13 series being sold)
It is pricier but they are generally safer
check out janpara they have used phones for reasonable prices. carrier locked phones are more cheaper in my experience.