Refurb, rewrap, reconnect: tips for gifting phones

Who doesn’t want a nice piece of tech all wrapped up for the holiday season? Well, we’ve got some sparkling tips for you on how to gift reused, rewrapped and reconnected phones. The family will be happy and so will your bank balance.

Refurb: Grab a great deal

Think a refurbished phone feels like a gamble? It’s not. With top-quality devices that have stood the test of time, going refurbished is a smart move to make, whether it’s for you or someone lucky enough to get the gift.

Before you splash out on something new, consider pre-owned. Choose refurbished, trade in your old phone to save, and keep saving with a SMARTY SIM plan.

Here are some top tips on where to get big brands for smaller prices, including exclusive discounts for refurbished phones with reboxed® for SMARTY customers.

Rewrap: Check your drawers

You know that kitchen or bedside drawer? The ones that you just throw bits and bobs in? Well, there’s probably an old phone in there needing some love. Yes, apparently there are over 200 million unused, ‘lost’ devices in our UK homes! It’s time to free them.

You’ll need to do a few quick security steps before rewrapping, think of them as a little lock on your stuff so only you get to peek.

1- Save your photos and videos by transferring them to a computer or an external hard drive or back them up on a cloud service like Google Photos, Dropbox, or iCloud. Both methods move the data off the old phone.

2- Once you’ve saved things, be sure to remove the old SIM card to protect your personal information.

3- Remove and log out of all accounts such as Google or iCloud from the phone.

4 - Perform a factory reset to erase all data from the device. You must do this before gifting it.

For Android: Open Settings, go to System, then Reset options, and select Erase all data (factory reset).

For iPhone: Open Settings, go to General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone, and choose Erase All Content and Settings.

Once you’ve reset your device, wrap it up and stick it under the tree!

If you can’t think of anyone who should get this techy treat, you could always donate it to charity and kick start that Christmas cheer:

British Heart Foundation

Little Lives UK: Children’s Charity

Reconnect: Give the gift of data

An unlimited data plan sits right at the top of most kids’ wish lists. Data is pure gold to teens (they’re far less fussed about frankincense and myrrh). With SMARTY’s flexible plans, you can dial data up or down to match the month. Savvy parents go unlimited for the holidays, then ease it back in term time. Genius, plus no chimney-sneaking required.

And if you’re tempted to treat yourself too, go for it. There’s no rule saying the grown-ups can’t enjoy a little extra data magic.