Mobile installments: Vodafone, Lowi, Yoigo and more, are they worth it? All you need to know

Buying mobiles in installments through an operator is common and has certain advantages, but also some drawbacks that you must take into account.

Buying a new mobile is something that for one reason or another we do every few years, and that is because technology advances and terminals become semi-obsolete relatively quickly. Since not everyone can afford the latest phone from their favorite brand, some people are looking for options to get it.

One of them, the most basic and oldest, is finance it and buy the mobile in installments, from Vodafone, Movistar, Yoigo or any other operatorand it is that the telephone companies usually give their clients facilities to pay the cost of the mobile along with the telephone bill, month by month.

However, This practice has advantages and, above all, disadvantages.which we will analyze below, assessing the alternatives to financing a mobile phone via the operator.

There are and in many cases in better conditions, without having to tie yourself to a certain rate for 2-3 years, which is usual in the case of mobile phones in installments of telephone signatures.

1. All operators offer it but what is the fine print?
2. You can end up paying more than the mobile costs
3. What alternatives are there? Many stores already offer better options
4. Refurbished ones are the best option if you are looking for cheap mobiles, in installments or not

Permanence, the main problem

Normally, when financing a mobile with the operator you have to meet several requirements. The first of them is usually to sign up with it, request portability or be a client, something obvious.

Nevertheless, in many cases, especially in high-end terminals, it is also required that you have a specific rateand that makes the actual price you pay for the phone much higher than you think.

If instead of a rate of 40 euros per month you can live with a rate of 20 euros, why pay more? Because you need to finance the mobile you are looking for. The company knows it and squeezes it.

Besides, There is also another fine print that is just as important, and that is permanence.. Normally it is two years, 24 months, during which you will not be able to change companies unless you pay a penalty, even if better offers and rates appear.

In a sector as dynamic as telephony, tying yourself to a rate for two years is undoubtedly a tactical error.

Interest and high prices: two problems to be taken into account

Not all companies finance phones for their customers for free (although we have already seen that it is free before, it cannot be said that it is free if you have permanence and a fixed rate), and there are some that charge interest on what is still a loan.

On Movistar’s own website Its conditions for financing a mobile are explained, while to buy a mobile in installments from Jazztel, Vodafone or Yoigo (among others) you have to see the conditions terminal by terminal.

That said, there is something else. Although the mobile is financed at 0% interest, its price is usually the launch price, and there you lose money. All mobiles drop in price little by little, they depreciate over the months, so if you don’t see it below its launch price, they are overcharging you.

Financing in stores, a good alternative

We are now going to the alternative of buying a mobile phone from an operator and paying for it little by little: there are already several stores that have allied themselves with financial companies to finance their purchases from users, and one of them is Amazon, for example.

Interest is usually 2-3% APR and they are usually processed quite quickly, so the conditions are advantageous, especially because on Amazon, PcComponentes and others you can get products on sale.

You save entry whatever the price is reduced, and you do not have permanence at a rate. Not only that, but you can finance everything you want, not only mobile phones but also laptops, tablets or televisions.

Refurbished are the best savings option, although they also have fine print

See Refurbished on Amazon

If you do not know the reconditioned products, here we tell you what you should know point by point. They are devices that have been sold before but were returned for very different reasons, so they are sold cheaper.

In most stores they have a minimum one year guarantee and the conditions of sale or return are the same as for other products.

Not only that, but at least in Amazon Warehouse (where Amazon sells its refurbished products) also accept financing. When paying, you just have to select “See more” and choose one of the two financing options.