Vivax Smartphones used and refurbished

If the name Vivax makes you think of a TV or an air conditioner rather than a phone, that's no surprise. It's a Croatian brand from the M SAN group that has been selling consumer electronics since 2004 and moved into smartphones in 2013. Its phones are designed in Croatia and made in China. It's best known in its home country and the surrounding region, and less common outside its home region.

In this category you'll find used and refurbished Vivax phones, specifically the Vivax Point X503 – a simple phone from the Point series. Before a handset goes on sale, SWOPiFY partners give it a technical check and, if needed, a repair as well.

Which Vivax phones will you find in this category?

The Vivax Point X503 is an entry-level smartphone, and it's worth saying so plainly. It has a 5.7-inch HD+ screen, a Unisoc SC9863A chip, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage, which you can expand with a microSD card. There's a 13 MP camera on the back, a 5 MP one on the front and a 3000 mAh battery. It works on LTE networks – there's no 5G here. It has two nanoSIM slots, although the second one shares its space with the memory card.

Who is this phone for? Someone who needs a working phone for calls, texts, a messaging app and navigation and doesn't want to spend much. It works well as a spare phone, for the allotment or for travelling, as a second work number or as a child's first phone. For games and demanding apps, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Why consider a refurbished Vivax phone?

A refurbished Vivax costs less than the same model bought new, and with a phone that's cheap by design, that means a purchase you don't need to plan for long. If the phone is going to sit in the car just in case, or go to a child who might lose it, the low price is the main argument here.

The second argument is about hardware that already exists. A simple smartphone often ends up in a drawer just because its owner bought a newer one, even though the old one still works. When it goes back into use, there's no need to make another. We won't call it a fully green purchase, because that would be an exaggeration, but it's one less phone in the e-waste pile.

What should you check before buying?

The Point X503 runs Android 9, a version that stopped getting security patches from Google a long time ago. Before you buy, check that the apps you care about – mobile banking, messaging apps, payment apps – still support this system. Don't count on NFC or contactless payments by phone either. 16 GB fills up fast, so plan for a microSD card for photos and music from the start.

In this category you can filter Vivax phones by:

• storage – currently 16 GB;
• RAM – currently 2 GB;
• colour;
• price range;
• condition.

With a phone this simple, battery condition matters more than how the body looks. If it's mainly going to be a spare, choose a cheaper condition grade. If it's going to be a child's or an older person's everyday phone, it's better to pay a bit more for a unit in better condition.

What does the technical check involve?

Every smartphone in this category goes through a 44-point checklist. The checks cover, among other things:

• the screen – touch and cosmetic condition;
• the battery – health and physical condition;
• the front and rear cameras;
• the fingerprint reader and face recognition, if the model has them;
• connectivity – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS;
• detection of both SIM cards and the microSD card;
• microphone and speaker;
• ports and connectors.

The checks are carried out by SWOPiFY partners, electronics refurbishment specialists chosen through a multi-stage selection process. They're the ones who judge whether a phone needs repairing before it goes back on sale.

Can you trust refurbished Vivax phones?

The refurbished Vivax phones in this category are used devices. They aren't sold as new, and we never suggest they are. The condition of each unit is described by one of four grades: Premium, Very good, Good or Fair, and each has its own requirements for appearance, battery and the parts used.

Every purchase comes with a warranty. When you're buying a phone from a less widely known brand, that matters even more – if something goes wrong, you're not left dealing with it on your own.

Got an old phone you no longer use?

Trade it in through our buyback programme and bring down the cost of your next purchase. You'll save yourself posting ads and haggling with buyers, and the phone goes back into circulation.

Browse the available Vivax models and see whether a simple, cheap smartphone is exactly what you're after.