Last Updated on June 7, 2019 by TM

Four years ago, if you ask me weather or not to buy cheap android phones in Nigeria, my answer would be “hell no”. These days, i must confess that there have been tremendous improvement in the quality of cheap android phones in Nigeria as compared to previous years, all thanks to technological advancement. Even at that i still have my doubts.

Buying a cheap android phone in Nigeria is not always the best choice but that’s definately not for me to decide. Each situation is always different but i think taking that bold step to buy a cheap android phone in Nigeria is a decision only you can take.

I love quality stuffs and have always enjoyed using them. The android market for cheap android phones in Nigeria is like a work in progress and i suggest we should still give it some time to mature.

I like to play it safe atimes by saving less, enjoying more and going for the best. Even when the quality of cheap android phones in Nigeria have slightly improved, i suggest you find time to examine your decision carefully before putting in your money to buy one.

Before i start, permit me to say this

“Buying cheap android phones in Nigeria is like throwing two dices on a table and expecting either a positive or negative outcome. In most cases, the probability of getting a positive outcome is always very slim. I would say it’s like a “try your luck” kind of thing were the few lucky once get to benefit and others pay the price for their wrong choices.”

Here are a few things to consider before making your final move.

1.Look beneath the present

Reliability is a bit of a challenge with most cheap android phones in Nigeria. A high-end android phone can keep you going for five years and more without any major issue if well taken care of but a low-end android phone will certainly not survive this because they are more fragile and most times have low quality hardware.

Operating system update is another area of challenge with most cheap android phones in Nigeria.It’s high time you ask yourself if the cheap android phone you are thinking of buying will see the next version of android operating system and if it does, it will definately be the last, this is because majority of the manufacturers of this cheap android phones lack the manpower to continously support these set of phones on the long-run.

The first thing i do before buying a smartphone (preferable android) is to get informations about the futuristic lifespan of the phone. Aside finding out it’s unique features, i have to ensure it doesn’t get useless after a year or two because i personally dislike changing phones too often. I therefore have to ensure i buy an andriod phone that is ready to serve me for as long as i want it to.

Operating system update and hardware quality are very important to me when buying any android phone in Nigeria. I would’nt like to spend so much on a smartphone with low hardware quality and non-upgradeable operating system. I therefore recommend you take this into consideration before buying any cheap andriod phone in Ngeria.

Think about your safety

How safe are you? this is the first question i put across to anyone wanting to buy cheap andriod phones in Nigeria. Our andriod phones store alot of private and confidential informations about us like our ID, socialmedia login password, private chats and photos with loved ones, bank details, e-mail data and security password, informations about our daily task, among others.

This is why it is very necessary to take security factor very serious when buying cheap andriod phones in Nigeria because anyone can easily access your private and confidential information if they simply know your password. A password is not strong enough to keep you safe because it can also get hacked.

The goodnews is; google not too long ago introduced a new biometric security feature called the finger print sensor or scanner and face ID to allow you feel more safe and secure with your andriod phones. The finger print sensor allow only you to exclusively unlock your locked andriod phone by simply placing your finger print on it.

And the badnews is; majority of the manufacturers of cheap andriod phones currently do not have this features and are not sure to get it soon. This is because of the additional cost they would incure when a finger print sensor is included, which will definately increase the phone’s total cost.

Consider the quality

Most cheap android phones in Nigeria are usually of poor quality and lack the basic features needed in an android phone. They either have poor camera, low-end processor or an older snapdragon chip, low storage system, low quality hardware, non-upgradeable operating sytem and poor display.

The display of most cheap android phones in Nigeria are of low resolution as compared to modern flagships. The display may be decent but the camera are most times disappointing. If a quality camera is a must-have for your next android phone, a cheap android phone is definately not for you.

I remmembered a friend who bought a cheap android phone in Nigeria some years back. It wasn’t even up to a year when the phone suddenly stopped working (it just refused to turn on). We took it to a repair shop around my neighbourhood for repair.

After series of examination by the phone repairer, we were told that the phone has a 50% chance of survival (good news right). My friend suddenly became happy about the possibility of his phone coming back to life again until we heard the price.

The price wasn’t cheap as compared to the price my friend bought the phone. My friend being inexperience wanted to pay for it’s repair because of the love he had for his phone. I immediately discourage him and told him to forget about the phone but rather save some money for another one.

I discouraged him because cheap andriod phones are prone to multiple repairs after their first repair (this means more expense). He was wise enough to listen to my advice even though it was a hard decision for him to make.

Availability of hardware component

Getting hardware component for most cheap android phones in Nigeria is very challenging. Atimes, you might just be in need of it’s battery, screen or may be you misplaced the backcover of your andriod phone and needed a replacement.

Whichever the case, it’s either you find your damage hardware component to buy at a high price or you don’t get to see them at all. When a cheap android phone gets bad or develops a fault, getting it fixed is always a challenge even when you got lucky repairing it the first time, it is likely to develop a fault the second time.

After that, it goes on and on until you become tired of repairs. At this stage, when you sum up the cost of the series of repairs with the price in which the phone was bought, you will be surprise to find out that the money you have spent so far is enough to buy you a flagship phone.

Three years ago, i got an offer to buy a cheap andriod phone in Nigeria at an incredibly low price, the price was very low because the screen and touchpad were both bad. I saw this as an opportunity to make some money because i have done this before with some high-end smartphones and wanted to do the same this time.

I immediately paid for the phone and took it to a phone repairer for the repair. The phone repairer after searching for the touchscreen and the screen, he was only able to buy and fix the touchscreen which i paid for and told me he would help me contact some of his friends to assist in the search.

I kept on visiting the phone repairer and continued checking other places for the screen but i wasn’t lucky enough to find any. I ended up making a loss rather than profit. Since then, i have always ensured i buy andriod phones with locally available hardware component.

Final thoughts:

Making the right choice of selecting cheap andriod phone to buy in Nigeria has never been easy especially when you have little or low budget. Whichever the case, you can always make the right choice and get value for your money.

Weather or not you decide to buy cheap andriod phones in Nigeria, always ensure you take the above factors into consideration before buying cheap andriod phones in Nigeria. Best of luck!