My daughter is after an Apple phone as a back up in case her phone is lost/stolen while travelling in South East Asia. It needs to be an Apple product that is esim capable. Thinking about an SE or similar. Does anyone have recommendations for reputable Australian retailers selling refurbed / used Apple phone products?
Used Apple Phone as a Back up for Travel
rtnicho on 26/07/2025 - 17:26
Comments
Too much of a time lag. She wants to replace ASAP.
I aspire to live a life where buying a phone and restoring from backup is too time critical for me.
Unless of course you are a young woman travelling by herself in the middle of Cambodia.
@rtnicho: Cambodia == a relatively safe destination for solo travelers (regardless of sexual orientation).
crime (against tourists) is also lower than other SEA areas.but then, it is all relative … which part of Cambodia to be exact?
+++ is she travelling in a group tour booking? or truly 100% solo (winging it).I'd prob be more concerned about what mobile network she is with + INT roaming +++ is she going to buy a local SIM ???
Rather than having a backup phone on hand.
The iPhone 16e is terrific value for a new iPhone
If you want even cheaper then the iPhone SE 2022 is a great phone if you dont mind the smaller screen
But stay well away from the SE 2020.
iPhone seems like overkill for a backup phone.
Why not get a cheap(ish) android like this Motorola G85 for $239Yeah, thanks. My thoughts too. But she wants an iphone.
Is she paying for it?
Agree. Let her choose and let her pay
Restoring your phone how it was from a cloud backup is pretty important; all your password managing and banking and social apps and all sorts you use every day. Notes app alone you will miss until you get another iPhone.
Depends what you need from a backup. In my mind it’s something to get you by in the off chance something happens to your primary, not a complete replacement.
You could setup things like passwords and social apps on the backup in advance. Important things like banking login should be remembered. Notes sync with the cloud so should be retrievable.Why not just get the old used iPhone though? They can just sell it when they get back from their travels, they'll get closer to what they paid for it than they would from a Motorola G85, so it could even save them money.
@AustriaBargain: I assumed the phone would be kept as a backup for future uses but yeah I guess that could work too.
Only concern might be if the battery is worn on a second hand phone
Green Gadgets.
I got an iPhone SE 2020 | New Battery (Refurbished)
256GB / Red / Very Good
All for $270.
But if you want eSIM, you are talking Apple iPhone 16 at over $1000.But if you want eSIM, you are talking Apple iPhone 16 at over $1000.
That's not true, iPhones have had eSim support since iPhone XS (2018)
I believe XS, XS Max, XR, SE2, SE3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 also do eSIM
What if the backup gets lost or stolen?
Well we can only have so many back ups. She's not going to carry 46 iphones.
Young woman I know has been travelling solo in Central and South America and is now in the UK where phone snatch and grab is endemic. She's using this very strategy, upgraded before she left to get full battery endurance but carrying her old handset as an emergency replacement. Travellers can just as easily damage their phones as have them snatched off a restaurant table.
Ok she might need to do with just 45 iPhones then.
Funnily enough, they sell phones in south East Asia.
A spare phone is more likely going to be stolen by a hotel room cleaner than getting robbed in the street.
Gee. Thank you so much for your ever-so-helpful reply. I think you might have missed some of the nuances here. Scroll onnnnnn.
Funnily enough, they sell phones in south East Asia.
since when ????
I'm actually quite surprised by the number of users that consider a back up phone when traveling to be overkill. In this day and age, if traveling solo, it can be a lifesaver. Just remembering your key usernames/passwords, ID numbers is no longer viable due to 2FA/MFA. It's bad enough when something is sent to SMS which likely won't be accessible when it's probably someone's main phone that is stolen/lost, but at the very least, having a second phone with authenticators set up properly will help alleviate some of the stress when the main phone is gone.
To OP, my recommendation, after over 2yrs of helping my parents with mobile phone tech support catered towards their travels (they're retired and spend every second month abroad), your daughter should have a travel phone rather than a back up phone. The travel phone should facilitate all that she needs when traveling assuming she isn't using roaming and doesn't need her main phone number. We're talking:
- instant messaging
- social media
- maps
- banking
- airlines
- accommodation
- translators
- etc
It should have a good enough camera that she doesn't feel like she needs to take her main phone out (assuming she's using the phone for photos). Her main phone with her main mobile sim should be kept hidden away somewhere safe (e.g. conceal body pouch). If there's a robbery and she has to give up her phone, the back up is expendable and she can use her main phone afterwards to remotely wipe the travel phone (well, on Android you can… I assume iPhone has this functionality too).
I suggest having both VISA and Mastercard debit card options as some vendors overseas will only accept one or the other. Have two of each so that you have a back up for each option and keep them hidden away in her luggage.
For MC, I strongly suggest Macquarie. Their app is miles ahead of the other options for multi phone setups. The use of an authenticator app that can be set up on more than one phone means that she won't need to take out her main phone. Macquarie should be her main debit card when abroad.
For VISA, for a multi phone setup, I'd go with ME Go atm… whilst they make use of SMS OTPs for a lot of things, there's the option to validate transactions using 2 of 5 questions that you provide answers for when you set up the account. Any other VISA option I know of with no international transaction fees will limit their authenticator app to just one phone or require SMS OTPs.
Additionally, she should consider going the extra mile to set up a third phone that is kept back here in Australia with someone she trusts (I'm guessing that would be you). In the event that she loses both phones. At the very least, there's someone who can get into her accounts to lock any lost debit cards, and authenticate things like Google when she's trying to log in those accounts again. But this one is up to her of course. She may not want anyone snooping around her financials.
Very helpful. Many thanks.
Wouldn’t you just buy one with travel insurance…