Renting your smartphone, good or bad idea?

Smartphones have become essential devices. And many people change them regularly to sport the latest fashionable model or the one with the most innovative functions, which can be expensive for them. There is another option: long-term rental.

Smartphone rental was initiated by Free Mobile at the end of 2013. The operator was indeed the first to offer this formula thanks to which, he said at the time, his customers could save order. 40% of the purchase price of the same device. From other operators, generalist or specialized brands have entered this market. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of this solution?

On the benefit side

The first and main advantage of renting is of course the budget. Buying the latest trendy smartphone every year can quickly become a financial sinkhole. An iPhone X, to name but one, costs more than 1,100 euros. These formulas allow you to pay only small amounts each month.

Another advantage, some formulas allow you to change your smartphone regularly. Some lessors give the possibility of taking another device after four months of contract. Most often this period is around twelve months.

Finally, you can insure your smartphone against breakage, and sometimes theft or loss, against a sum varying according to the brands between 7 and 15 euros per month. Thus the Smartphone Forever insurance from SFR * makes it possible to have the device repaired or replaced without deductible within the limit of two claims in the year. Some brands, such as Lokeo (subsidiary of the HTM – Boulanger group, Electro Dépôt), include this insurance in the rental price.

The other side of the coin

The main drawback is that these rental offers are mostly linked to a package, in most cases with commitment. The overall cost of the formula is therefore rising rapidly. So at SFR, you can only rent a smartphone with a Power package that starts at 25 euros per month.

Then, if the change of smartphone is possible after a few months, this operation often leads to the renewal of the rental contract. So here you are again for a ride! Not to mention that you hardly ever own the device, except at the end of a rental agreement with an option to buy.

Another drawback, the conditions for the return of the smartphone and the end of the contract. To begin with, if you break the contract before its end, you will often have to pay the remaining monthly payments. Then the state of the smartphone will be examined with a magnifying glass. It must be returned in “good condition”, a notion which may vary between the user and the operator! If the latter considers that the device is not in good condition, you will have to pay penalties which can amount to more than 150 euros. And if you lose the device or make it unusable, the penalties can reach the price of the new device! Unless the insurance clauses cover the loss …

Operator offers

Three operators offer you to rent a smartphone: Free, SFR and EI Telecom through its offers Credit Mutuel Mobile and CIC Mobile.

To be able to compare the offers, we chose the same smartphones from all the rental companies: the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 8, both in 64 GB. Then, we associated them with packages including the same characteristics (or almost), either the Free Mobile package at 19.99 euros / month, the unlimited Power package at 45 euros / month from SFR, the Unlimited Efficio package at 49.99 euros / month and the Prompto 100 GB package at 19.99 euros / month for EI Telecom.

Free offers to rent a Samsung or Apple smartphone, including the very recent iPhone X in its 64 GB version. It is the operator who offers the cheapest rental offer, but it asks for a first payment of 149 euros. You should also know that if you cancel your plan and continue to rent the smartphone, you will have to add 5 euros to your monthly payments.

If you do not return the smartphone in perfect working order at the end of the contract, the sum of 100 to 300 euros will be requested (depending on the device). And if you return it to this state by terminating the contract before its term, it may be billed to you at the public selling price of the mobile in force on the day of the order (after deduction of the sums already paid). Other interesting points, the operator does not offer insurance and the change of smartphone can only be done after 24 months.

SFR launched a smartphone rental program called Forever smartphone three years after Free. Its conditions have varied over the years making it more or less interesting. Today, it works with packages from Power 10 Go and is reserved for people who are already customers of the operator. The range of smartphones is more or less the same as that of Free. It mainly focuses on high-end devices from Apple, Samsung and Sony. This is the most expensive option, but the operator allows you to change smartphones after 12 months and the insurance covers theft.

EI Telecom also launched in 2016. Its rental offer concerns its Crédit Mutuel Mobile and CIC Mobile packages. It is only accessible from a bank advisor. It is therefore aimed primarily at customers of the two banks. And they can choose from the top-of-the-line models of the current year and the previous year of four brands: Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Sony.

In terms of pricing, the two MVNO offers are halfway between those of SFR and Free thanks to nice reductions on the packages accompanying them: 24.99 euros per month on the Unlimited Efficio package instead of 49.99 and 14.99 euros per month on the Prompto 100 GB package instead of 19.99 euros. These offers allow you to change your smartphone after 12 months. As for the “penalties”, they vary according to the situation (1^er 24-month contract in progress, termination before the end of the 24 months or beyond the 24 months) but are in any case the lowest among the operators.

Rental service offers

Among the dedicated services, we have selected two. Lokéo, Boulanger’s home appliance and multimedia rental service, and Uz’it, a service of the company Evollis. Their advantage is above all not to link their offers to the subscription of a package. We can therefore take full advantage of promotions and special offers made by operators and MVNOs.

Lokéo has the most varied service offer. You can indeed rent a smartphone from 6 to 36 months and change it quickly. Depending on the formula, you can get a new device in 6, 12 or 18 months. The monthly payments revolve around forty euros and include insurance. But be careful, in the event of non-return of the smartphone or its return in an “unusable” state, you will have to pay the equivalent of its new price.

In terms of smartphones available, Lokéo only offers two brands, Apple and Samsung, but the range is quite wide since we find both the latest high-end model and other more modest ones such as the Galaxy A5 or the iPhone. SE. Good to know, the mobile plan only allows you to rent refurbished smartphones.

Uz’it is undoubtedly the one with the lowest prices. This is perhaps why Intermarché has chosen this service to offer the rental of devices to its customers. The monthly payments range from 19 to 43 euros depending on the device chosen from the models of four brands: Apple, Samsung, Sony and Huawei. Insurance is included in these monthly payments and in case of non-return of the smartphone or of its return in an “unusable” state, Uz’it will claim 30% of the price of the new device.

Last important point for those who would like to rent a Samsung smartphone: the brand offers its own service called Up2you. It is particularly interesting since it allows you to have a Galaxy S8 for two years for less than the new product (771 euros instead of 809 euros). If you add insurance, the price remains reasonable since the latter is 7 or 9 euros per month depending on the guarantees. An offer to consider.

Race report

So rental, good or bad? Overall, it’s a pretty expensive system. But it may be suitable for those who still want to have the latest high-end smartphone from one of the market leaders. But it will be necessary to study all the details of the contract and to check the services and the clauses of the insurance. It is these last points that will make the difference.