Ideally 5g but if not at the bare minimum 4g volte capable. I hate the idea of buying any of them tbh but my phone is legit starting to die (hardware related, not worth fixing because I bought it for $50 through a promo and it fucking sucked then too but it was usable) but even if I fixed it it barely supports volte and every carrier in my area literally requires it now.
My initial thought was to pay extra and buy something sanctioned but I doubt I would screw anyone over but myself and I might as well just buy something functional and solid that I can distract myself with for a year or two and leave this hellhole.
Thoughts?
I don't know if it's worth buying used, you would need to factor in battery replacement cost.
The first thing I'd look for on a used phone is iFixit repairability for the battery, that's always the first thing to go. Even if the phone is new old-stock (very old model cleared out for cheap on ebay), the battery might be degraded since it sat discharging naturally.
If i needed a phone right now i'd most likely buy a $200-$300 xiaomi/poco/Redmi phone off AliExpress. Another option is seeing if there's any liquidation places near you that sell phones. If you buy a Chinese phone, check if it has the cell bands you need.
I once got screwed buying a US phone for a Canadian carrier which didn't support the 3g or 4g bands I needed.