Samsung Duos Phone.

[sandyRoe]

This old phone has space for two SIM cards would it operate with one. And how much would a replacement battery cost? The one in it seems dead as a doornail.

[pastafreak]

I've got a Samsung that takes 2 SIMs. Works as normal with just 1.

[Buenchico]

It might be best not to bother with it.

Firstly, the battery on your phone wasn't designed to be replaced by users. You're meant to go to an authorised dealer to get a new battery fitted. (Possibly expensive).

However if you want to change it yourself, there are several YouTube videos showing you how to do it, as long as you don't mind risking damage to your phone when your hand slips! Replacement batteries are available on eBay for around twenty quid including carriage.

However, even when you've got it powered up, it's not going to be the greatest of phones. It was sold with the Android Kitkat operating system on it (a.k.a Android v. 4.0.4). I doubt that it can be upgraded beyond, perhaps, Android v. 4.4.0. The latest phones in production are using Android 11 (with Android 12 already being in the 'preview' stage). So your phone has a very old operating system, which won't run many modern apps.

The oldest version of Android that's compatible with most basic apps these days in Android 6 (which is what is required, for example, to run the NHS Test & Trace app). Some recent apps require Android 9 or above. (My own phone only had Android 6 on it. I'm perfectly happy with it but I wouldn't want to be stuck with a phone only running Android 4, as it would have extremely limited functionality).

[sandyRoe]

Thanks, Buenchico. The mention of £20 for a battery is enough to stop the plan. I came across the phone in a box of charger cables and thought I'd try and see if I could get it running.
If I wanted a basic phone I'd get one from Tesco for less than £20.