Upgrading my iPhone?

Have you thought of buying an iPhone directly from Apple? That way you pay the one off cost and can keep the contract you have currently with Vodafone - paying the same amount each month? I’m fairly sure that most Apple store carry a stock of refurbished older models (which would still be an upgrade on your 5) which may fit the bill and be a good bit cheaper than the newest all singing and dancing models.
Another thing to try is calling Vodafone on 191 and get through to retentions - say you’re thinking of leaving them and explain exactly what you’ve said on here to the advisor and see what they can offer.

Also, when you get the new phone you will have to remove your SIM card and move it into the new one. It should be located in a wee tray on the right hand side of the phone. The new phone will have a tool to help with this that looks like a paper clip - you stick it into the tiny hole and it pops out the tray. As long as you know your Apple ID to set up the new phone and have a wifi connection, there is an option to sit the old phone beside the new one and it will hook them up and transfer all your numbers and stuff automatically.
If you get stuck when you do buy a new phone please feel free to message me - I’ve set up quite a few new phones for me DH and my parents this year!! Good luck!

If your happy with the phone why not buy a new battery.
Batteries are like anything else, they wear out.

If you buy a new phone the Apple helpline will talk you through setting it up if you get stuck. We bought a new one from the Apple store, usually they will set up in store but not with covid restrictions so they booked a phone call from Apple support at a time that suited us, it was surprisingly easy, my anxiety was the primary obstacle. Lots of options here cabbie, see which is the most cost effective. By the way Mr C was using an iphone4 until I acquired a new one, our grandchildren were horrified .

Thanks for the replies so far.
Cornergran, my grandchildren have told me I need a new phone too! I got my 5s the same time as they did, but of course they have moved on. At least I haven't lost mine or cracked it or dropped it down the loo like they have.
Petra, it is not just the battery, there are other issues too. For example my phone is too old for the Test and Trace ap, not that that bothers me, as I am not going anywhere other than the supermarket. Also not much seems to work on 4G though it does on wifi, but as I am hardly out of the house that is not an issue either. Just makes me aware than not all is well.
Lolo81, thanks for the useful information.
If I go for the latest version it will be the 12mini, but I have been looking at the 11 and the SE. I don't want to fall too far behind after all. The best deals for iphones seem to be with other networks so maybe Vodafone will give me a deal to retain my custom. I pay only £10.50 pm. Are you saying that I might be able to continue with that deal by putting my Sim card into a newer phone?

I changed from 4s a few months ago and decided to leave Apple and use an android. My family have Apples but they can still contact me free over Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. It was very easy to change the sim and keep the number - I did it through Tesco.

Cabbie bear in mind that the SIM card in your current phone may well be bigger than the new one (they are tiny lately).

You can stay with Vodafone if you go to Carphone Warehouse, they sell phones for a number of networks, they aren’t tied to one network. I’ve used them a number of times and found them excellent, they do good deals and set everything up for you in store. Sadly they’ve recently stopped working with EE which is the best network in my area.

My husband has just done this very recently. Upgraded from the same phone you have. The Apple website is very good. You can compare models etc.
After a week of looking and being very indecisive he chose a recent model. Came very quickly. Put them next to each other and they synch. Stayed with his BT account - in fact they don’t know he has changed phones- they can’t tell.
He’s thrilled with new phone - loves the big screen etc. The camera is fab. Trouble is he can’t put it down at the moment. ?

NonnaW thank you. How do I find out about the size of SIM card?

F

If you buy the physical phone from Apple, you can pop your SIM card into the new phone and continue paying your Vodafone bill as normal. You’re paying them for the minutes, data and texts - so that will continue unchanged.
Just googled and the iPhone 5 took a nano sim which is the same size as the more recent ones, so unless it’s damaged you should be fine to just transfer from the current phone to the new one.
In your shoes I’d definitely call Vodafone and see what they can offer. Please follow my advice and go through to the retentions team though - they have access to better discounts, so when you call follow the directions for “I’m thinking of leaving you”.

Try looking at Tesco, I don't have an iPhone, but only pay £11.99 a month for a Samsung, admittedly not the newest model but it accepts track and trace and takes good photos.

If you intend to buy your phone up front rather than tying yourself to a 2 year monthly contract you can choose a sim from your preferred network. You may wish to stay with Vodafone. Just check that it’s a sim only deal and you’re not paying instalments on a contract phone that’s already run its course. As has already been suggested, it’s definitely worthwhile speaking to them and say you are thinking of leaving. They are likely to reduce your current sim payment. I pay £9 a month for O2 sim only monthly rolling contract that I can leave at anytime.

My brother pays only £6 a month on EE. So it’s definitely worth shopping around for a good sim only deal.

I have the iphoneSE 2020 model. It is the "budget" iphone and I am really pleased with it.

Many thanks to all who responded with your really helpful suggestions and information.
I did some research on the Apple website, then on Carphone Warehouse. I settled for the XR in the end, and my granddaughter says” That’s a really cool one, Granny.”

I watched a YouTube video showing me how to swap the SIM card from my old phone and did that successfully, so I am still paying the same monthly price and keeping my network. The saving from keeping my sim and buying the phone upfront outright is huge, even with Black Friday offers.
Granddaughter said she wishes she could come and sit beside me and give me a tutorial of all the new features, but instead, she has sent me links to some YouTube tutorials, so all is well.
Thank you all once again.

Have a look on the apple site, they do trade in deals. At least they do for iPads. I was looking a couple of weeks ago because I thought I’d get DH a new one for Christmas.
I know I won’t be able to get into a shop and there is a bit of damage on one corner so I think they would have to see it. If there isn’t any damage there is a form on line that you can fill in.

£15 is all I would get for an iPhone 5s.