The Nokia 225 4G is the middle of the cheap-Nokia pack. A little more phone than the 105 or the 110, a little less than the 3210. It’s the 2024 refresh of HMD’s long-running cheap basic, and the published coverage (GSMArena, Digital Camera World) rates it a small but real step up on the older 225.
On Knock it sits below the Nokia 235 4G, which is a touch cheaper for much the same phone. So why pick this one? One word: charging. The 225 4G has USB-C, which the older basics in the line-up lack. If that matters in your house, or you simply prefer this handset, it’s an honest buy at around £45.
The USB-C point
A first phone usually joins a household where every other device already charges by USB-C. The older cheap Nokias still take micro-USB, which means one more cable to buy, label and lose. The 225 4G charges from the same cable as everything else, and that’s rare on a phone this cheap. The battery is a 1450 mAh cell that goes several days between charges, so the cable doesn’t come out often anyway.
What it does
Calls, texts, FM radio, an MP3 player (microSD up to 32 GB), a torch and Snake. A VGA rear camera that’s there for proof-of-life photos and nothing more. It’s unlocked 4G with VoLTE, certified for the major UK networks, so it keeps working as the old 2G and 3G networks switch off through 2033. At 90 g it disappears into a blazer pocket.
What it doesn’t do is the point. No WhatsApp, no app store, no usable browser, no social media. It runs feature-phone software, not Android or iOS, so there’s no way to add the apps later. If your only objection to a first phone is what a child might install on it, the 225 closes that door.
The trade-offs
The VGA camera is grainy and basic. Fine for proving the school bus turned up, nothing you’d print.
The 2.4 inch screen is small if your child is used to a smartphone. This is a phone for calls and messages, not for watching anything.
And it looks plain rather than cool. It looks like a phone from 2012, and a child who wants the playground look is better served by the Nokia 3210, which costs more and earns it.
Price and where to buy
Around £45 on Amazon UK, unlocked and contract-free. That’s the buy button on this page.
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Pair with
A ParentShield SIM for a first phone, ages 9 to 11. A Smarty SIM if your child is older. If you’re still choosing between handsets, the which phone picker asks five questions and takes ninety seconds.
The honest summary
The 225 4G is the unshowy middle option, and that’s the review. It won’t win the playground. It does calls, texts, radio and a bit of music, with modern charging and no apps in sight. That judgement is a synthesis of the published coverage (GSMArena, Digital Camera World) and HMD’s specifications, not lab testing of our own. If the small saving matters more than USB-C, buy the Nokia 235 4G instead. If you want the cable that matches the rest of the house, this is the one.
Where to buy
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Short notes on simple phones, the parent conversation and the school side. New subscribers get our first-phone series, four short emails over eleven days, then occasional notes when there is a piece worth sending. Unsubscribe with one click.
How the Nokia 225 4G sits next to the others
We keep a tight list of simple phones on the shelf at any one time. The Nokia 225 4G is one of them. Here are the others, and the short reason a UK family might pick each one instead.
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Nokia 3210 (2024), from £79
Our first recommendation for almost every family. It looks like the phone your child's friends will think is cool, which matters more than parents often admit.
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Nokia 8210 4G, from £35
The cheaper sibling to the 3210. The same idea, a phone a child is happy to be seen with, on a bigger screen and at a lower price. The trade is a plainer build and a weaker camera.
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Nokia 235 4G, from £40
The starter pick for under-tens, and the no-fuss phone for anyone who genuinely does not want anything beyond calls and texts.
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Nokia 2660 Flip, from £55
The one for a younger child, or anyone who likes the satisfaction of closing a phone to end a call. The flip protects the screen at the bottom of a school bag, and there is nothing on it to fall down.
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Nokia 110 4G, from £25
The cheapest phone we list that still has a camera. A pound or two more than the 105 4G, and you get a basic camera, Bluetooth and an MP3 player. The floor of the market, with a little extra.
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Nokia 105 4G, from £24
The rock-bottom option, and a genuine one. If the brief is a phone that makes calls and sends texts and does nothing else at all, this is it, for the price of a couple of school lunches.
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HMD Barbie Phone, from £99
Half novelty, half genuine simple phone. It says 'Hi Barbie' when it boots and the buttons glow in the dark, but underneath it is a proper 4G flip with no app store, no browser and no social media. For a child who would carry a fun phone but not a plain one.
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Pinwheel Plus, from £279
For families who need a smartphone-shaped device but want a hard boundary on what runs on it. The portal lets you whitelist apps from a curated list. There's a monthly subscription for the Caregiver Portal.
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Punkt MP02, from £259
The keypad alternative to the Light Phone III. A beautifully made minimalist phone for an adult or older teenager stepping back from a smartphone, with Signal-based messaging and 4G tethering, but no app store and no camera.
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Light Phone III, from £399
Quiet, minimal, slow on purpose. The Light Phone III ships from the US, which means import VAT and a longer wait. For the family who is sure this is right and is willing to pay for it.
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Refurbished iPhone SE (3rd gen), from £169
The fallback for parents who have decided a smartphone is the answer (often because of a specific school or medical reason) and want the cheapest, longest-supported route in.
The full ranked list, with the trade-offs spelled out alongside each phone, lives at /best-simple-phones. If you'd rather a ninety-second picker that points at one phone for your specific family, that's at /which-phone. If you'd like the catalogue at-a-glance, the Phone-dex is at /phone-dex.
Questions UK parents ask about the Nokia 225 4G
Does the Nokia 225 4G have WhatsApp or internet?
No to WhatsApp, no to an app store, no to a usable browser. The 225 4G is a feature phone, not Android or iOS. Calls, texts, a basic camera, FM radio and a bit of music. If your only objection to a first phone is the apps, the 225 has no way to add them.
Is the Nokia 225 4G good for a child?
Yes, for ages 9 to 11. The 2024 model adds USB-C charging, has a basic camera, FM radio and Snake, and costs around £45. It looks plain rather than cool, so a child who wants the playground look is better served by the Nokia 3210.
Does the Nokia 225 4G work on 4G in the UK?
Yes. It is unlocked 4G with VoLTE, certified for the major UK networks, so it keeps working as the old 2G and 3G networks switch off through 2033.
Read next
- The conversation, in seven moments, the kitchen-table script built from published UK parent testimony. Free, no email gate.
- For teachers and carers, a letter from the head, an assembly script, the SLT one-pager. The school side of the conversation.
- What the research says, calmly, the plain-English read of the evidence behind delaying a first smartphone.
- The research, every claim Knock makes, with the primary source attached.
- UK pricing guide, the £24 to £400 ladder and the hidden costs.
- The best UK SIMs for a child's first phone, ParentShield first, the cheaper alternatives below.
