How long do you use your phone before you replace it?

How long do you use your phone before you replace it?

  • Total voters
    109
Aurelius said:
It's about basic logic: if you make an extraordinary claim that challenges common knowledge, you have to provide evidence if you're going to sway anyone with a reasonable intellect. You can't make a claim that Apple intentionally shortened battery life on its devices and then cite only "very smart people" as proof.
Click to expand...
So where's your proof that it was in fact Apple's attempt to "help" people with aging batteries rather than to force them to buy a new phone, Mr. Layer? Your claim is equally "extraordinary", and you have provided no proof besides "apple said so". The fact is Apple is paying for claims and replacing batteries at a reduced cost, they would not do this if they were not doing something wrong. They have set aside a great deal of money to pay for such claims. More money than you will ever see in your entire lifetime.

Apple has been found guilty in a courtroom, and admitted on their own account, of various wrong doings over the last 3 decades. Steve Jobs was basically a criminal, and they openly admit to stealing things from other companies.

I'm not going to waste my time making a huge case for a single dufus on the internet, I'll save that for the actual court room where I win lawsuits all the time. If you'd like me to answer your question send me a PM, and a check, my time is billed by the hour. This is a public forum, I am free to express my opinion, and I am in no way required to prove it. You too are welcome to your own opinion, but your opinion is no more correct or accurate than mine is.
 
Last edited:
I used to be Mr. Phone-Whore but lately just not seeing the point in spending $1,000 annually just for a minor upgrade.

Year to year phone tech advancements are minimal nowadays.

Right now I have the Pixel 3 XL, and before that the Pixel 2 XL ( which I gave to my wife ) I'll stil play around with the 2 XL and I really see almost no difference between the 2XL and 3XL.

Same with my buddy, he got a iPhone X first day, then a year later he bought the iPhone XS, he returned the XS as he barely notice the upgrade.
 
Had a Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 2 for 6-7 years. Screen started developing pixel rot, cracked the top glass, and the battery finally went south. Decided to get a new phone when the USB got shorted out some how and the phone wasn't stable.
Current phone is Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime. Can root it, but the carrier has the bootloader locked to prevent custom ROMs.
I'll make sure the next phone I get is unlocked next time.
 
I have an S8 as well. Personally I've noticed no degraded performance with it after OS updates etc. Still feels very snappy and the battery life is decent.

My previous phone was an S6 and that started to get kinda sluggish after about 2 years

So I have never kept a phone longer than 2 years but guess that is changing with the S8. I still see no reason to replace it
 
Ran an sgs2 until start of last year lol.
 
I buy the just about the cheapest phone I can get and use it until it brakes.
Last work phone lasted from 2013 to about a week ago. The screen split, no cracks, was a 5c
Personal phone it a moto e5 play. Can't recall what my last on was but LG I think, lasted like 9 years
 
I buy in the $200-$300 range and keep it for minimum 2 years, usually end up keeping them just under 2.5 years max.

Currently rocking a Moto G7 Power I got in April for $259, coming from a Moto G4 Plus I bought in Dec 2016 for $149 (pricing error), had a Moto G 1st Gen LTE before that from July 2014 for $229, had a HTC One V from June 2012 before that also at $229, and my first smart phone was a LG Optimus V from sometime in 2011 that I bought for $179 I think (only one that was so shitty, I could only keep it just over a year). I've spent $1,045 on smartphones over the 8+ years I've been using them.
 
Last edited:
So I'm not the last Windows phone user on the planet. I keep them until they stop working but that is rarely more than 3 years. My current phone is getting unusable for anything except a phone, email, and IM. It even has times when I have to pull the battery to get it to turn on again. I should probably just accept I am due for a new one.
 
mtrupi said:
So I'm not the last Windows phone user on the planet. I keep them until they stop working but that is rarely more than 3 years. My current phone is getting unusable for anything except a phone, email, and IM. It even has times when I have to pull the battery to get it to turn on again. I should probably just accept I am due for a new one.
Click to expand...

There's enough Microsoft apps now you can essentially turn an Android phone into a next-gen Windows Phone. It's absolutely not the same OS and won't help at all if your problem is keeping away from Google's eyes; but in terms of Microsoft services and syncing/interacting with your Windows PC - that's where the it's all at. There's even a Microsoft-made launcher for Android.
 
drklu said:
still on my galaxy s7 active. wish all phones have been as durable. still see no reason to upgrade. especially considering the pricing of new phones
Click to expand...

I recently (this spring) retired my S5 Galaxy to a Galaxy S7 Active (refurb). The phone is a tank, and has plently of leg room left it in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drklu
like this
I got my iPhone 6 some time ago. Still my current, only phone. I took advantage of the Apple battery replacement program when it was still cheap. The new battery gave a noticeable boost in performance that was lacking for the year before that.

However, it's impossible to not notice that Safari takes its time to load (especially compared to coworker's phones), and it's not really "fast," by any metric. Not painfully slow, however.

I don't really like Apple, I don't really like Android. No real rush to replace. Whatever comes next will probably be an iPhone, but I also don't like any of the current models. I don't see their design direction taking any sort of upwards movement, so I doubt I'll like any of the next models, either. Oh, well.
 
I used to always chase the latest and greatest.
That was back when the ultimate newest thing was less than $300.

Now I wait until security updates eclipse.
 
Tough question.

Back when all the carriers did 2 year phone upgrade deals I used to replace them every two years, but I used to wish I could replace them after about a year in to th eplan, as they would already feel old and outdated.

Now I am still using my original Google Pixel which is going on 3 years old and still feels like a current phone to me. Once I replaced the battery earlier this year there is nothing about it I feel I am missing that newer phones have.

Who knows how long I'll keep using it.

At this point it will be until there is some major important feature I am missing, or until it is no longer supported with security patches, and no after market ROM with security patches (like LineageOS) exists.

I feel like phones just aren't changing that much anymore. At least not in ways that I care about.
 
DellAxim said:
This isn't a court room buddy, nor is it a discussion about appple. Get over yourself. Yes, I do not like apple, that is not relevant. I have implicated Samsung all the same. Why do you think batteries are now being built into everything? Planned obsolescence. If you don't think that is part of a modern cell phone you are a moron. The fact is it does not cause people to stop buying their products, and even if it did, where would they go?! What phone available at the end of 2019 has a removable battery that you could "jump ship" to?


Please do explain Mr. Professor! This phenomenon does not happen to Samsung phones. It does not happen in laptops. It does not happen with tablets. Why iphones? As I indicated above I milked the OEM battery for 5 YEARS in my S5 - it still holds a usable charge. I cycled it from 100% back to zero every single day, sometimes more than once, and then left it on the charger to bake overnight. 5 years later, still no "erratic behavior, shutdowns, or risks".

If you think any major corporation is out there to help you and has your best interests in mind - whether that be Apple, Samsung, Coca Cola, Southwest Airlines, or anything else, you don't understand modern business practices.

Now, back to the original discussion please. *sigh*
Click to expand...


My Pixel suffered significantly shortened battery life starting about 18 months after it was new.

Replacing the battery has restored it to working like new again.

It is usually my expectation that any consumer device with a Lithium ION Battery will need to have it replaced when it is approximately 2 years old, or suffer serious degradation.
 
2-3 years typically. That's usually when the battery starts to fall off and (at least in the past) when some new tech advancement gives me the itch to upgrade.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
My Pixel suffered significantly shortened battery life starting about 18 months after it was new.

Replacing the battery has restored it to working like new again.

It is usually my expectation that any consumer device with a Lithium ION Battery will need to have it replaced when it is approximately 2 years old, or suffer serious degradation.
Click to expand...

Though this is my experience with other phones in the past, I haven't really seen it happen to the same extent with my S8 that I've owned for a little more than 2 years now.

Apparently the battery tech has gotten better, Samsung said awhile back it should hold 95% of its capacity after 2 years:
 
Used to upgrade every year. Now in the era of $1000 phones with minimal improvements each year I’m holding onto my phones for 2-3 years.
 
x3sphere said:
Though this is my experience with other phones in the past, I haven't really seen it happen to the same extent with my S8 that I've owned for a little more than 2 years now.

Apparently the battery tech has gotten better, Samsung said awhile back it should hold 95% of its capacity after 2 years:
Click to expand...

Sounds promising.

As mentioned, I have no experience with anything newer than ~2016.


That said, Tesla uses some voodoo to make their Lithium Ion batteries in their cars degrade very slowly, so I guess it's not impossible that this tech would come to phones eventually.
 
The big thing with lithium ions is keep them cool, and try not to fully charge/discharge the battery as mentioned earlier. Now that I have a phone with a built in battery, I keep a small fan next to where I charge it. Whenever it's charging the fan is on and the phone stays basically room temperature. Without the fan it gets quite warm. In a lot of new products, they don't cycle the batteries fully, electric cars, for example, generally try to keep the charge between 30% and 80%. They might even be setup to fool you and say "100%" when it isn't really at the highest possible charge. Even a lot of modern lithium power tools do this to get maximum cycle life. The heat problem can be even worse with wireless chargers, because of the way they work they create their own heat which goes into your phone. A lot of electric cars have cooling systems dedicated to the batteries.

There are some programs out there that allow you to set your phone to automatically stop charging at 80%, but they require a rooted device to work. As posted above their are other programs that work on factory/locked devices that simply give you a warning beep over 80%. My laptop has an option to keep the charge level around 60% since I normally leave it plugged in 24/7 (called "conservation mode"), but I can quickly switch that off and go back to 100% if I'm going to take it somewhere.
 
DellAxim said:
The big thing with lithium ions is keep them cool, and try not to fully charge/discharge the battery as mentioned earlier.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but this should be handled in firmware or the design is crap.

Actual usable charge range should be 20%-80% (or something like that) with 20% shown as 0% to the OS, and 80% shown as 100% to the OS, and evertyhing in between interpolated so that it fits.

It should also have a thermal sensor so it stops/slows charging if the temperature rises too high.

That's just good design. If a device doesn't do this, it's shameful.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
That's just good design. If a device doesn't do this, it's shameful.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. While it's best to stay between 20% and 80%, you shouldn't be afraid to charge it to 100% and use it until it dies if you really need to. Just don't make a habit of that. If I knew my phone had an extra 20%, but it refused to let me use it at my command, I would not be happy with that device. It should however be a standard setting in Android to let you decide how much battery you want to use, without some aftermarket app and a root.

Same thing with heat. Phones DO have temperature sensors, if it gets dangerously hot it will stop charging, slow the phone, and even shut down the phone. Sometimes; however, you need a fast charge and the only way to get it is with a warm battery. Again, do it once and it's not a big deal, do it every day and it becomes an issue.

I purposely use a bad dollar store USB cable for most charging, as it lowers the charging current and keeps things cooler...but if I'm in a hurry I'll use the OEM cable and "fast charger".
 
Commander Shepard said:
Yeah, I'm a little dubious of anyone who claims to keep a phone longer than 2 years. :sneaky:

I like my 7 Pro aside from the rear camera location. I prefer the camera be tucked up in a corner to minimize my fingers slipping over it while taking a pic. Barring unforeseen problems, I plan on sticking with it until the 2020 iPhones are out.
Click to expand...

Looks down at my 3 yr old Iphone. The only function that is impeeded is the speakerphone. Everything else works. Thus why spend a grand on a new one.
 
I had 3 phones which overheated, kept restarting, useless after 2 years. I have an Alcatel phone now, seems working fine, get some 30hours battery life.
 
Commander Shepard said:
Yeah, I'm a little dubious of anyone who claims to keep a phone longer than 2 years. :sneaky:
Click to expand...

It's not 2010 anymore. A typical 1 year old phone no longer feels obsolete. These days th eonly limit to keeping phones longer are:

1.) Battery life. (But batteries can be replaced)
2.) Software/security patching (some phones can take aftermarket ROM's and continue on, but most not)

My 3 year old Pixel is still soldiering on, and isn't missing anything that makes me wish I had a newer phone.
(In fact, the newer phones seem to be missing stuff, like analogue audio out...)

When Google decides to no longer patch it, I'll move to LineageOS. I won't be replacing this phone until it either dies outright, or I can no longer get the latest security patches.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top