When is a good time to replace?

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My sister has a guideline — never replace a device before you’ve paid it off. The phone companies will gladly let you trade in your phone for a new ph
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Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Elly, dataman1701, BobbyB, bowled845, PL1, satrow, Norio

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While almost all cell phone manufacturers no longer make it ‘easy’ for uses to replace batteries, it can be done.  There are lots of YouTube tutorials to DIY.  There are lots of small businesses that specialize in fixing electronics these days.  Asurion has over 200 ubreakifix stores nation wide:  Repair Locations Nationwide | uBreakIFix by Asurion   We have one four blocks from our condo (I’ve not had occasion to use it).  I plan on keeping my Google Pixel 6 as long as it continues to get updates.

What does gall me is the planned obsolescence by manufacturers.  I have perfectly good Samsung Tab 7 Android tablet that I use for Kindle reading and other web-based browsing.  It is the perfect size for me but no longer receives updates from Samsung.  They no long manufacture 8 inch tablets nor do many other manufacturers though Lenovo is coming out with one.  Since I’m not part of the Apple community and iPad mini is not what I necessarily need.

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dataman1701

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agoldhammer wrote:

I have perfectly good Samsung Tab 7 Android tablet that I use for Kindle reading and other web-based browsing. It is the perfect size for me but no longer receives updates from Samsung.

I hear ya!

For me it’s an old 9″ Nook HD+ I use for reading ePubs and comics that I haven’t upgraded because, in order to get at least the same 1920 x 1200 resolution, it’d need to be a 14″ or larger tablet and that’s simply too big to “comfortably” hold while reading.

And even though for “most” newer tablets it can be done, it’s extremely difficult to replace the battery because everything’s glued together!

My Nook’s battery is very easy to replace (done so twice) because there’s no glue anywhere. The outer case simply snaps together and the internal parts use screws!

Finally, as you mentioned, any new tablet I bought would reach EoS in just a few years and no longer receive updates!

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I have an old Acer (840?) 8″ tablet (2016?) that I load PDF books on from my PC. I have not updated the “Xodo” PDF reader since 2017. However, I NEVER try to connect to the internet with it. Works just fine. I can even use the old map app (OsmAnd) offline as it has a decent GPS antenna. If you like the tab for reading try loading the ebooks to it from a PC. I have an even older “NextBook” tablet that still functions as a very nice video and photo viewer, but the screen is like a 4:3 format, more of a book dimension!

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agoldhammer wrote:

What does gall me is the planned obsolescence by manufacturers.

That is the core of the problem.

The majority of the device replacements are occurring because the manufacturer WANTS to break your current device so you have to buy an new device.

In the past they relied on Moore’s law (computer power doubling every 18 months) to ensure hardware rapidly becomes unsuitable to run software most users want to run. But for the last 10 or more years computes have had enough power, removing the user requirement to replace older hardware.

The

• software manufactures response: stop hardware linked software licences & replace it with a subscription model or make the user the product and sell the ability to modify user behaviour to software companies real paying customers.
• hardware manufactures response: remove upgrade options (processor, ram, hard disk) and if that’s not enough add something to the device which will break when the manufacture would like to sell you new hardware (glue in a battery, rubber grip which perishes on a keyboard, weak plastic shelve attachment in a fridge, non stick coating in a saucepan, artificially inflate the cost / limit repair options of a camera, fashion marketing in clothing).

It is a weakness of a poorly functioning capitalist system, by which I mean one which lacks real competition / user choice. If you actually want to fix it we need a financial dis-incentive proportional to the loss of competition (such as a sales tax progressively increasing with market dominance).

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One other consideration, at least with Android, and up until 3 or 4 years ago was the state of the Linux kernel, where support for most LTS versions ran on a 2 year cycle.  Thus, even if manufacturers wanted to provide longer support, it wasn’t possible, because of upline support issues.

I forget the exact kernel numbers, but there are now at least a couple of longer-term versions in circulation, including one that goes on a 5-year lifecycle, and I know that current Google Pixel models now get a 5-year support window, and Samsung Galaxy S and A models normally get 3 years.

I agree with the brokenness of the system, but from the manufacturers’ side, it’s hard to convince them why they should continue to support a phone if all the revenue is taken in at the time of purchase, and there’s no more expected revenue for the remaining life of the phone.  I think that’s also part of the popularity of the model of subsidized phones (with carrier lock-ins) that continue to generate revenue.

In the US, T-Mobile’s emphasis on “bring your own” has stemmed that practice some, but in Canada, the subsidized model is still dominant.

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With the price of smartphones being so expensive. Its very easy to buy into the carriers deals which sound good but are really just trying to lock you into a plan and a phone with significant costs if you want to cancel early. I stopped the madness years ago separating a phone purchase from my carrier plan. This provides me with no set phone comittment, and no carrier contract terms. With the costs of smartphones I think they should provide longer useful life then a couple years. When it does come time for a new phone I shop for best trade in on my current phone and find a similar deal on my new phone.

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Still Anonymous, PL1

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John wrote:

With the price of smartphones being so expensive. Its very easy to buy into the carriers deals which sound good but are really just trying to lock you into a plan and a phone with significant costs if you want to cancel early. I stopped the madness years ago separating a phone purchase from my carrier plan.

I agree, and I went a step further a LONG time ago and changed to Prepaid BYOD. My current plan is with Tracfone/VZW. (Approx $20/Yr by harvesting from flip phone bundles and building up rollover minutes/texts/data.)

The last time I bought a new phone was because I wanted to change carriers within Tracfone from TMO to VZW. I bought a Brand New Old Stock Samsung Galaxy S7 for $100 off of Ebay. The battery on it is perfect, even though being in a new box for this long, I expected to have problems.

It does everything I need it to do at a small size (5.1″). Granted, Android 8.0 is very outdated, but it runs everything I need.

As far as security goes, for $100, it’s no big loss if I get hit somehow, but just like a PC, I have a good backup.

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Just how long can you use stuff.

I have 4 computers (3 Desktops & 1 Laptop).
I purchased new desktops about 4 year or so but kept the old ones in service.

Here’s the kicker the two older machines have been upgraded to SSDs or MVMe if possible and 32 Gb of memory and I really can’t tell the difference when performing the tasks I do on a regular basis! I’m not a gamer so that doesn’t come into play.
Also, all 3 are running Windows 11 24H2 with the two older ones doing the install through the back door as they are not “supported”!

Moral, keep em’ running most of us don’t need the latest and greatest for what we do on a regular basis and can suffer a little wait time on those odd one off tasks. IMHO

Just keep an eye on your security setup if you can’t keep the device updated!

Almost forgot the laptop, 2015 vintage Dell Inspiron 137000. Still running strong on Win 10 Pro. Been upgraded to SSD and 8Gb Memory. I used it just yesterday to give a presentation on scams and the battery lasted for 1:30 with time to spare. Not to bad for a 10 year old laptop that has never had the battery replaced!

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Charlie, SueW, agoldhammer, Myst, bowled845, TechTango, pmcjr6142, PL1

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RetiredGeek wrote:

I have 4 computers (3 Desktops & 1 Laptop).
I purchased new desktops about 4 year or so but kept the old ones in service.

Sounds almost identical to my current setup.

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I have a Compaq Presario from 2010, Win7, that I use almost daily to surf the internet. Read, watch some utube, check email, run an old photo editor occasionally. ABSOLUTELY no links or attachments clicked. Zero personal info on the PC. Runs fast and smooth. Firefox browser would not update/unsupported for a few years but now it seems to take all the new browser updates just fine.  Have a Win10 machine for any verified, personally known sender email links or attachments, shopping, signing into websites, etc… Almost ready to shop for a Win11…

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RetiredGeek wrote:

I have 4 computers (3 Desktops & 1 Laptop).
I purchased new desktops about 4 year or so but kept the old ones in service.

Sorry, guys that should have read 4 years APART!

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Myst

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My first and current smartphone was purchased in 2021, for $130 US, and it was paid off at the end of the month. It is a carrier unlocked model I bought from Best Buy, not the carrier (on a prepaid plan). I just swapped the SIM card over from my other phone (a flip phone that I would still be using if it had a wifi hotspot that I can use with my laptops) and that was it, as far as the service was concerned. Removing Android from the phone and getting it set up with an AOSP ROM took a bit longer, of course, but that was the only way I would even have a smartphone.

It still works fine, and I have no intention of replacing it anytime soon. It’s not something I use every day, and I don’t want to spend a lot of money on something that mostly just sits there.

I would like something smaller, as it is a 5.2 inch model that takes up more room in my pocket than I would prefer, but things have gone the other way now, with the average phone being what used to be called a “phablet.” I wish they still had four inch models!

The most important feature a phone has to have is an unlockable bootloader and the availability of an aftermarket OS with none of the Google stuff. It is developed by Google, but the AOSP, unbranded base is kept pretty clean by design.

The model Google uses to develop Android is quite similar to the one it uses to develop Chrome. Both are based on an open source base product that is developed by Google and made available with a permissive license, with additional proprietary stuff added on that turns it from the generic product into the branded (and proprietary) Android or Chrome. All of the “bad stuff” is tucked into the proprietary binary blobs so that no one can have a look at their source code and really see what they’re up to.

AT&T has a small phone the size of what I have that sells for, or at least to sell for, $39, over the counter (no activation required to get that price). It is carrier locked, but that’s all. Unfortunately, it does not have an unlockable boot loader, so it’s no good as a daily driver. I did pick one up because it is cheap and runs the latest Android in case I have some need for that, but that phone just sits there, turned off and SIMless. I have all of the Google branded stuff (Play services especially) frozen, which hypothetically should stop the spying, but it’s a Google product, and I don’t trust it.

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/32GB & GTX1660ti, Kubuntu 24.04
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, Kubuntu 24.04 (and Win 11)

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wavy, PL1, pmcjr6142

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Using the 20-80% rule (+/-5% my tolerance) for battery charging helps.
93% battery health on a ‘from new’ 2018 iPhone SE tells a story,
also using this method on a recent brand new 2022 iPhone SE.

Regarding the iPhone SE on iOS 15.8.3 thats ‘out of apple support’, the device has been dumbed down with no internet or email access.
Used only for calls, limited txt messaging, locally stored photos, calendar, notes and reminders using stock apps. Most non-essential proprietary apps
and funnctions are either removed or inactive.
All backed up locally once a month using an older (non-internet facing) iTunes
from the EoS era of the iphone in question.

That methodology has and continues to work flawlessly here.

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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satrow, PL1

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I wholeheartedly agree with the guideline to never replace a device before you’ve paid it off. In fact, I was in this very scenario at the beginning of January 2025, when I noticed a carrier deal on Apple’s website for up to 1000 USD off an iPhone 16 Pro with an eligible trade-in. I went to my local AT&T store, and they let me trade in my iPhone 14 before it was fully paid off. After getting the paper trade-in receipt, I noticed that I would not get any trade-in credit for my new phone until my old phone was paid off. I called AT&T customer service, waited a long time, and then patiently and thoroughly explained my situation to the representative. Ultimately, I was allowed to pay off my old phone with a single credit card charge, which allowed trade-in credit to take effect on my new phone.

By the way, I was surprised to find out that AT&T added “Next Up” to my plan. I asked that same representative to discontinue it. It was discontinued, but I still had to pay the additional 10 USD on the first month’s bill.

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