Ask Lemmy

Only when it no longer works. I would have kept my last phone much longer, but the basic function of connecting to cell/mobile towers stopped. Still works as a wifi-only device.

I started with an iPhone 5. I replaced it after the second battery started dying with an iPhone 8. Replaced that with an iPhone 16 when the second battery started dying. I always have them in an OtterBox Defender case and take good care of them, so batteries become the deciding factor.

I replace a phone when it becomes intolerably difficult to use due to hardware failure.

My current phone was bought refurbished in July of 2020. Phone before that was purchased in 2018, and the phone before was purchased new in 2014.

The current one is a Samsung Galaxy S10, and I'm not seeing any reason to replace it yet.

iPhone 11 Pro Max. Still on ios18 but will probably go to 26 soon because of security updates. I expect this to be the last iOS update that will install, so I’ll probably pony up for a new phone in September, for a 7 year lifespan.

I went with the top of the range $1400 model because I knew I’d use it for hours every day, for a long time. It ends up costing ing about 55 cents a day, and saving a couple bucks on the front end doesnt make sense to me.

Typically between four and six years. Bought a Fairphone two months ago and hope to get to six years with that.

I purchased my current phone (Fairphone 4) in January 2022. And that was because my last phone's battery was dying, and the screen was very cracked.

I decided for a Fairphone because you can easily replace the battery (already done once) and the screen (not yet broken).

As of now, I still have no plans to buy a new phone.

When it is about to die, then I buy the best one I can find for less than 300€ in second hand or refurbished. It is easy to find 4 year old flagships.

When it's broken beyond repair, I'll order a cheap one and go without for a couple weeks. This happens every 4 years or so.

My iPhone is up to 5 years, and has no issues. If it had battery problems, I could just replace it.

If your phone contractor says they can give you a free phone with lock in, question how they’re paying for it. I pay my provider $240/yr ($20/mo). They have some less favorable phone-buying plans but work fine. To avoid being an advertising shill, I won’t name them; just make sure you include yearly prepaid options in your price comparison.

Lately every two years. I also have a Pixel. When a new Pixel comes out Google offers a good trade in deal where you get a $100 of store credit on top of what AFAICT is a good trade in value. Get on the Google Store mailing list to be alerted of it. The resale value on Android phones seems to drop off really sharply after 2 years. So when I calculate the long term annual cost of owning a phone I think it comes out pretty good.

I'm not shooting for the absolute cheapest. Phones are so integral to our lives, I don't think it's rational to cheap out on any part of the phone that matters. IMO what doesn't matter is the difference between the Pixel a-series and a flagship phone. Battery life definitely matters so having a pretty new battery is worth some of the premium of upgrading so often.

Warning, the store credit applies to your next purchase. But I'm pretty loyal to Google and Pixels.

I kept my previous phone for 4 years, I've had my current one for 2, and I'm hoping to keep it for at least 2 more, hopefully longer

Only when absolutely necessary. Like, it doesn't work at all anymore. I've only ever had 6 phones including the one I have now. A sidekick, the original Razr, a Nexus 4, a Samsung S4, a OnePlus 6, and currently on a Pixel 8.

Typical dad here. I replace it when it dies. I usually get 5 years or so out of each one.

I keep mine until they die or become so slow that it just isn't very usable anymore.

I used to have a One Plus 3 for 4 years until it fell out of my pocket and a cow (or cows) stomped on it. It came back to me after another farmhand found it in the mud 3 months later. Still works, but completely bent, and screen is cracked and crazy discoloured. I keep it now as a paperweight, or to hotspot. I also keep my Canadian sim card in it so I know exactly where it is when I go back.

Then I had a OP6 for another 3 years, and it black screened.

I now have a Samsung S23, and will keep it until it dies.

BTW, I think there are charging port cleaners out there, if nobody has mentioned it already.

My first "own" smartphone and not second hand from family members was a samsung galaxy s7 I bought in 2016, I kept using it until the battery nearly died (took a whooping... 15 minutes to go from 100% to 0%) in 2022 and I couldn't simply change it due to the glass back being broken, the screen had severe burn-ins and the OS was no longer maintained so I ended up switching.

That first phone that lasted only 6 years was a valuable lesson, it shaped my wishlist for a "perfect" phone, which ironicaly enough was another samsung one, but xcover rather than S. Hoping that this one with no glass back, an amovible battery, no oled screen and that went from android 12 to 16 (and still going) will last longer.

I wish my old S7 could have any use beside paperweigh but I couldn't find any sadly.

I kept my S7 until they shutdown 3g service and then bought the oldest 5g phone I could find and ill keep it until it dies or they shutdown 5g.

My previous phone was replaced when the main (for most apps only) camera stopped working, and more importantly, it randomly rebooted frequently whenever Wi-Fi was on. Also, my carrier didn't acknowledge that it used LTE, so it was about to be booted off the network.

Also the OS was old enough that some apps I used were starting to drop support and I would hear about others I couldn't install.

And Google Services Framework very often got into a rut where it would use 100% CPU and crash every few seconds, eventually getting bad enough that rebooting rarely helped. I wrote a long bash script to try and monitor it and reset it when it did this (by deleting a file that occasionally seemed to help and killing all its processes at once) but it just got worse over time. I didn't want to do a factory reset for some reason I've now forgotten.

I tried to keep my phone until it's on its last legs. I had my OnePlus 6T for over 6 years after the battery life was abysmal. Before that I had a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact that literally fell apart.

I'd like to keep my Pixel 9 Pro for several years, fingers crossed!

Got my first smartphone when I was 30 already (it was a gift), I'm closing to 40 now and I'm still using the same phone.

My current one is around 6 years old. I don’t really have a set time table, what made me replace my last one is it slipped out of my hand I watch in slo-mo as it fell to its death.

When I break it or it becomes unusable. I paid extra when I got my current phone for a thicker case that also plugs up the charging port, because the charging port has been the point of failure on most of my phones so far. On the other hand, I do have wireless charging built-in this time, so I could use that if the USBC port dies.

About every 3 years, when I break it eventually, I'm forced to get a new one. Would keep this one forever.

Whenever I want, though I usually wait until someone else's (family) phone goes EoL with security updates, then I get a new device (pixel) and they get my used device for whatever the going rate is for trade-in to G. They get a gently used phone at like 1/3rd the price I paid, I get a new shiny thing to geek out on, I trade in their device that was once my device to help contain the costs of the new device, and they stay secure which makes my life easier and keeps my nerves relatively-relaxed. The circle of liiiiiife~

This fall will be different though, since I got the 10 fold this past year, so I won't need/want a new phone, but a family member has the pixel 6 that will be going EoL. Probably help them trade in the 6 for an 11 and call it a day, keep my 10. Fall 2027 will be different, another pixel going EoL, so I might grab the 12 fold or whatever, pass down my 10 fold, trade in their 7 pro. Then everyone will be on security updates for... 7 years from release? So we won't need new devices until 5 years from now, that being our 8 pro.

My current phone is 3 years old. I have no intention to replace it unless it breaks.

I replace it when it stops working. I replaced my old phone after 6 years of use, after it suddenly decided to just not work. Litterally from one day to another. Still not convinced it wasn't some kind of software end of life bullshit, because litterally everything broke at the same time.

When the old one breaks or is so damn old there simply isn't enough RAM to run the OS plus any apps.

The RAM thing is what happened to my last one. Got to the point that it would take minutes to launch an app, even after a fresh restore.

So probably close to a decade for each phone, barring an accident. I'm at 5-6 years now with my Pixel4a and it's still working perfectly fine.

I trade it in for a new one every 2-3 years so I can get the most money for it

i was forced to replace it in jan, after dropping a PIXEL 5A only a few feet, the screen went permanently black, as i found out this was 1 of 2 of the defects of the phone. so i just looked around and got an OP12R, DID NOT want a google or samsung phone. and this one had a great battery, dont care much about fast charging.

if i was looking for budget phones, i wouldve been looking at MOTO phones. the other 2 phones have shittier battery tech, in favor of thier AI.

When the battery does not hold long enough. I don't care enough to put effort into my phone anyway. I pick between the cheaper models at the local store despite work paying for it.

When it stops working. I've had this one for 3 years

I may have a special case here so either 3 or 5-6

• replace every 2-3 years or battery health == 80%
• replace battery and give old one to my teen

I personally replace frequently but I as the owner keep them 5-6 years, replaced on a rolling basis

I kept a flip phone until 2015, so I'm pretty hardcore about the don't replace it if you don't have to vibe we apparently all have here. I did swap the 2015 smart phone for a different one in 2019, because it was essentially 'broken' by the cell carrier into not receiving important functions like connecting to their towers. I've decided to not replace this current one until I'm forced to, and then it's time for anything but an iphone/android.

The earliest order I can see related to my current phone is 2021. I quite like it and changed out the battery this year, so it lasts all day again.

Sometimes the performance slows down and I don't know if that's because of poor software updates, but it has a headphone jack and a great DAC. The screen is still in good condition, etc, so I don't intend to replace it any time soon.