[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation

I have a 5 year old Xiaomi 9, the only issue is that the battery doesn't hold power anymore. Need roughly 4 charges/day and I believe it's bloated because when I leave it to charge for too long the screen would bump up a bit.

Only changed it late last year when company handed me a xiaomi 13.

upgraded from my iphone 8 in 2 or so years because my carrier basically gave me a free phone, and i plan to run this one into the ground. next i want to get the fairphone so that i can repair it myself

When they become unusable due to freezing, bad hardware failures, etc. That has usually been around every 3-4 years.

When it breaks + the replacement cost as much as the phone costs (I generally buy secondhand)

When I stop getting security patches or can't salvage it after a drop. Replaced a screen on my galaxy s20 it cost me $300 but it turns out the replace everything but the motherboard and the cameras. I was pretty pissed about that because it was needlessly waist full and it cost me more.

When the last phone breaks

Whenever it breaks, really.

I've had this phone I pretty much got for free since 2016 I believe (2 for 1 offer), and even though battery has gotten pretty weak recently, it works quite well as long as I don't watch videos.

Every 2-3 years I'd say. I kept my previous phone, a Samsung Galaxy A50, until its contract ran out and sold it afterwards (didn't really like it that much tbh). I plan on using my Pixel 6 Pro for as long as possible, though.

Whenever someone else gives me their old one. I let the updates happen automatically if that's what you're asking though.

My current (Android, custom ROM that still gets updates) phone is 6 years old. I tend to upgrade when the phone breaks, the battery gives up, I hear of some severe vulnerability, or even these updates stop. As a replacement I get something used in the $100-150 range, so at least a couple years old. Maybe every 5 years or so.

Edit: The power bank is my friend.

I've had phones since 2004, replaced first one quick due to theft and had 7 since then. So every 2 to 3 years it seems. Currently have pixel 5 since before 6 was announced and don't plan on changing it.

Thanks for starting this question: I have to figure out a new usage pattern

We have two kids who also need phones, so ….

New iPhones every 2-4 years. The kids get the previous ones with a new battery. Adults get new high end (iPhone 15 Pro 256 GB), kids get a recent phone (13 Pro 256GB). This past one was only 2 years because the previous had been 4 and the kids old ones were trash - iPhones are good for 6 years. Cost averages out to not quite as bad as it could be.

However my first kid is in college, so we really only have one more shot, before we adjust to him being an independent adult

I switch phones when they become unusable, so about 4 years in my experience. That's plenty for me, especially since I buy older (cheaper) models. Also, I'm rough on my phones so I outfit them with heavy-duty cases from day one.

My previous phone was a LG Stylo 3. It lasted 5 years, albeit with greatly decreased battery capacity. I was just thinking of ordering a replacement battery when it suddenly bricked itself while charging... first time I ever lost a phone unexpectedly. Before it I had a Samsung Note 2 - its charging port started failing but I still managed to backup everything by hotwiring the battery.

I really wish we could repair phones more easily and cost-effectively. I just can't accept that something that costs ~500 CAD is "temporary", technological changes be damned.

When they stop getting software updates or i find a newer one really cheap.

I wish I could say not very often. But the last few years I have made shit decisions with phones. I can't remember what phone I had when it started, but I think it was a Galaxy. It would mess gifs up and take hours to send them. One time it sent one to my friend at 3 am the next day.

So I switched to a Pixel (I figured I may as well go all in on the data sharing). It lasted for awhile but then I ran into issues with phone signal, ended up getting a new sim card and kept having the issue. Tried a new phone same issue, so I returned it and went back to my old one. Then this year I switched to a new Pixel (I'm poor now and it was free*). Surprise, surprise, I still have a lot of issues.

Best and first smartphone I ever had was the Nokia Windows phone, can't remember what it was called but it was brilliant aside from the lackluster app availability. I miss flip phones but I am scared to switch back to one because my laptop also sucks (thanks HP!).

Usually once a year maybe once every two years. All my work stuff is tied to my phone from email and IM to expense reports and slack. Need it to run well or I am stuck in slow mode

I only upgrade when my current device becomes unusable.

I recently had to upgrade because the power connector for my LG V60 snapped off and it can't be charged anymore. I got it only a month or so after release so I had to have it for almost 4 years. Ain't nothing wrong with it other than the power port, but I figure it's probably cheaper to just use the free upgrade offered via my service plan than trying to fix this old phone that I can't even root. Before that I had a Samsung S4 (accidentally sat on it and busted the camera, the screen and bent the whole device) and before that was my first smartphone ever, the Nexus 4 (had it so long the battery itself just stopped holding a charge and finding a replacement at that time was impossible even though it had a replaceable battery).

Got a Pixel 8 since it was the least garbage device I could get. I'm not all that happy with it, but most of that is simply because it's carrier locked so I can't enable OEM Unlocking until it's completely paid off.

Since I switched from iPhone to Android I've been getting a new phone every year. Even tried a Flip. You can sometimes get good deals as a Google Fi customer.

TL;DR: I've got a pile of not-that-old phones I should probably donate.

As a younger man, I used to always get an upgrade after two years but I finally broke out of that cycle and finally got a SIM only contract and bought a decent mid range phone. It's now three years old, still working fine and I don't see myself changing it anytime soon.

1. for 3y - galaxy grand prime
2. for 2y - huawei p20 lite, would still use it if i didn't destroy it Now :mi 11 lite 5g - from 2021, board, display issues, annoyed by absence of the headphone jack.

• pinephone (terrible hardware, but suprisingly good software) after the destruction of p20 lite until the 11lite

Work exposure to extreme heat and cold usually kills mine every year. I'm looking seriously at repairability.

I still use my s9 which I bought when it came out. The s24 is out now.

Works perfectly fine and has absolutely everything I need.

when its clearly on the stretcher ill upgrade, otherwise im still happy with my s9+

only when I inevitably drop it in water and it won't boot anymore, except for when rice magically makes it boot again

Whenever it stops working.

When I'm forced to. My most recent phone was free because carries were upgrading to 5g and I was still rocking 3g. Same story with the phone before that but it was some other network thing I can't remember. I haven't paid for a phone in almost 10 years.

Only when forced to by the phone breaking, switching providers, or, as in the case of my last phone, when they shut down a network (2G).