When is it time to get a new cell phone?

[Picklethewickle]

Do you replace your phone often? Do you have to have the latest tech, or do you like to hang on to the old? Are you watching the sunset of 3G networks? Do you even remember 3G enough to know or care?

 

(Please note the poll is single choice.)

[Ceebs]

Every 2-ish years. I don't care about having the latest technology, but I do care about having something that runs as smoothly as possible because I get extremely stressed and anxious when things aren't working perfectly. If I waited longer to replace my phone it would just get increasingly bogged down and the battery life would be super shitty. If new ones couldn't be synced to old ones then I would probably wait longer though, because I get stressed out about not having All My Stuff on my device. I need things to remain the same as much as possible. I got my first smartphone almost 15 years ago and I've had eight devices total and there's stuff on my current one from every one of my previous ones.

[Atreides]

When you have to plug the charger in a very specific way so it actually charges your phone. That has been my indicator for the past few times. And usually that is after 2 years of usage in my experience.

[Ceebs]

Also haha... the option 'every few months'. If anyone chooses that option, please explain why. I can't fathom having the desire to do that even if one could easily afford it. It's just not a timeline that makes sense relative to what we're talking about. It would be like if someone said they changed their bedsheets twice a day or showered every couple of hours.

[Purple Red Panda]

I replace mine when the battery starts to really go or other technical issues make it a pain in the arse to use. It doesn't occur to me to replace a phone just so I can get a newer one with more bells and whistles.

 

I first got a cell in 1999, I'm currently on phone number 5.

[Picklethewickle]

17 minutes ago, Mrs Telecaster-to-be said:

Also haha... the option 'every few months'. If anyone chooses that option, please explain why.

I actually knew someone who did this. He had a new phone almost every time I saw him, though in his case he wasn't paying for it. His uncle always had access to the newest phones of all kinds, and would pass down his castoffs. Personally, I don't know how he managed to get used to a new phone in time to use it properly before he got the next one.  (I don't know how his uncle always had them, and I chose not to ask.)

[Ceebs]

1 minute ago, Picklethewickle said:

I actually knew someone who did this. He had a new phone almost every time I saw him, though in his case he wasn't paying for it. His uncle always had access to the newest phones of all kinds, and would pass down his castoffs. Personally, I don't know how he managed to get used to a new phone in time to use it properly before he got the next one.  (I don't know how his uncle always had them, and I chose not to ask.)

Wow, that just sounds annoying. 😂 If you worked in the tech industry I can see how it might be fun to play around with new things at work or whatever, but not actually replacing your own device that frequently.

[blunose2772]

only reason I upgraded to a smartphone was my provider stopped service on non smartphones.

[SkyWorld]

I wish I could choose more than one option. Usually either every few years or when the old one breaks. And by break, I also mean when it’s running very slow and it’s time for an upgrade. Every few months or when the new one comes out is just too often and unnecessary.

[Guest]

I replaced my old phone after about 4 years, when my apps started no longer being supported on it. My current phone is older than that and has a screen glitch, and I have no plans to replace it yet. 

[Sister Mercurial]

I buy cheap flip phones and use them until they break.  

[daveb]

As infrequently as I can. I got my current one a year or 2 ago, because my old one wouldn't load things such as security updates any longer. And even then, it was months before I finally got the new one.

[asexualien]

I try to use mine until things start to happen. For example, if apps begin to crash randomly. I believe it’s time for me to get one now because of charging problems. It’ll charge, but it shouldn’t take me taking my charger in and out of it multiple times to get it to charge. I know it’s not the charger itself because it works fine with my iPad. But yeah, I don’t see the point in upgrading unless anything serious is happening with it. 

[lovely_xm07]

When my old phone breaks, but also when the battery starts acting up. Like I charge it and the battery won’t hold up as long as it used to. Obviously, all batteries lose its health over time, but I’m talking about when it gets really bad or low on its health. 

[Karret]

I went with every few years because that's generally when the design obsolescence kicks in and it starts getting ridiculously slow and virtually unusable.

[R_1]

I rather not pay $1000 for each new phone, so I'm happy to wait.

[Squirrel Combat]

It feels like I get a new one every year because of some crap. For my last change it was from misguided urging that my battery was so dead that my mobile data was being severed. Take my advice, unless you plan on living in the country you buy the new phone, don't buy a new phone abroad. American mobile networks are such crap that it's taking me nearly two months and counting to secure a new number and plan. 🙄

[iff]

When it needs replacement.

 

The last time I replaced, the screenprotection was coming off and it was getting frustrating with keeping power/battery, notifications (even just text messages were not coming through in timely fashion)

 

That was about the end of June 2022 so 29  months ago.

 

I think 2 years is the planned obsolescence but no problems yet, apps seem to be updating too.

Edited December 5, 2024 by iff

[TinyEarthTourist]

... My phone is almost as old as me 😅

[everywhere and nowhere]

I don't like smartphones, so I only replace my phone if it's broken. I'm a "technological conservative" and it's still a bit of an understatement... I have very rigid habits in many areas, and not enjoying having to learn new technologies is one of them. I prefer to stick to technologies I'm used to, and so I gladly use a mobile phone which is already considered extremely outdated.

I currently use a Maxcom phone, designed for older people. My mom gave me the phone, she knows how much I would hate to have a smartphone... (Her husband, B., uses something similar, but it's for security reasons, probably, because he's a military officer.) Earlier I used a Nokia 6210, so I can make a comparison between those two.

 

+ Very sturdy. It can survive a fall from table height without any damage, without even turning off. And you know what happens to smartphones which fall from someone's table...

+ And compared to my old Nokia... its battery didn't fit precisely and it could turn off just from being shaken. Obviously no such thing happens now.

 

- After two years of use, the battery doesn't last very long anymore. But huh? - replacing phone because of battery life? That would be absurd, I'd just exchange the battery only...

- No games at all. (My Nokia had three, although obviously simple, since it had a black-and-green display.)

- No possibility to save anything except name and phone number in the contact book. This is a huge drawback, in my old Nokia I also saved addresses, e-mails (even if, obviously, it couldn't send e-mails), opening hours for local libraries...

- It either just has a problem with longer names or - so it seems to me - it also has something to do with Polish diacritic marks. For example "Marianna Klapczyńska" is saved as "Marianna K".

- And overall, its ability to display other characters is limited. On my Nokia I had no idea how to type in something other than Latin alphabet (plus my phone could type Polish diacritic marks, no problem... but couldn't send them), but I could receive text messages in Ukrainian (I responded in Ukrainian with Latin transcription). Now Cyrillic aphabet is displayed as rectangles, same for some Turkish diacritic marks (but not all - only dotless "i" and yumuşak ge, if I remember well). My phone also displays emojis as rectangles, but that's completely unsurprising and doesn't bother me.

- I have no idea how to send the same text message to more than one person without retyping it.

- I also have no idea how to disconnect a charging phone during a conversation without ending it.

- It doesn't seem to have any place to connect earphones. Big drawback. My ears itch when I talk on the phone and my arm gets tired... But at least the phone has a little loudspeaker, and I rarely use it out of home. When going grocery shopping and cycling, for example, I usually don't even take my phone with me...

 

The drawbacks seem to outweigh tha advantages, but it doesn't work like that for me. My choice of equipment is largely out of inertia. It works? - that's pretty much enough, I don't need any fancy functions from my phone...

[Guest]

The last time I switched fones it's 'cause I dropped it in the little stream of water on the side of the road by accident. 

 

it's been at least 7 years

 

who knows what will make me get a new one. I'll use it until it stops working. It's probable a lack of support will do it.

[fantastic mx. foxglove]

I've only ever had two phones, and the first one was passed down to me from my mother 

[lilihierax]

I use mine for as long as I can, until its functionality is really starting to break down and hinders my day-to-day productivity.

[lilihierax]

8 hours ago, Sister Mercurial said:

flip phones

[J. van Deijck]

Whenever the old one breaks.

 

Although my provider offers a new phone every time I sign a new contract, so I have a few spare phones lol. Currently one as all the rest is broken and one I gave to my dad when his phone broke.

[Luftschlosseule]

I just got my first new phone ever. So far I've only had handmedowns, but now my old phone was breaking. I have had issues with apps not working and memory running out for ages, but the charging insert in the phone got wobbly and charging it became a dance where I tried to position the cable different ways to get it to work.

So the new phone was an early christmas gift so no books at christmas, which is sad. But new phone!

[Dagomir]

This thread has appeared at just the time when my phone had been in my possession for 10 years, to the day. I'm going to use it until it breaks, which was also the case with my two previous phones, which became unusable much faster though (one drowned, one just stopped working  ). Having said that, these have all been old-school physical keyboard ones. 

 

On 12/5/2024 at 5:08 AM, binary suns said:

it's been at least 7 years

You can do it! Go for 10! 

[Lino]

I am very cheap when it comes to phones and I never want to buy a new phone unless I absolutely have to. My old one would freeze and then suddenly restart before locking onto the restart screen for an indefinite amount of time, and I still waited almost a year before buying a new one.

 

I will never spend more than $200.00 for a phone, mostly because a) I can't afford that, b) I'm clumsy and I WILL break it.

[peterh_137]

When you stop getting software and security updates, then it's time to think about a new one. So after around 3 years.

Unless of course your phone is badly damaged or battery is not working properly.

 

My phone that I'm typing this on I've had for just under 2.5 years. Scratches on the screen that you can feel when scrolling.

Since June no longer qualifies for patch/ security updates, will look to replace when the newest model comes out at the start of the year, it will be 3 generations newer than my current one

[Sally]

When you want one and can afford it.