how long do you keep your cell phone?

**Jluke** · 07-07-2016, 07:37 AM

In November, I will have had my iphone 4s for 4 years.

waiting on a good sale from virgin mobile or boost mobile and then I might get the 6S or 6S Plus.

**bjl584** · 07-07-2016, 07:50 AM

My last phone lasted just over 2 years before it stopped working.

My current phone is 17 months old.

To answer your question, I keep my phones until they stop working and can't be repaired.

My last phone would only work if it was plugged into the wall charger. It essentially turned into a land-line.

The phone before that stopped charging altogether. The battery slowly died, then it was just done.

**MonkeyMama** · 07-07-2016, 07:52 AM

Not really sure since haven't had smart phones that long. I'd like to keep my current phone for 4+ years, but I don't know how realistic that is on the tech side of things. As is, I've had it about 2.25 years; bought an older model to begin with.

IT was an expensive phone, which is why I was thinking 4 years, just to justify the purchase. I could probably get a comparable phone for half the price these days. But from an environmental standpoint I am not really into churning through electronics. I'll keep my phone as long as it is working enough for my needs/wants.

P.S. My phone looks good as new.

**bjl584** · 07-07-2016, 08:05 AM

Originally posted by MonkeyMama View Post

Not really sure since haven't had smart phones that long. I'd like to keep my current phone for 4+ years, but I don't know how realistic that is on the tech side of things. As is, I've had it about 2.25 years; bought an older model to begin with.

IT was an expensive phone, which is why I was thinking 4 years, just to justify the purchase. I could probably get a comparable phone for half the price these days. But from an environmental standpoint I am not really into churning through electronics. I'll keep my phone as long as it is working enough for my needs/wants.

You probably won't get 4 years out of it unfortunately.

One, they aren't constructed robustly enough to last that long in most cases.

Two, the hardware on your phone can only handle so many updates. Eventually the technology just gets too obsolete to perform.

**phantom** · 07-07-2016, 08:57 AM

I got 5+ years out of each of my first two phones. But, those were feature phones, and my current phone is a smartphone that I bought used, so I'm not expecting it to last long. I'm just over the 2 year mark and still pretty happy with it. I'm hoping to get at least another year before the battery starts to fade or until I can't run the latest versions of the apps I want.

**snafu** · 07-07-2016, 09:38 AM

Long story short...tekkie obsessed son really disliked my 1 y/o HTC phone and gifted me his [unlocked] iPhone 5 that was slightly more than a year old. He sold the HTC for about what I had paid and had a new, employer supplied Galaxy. I've had this smart phone slightly over two years and plan to continue to use it until I have a problem [or son gives me a hard time about old technology]

I'm tekkie challenged and don't use all the features but I love that it not only tracks all our various streams of investment 24/7 but it watches the symbols for my next two planned 'buys.'

**GoodSteward** · 07-07-2016, 10:41 AM

As someone who loves electronics, I get excited about new tech. Every year they have new processors, more memory, higher resolution screens, etc. However, as someone who works with electronics, I can tell you if you can use a phone for more than 2 years you can use it until the software forces you to change(many more years). Phone hardware is advancing quickly but without really any major need right now outside of "who has the best on the market." App makers are in it for the long haul for money, so this makes apps useful for many years. I have an old galaxy S (first one) laying around, and I can still use it and use all the basic apps I'm used to. Marketing and keeping up with the jones has more to do with upgrades than actual needs for 90% of the people out there.

I'm all about upgrading hardware because I like hardware. However, most people are just fine using hardware from years back. This is true for computers and phones. Unless you game on your phone or you are trying to replace a DSLR camera and always want the best camera, there is no reason to upgrade, even every two years. A lot of that speed boost you have is due to it being a clean install of the software, and not so much because of the faster hardware. Also, the two-year mark is due to the contracts people are used to. When the contract is up it's upgrade time. That seems to have created this idea that a two-year-old phone is....old.

I prefer android, but if you want something that will be supported longer than Apple would be the best option. Android is just software, and the cell phone makers stop supporting devices usually 2 years into it because android releases an update yearly and they have to code custom parts to make their phone different, so instead of doing this for old phones they just drop them.

Apple is currently supporting the iphone 4s with iOS 9(the newest). I checked and that phone came out in Oct of 2011. There is NO phone on the market outside of this one that is still officially being supported and updated that was made in 2011. Don't let the tech world fool you, you don't have to upgrade.

I keep phones until I feel like trying something different, but I always buy used.

**feh** · 07-08-2016, 05:42 AM

I've had my Moto G for 20 months, with no plans to replace it.

**disneysteve** · 07-08-2016, 05:45 AM

I keep my cell phone until it dies. I currently have an iPhone 5. I'm not sure how long I've had it but it's been a few years. Before that, I had an iPhone 3 and the only reason I replaced it was because they stopped supporting it so the apps didn't work anymore. My current phone is needing to be charged more often, but other than that it's still just fine.

**GoodSteward** · 07-08-2016, 06:34 AM

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

I keep my cell phone until it dies. I currently have an iPhone 5. I'm not sure how long I've had it but it's been a few years. Before that, I had an iPhone 3 and the only reason I replaced it was because they stopped supporting it so the apps didn't work anymore. My current phone is needing to be charged more often, but other than that it's still just fine.

I had an iphone 5 for work, and had to upgrade to a 6 when the screen started messing up. There is 0 difference between the two other than a bigger screen from what I can see day to day. I know inside it is "better," but they just made a good phone from the start and other than on paper, you don't really see a lot of improvements. In fact I can't tell any at all.

**cypher1** · 07-08-2016, 06:52 AM

Ideally 3 years, but the last one was just over 2, thinking it was bad battery. Turns out software related, and reloaded OS as a backup phone.

**phantom** · 07-08-2016, 07:09 AM

Originally posted by GoodSteward View Post

I had an iphone 5 for work, and had to upgrade to a 6 when the screen started messing up. There is 0 difference between the two other than a bigger screen from what I can see day to day. I know inside it is "better," but they just made a good phone from the start and other than on paper, you don't really see a lot of improvements. In fact I can't tell any at all.

I test on an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 6 at work. There are times when the 5 is noticeably slower, but definitely not many, especially not in the sort of apps I write. The big differences that come to mind (other than screen size) are the fingerprint reader and the ability to use Apple Pay.

**GoodSteward** · 07-08-2016, 07:39 AM

Originally posted by phantom View Post

I test on an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 6 at work. There are times when the 5 is noticeably slower, but definitely not many, especially not in the sort of apps I write. The big differences that come to mind (other than screen size) are the fingerprint reader and the ability to use Apple Pay.

I am not an apple person, so I don't have apple pay setup. I also never bothered with the fingerprint scanner. So, for me it felt the same, just zoomed in.

Apple is great at keeping devices updated, but at the same time since they are the only one's making iOS devices you also loose the appeal of "new" The only difference you get to see is some things work a little faster, and the benchmarks are better. To keep things seamless, they blur the lines of improvements IMO. Not really a bad thing if you like them. It just explains why so many people keep older apple devices. You walk into an apple store and it looks the same as what you have.

**disneysteve** · 07-08-2016, 07:59 AM

Originally posted by GoodSteward View Post

It just explains why so many people keep older apple devices.

Until they force you into upgrading. That's what happened with my iPhone 3. They cut off support so the apps wouldn't work any more and I had no choice but to get a new phone even though there was nothing wrong with the one I had.

That said, I'm glad I upgraded because the 5 is phenomenally better than the 3.

how long do you keep your cell phone?