To ask how often you upgrade your phone?

It's normally around 5 years for me, the battery generally starts to go by then. Also when they stop pushing out security updates for my phone, I start thinking about upgrading.

When the phone is so old that the latest OS won't work on it, and therefore some crucial apps stop working. And when that happens (5-10 years), I buy a refurbished iphone, the previous year's model not the latest one.

And I have a pay-as-you-go thing with O2, £10 a month, and you can load credit so you're not always having to remember to pay the £10. Effectively the same as a contract but you can end it whenever you want.

When it breaks, and can’t be repaired. Last one I dropped in the sea and it corroded. I don’t have phones on contract now, I always have sim only. Having said that, I like taking nice photos, so I quite enjoyed getting a new one with a better camera.

I usually get about 4 years from my iPhone which I use for everything. I don’t have a laptop or any other device. I don’t replace till it’s showing signs of giving up on me. I bought my current iPhone 14s on 2 years interest free credit in the Apple shop which was cheaper than any contract monthly payments.

Then got a lebara monthly no contract sim. It was 99p a month for the first 6 months for 20gb and unlimited mins and texts. More than I need as I’m mostly on WiFi. I’m paying £6 a month now. I could look for another 99p deal but haven’t got around to it yet. Lebara is on the Vodafone network and no complaints. The best sim only no contract deals can usually be found on moneysavingexpert.com . This has reminded now to check tonight to improve on my £6 deal.

Often, every year at least. But I donate my old phones directly to people who need them.

When it breaks or if the battery doesn't last longer than a couple of hours.

I bought an iPhone 13mini at launch and would still be using it for at least another year if it hadn’t just refused to charge one day. I ordered a new one a month ago, and the very next day my old one started charging normally again. Really frustrating.

Same here. My DP upgraded at the weekend so i now have a new phone. The battery on my old phone was getting dodgy and it was that old it wasn't getting security/software updates anymore. I declined my "upgrade" last time he changed his phone as i cant be arsed with transferring everything, sorting passwords etc.
As long as i can make and receive calls/emails/WhatsApp, take a half decent photo and get online.... couldn't care less about having the latest models !

Every 3ish years, to get a better camera

This is exactly the kind of thing I hate .. aspects of the internet gradually packing up

I need people to keep upgrading their phones because my last 4 phones are other people's castoffs🤣 I have an iPhone 11 at the moment and will use it until it dies (or someone who can't resist shiny new stuff lets me have their old one.)

mine is five years old. I don’t want to replace it but my Monzo bank account will no longer work on it some time next year, so I’m forced to change it.

yep, sorry
https://endoflife.date/iphone

I have no interest in new tech for the sake of it, and am happy to keep a phone for years if it's still working. I do find though that after about 3-4 years I do start to encounter issues - battery life or build up of screen damage etc. or generally it just starts to glitch a bit and struggle with all I ask of it. It is probable that I contribute to this by not really paying much attention to memory and storage etc. but yes, usually about 3 years down the line most of my phones seem to stop doing their thing properly and I replace. I normally just ask for 'something similar' to what I already had.

Currently got an iPhone 7 Plus ! Is that now an antique?

If you're still using the samsung build on it you should look at either installing lineageos on it or replacing the phone. The S10 stopped getting security updates a year and a half ago.

Only when it gets slow etc which magically seems to be when upgrade time is around..

If you are buying budget this is one thing to look out for.

Often the budgets will only offer you 1 or 2 Android upgrades which means you are only good for a couple of years of the latest OS, but some manufacturers offer more. For example I think Samsung have typically been better historically in terms of the number of upgrades they offer on budget phones.

For me normally within 2-3 years the screen has smashed or the battery is wearing out, so replacing it for £150 to get a new OS is not a major issue.

I not J!

After keeping a Smart phone for 8 years, I’m more likely to wait until J break before I get a new one !

You need to check when devices stop getting security updates. They're not safe to use online if they're not getting operating system patches anymore.

What I hate the most is the fact that the software gradually becomes obsolete

I had some sort of silver grey Nokia thing with a keyboard and james bond style shoulder holster at one stage, bought for me rather than by me.

I think Nokia are now discontinued in Europe by HMD so will probably have to move to some other brand for my disposable smartphone use in the future.

As little as I can. Usually every 3 to 5 years I think? I hate setting up a new phone, and it's wasteful. It's usually either the camera or the charging that go. Mine is on it's way out (charging issues) but even replacing it like for like is more expensive than when I bought the damned thing, so I am truly running this one into the ground.

Did you ever have the N96 ?

got mine in 2009 and aw I loved it so much ! ❤️