To ask how often you upgrade your phone?

[thecherryfox]

I used to upgrade my phone every 2 years when my contract ended, but i feel like I have got to the time of maturity where I have a fully working phone with no issues - there’s no need to upgrade it. I have a sim only plan which is up soon and I think I’m just going to extend it instead of getting a new phone. I feel like I’m just going to wait until this phone is in no longer working condition and then get a new phone.

so I guess I’m asking, are you all tech people and get a new phone every couple of years or are you someone who waits until it breaks until you get a new one?

If and when it breaks My Samsung S10 still going strong

My current one has been going for four and a half years. It’s getting a bit creaky but still works. I’ll use it until I absolutely can’t - I like to get my money’s worth, and it’s better for the environment. A sim-only contract is also so much cheaper!

When it breaks

I had my last iPhone for 4.5 years and it still worked perfectly well apart from the battery running down a bit quicker. I upgraded because I started to get a bit worried that it might die one day and leave me in the lurch, but it would probably have lasted longer. It’s definitely a myth that iPhones only last a couple of years. And even though it was that old, I still got £73 for trading it in with O2 Recycle.

I used to be the same!

Now I work in tech. I use the newest iPhone for work, but have my 4 year old iPhone as my personal one (which I'm on all the time) and it's still going strong. I really don't see the difference between them 🫠

My current phone is six years old. It does everything I want it to do. I have a sim only contract and buy the phone outright when I need a new one.

In the early-mid 2000s I would get a new one every 12 months when my contract expired. Now I keep my phone until it stops working, 3 - 4 years usually.

When the battery gets really crap or the OS really slow, usually 3.5-4 years.

I bought my iPhone 7 in 2016 and had it until 2022 when I bought the iPhone 14 - I've just gone down to sim only and plan to keep it for several more years.

I get a new phone when my current one starts to break. Averaging 3-5 years but I'm SIM only and buy the phone outright so don't feel I need a new phone when a contract ends.

Usually when the battery makes it impractical to keep going- 4-5 years?

To ask how often you upgrade your phone?

When my phone stops working. I seem to keep phones for a long time because as they say "My hands don't break electronics easily". Most of my phones still look like new after years of using them.

The greedy phone companies want me to buy their phones every year or 2 years but if I have no need for them, I don't. I change my contract to sim only if I don't need a phone or they don't have the phone I like (which they rarely do).

Wait till it breaks....

Same here. Usually about every 4-5 years when the battery gets that its not lasting long enough and the IOS isn't being updated.

Every four/five years.
I buy the handset outright. Pay about £10 a month for data to Giffgaff

Every 4 or 5 years here too and I don't go for the newest model. I have just upgraded to iphone 14 as my previous phone stopped charging properly. When I was younger I used to get a new phone each time my contact was up though.

Until the operating system doesn't work well enough any more (ie - it breaks). I replaced the battery a couple of times on my last iPhone to extend its life - I had it for 6 years, and only bought my latest one in 2023 as they were going to discontinue the mini iPhone models in favour of all the giant ones. Otherwise would have kept the old one for a bit longer

On a PAYG SIM and I would only replace a phone when it is broken.
I am still on my first ever smartphone (which admittedly I only got less than 4yrs ago).

When it stops working. And I always buy a refurbished phone rather than brand new.

Only when i feel my current camera isn't very good anymore, so every 3years ish

When it breaks or the battery packs in and stops holding a day's worth of battery power.

Whenever one of my kids upgrade theirs, I get their old one. Which of course works perfectly fine for me, for some reason.

Like others, I'm on a pay-as-you-go sim-only contract and would only replace my phone when it no longer works (i.e. broken, getting too slow or unable to run apps I need). I only ever buy second-hand phones, anyway.

When it needs it. Last one after about 8 years?

Like @FriendlyNeighbourhoodAccountant I prefer to buy my phone outright and keep it until it dies. Five years on average, often more.

I pay £7.60 for my SIM only contract.

I feel irresponsible if I ditch perfectly good tech because there’s a new shiny thing available - it all feels a bit ‘single use plastic’. I know there’s a second hand market and recycling, but it still feels kind of wrong to me.