Phone with control over updates

[mark7914]

I will need to replace my Samsung S8. It's the best phone I've ever had for one main reason: it never gets any updates.

That's because, early on, I installed a package blocker to kill the "Software Update" package and some Samsung bloatware and spyware and the thing functions just as perfectly as the day it was new. It is very nearly bug-free, still optimised precisely as it was for magazine reviews when it was new and it hasn't been killed by rushed updates.

It does however have a cracked screen now hence the need to replace it. Although I could get it repaired but the Edge screen is expensive.

I got that when I'd finally had enough of Apple's endless updates each of which introduced new bugs. I didn't have enough hours in the day to own an Apple phone any more and got fed up with Googling to find out what's gone wrong with it now.

My single biggest priority with a mobile is that it doesn't update itself or that I can control when it updates itself so I make the decision. That way I won't leave the house, try to open an app which worked yesterday, but doesn't work today. I need to know that it's usable when I need to use it.

The trick with the S8 was a "fiddle", without which the thing would constantly pop up a full page dialog nagging about the update which very nearly had me sending it back for a refund shortly after getting it until I discovered I could circumvent it.

Apple is out of the question because it had too many bugs and update nagware.

Which Android phones either allow control over updates or are possible to override in precisely the same way as I've had with my current phone?

 

[Rukbat]

None of them - updates can be postponed, but eventually become mandatory. (Because of security updates. Your S8 was very susceptible to malware.)

You can root any Android phone (with Magisk) - that keeps updates from installing. (They'll still download - but they'll fail at the integrity check, before installing.) However, once rooted, you can disable the updater app. (Link2SD is free, and it freezes apps - leave it installed, so you can unfreeze it when you actually want to update.)

 

[mark7914]

That's a bit disappointing. I know with Apple that I can (or used to be able to) block Apple at a network level at home, so it can't update itself (also disables the Apple messaging but I can live with that and just use SMS) but it then downloads updates over 4G/5G when out and about which have to then be manually deleted every time it does it, again and again, which was tiresome and used up the data allowance.

Good to know anyway, thanks. I think I'll get mine repaired.