Brand new S5 from ebay?

[gray2018]

Back in the day, I had used the S5 from 2015-2017. Its the best experience I have had with a phone personally. It always worked flawlessly. And the removable battery was soooo nice. I picked up an LG G6 shortly after and used that for a year. Hated it. Worst device I've ever used. I have been using the V30 since 2018 and its a pretty solid device. I did crack mine however. I might be looking to move on to a new device. I have tried the S9 plus in the past and returned it. Nothing but issues. Then the G8. Same. Nothing but issues. Makes me wonder if I should bother purchasing a newer device. I have seen the S5 on ebay for 100 dollars unlocked brand new. For how good it was back in the day AND removable battery feature.. Would it be worth it giving it another whirl? Doesnt have that much memory on it though.

 

[11B1P]

I wouldn't. You're not going to get anywhere close to the needed security updates. Even if it is new, what's the battery condition going to be? Where has this new phone been the last 4 years? There too many current updated phones to go with an older phone.

 

[gray2018]

Yeah phones for700-1000 dollars that arent worth a crap. I couldnt get good service on the S9 or G8 that I had and yet have no problem with my V30 or older phones. I dont care about updates. And when I had the phone, I always used extra batteries that I had lying around that were fully charged. I always had 3 that I could swap out whenever one was dead.

 

[B. Diddy]

You might not care about updates, but those who may want to exploit a security hole certain do care about updates (or rather, the lack thereof). So it is a risk you should consider. 11B1P's point about batteries is that any replacement battery you might find for the S5 will most likely have been manufactured years ago, which means they've been sitting on a shelf and degrading for a while.

Also, keep in mind that APIs get deprecated, and older Android versions start losing the ability to support current apps. You would probably start to encounter this more and more.

Have you considered the Pixel 3a? Much cheaper than a flagship, and from all reports, and excellent phone.

 

[gray2018]

You might not care about updates, but those who may want to exploit a security hole certain do care about updates (or rather, the lack thereof). So it is a risk you should consider. 11B1P's point about batteries is that any replacement battery you might find for the S5 will most likely have been manufactured years ago, which means they've been sitting on a shelf and degrading for a while.

Also, keep in mind that APIs get deprecated, and older Android versions start losing the ability to support current apps. You would probably start to encounter this more and more.

Have you considered the Pixel 3a? Much cheaper than a flagship, and from all reports, and excellent phone.

Not being water resistant is a dealbreaker for me, so no.

 

[me just saying]

Back in the day, I had used the S5 from 2015-2017. Its the best experience I have had with a phone personally. It always worked flawlessly. And the removable battery was soooo nice. I picked up an LG G6 shortly after and used that for a year. Hated it. Worst device I've ever used. I have been using the V30 since 2018 and its a pretty solid device. I did crack mine however. I might be looking to move on to a new device. I have tried the S9 plus in the past and returned it. Nothing but issues. Then the G8. Same. Nothing but issues. Makes me wonder if I should bother purchasing a newer device. I have seen the S5 on ebay for 100 dollars unlocked brand new. For how good it was back in the day AND removable battery feature.. Would it be worth it giving it another whirl? Doesnt have that much memory on it though.

as they say, you can't go back. I believe the last android update was marshmallow. possibly too many of the apps you had will no longer work or will have issues. Unless you are a light users, it won't be the same. go ahead and get yourself a newer phone.

 

[gray2018]

as they say, you can't go back. I believe the last android update was marshmallow. possibly too many of the apps you had will no longer work or will have issues. Unless you are a light users, it won't be the same. go ahead and get yourself a newer phone.

Apps such as?

 

[me just saying]

Apps such as?

could not tell you but I know from experience that some apps are no longer backward compatible once they are upgraded to work with newer android os. Marshmallow is three upgrades ago and about to be four. just something you should consider.

 

[B. Diddy]

I agree with me just saying. I'm not aware of any major app that has currently become incompatible with Marshmallow, but I've seen posts about this happening with Lollipop devices recently, so it'll catch up fairly soon.

 

[gray2018]

Couldn't you custom rom the S5 and put a newer version of Android on it?

 

[Mooncatt]

Couldn't you custom rom the S5 and put a newer version of Android on it?

Assuming you find a newer ROM, technically yes. The problem here is it won't be an official ROM and you'll have to trust that whatever third party developer made it did their due diligence. They are not universal and must be developed for every specific version of every specific phone.

Keep in mind that as apps are updated, they generally use more and more resources. So even if you flashed a new ROM to keep using apps, they will eventually start dragging the phone down because the processor and memory simply can't keep up. So this is still a short term solution to a long term problem.

I agree with me just saying.

I pick "taking things out of context" for $1,000, Alex! Lol

 

[B. Diddy]

I pick "taking things out of context" for $1,000, Alex! Lol

Well, to be honest, I also agree with me. Just saying.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Almost any new phone will have better battery life, better performance, more memory, better camera, etc. Even entry level devices.

You will also be on an old version of android. Beyond the lack of security you will find more and more apps that simply cannot be installed or used.

It's your choice, but I would never recommend it.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Apps such as?

YouTube and Facebook Messenger are 2 commonly used apps no longer supported by the software the S5 shipped with, eventually they won't work on Marshmallow either.