How long will the V20 last?

[flyingkytez]

Today, most phones last 2-3 years before problems start showing (notably Apple, and recently the Samsung Note 4). Since the battery is removable, I'm thinking a very long time like 10 years. What do you think? I recently gave away a super old BlackBerry phone, but I turned it on and it still worked like it did 10 years ago. Why are some smartphones dying fast?

 

[chanchan05]

My S3 is till working as a second phone for my alternate number, my 7 year old Tab Plus is still working as my mom's candy crush/sim city machine... I don't see a reason why the v20 won't last as long at least as my 5yr old S3. It all depends on how you took care of it, barring accidents. For example as of 5mos ago my original Galaxy S was still working before it got water spilled on it. So that one lasted 7 years before an accident killed it.

 

[Mooncatt]

It'll depend on what you do with it. In stock form with current apps it should last a long time. If you keep updating all of your apps, eventually they will start demanding more than the phone can provide. I noticed this on my Droid Bionic when it was my backup phone.

 

[AtTheHop]

Battery failure is the most common killer, since the V20 battery is replaceable I plan on keeping mine forever and replacing the battery when it finally goes since they are so cheap and new phones all have non replaceable batteries. I use my old Galaxy S5 as a dash cam and just keep it plugged in when driving.

 

[flyingkytez]

My S3 is till working as a second phone for my alternate number, my 7 year old Tab Plus is still working as my mom's candy crush/sim city machine... I don't see a reason why the v20 won't last as long at least as my 5yr old S3. It all depends on how you took care of it, barring accidents. For example as of 5mos ago my original Galaxy S was still working before it got water spilled on it. So that one lasted 7 years before an accident killed it.

Wow the original Galaxy S? That's amazing it still worked. My brother has the original Nexus 7 tablet from 2012, battery was still holding a charge just fine but the touchscreen started to go bad, plus the LCD started to show some signs of aging. How's the battery on the Tab Plus tablet?

 

[flyingkytez]

It'll depend on what you do with it. In stock form with current apps it should last a long time. If you keep updating all of your apps, eventually they will start demanding more than the phone can provide. I noticed this on my Droid Bionic when it was my backup phone.

Updating the apps or updating the firmware OS?

 

[flyingkytez]

Battery failure is the most common killer, since the V20 battery is replaceable I plan on keeping mine forever and replacing the battery when it finally goes since they are so cheap and new phones all have non replaceable batteries. I use my old Galaxy S5 as a dash cam and just keep it plugged in when driving.

Nice. My biggest fear is LG pulling the plug on the V20, release an update that will "kill off" the V20 so people would upgrade to the lastest and greatest. I still have an LG Optimus Fuel, it's 3 years old and it works perfectly fine, battery is still fine. I use it everyday too.

Planning to keep the V20 forever too, it's a great backup phone and it's good for the next 5 years or more. Last of its kind to have a removable battery, kinda scared so I might buy a 2nd V20 as back up.

 

[Mooncatt]

Updating the apps or updating the firmware OS?

Mostly the apps.

 

[chanchan05]

Wow the original Galaxy S? That's amazing it still worked. My brother has the original Nexus 7 tablet from 2012, battery was still holding a charge just fine but the touchscreen started to go bad, plus the LCD started to show some signs of aging. How's the battery on the Tab Plus tablet?

Well my mom is using it so it doesn't see much use apart from game. But she charges once a day. When we go out though on trips and she plays with it sim city on 3G, (it has a sim), lasts probably 3-4hrs of sim city before it needs a recharge.

Actually I still have a working Galaxy Fit here. Battery is crap but still worked when we needed an extra phone for a duty group number we needed in my work. Right now I just keep it charged and running. When my devices retire I drawer them with no sim and turned on. With no sim if the battery is still good they last a few days, I just recharge them when they fit 50%. None of my devices stopped working. Since I have a second number for just work calls and texts, that sim switches phones a lot so all of them still gets used every now and then.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I seem to be seeing a lot of YouTube videos posted about the V20 lately, seems it is still popular a year later

 

[flyingkytez]

I seem to be seeing a lot of YouTube videos posted about the V20 lately, seems it is still popular a year later

Yeah, especially considering the awesome price cut. The phone is still a beast: 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage, SD 820 processor... I think people are starting to get tired of the curved glass trend now, we need durable flagships and there's not much to choose from anymore. V20 is more durable than V30.

 

[flyingkytez]

Well my mom is using it so it doesn't see much use apart from game. But she charges once a day. When we go out though on trips and she plays with it sim city on 3G, (it has a sim), lasts probably 3-4hrs of sim city before it needs a recharge.

Actually I still have a working Galaxy Fit here. Battery is crap but still worked when we needed an extra phone for a duty group number we needed in my work. Right now I just keep it charged and running. When my devices retire I drawer them with no sim and turned on. With no sim if the battery is still good they last a few days, I just recharge them when they fit 50%. None of my devices stopped working. Since I have a second number for just work calls and texts, that sim switches phones a lot so all of them still gets used every now and then.

It's strange, some tech last forever, some don't. Tends to be the "newer" tech that dies soon. Panasonic and Sony are great brands, I'm starting to question Samsung TVs and phones. How can a 10 year old Blackberry outlast a Samsung Note 4?

 

[chanchan05]

It's strange, some tech last forever, some don't. Tends to be the "newer" tech that dies soon. Panasonic and Sony are great brands, I'm starting to question Samsung TVs and phones. How can a 10 year old Blackberry outlast a Samsung Note 4?

The issue is seemingly specific to the Note 4. Probably a problem with the MMC they used. Right now my S3 is still working fine. I do admit though that I have no phone of the same generation as the S5 and Note 4. I jumped from S3 to Note 2 (instead of Note 3 coz I got an awesome deal) then straight to S7E. The only device I have of the Note 4 generation is the Tab 4, which is my current tablet and works fine.

 

[tickerguy]

The biggest problem with all phones these days in the US at least is that new bands keep coming online. Every ~3-4 years or so you wind up with crippling coverage problems if you don't upgrade. If you never travel and remain in an area where they don't "do you" then it's ok, but if you do....

An example of this: The last "big round" was T-Mobile, which had ZERO native service in Michigan roughly north of a line East-West that ran through Flint. What they DID have was roaming agreements with AT&T (in a few places) and in the northern part of the lower peninsula regional carriers (Centennial was the most-prolific up there.) So your phone worked, and worked reasonably well.

Then T-Mobile started building out Band 12. At the same time Centennial got bought by AT&T and the roaming agreement disappeared. If you had Band 12 in your phone you were fine, as you now had native LTE. But if your phone DIDN'T have Band 12 you suddenly went from available service while traveling there (mostly decent-speed HSPA with a smattering of EDGE) to a literal nothing.

Michigan wasn't the only place it happened, but that was a BIG chunk of landmass that suddenly went dark for T-Mobile customers with older devices.

AT&T is probably next to do this to you since they're shutting down their 2.5G network and will be repurposing the spectrum. The worst impact on people this time around will likely be folks that still have fliphones and don't use data at all; many of those are GSM only and will magically wind up with zero signal when the towers are turned off.

600Mhz is next up, and T-Mobile is testing that already out west in a few places. It'll start becoming meaningful in another year or two....

 

[dlcpa]

I have a Note 2 and a Note 4 both went in for factory refurbishing and both are working very well. One of the problems with the Samsungs and maybe the other androids is that the phone gets hot when location services is on, and in my case, I usually have the brightness too bright. I think the heat messes with the motherboards and even damages some ram locations. That plus too many battery pulls without powering down the devices leaving unclosed files don't help either.

Before I pay $1,000 for a phone plus $300 of insurance, my next phone will probably be a new V20 for $329. What dies paying 4 times that amount give me? Sleek is gone once you put a decent case on it. How much better is the $1,300 phone's camera with the same crappy plastic lens? Maybe if they stop slowing down the older phones, people wouldn't spend $1,300 plus $100 tax.

The only thing I miss by not having an IPhone is not having Facetime.

 

[mrdave570]

Where do we get more "reliable" V20 batteries? Amazon and Ebay have fakes. LG is out of stock for the V20 battery. I checked Verizon/AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobile and they didn't have them either. I ordered a cheap OEM one from eBay but I was willing to buy the real thing from LG for $40 plus tax and shipping. LG just isn't selling them anymore.

 

[tickerguy]

A third-party cell isn't necessarily a bad choice provided it's actually of new manufacture.

Check the manufacturing dates; anything older than six months is suspect immediately as being a pull if it's an "OEM" battery. I'd rather have a third-party new cell than one of those as it really is age and cycles more than anything else that determines the remaining lifetime. There just isn't that much difference between a battery made by "X" and "Y" since both are ultimately sourced from China.

 

[flyingkytez]

A third-party cell isn't necessarily a bad choice provided it's actually of new manufacture.

Check the manufacturing dates; anything older than six months is suspect immediately as being a pull if it's an "OEM" battery. I'd rather have a third-party new cell than one of those as it really is age and cycles more than anything else that determines the remaining lifetime. There just isn't that much difference between a battery made by "X" and "Y" since both are ultimately sourced from China.

Some Chinese manufacturers cut corners, sometimes even lie. A battery that's supposed to be 3200mAh, might not even be 3200mAh inside, yet alone made with the same standards as original. It's better to either buy the original battery or from a reputable company like Anker or Zero Lemon.

 

[flyingkytez]

Where do we get more "reliable" V20 batteries? Amazon and Ebay have fakes. LG is out of stock for the V20 battery. I checked Verizon/AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobile and they didn't have them either. I ordered a cheap OEM one from eBay but I was willing to buy the real thing from LG for $40 plus tax and shipping. LG just isn't selling them anymore.

You just have to be lucky to find an authentic battery on eBay... I was fortunate to find 4 authentic overstock/liquidated LG batteries. Fake batteries are mixing with the real batteries. Good thing about eBay is you get a refund if the item turns out not authentic like described. Same with Amazon, sometimes you don't even have to send it back. Fake batteries fit pretty tight and the printing looks off. The authentic batteries come in the same exact plastic bag as original with the LG sticker on it. Send a message to the seller and double check, they are usually nice about it and will refund you if it's fake.

Worse case scenario just buy the authentic battery kit on Amazon (LG Battery Charging kit BCK-5200), comes with the charging cradle + battery case. It's $40 bucks though...

 

[flyingkytez]

I have a Note 2 and a Note 4 both went in for factory refurbishing and both are working very well. One of the problems with the Samsungs and maybe the other androids is that the phone gets hot when location services is on, and in my case, I usually have the brightness too bright. I think the heat messes with the motherboards and even damages some ram locations. That plus too many battery pulls without powering down the devices leaving unclosed files don't help either.

Before I pay $1,000 for a phone plus $300 of insurance, my next phone will probably be a new V20 for $329. What dies paying 4 times that amount give me? Sleek is gone once you put a decent case on it. How much better is the $1,300 phone's camera with the same crappy plastic lens? Maybe if they stop slowing down the older phones, people wouldn't spend $1,300 plus $100 tax.

The only thing I miss by not having an IPhone is not having Facetime.

Apple is under big scrutiny for slowing down iPhones. From my past experience, I feel like Samsung use parts that will only last up to a certain point before dying, especially from a final software update that makes it obsolete (my Samsung TV died within 2 years, cheap capacitors designed to last 2 years). This is how they pull you in a cycle of buying phones every 1-2 years. LG in my experience have never done anything like that, my V20 has lasted a year with 0 problems, and my LG Optimus Fuel which I use as a daily music player still going strong after 3 years. It's hard to find honest manufactures anymore, but business is business, big corporations has everyone under control. FYI phones CAN last 10 years... just pull out your old flip phone or blackberry from the drawer, still works... Or even a retro video game console that's over 20 years old lasts longer than a modern day smartphone?