This is a guide to a longer lasting Android device, from choosing one to how to preserve the life of the one that you have.
Choosing a long-lasting and repair friendly phone:
To get the best shot at longevity, start with a high quality device from a manufacture with a history of long term device support, and one that regularly releases there modifications to the kernel source code. A device that has an unlockable bootloader (XDA developers Forums is a good place to see about ROM support), and is user repairable (See iFixit’s Smartphone Repairability Scores) will allow you to keep the software & hardware going the longest. Both the Google Pixels, and Fairphone’s line are a good place to start. Fairphone is the USA is sold though Murena
Before you use your phone
- Get a good sturdy case like an Otterbox
- Apply a screen protector. I recommend Glass, Sapphire is the best (but very expensive).
Battery
Lithium-ion (LI-on) battery’s wear out faster when near the upper and lower charge levels (read why here: Battery University), so avoid charging or discarding the battery fully, aiming for around 20~80% is a good target.
Never leave your phone in a hot car or in the Sun, extreme heat exposure reduces the lifespan of the battery & is generally bad for other components.
Charging
- Avoid fast & wireless charging by using a older charging block that only outputs a few(1~2) Amps. (to reduce the heat the battery endures)
- Use a magnetic charging cable to reduce the wear on the plug (Like Volta), you need a bulky case to have it flush to not make the phone uncomfortable to hold though.
- When/If you use a regular charging cable don’t move the phone around when it’s plugged in, movement wears the plug much sooner.
Use a charge limiting feature. (Listed in order of recommendation.)
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If your phone has a built smart battery charge management feature, use that. (Most modern high end phones do, including Samsung’s, Google’s & Apple’s)
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If you have Root; use ACCA(a GUI for ACC) (Suggested Charging config: Level limit: 85%, Current: 700mA, Voltage: 3800mV)
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Buy a switch that can wirelessly cut off power based on charge level:
- A Chargie by Lighty Electronics is a Bluetooth enabled USB-A power switch, the accompanying APP configures it to auto cut off power based on power draw or charge level. Note that in the newest Android versions/PlayStore restrictions prevent versions of the APP past v2.2.20 from auto enabling Bluetooth, making this solution a little less appealing as you have to leave Bluetooth on you manually enable it.
- Using an Automation APP like Tasker to turn off a Home Assistant-controlled smart plug when the battery exceeds a reprogramed threshold, is a more reliable method & works for any device.
- Install an APP that alerts you at charge levels so you can unplug you phone. (AccuBattery, Battery Guru: Monitor & Health, etc.
Waking & Locking the screen
To reduce the use of the power button, as it’s a fail point, although less common.
To wake
1. Use the features “Lift to check phone/events” and “Double-Tap to check phone”
2. Use the fingerprint reader to wake and unlock.
To lock/turn off the screen
1. Use a launcher that support double tapping the home screen to lock it (Nova launcher, Smart launcher, etc.)
2. Use Googles Quick Tap feature if you have a Pixel or the APP Tap, Tap for any Android to lock the screen. (Note: battery life might suffer)
3. Use a short Screen Time out.
TIPS
- Get a new case to get a fresh look and feel when your tired of the one you have.
- Read through the comments! There are many good additions from people with different experiences & perspectives.
Edit’s: Updated & reformatted several things based on comments <3
This is the method I have been using for years and it works great. I use Home Assistant to manage the automation, the Home Assistant client app for Android (you could use tasker for this) to collect the device telemetry to send to Home Assistant (how it knows when the batter hits 85% or drops below 70%.
I do want to point out there is one small downside to this method: your device charger (and I’m using an Anker wireless phone charging stand as my charger) only works for one device. Example, say my personal phone is charged up to 85%, so I take it off the charger, but my work-issued phone needs to be charged, but when I put my work phone on the charger nothing happens and it doesn’t charge because the charger is connected to a smart plug that’s turned off because my personal phone is charged up.
Maybe you could add a sensor to the setup so you could tell which phone is on the charger- like an RFID tag on each phone case?
I tried a similar scenario: The phone has a nfc reader built in, so I put the tag on the charger and tried letting the phone read it, but quickly discovered that android can’t/wont read nfc tags unless the phone is unlocked, which defeated the elegance of the solution. I hadn’t considered buying a standalone reader and attaching the tag to the phones, that sounds a lot more complicated.