I just want a comeback of phones with swappable batteries.
fairphone does that.
Didn’t HMD make a couple of those too? Obv not the same country of origin but from what I’ve seen they’re considerably cheaper
600 euro, not so helpful. Thanks though.
I can relate to the feeling, but considering that their hardware and software support can get the phone going for twice as long (for me) as other mainstream ones, I feel tempted.
As far as I know, this will be the case in the EU in 2027.
That’s for “easily replaceable” batteries, not necessarily swappable, as in pop off the cover and insert new battery.
The new Fairphone 6, for example, requires a screw driver to open up the phone, and that would meet the legal requirements of the EU law.
I miss my Galaxy S5. I could change the battery while jumping on a trampoline if I wanted to.
I still have two of them in a desk drawer. Both still boot, although the batteries are definitely toast. I have no idea if you can find a new-old-stock battery for one of these that is not likewise also knackered. But fun fact, an S5 will power on and run indefinitely with no battery in it at all if it’s connected to a sufficiently powerful USB power source.
Why pine for the past when you can have one again right now!
What? No takers for a phone that’s stuck on Android Marshmallow?
I put LineageOS on a S4 and I use it as a desk clock. All it needed was an app that shows the time.
For the purposes of disposing of a janky battery before it goes off bang and replacing it with a fresh one, that is probably quite sufficient.
I don’t think even power users these days are going to be strutting around hot swapping batteries from the little holster of them they’ve got on their belts like us turbo-nerds were doing in the PDA era. It would be rad to be able to do so, sure, but I think that will wind up just being a side effect models of the next wave of user-replaceable battery phones on some models.
Typing this on an samsung xcover 6 pro right now. Costs less than 200 used, has a removable battery, up to 1tb micro SD card support, and a headphone jack.
Does it run lineage, because that is the only way I’ll touch Samsung’s abysmal OS ever again
It does not, but I don’t sign into any Samsung/Google things and replace every system app with one from F-Droid including the launcher. The experience is fairly similar to my old pixel with grapheneos like this. I am sure it is far cry from as secure, but I am realistic about my threat model and am willing to make trades to be more sustainable and convenient. The only other difference is the system ui skin, which does its job just fine IMO
Hi, I was considering samsung as an option. Could you please tell me why you dont like samsung? I’m looking for cons but review sites only want to sing praises.
Samsung locks the bootloader, even for carrier unlocked versions traight from samsung’s website. (At least for those sold in the US, not sure about other places)
If you don’t intend to use a custom RON like Lineage OS, you wouldn’t notice a difference. But if you do, then it might be a dealbreaker. As for the Xcover series in particularx the specs are worse for the amount you’re paying. Camera is worse, SoC is slower, assuming if you are conparing the price of a brand new mainstream S or A series phones to a brand new Xcover series. But if you don’t care about worse specs for the swappable battery, then sure, go ahead. I personally wouldn’t get the Xcover series, doesn’t seem like a good deal, the screen is LCD and I’m way too used to OLED/AMOLED of the more mainstream phones.
Seems like it has a 778G SoC too which would be pretty solid for emulation as well. That’s an interesting option!
I just got rid of my Pixel 6a because it had one of the bad batteries. Tip to anyone taking advantage of the trade in rebate, DO NOT get the $150 Google Store credit and be like me thinking you can use it on the Google Fi Store to purchase a new Pixel. The $150 store credit is only towards the purchase of a Pixel phone via the Google Store. Take the $100 cash rebate option instead because it tells you once you choose either option, you cannot change it.
My hope was to get the Pixel 9a on my account for $249 (activation discount) on my account and then use the $150 store credit… nope.
My coworker has been fighting Google for months to get their cash rebate. So you’re fucked regardless which option you take.
Good to know, thanks. Now I’m not as annoyed as I was, lol.
Have you tried not purchasing a Google phone? I heard this works extremely well.
It’s all well and good being oh so principled like you’re making yourself out to be, but phones are expensive, and the above user is being completely rational for wanting to settle on a Pixel 9a for $250, especially when the other OEMs have plenty of their own problems.
Get off your moral high horse.
Google is a horrible company. Stop buying their phones and using their services.
What other hardware supports open source like Graphene?
supported device list in front of your face when you go to the calyx site
I’m enjoying Graphene quite a bit and I really like the cameras on the Pixels. Also I’m restricted because only certain phones are compatible with my Dexcom glucose monitor and Omnipod insulin pump. I really wish I had more options, lots of other great phones out there.
Yo, from one type 1 to another, get yourself some xdrip to replace the dexcom app, its miles ahead and more configurable.
https://github.com/NightscoutFoundation/xDrip
And depending on which omnipod you got, and how technical you are, check out AndroidAPS if you want an open source closed-loop solution.
https://androidaps.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
If you got the omnipod dash you can use it directly with AndroidAPS via Bluetooth.
I use both of these with dexcom G6 and an accu-chek Bluetooth insulin pump, and its amazing vs the commercial solutions.
Um. WHAT?! I’ll definitely check those out. I’m actually pretty frustrated with the Dexcom app and I kinda lied before, the Omnipod 5 app is compatible with the Pixel 6 pro but not if its running Graphene so I’ve been carrying around the Omnipod receiver. Thanks for the info!
I can confirm the xdrip app works on grapheneOS, currently use it on a pixel 8a
Sometimes in the darkness of the internet where all our worst sides come out and I get trampled by the evil of governments, corporations, and people in general…a small beam of light shines through illuminating the beauty of this world.
Today, your comment is that beam of light. You didn’t mean it to be, but sometimes little things have bigger impacts. Thank you. Have a great day.
I was going to opt for a battery replacement, but I called the local store that does the replacement, and they told me that it’s common for the screen to break during the battery swap process. And if they break the screen, I would be on the hook for the cost to replace it, around $160. I don’t know how that is even legal in the first place, but it certainly turned me off from wanting to let them change my battery. And mailing the phone in for a battery swap would leave me without a phone for weeks…
At least they were upfront about that issue.
I too don’t understand why you would be responsible for THEM breaking the screen.
Imagine your mechanic breaks a part while changing your oil then says you’re responsible for the cost of it.
You’ve got a better mechanic than me I guess. If you bring in an old shitty car for repairs you can expect more than one thing is in bad shape.
Even if you mail it to Google, they will make you pay for the screen before they will do the swap. That’s what happened with my 4a. I had them ship it back instead and took the cash.
What do you mean? Did your phone already have damage to the screen, or they were making you preemptively pay in case the screen broke?
I mailed in my 4a which had a fully intact screen, they claimed it was damaged and would have to replace it to do the battery. I think they were just telling that to everyone because they knew they’d probably break it.
I got an extra 30% battery life after switching to GrapheneOS. I’m guessing whatever is saving my battery, would also bring down the load on the system.
I did notice my phone heats up much less after switching to GrapheneOS.
I’ve been runnnng GrapheneOS with charge capped at 80%. Phone has not emulated thermite.
I haven’t found any discussion about the battery issues at GrapheneOS yet.
Meaning you charge till 80% full, or at 80% max charging speed? just curious.
80% full. It drastically helps extend battery life
Yep. It’s the capacity.
Anyone can cap the charging speed by using a garbage $2 700mA charger from 2008.
Is this done manually , or there’s a system thing for it ?
In GrapheneOS, Settings -> Battery -> Charging Optimization.
Many phones support it. My old mid range Samsung galaxy phone from 2020 had it, as does my Pixel 9a.
I have kinda bad battery issues on graphene and have been having it even on my old pixel 5 (currently on pixel 8a).
Could it be because I use google play services? Maybe I’ll get a huge decrease in battery consumption if I cut this off. But I do need it for maps and stuff
Just here to confirm this comment from personal experience.
plan to buy a pixel just to put Graphene on. Which one do you have and any problems?
Graphene lists all the pixel models they support and for how long. https://grapheneos.org/faq#device-lifetime
Finally had to ditch my 3a this month because Google is psychotic and it’s too old for graphene or lineage. Sucks bc the phone still works great. I’ve temporarily got an 8a running graphene, and am loving it, but will be switching to a 9a shortly for non pertinent reasons. It is such a weird feeling of relief to be on a secure OS.
I’ve got a 7 and works great
I have no recommendations for versions. Depends in your case.
Although I’ll mention that some people don’t like that Pixel by default doesn’t include the bottom menu on the screen, and uses other swiping features on the screen to do the same thing.
However in your system settings you can change the UI to gave the navigation menu at the bottom of the screen similar to Samsung.
Strong recommend for learning the swipe motions. It takes a few min to learn but it’s free real-estate after that. And it’s faster. At least for me.
I’m happy that you’re happy, but over here I miss the 4 button navigation bar that was standard in ye olde android.
I have owned 3 pixels.
5a - bricked randomly 8 - screen failed within 6 months 6a - stuck in a bootloop, gave up on fixing it just before the battery issue made headlines
I gave them a fair shake. Never again.
My battery sucks after this update. Once I get down to 30% it free falls.
And no licensed repair places near me have batteries in stock
I switched my 6a to GrapheneOS a few weeks ago and the battery lasts like twice as long, its unreal.
These updates are fire!
Look, Google, I know you’re trying to compete with Samsung but this is a little too hot.
Note 7 lurking in the distance
Well that’s just great.
Here’s the website to see if your PIxel6a is an “impacted device”. Mine isn’t, not sure why… zero transparency on this.
https://support.google.com/pixelphone?p=pixel6a_battery_help
Thanks for the link. I put my phone’s info in and it told me I’m eligible. But the color of the phone was completely wrong.
I’m done with Pixels. The first one was amazing. But the quality has been going gradually downhill for both the main series and the A series phones.
Is there a way to do it without a google account?
o shit, I was signed in.
Well bummer. I only use it for app development, so I keep it powered down most of the time, so it should be OK, right…?
RC car enthusiasts use “lipo guard” bags to control any runaway fires during charging and transport, one the size of a pixel is under $15.
Rip I guess I’m gonna have to look for one or something, signed in to the site with my college email and then it asked how I wanted the money so im guessing that means my pixel is affected
Absolutely, it only requires you to allow a Google representative to check your pulse via fingering your asshole. It is worth noting that results and feedback of this authentication method vary based on age and sexual orientation*.
Just a reminder if you have a 6a you can get ~100$ or battery replacement. Its a bit of a hassle but not to hard to fill our claim. I for my 100$ ordered a 7 and installed Graphene OS.
In Australia, one option is a cash refund for more than what I paid for the phone when new.
I submitted for $100 dollars, but haven’t gotten any instructions on what to do. I read you’re supposed to register for some payment system, but the Google instructions don’t tell me how and what to do after.
After checking you qualify it should have a link telling you to create an account ( payoneer, I’m in the US not sure about others). Filling out the forum for payoneer was a pain need bank info. I had to use chrome as Firefox would not load their forums properly. Also takes about a day for payoneer to confirm my account then if you filled our googles stuff payoneer just kinda knew and dropped the money in my account.
Uh, big oof, that’s my phone model.
Put my IMEI into the link and it says I’m not eligible. Does this mean I’m in the clear? Should I still do something about my battery? I’d really rather not get another phone right now…
I put my IMEI in and it said I was eligible. But then it gets stuck in an infinite loop of support links with no option out (at least when I selected to get a replacement battery). Edit: I got free of the loop, but the nearest place to take my phone into to get the battery replaced is 100 miles away!
I think I’m just going to get a new phone and move on. Not a Pixel though. Fuck this noise. My wife had a Pixel 5a and the motherboard fried itself after a couple of years. Google sent her a Pixel 6a replacement about 2 months later (long after we’d found her a non-Pixel replacement). So I upgraded to that replacement for in a 4a. But now this battery/fire bullshit? I’m done with their shitty products and their shitty support!
Dude. I just bought a used 6A last week.
I think, but 100% on this, that not all 6a’s were affected.
Patch it to the latest update. If you get a notification about your battery then it’s probably fucked.
Maybe they should do a recall.
