2y ago

Pixel 4a (not 5G) owners, what do you plan to do with your phone now that it reached its final Android update?

This month is the final month of guaranteed major and security updates, and we already know Android 14 won't land in the Pixel 4a (though it will in the Pixel 4a 5G as it has guaranteed updates until November).

So for those of you who own that phone, what do you plan to do with it? Are you going to keep using it for a couple more years without the updates? Install a custom ROM (which one?)? Or are you maybe planning to get a new phone (a Pixel?)?

If you still own an older Pixel phone, how are you keeping it alive?

63 comments

It's such a shame that Google will no longer support a phone that is only 3 years old.
- They dropped their "Don't be evil"-claim for a reason, and that reason is lots and lots of cash.
  
  I think part of this is that manufacturers don't want to keep writing drivers for every new Android release. Not an Android dev, but maybe Google's driver API is just not stable and keeps introducing breaking changes with every Android release, such that old drivers can't work anymore? But even then, I still don't get why that has to be the case. Linux still supports drivers for very ancient hardware.
- Pixel 6 and newer have 5 years of security updates
- Planned obsolescence. It's how you sell more product without innovation and move people into a eco system without completely bricking their phone, and innovation lol.
You don't need to be at the mercy of Google to keep your phone updated!
https://get.pixelexperience.org/sunfish
https://download.lineageos.org/devices/sunfish
The whole point of having a Google phone is that you can easily flash it after its planned obsolescence date.
Calyx os
- oh yea that custom rom prolonged the life of my trusty Pixel 3
- I'd say Graphene, but that tends to end support for non-google supported devices due to firmware security
  
  GrapheneOS is cool but that's beside the point I think, as they stop their extended support for end-of-life models once a new major Android version comes out, and since Android 14 is very close to come out of beta...
🤔 -Sent from my Pixel 3
- 😎 - agreed from my Pixel 3 XL
- I actually think the pixel 3 is underrated it's basically the same size as a pixel 4 a but it has better chip and the glass build and the squeeze for assistant functionality. No headphone Jack though and stuck on android 12.
  But still I often recommend it to people that really don't have much money and need something in a pinch . Got a pixel 3 for $70 on woot. I absolutely love the texture. Unfortunately I think the version I have cannot use a custom rom so it's definitely dated. But I think it's still basically fine to use.
  I don't think I would have loved to pay 8 or $900 for it at MSRP when it came out but at 70 bugs it's fucking amazing
  
  I got a headphone jack on my 3a
Install a rom that continues to receive updates
Disclaimer: I’m a 15 year iPhone owner, so I don’t have practical experience with this, but this is the angle I’d be researching, were in your situation. Or considering an iPhone, lol, Apple is still updating 10 year old phones. Of course, I don’t expect this crowd to take that last comment seriously ;)
- Nothing but love. I know better than to think I’m going to convince anyone. And honestly, I think everyone has the right to personal preference.
- bro are u on the ipod touch or something
  
  I haven’t used the same iPhone for 15 years… I upgrade every 4 years or so.
I'll use this phone until the battery won't hold without being plugged in all the time. Then I'm not sure. I'd like another pixel, but there isn't a pixel anymore that isn't massive. It used to be that the main phone with all the features was larger and the sub phone with less features was a bit smaller. I usually opt for the smaller phone because I like a phone that suits my small hands and can also fit in my pocket. Now I'm worried my next phone will be too big to fit in my pants and I won't be able to reach the other end of the screen with my thumb. Not to mention they don't have a physical fingerprint reader anymore. My husband has a 6 and he stopped using the fingerprint function because it just didn't work 80% of the time. And don't get me started on the headphones jack. I have a Bluetooth headset, but you know those run out of battery sometimes and some cars are a pain to connect to. That's the least of my worries, but it'll be a bandaid I have to rip off for sure. Anyway, thanks for coming to my Ted talk. I'll probably buy the stupid new Google tablet because I'm a hypocrite 🙂
- The s23 is fairly compact by today's standards. Mind you, I returned the s23 and got a Pixel 7 Pro 🤷‍♂️
- I'd give the Pixel 7 pro a huge thumbs up. Not overly keen on huge phones but the trade-off is an amazing camera and really great performance.
Are you supposed to stop using your phone once it stops getting updates?
Mine is on Android 9 and idgaf.
I replace my phone when it stops working well enough for day to day use.
- It depends on whether you do sensitive stuff with your phone that's going to risk getting exposed if your phone stops getting security updates and a malware gets made specifically for it. But I guess like on PC with careful vetting of apps and avoiding sketchy websites the risk should IMO be minimal.
- Yes, when the security patches stops it's time to switch. But since these are usually a separate deploy chain from regular Android updates its hard to figure out when these patches stops coming. I've tried to find out out when the security patches for my Samsung S20+ stops, no idea still.
  
  If you're smart with your phone, you technically don't need to update. You can also prolong life with custom rims and their own monthly patches.
- I'd say for most users, this is the case. But you're not in a thread of "most users" 😂. There's definitely a niche here that would like to stay on the most recent system software as it probably brings them functionality they need or will want to use.
Try Lineage. I ran it on my Pixel 3 for about two years when Google stopped updating it. Then when I decided to sell it, just reflashed the Google OS back on it
- Running lineage on pixel 3 still.
- Has it gotten easier to pass SafetyNet with ROMs? I still want to use my banking apps, but want to use a custom ROM for more safety now.
  
  I've stopped using lineage as i changed the pixel3 for a 6a, so stock android. Although at the time I could get PayPal to work my banking app was a no no
Tbh I know tons of people who use older phones that are way past any updates but work fine.
Not ideal but doesn't make the phone unusable
- I'm going to keep using mine for a while. It's not my only phone. I still use my LGV60 and my LG wing and a newer pixel sometimes. Those are all so big And I like the fact that the pixel 4a can fit in my front pocket.
  I'll keep using them until the batteries aren't workable anymore. Whatever risk there is with security patches I think is overshadowed by the environmental and financial downsides of tossing away perfectly good hardware.
  I'll probably be fine using it for another year or so . As to what I would replace it with I'm not sure. Probably a used pixel just because they're the best value proposition.
  So 5a has gets android, another year of updates and it can be a 100 Bucks on eBay. The pixel 6 and 6 pro are 200 to 275 on ebay and they are getting like 40 more months of updates.
  Samsung phones don't have quite the same Compelling prices on the resal market .
- In that case I'd probably replace the battery, iFixit has a $50 kit for that.
  
  I've been thinking about doing that, but this phone won't last that much longer so might as well just save the $50 for a new phone and live with a more or less shitty one until then.
Every so often I think about how I really ought to replace my Pixel 2, but then it just keeps on working and the price of new devices keeps on inflating at absurd rates.
I'm still using a pixel 3a, LUL. I'm actually updating this year, but to a different brand. I have gotten a lot of life out of it, it's been a trooper and the battery sill running strong.
- Same, though 3 XL - it's been a great phone and still does what I need so... I'm in no hurry
Lineage OS
I still use my pixel 2 regularly. There really isn't a reason to not use it that I can think of.
Not a Pixel user myself but I know for a fact that there are current PixelExperience builds for Pixel 4's
I'll probably hang tight until Pixel 8 comes out.
The fingerprint sensor gave out a year ago, so it will continue its slow decay in my bedside table drawer.
I originally bought it as a short term use because my Nexus was hurting. I liked it so much that it is still my daily.
My girlfriend is threatening to bail on her iPhone, so if she does maybe we'll splurge for a pair of new Pixel 8 Pros. My eyesight is not as good as it was, and a bigger screen might be nice for the larger fonts I am needing 🙄
Shit it's that time is it? I will probably keep it with the intention of installing something else on it. And then not look at it for a few years at a time, stumble across it and it's older siblings and think "I should do something with these".
I guess I better hunt down a new Pixel. Sucks because unlike the last one (2XL) this one -- which I bought used, by the way, first time doing that -- isn't painfully slow, battery still holds up fine. I don't need it for any other reason than I would rather not risk running an unpatched device.
Waiting for my new Pixel 7 to be delivered right now actually. And then I'm installing GraphenOS on it.
I'll very likely buy a 7a in November.
Even factoring in not getting the Android 14 update, plenty of people I feel will keep phones for ages (I remember having to build aps catering to people on Android 8/9 so people are generally pretty lazy to update). Even without security updates I've got a feeling these phones will linger since they're still decent
When I was more in mobile gaming I'd just multi box with them. Nowadays I just use them as Roku remotes.
I upgraded to a 7 on launch day (pre-ordered), so my 4a has been sitting around as a backup ever since. Still miss the size, material, and color sometimes - I got the Google Store blue with the orange button and it looked so nice!
I plan to make the jump to an 8 this year. I was holding out on the headphone jack but it's time. The 8 should be a decent jump and the rumors about docking are really appealing to me for light office work.
- Docking also means video out. The community for the Pixel 8 will be huge. I bet even Postmarket OS and Pure OS wik make ports for it. I just wish Waydroid gets good enough by then, to use WhatsApp, Google Maps, and my Banking app.
I will be in this position in a couple months when the Pixel 5 gets its last security update, in think my choices are either the Pixel 8 or wait a few more months and get the pixel 8a, I think it will come down to price. Regardless, it will be running GrapheneOS.

63 comments