Hey guys, I’m looking into buying a refurbished Google Pixel 5 (I have couple of options between amazon and other stores), however I’m not entirely sure about the longevity of a refurbished phone.
Positive reviews are often left by people who just bought the phone, but most of the negative reviews I found were from people who used it for more than couple of months and it concerns me.
Price is good, I’m looking specifically into a Pixel 5 because of the size which is much smaller than my Galaxy Note 9 that I find really uncomfortable to use.
Thank you!
I haven’t done much reading into it, but something to consider is there was a post just recently that I saw someone mentioning that their pixel 4a was becoming unsupported very shortly. You may want to see when the scheduled EOL for the 5 is as that might influence your decision if that is sooner than you’d be hoping for.
Am I naïve for thinking that manufacturers stopping support for devices, then claiming it affects your safety, is just to sell more phones?
I always buy refurbished, currently running an S9 and I’m not even sure if it’s still supported. Recently retired a Nexus 10 from 2012 and had zero security issues in a dozen years
I personally think they do it to sell more phones. They could support their phones for much longer as evidenced by Lineage
I don’t know about selling more phones, but it’s definitely a profit angle. I’m not sure if using a phone without security updates for that long is a good idea. It’s one of those it works until it doesn’t, and you’ll be regretting it very much when it doesn’t.
The Pixel 5 is my favorite phone I’ve used so far. Sadly the EOL for security and software updates is October 2023. Pixel updates
Great phone, good battery life, although I think there is an issue with Android 13 that shortened it some, not confirmed. I would be more concerned with the security and OS updates ending this October. Unless you intentions are to replace the OS with a Linux based one;
- LineageOS
- GrapheneOS
- CalyxOS
- e.foundation
Pixels are excellent choices if you go the Linux route, almost all of them are supported. Lineage and e.foundation use degoogled OS versions which means the google services are replaced with microg allowing you to still use all your favorite apps from the app store…and still get updates for the linux os and the apps.
How finicky is installing custom roms on refurbished Samsung phones or android phones in general usually?
I usually avoid refurbished phones even though the flagships offer better performance and value compared to buying the midrange and budget phones but the lack of software updates are something I’m concerned about. That said, if there was a more clear recommended OS to install I’d be willing to give it a try.It’s not hard once you unlock the bootloader. That’s usually the most PITA part. Once you get past that stage it’s no different in difficulty as installing Windows on a computer.
The only downside is if you need Safetynet. I used to use Lineage on a Xiaomi Mi 5 and it worked great 99% of the time. The 1% of the time when Google updated Safetynet and Magisk (or I) didn’t update to get around it, it can be annoying, especially if you need to use banking or payment apps during that moment. The latter happened to me when I was trying to board the subway. XD
Who’s doing the refurbishing? My own experience is that if the refurbs come directly from the manufacturer it’s usually safe.
I’ve bought nothing but refurbished phones and tablets ever since my first of any of those a decade ago and they never broke.
You save so much money with a refurb, it’s ridiculous.
Me too, always from the manufacturer or someone reputable like Backmarket. If you buy the higher priced ones, they’ve likely come from someone who buy a new phone every year; they’re barely used and a third of the price
Was looking into buying Pixel from Backmarket as well! How was your experience with them and their phones?
I’ve had four now over five years with no probs. But like I said, buy the top end ones
Has anyone tried Swappa? Any luck there?
I bought a refurbished pixel 5 about 3 months ago! It’s been working great so far, basically new condition when i got it. The battery is better than my last phone (Xiaomi mi 9t) in it’s last days, but i have no idea how it compares to when it was new. Pixels seem to have great after market OS support, so I wouldn’t worry about it not being supported in the near future. I installed Lineage OS right away and it works like a charm. Let me know if you have any questions!
Really interested in how the 90hz display holds up. I’m not playing games or anything so I don’t care about the performance in GPU heavy tasks, however I expect for the system to run flawlessly 95%+ of the time, including some 3rd party apps like Telegram YouTube (primarily ReVanced).
Thank you!
Pixel 5 is the best Android device I’ve owned before moving onto my current iOS device.
I bought a refurbished Pixel 5 from Amazon months ago… looks brand new and works great.
I only buy referb phones because there is no reason to spend $$$ on a brandnew phone. I got a used Pixel 5 a year or more ago and its been great!
When buying Pixel know that you can install Lineage OS and that more than takes care of all your software support concerns.
Battery life would be my concern since it’s probably degraded depending on how much it was used
Often, refurbished phones have had the battery replaced. Good idea to check the seller’s details if possible.
