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!
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
