Author Topic: Google Fi and the Nexus 6  (Read 11888 times)

mtnrider

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 518
  • Location: Frozen tundra in the Northeast
Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« on: January 28, 2020, 07:23:35 PM »
The MMM post today made me wonder about how long a phone will last.

Pete has Google Fi for a cell plan.  I've used it and it works great, especially if you travel.

But AFAIK, he's still using the Nexus 6.  (If he's upgraded, I couldn't find it with a search.)  By now, the Android OS is out of date, and I wouldn't want to use if only because it no longer gets security updates.  There are third party updates, but I'm not sure how trustworthy they are.

Has he upgraded?  Or talked about what he sees as an efficient phone upgrade cycle should be?

Bayou Dweller

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 118
  • Location: Houston, TX
  • Spend less. Live more. SWAMI.
    • Just Stop Spending
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2020, 12:15:12 PM »
He hasn't from what I've seen, but I guarantee you if he has he has the Moto G7. It's like $150, lol.

Syonyk

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4610
    • Syonyk's Project Blog
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2020, 08:57:40 PM »
Has he upgraded?  Or talked about what he sees as an efficient phone upgrade cycle should be?

No idea what MMM has done, but it's been a point of discussion elsewhere on the forum.

IMO, at this point, running a phone past mainline OS support is questionable, running past the end of the security update window is just stupid unless you're going out of your way to harden the phone in terms of apps/interfaces/etc.

I'm on the iOS side of the fence, mostly because the phones work, work well, are repairable, and don't have the sort of screwy hardware faults Google devices seem to struggle with (getting one to last 2 years of daily use, for the last couple generations, has been iffy).  I'm getting into my 4th year with an iPhone 6S, and I'm pretty sure I'll get another year of OS updates, if Apple's traditions are continued this fall.

My plan, when my phone falls out of support, is to buy a generation-or-two old device, used but in good shape, and run that until it's out of support, wash, rinse, repeat.  I'll probably eBay my existing device, just because there's a market for out of OS support hardware that I don't understand but will make use of.

Alternately, if I'm feeling particularly curmudgeonly, I'll just start reducing privileges on my iOS device until it doesn't have anything of value on it - no email, no passwords, nothing.  And strip it down to barely more than the core apps.  I'm not sure how useful that is, but... I'm also not sure how much I'm going to be using it once it's out of OS support.  It'd be a good way to use my phone even less, making it more useless!  But I do like access to email on the go.  On the other hand, there's remarkably little I do with my phone I can't do with a small paper notebook and pen kept in my pocket.  So...

But I'd be really, really uncomfortable running far out of OS support on any device at this point.


OtherJen

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5267
  • Location: Metro Detroit
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2020, 10:51:55 AM »
He hasn't from what I've seen, but I guarantee you if he has he has the Moto G7. It's like $150, lol.

That's what my husband did when his Nexus 5x became obsolete (we are also on GoogleFi). He's been happy with it.

I went with the Pixel 3a because of a 50% off sale when it was released (shortly after my old Nexus 5x stopped receiving security updates). I'm very happy with it, but if it hadn't been on sale I would have bought the Moto G7.

ketchup

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4323
  • Age: 33
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2020, 11:32:21 AM »
Has he upgraded?  Or talked about what he sees as an efficient phone upgrade cycle should be?

No idea what MMM has done, but it's been a point of discussion elsewhere on the forum.

IMO, at this point, running a phone past mainline OS support is questionable, running past the end of the security update window is just stupid unless you're going out of your way to harden the phone in terms of apps/interfaces/etc.

I'm on the iOS side of the fence, mostly because the phones work, work well, are repairable, and don't have the sort of screwy hardware faults Google devices seem to struggle with (getting one to last 2 years of daily use, for the last couple generations, has been iffy).  I'm getting into my 4th year with an iPhone 6S, and I'm pretty sure I'll get another year of OS updates, if Apple's traditions are continued this fall.

My plan, when my phone falls out of support, is to buy a generation-or-two old device, used but in good shape, and run that until it's out of support, wash, rinse, repeat.  I'll probably eBay my existing device, just because there's a market for out of OS support hardware that I don't understand but will make use of.

Alternately, if I'm feeling particularly curmudgeonly, I'll just start reducing privileges on my iOS device until it doesn't have anything of value on it - no email, no passwords, nothing.  And strip it down to barely more than the core apps.  I'm not sure how useful that is, but... I'm also not sure how much I'm going to be using it once it's out of OS support.  It'd be a good way to use my phone even less, making it more useless!  But I do like access to email on the go.  On the other hand, there's remarkably little I do with my phone I can't do with a small paper notebook and pen kept in my pocket.  So...

But I'd be really, really uncomfortable running far out of OS support on any device at this point.
100% agreed with Syonyk here.  Same reason that every Windows 7 PC needs to be updated to 10 or unplugged from the internet.

Duchess of Stratosphear

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 343
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2020, 01:14:09 PM »
How's the camera on the Pixel 3a? The Nexus 6 had such a great camera. I miss it.

dang1

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 489
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2020, 01:26:38 PM »
my last couple of daily drivers have been year old used flagship Samsung Galaxies- still plenty usable, but alot more affordable than a current flagship. Working out great

OtherJen

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5267
  • Location: Metro Detroit
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2020, 02:03:22 PM »
How's the camera on the Pixel 3a? The Nexus 6 had such a great camera. I miss it.

I’m happy with it. I took these during the past year. In the last one, the details in the foreground are a bit fuzzy because I was focusing on the freighter.

Edit: sadly, compression for uploading reduced the image sharpness, especially on the flowers. Boo.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2020, 02:05:13 PM by OtherJen »

Duchess of Stratosphear

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 343
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2020, 02:32:12 PM »
So I'm assuming they were sharper before uploading them? It was such a damn shame that the Nexus wasn't supported anymore. I would have been happy to keep that phone for years.

OtherJen

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5267
  • Location: Metro Detroit
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2020, 08:34:21 PM »
So I'm assuming they were sharper before uploading them? It was such a damn shame that the Nexus wasn't supported anymore. I would have been happy to keep that phone for years.

Much sharper.

I did like my Nexus, other than the funky boot-loop issue. The hardware was good.

dustinleblanc

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #10 on: February 11, 2020, 07:57:24 AM »
Pete mentioned on Twitter that he upgraded to one of the newer phones a while ago I think it was a Moto X4 like my wife has (I have the G6). Both our phones absolutely suck, slow as hell, and whisper quiet. However, I work from home, wife is home all day with me teaching the kids, so we're able to deal with less than stellar cell phones :)

mtnrider

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 518
  • Location: Frozen tundra in the Northeast
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2020, 03:28:03 PM »
Pete mentioned on Twitter that he upgraded to one of the newer phones a while ago I think it was a Moto X4 like my wife has (I have the G6). Both our phones absolutely suck, slow as hell, and whisper quiet. However, I work from home, wife is home all day with me teaching the kids, so we're able to deal with less than stellar cell phones :)

Sigh, I'm not a twitterer, so I guess I miss most of the updates nowadays.

On the phone topic - I should say that I got a Pixel 3 on discount.  It has a great camera lots of photo backup space, and better, it's waterproof.  It's already been underwater twice due to canoeing incidents, and survived a handful of soaking downpours in wilds while helping me navigate and take photos.  I like waterproofness.  :)

When this phone runs out of security updates, I'm torn between two approaches - 1) switching to a Pixel 5a and paying for Google Fi with a credit card that covers phone accidents, or 2) buying either a Pixel 6 or an iPhone that's waterproof.  I'm tempted to go with an iPhone since the usable software lifetime is 4-5 years instead of a Pixel's 3 year planned obsolescence.

beege

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 68
  • Age: 37
  • Location: USA
  • Fired during covid
Re: Google Fi and the Nexus 6
« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2020, 11:56:20 AM »
Sorry to resurrect this topic but I just wanted to add that if you end up getting a phone with an unlocked boot loader (this is not related to the carrier lock) then generally it has good support from the open source community beyond when the manufacturer stops making updates for the device. I used a google nexus 4 from 2013 until about 2018 when the hardware finally died. It was running one of the latest android releases when it finally died which was two or three versions beyond from what google stopped supporting.

Lately I haven't been as impressed with the hardware (I quickly went through a Nexus 6p and a Pixel XL in the past 2 years - both quickly died) so I've moved onto a Motorola G Power. Hoping it will last as long as my Nexus 4 did.

As for the software I was running, I was running a build from Lineage OS:
https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

I also ran a slim rom build for awhile. Worked well too. There are a lot of alternatives out there.

If you are at all handy with a computer they aren't too terrible to install. Just read the guides carefully to avoid bricking your device.