How many more years can you get out of your phone?

October 24, 2023

By Kim Komando

Trying to squeeze every last drop of life out of your smartphone? I know many of you put up with crappy battery power and random glitches longer than you should to avoid costly upgrades. 

But using your phone past its end of life is risky business. I did the work to figure out the lifespan of popular models, plus I’ll help you find out how old your phone is and if you’re still using a model you need to ditch. Why? Because I want to help you.

The lifespan lowdown

Today, the average lifespan of smartphones is around 2.5 years. It could be even less for newer devices, between 15 and 18 months. Woof, that’s not much when phones cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Bigger brands like Apple and Samsung tend to have longer lifespans than smaller companies. Here are the average lifespans for some of today’s most popular phones:

• iPhone – 4 to 8 years
• Samsung – 3 to 6 years
• Google Pixel – 3 to 5 years
• Huawei – 2 to 4 years

These are averages, meaning your mileage may vary.

Happy birthday!

Your phone’s lifespan clock starts from when it was made, not when you purchased it. That makes keeping track of all this a little tricky. If you’re unsure when your phone was made, you can find out with some sleuthing.

• Still have the phone’s original box? The manufacture date should be listed on the package or in any included documentation.
• If you tossed the box, the information should be listed within your phone’s settings under “About” or a similar option. 
• You can also use your phone’s serial number to decipher when it was made. Many manufacturers hide the date or year within these numbers. The serial number is tucked in your phone’s settings. 
• There are special dial codes and boot logging menus, too.

Are your eyes glazing over? I thought so.

The Komando Way

I love when I find a better way to do things and get to share it with you. Instead of doing all the crazy steps above, a great place to check your phone’s end of life, or EOL for short, is dropping by the site end of life.date.

This straightforward site lists EOL dates and support lifecycles for devices, software programs and more. It currently tracks 261 products and has an iCal integration, so you can get a reminder that you need to upgrade something.

At the very top, there is a search box. Type your make and model in there, and presto, the info you need is right on the screen. Or choose from the four major manufacturers listed in the Devices row. If you can’t find your phone there, scroll through the complete list of products and manufacturers in the left-hand menu. 

When you click on a manufacturer, its phones are listed chronologically. You can view each phone’s release date, when it was discontinued and if the manufacturer still supports it. 

Spoiler alert

Unlike leftovers in your fridge, you can’t rely on a simple sniff test to see if your smartphone’s still good. Using a phone past its EOL data spells trouble.

▶️ That’s you if you’re still using an iPhone 5C, Google Pixel 5 or Samsung S10S — among many others.

Once a smartphone reaches its expiration, the manufacturer no longer pushes security updates to that device. This means any bugs and security problems in your phone will go unfixed. 

Take away: An outdated phone is a gold mine for hackers, who could quickly access your bank accounts, company information and health data. They could even steal your voice through audio data from phone calls and voicemails. So, that’s why you need to keep with the times, folks.

Share this critical information with your friends and family. I bet they’ve never heard of this site!