Fairphone?
this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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Android
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I would get a new battery and throw GrapheneOS on that bad boy.
Im not real confident in replacing the battery on the phone. Last time I tried on an older phone, it bricked the device. Is there somewhere that does this?
Lots of places will do it, you can often find them in malls.
Search around. I think Google has "certified" some repair chains, so it's probably pretty easy to find someone who will do a decent job.
While, I'm not sure if you're in the US or elsewhere, here is my response from a US perspective. Another consideration is what carrier do you use, especially if you're in the US. A phone with a user-replaceable battery that is under $300 is going to be hard to find, at least new.
My recommendation for a new phone would be the CMF Phone 1. While the battery isn't user-replaceable in the "pop out" sense, it is designed with a more accessible battery for easier replacement than most modern smartphones. https://us.nothing.tech/products/cmf-phone-1
For used, this is also challenging. If you can find a Fairphone 3 or 4 in the US that works with your carrier, that would be perfect. The Fairphones have batteries that are removable by popping off the back cover. They are typically around $300 I think.
Thanks for the info. Ill check it out.
Ive been wanting a Fairphone 4 for a LONG time. ITs just 2x the cost of the competition. IF I were to go by my original comment, that means I want it to last at least 4 years (or less than 100$ a year in cost). What is nothing os?
Nothing OS is a custom OS by Nothing Technology Limited built on Android. It is not privacy focused like you would get with GrapheneOS but has very little bloat. It is proprietary to Nothing phones. There are unofficial versions of /e/OS available on on XDA for the CMF Phone 1. The Fairphone 4 also has the ability to run custom ROMS like /e/OS and LineageOS.
Here is a video talking about putting /e/OS on the CMF Phone 1: https://youtu.be/TkTzmM9izCo
Used S23 is in your budget
If the battery is expanding you should contact support. If you bought it from Google they might replace it. They did for mine out of warranty after seeing some pictures.
No replaceable battery but any cheap Pixel with GrapheneOS. It's secure, no Google by default, has the most standard UI possible, and Android Auto works great. This combo is the iPhone of Android IMHO. Some applications may not work for some reason but I haven't met those yet.
Aren't the pixel line the ones that have the bad batteries? I mean what you are saying is why I went with a Pixel that was supposed to be supported for a long time.
thats why i avoided pixes after my 5a screen died from a small fall, apparent these are 1 of the 2 major problems of that phone, the other one being the motherboard failure.
Some units of the pixel 6a may have bad batteries, and a software patch to reduce charging capacity is rolling out.
You can get a different pixel model or apply the software update that prevents overcharging and be safe.
Aren't the pixel line the ones that have the bad batteries?
Where did you hear that? Only one Pixel model has had a legit battery issue (4a I think).
I mean, first there was the 4a with its software update that rendered affected batteries nearly useless, then the battery recall for 7a, and now there are apparently some restrictions for the 6a in the new update
I've got a 6 pro that's still going strong. Battery drains a bit faster than it used to but I still get a full day out of it.
I don't know yet. I have a 8a and its good so far like my previous iPhone. With GrapheneOS i can prevent most applications from running in the background which is better.
It may explode soon? I have a 6a, as well. Is that something I should be worried about?
Yep. It looks like it's probably the 3rd party charging cables...but not sure
Yeah, no, that's not the issue. Most people use 3rd party cables. Hell, I use my laptop charger on my phone all the time.
There's always the Moto G Power. It's $300 but the battery isn't the most accessible
you should aim at $100ish (used obv) and make it as fungible as possible. a lost or stolen or exploded phone is then a no biggie. it's encrypted by default so nobody can get at your shit, it's easily replaced with another one, restore data, roll on. so it doesn't matter which one you get, as long it has official lineageOS support. go to https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices click on "filter" and choose the latest LOS version (22.2 as of now) and then pick and choose whatever's in that budget.
edit: replacing the battery on the 6a is also possible, youtube for details; not the easiest thing out there but not that hard either, especially when it's doomed anyhow.
i got a mint OP12R, granted i probably shouleve gotten a new one, but it dint want to spend too much, 100 more for a new one. i would say go to places like swappa and check out different phones, and you can ask specific question pertaining to the phones.
Gonna be honest, kinda bummed. I cant seem to get a good phone that lasts. Every 2 years Im getting a new phone...I kinda hate it. I thought the 6a with the extended software support was going to last at least 4 but it seems its not even going to last 2 years.
I've been buying old flagship phones and they seem to last a while. I got the S9 for under $300 NZD and its still going even with no security updates. I then got the S10 for some family and thats still going good.
If you want a cheap phone 2nd hand refurbished versions of good phones are in my opinion the best way to go.
9a
Exploding batteries is just Li-ion doing its thing and succumbing to thermal runaway while at it. Bad battery batches are common. Just replace it.