This happened on all android devices I've owned. Once they turn about 3 years old, they start slowing down out of a sudden. Yes, software gets heavier, you need more processing power, etc. But it happens out of a sudden.

I dug out an old lebovo tablet, about 6 years old. It ran surprisingly quickly. As soon as I turned the WiFi on to install the app I needed, things slowed down to the point where the device was barely usable. I somehow installed it. The app didn't require internet access so it was fine. Battery life was still amazing, about 5 days of casual use (internet access drains a lot of battery on this fella).

I thought it was a one time thing. Until I was handed another old Alcatel tablet that was ditched due to slowdown after 3 years. Same thing, no internet access leads to a snappy phone. Once you turn the WiFi on, boom slowdown.

I see the same thing happening to my Nokia 3.4 phone (now HMD Global, made in China). I don't think the architecture allows for swapping the os to a degoogled one everyone is raving about. The reparibility of this phone is near zero so once it goes bust, it's really hard to open it as well. I obviously don't need a brick with no internet access (otherwise I would just carry a dumb phone).

Also once this buddy dies or becomes unusable, is there a brand you would recommend. I'm so done with Nokia and Samsung.

  • penquin@lemmy.kde.social
    ·
    1 year ago

    Unlock the bootloader, root the device, install a custom recovery and then a custom rom. You can find all of that at xdadeveloprs.com. I don't think they slow things down. My 4 year old galaxy note 20 ultra is still working flawlessly. Planning on buying another one after this one goes.

      • Lemmywhat@monyet.cc
        ·
        1 year ago

        Not sure about android,iPhone user here. Speaking from experience, same app will behave differently with different version. If always keep the app to latest version, usually will reach a point where it becomes sluggish

  • xcjs@programming.dev
    ·
    1 year ago

    Is it possible that connecting to WiFi triggers app updates in the background? Those can be somewhat intensive especially when batched.

    Additionally, the Google Play Store no longer notifies when app updates occur, so this process is a little more opaque than it used to be.

  • Boomkop3@reddthat.com
    ·
    1 year ago

    I picked my current and previous phones from the supported device list of lineageOS. Always run a non-stock recovery, kernel, rom and google-apps package. Even my now ancient galaxy s5 is still running fine. (even if nowhere near as capable as my newer devices)

    • Io Sapsai 🌱@lemm.ee
      hexagon
      ·
      1 year ago

      I'll try that. Thanks! Already bricked another broken Nokia by not making a recovery when it wasn't even supported 🙃