Learn More
Resend Email
28
xonya
5y

My Android phone is 5 years old. Everybody tell me I should buy a new one but I'm a stingy environmentalist and I refuse buying new stuff if it is not strictly necessary.

So, for 9€ I replaced the phone battery and then I installed a custom ROM, so it looks a bit newer.

Unfortunately, it seems that something in the network configuration has been fucked up.
The phone is able to browse the Internet, but:
- WiFi hotspot is not working
- USB tethering is not working
- Bluetooth tethering is not working
- PPP over USB is not working

But, hey, I never give up, so this is my current setup:
- I installed a proxy server on the phone
- I'm using "adb forward" to forward the proxy port from the phone to my laptop
- I configured Firefox to use that proxy

And, yes, I'm using that connection to write this post. :D

rant

story

workaround

tethering

proxy

android
Favorite
Ranter
Comments
  • 4
    5y
    Sounds legit.
    You can buy a much better phone that will require less charges, and give better performance per milliwat. for ~50.
  • 1
    5y
    Maybe you can get a secondhand one and flash custom ROM on it.
    I find it good that you do not buy a new phone every two years and use it longer - I try to do that, too, but every phone of mine broke after two to three years :(
  • 6
    5y
    Is it possible that by upgrading to a newer, greener device with improve electrical efficiency can offset the waste in resources? 🤔

    - old device can be scraped and recycled
    - you can use your handphone without turning on your laptop which also consumes electricity, thus being more environmentally friendly
  • 2
    5y
    Try a different ROM

    Start with official LineageOS for your model. If it doesn't exist, try the same for CyanogenMod.

    If you're on one of those already, you'll have to google and see how common the issue is and potential fixes.
    Sometimes the fixes are as simple as "clean install" and "wipe dalvik"

    Those are the least painful, "it just works", type options.
  • 1
    5y
    @swablu No. A phone doesn't require as much energy in its lifetime as its production/shipping etc needs. Also recycling is not as good as many people think. It requires much energy and still some resources of the recycled phone are gone forever (it is still better than putting it on a dump though, but it's far worse than using the phone longer). So the best option is to use it as long as possible, even repurposed as something else.
  • 1
    5y
    Im kinda the same but not because of the environment but because I dont like 99.9% of todays phones! It either has a notch, or no headphone jack or looks like 80% of the other phones because it has to have a borderless screen.
  • 1
    5y
    Well, my phone now has a notch, no jack and it's not even waterproof 😢

    But man, just for the cameras it's soo worth it
    (and most of the time the notch is hidden in the notification bar / black borders around 16/9 content)
    (xiaomi mi9, running pixel experience)
  • 1
    5y
    ++ for not constantly buying a new phone. I don't understand people that do.
Related Rants
devRant © 2021 Hexical Labs LLC
Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Service
Add Comment