On Sun, 11 Oct 2026, Dianne Skoll via linux wrote:
Fair. It's easy to buy a used Pixel phone from a Canadian source or
ex-owner,
then your money does not go to Google.
Mmm... that's a good point. My only worry with used phones is the battery
condition. If the battery is easily replaced, that's no big deal, but if
not... it could be a problem.
That's a real concern that I share. BestBuy.ca has a range of used phones from
open box to excellent to good, and I believe all, even the aftermarker
resellers accept returns. A 14 day return is a legal requirement in Canada at
least for nerw phones. I don't know if that's true for used phones. So there is
an opportunity for returns; limitations TBD.
Ron shared good information about this.
getorchard.ca in Toronto offers a 90 day money back no questions asked returns
and sells Pixels. They've been around for years.
So battery condition IS an important consideration which I think can be
dealt with during purchase. Android does show the cycle count and capacity
of the battery, at least on my AOSP GrapheneOS 17 version, for checking
when you get a phone.
BTW, it's possible to flash back PixelOS if a phone has to be returned or
repaired.
On battery life: since I got my first Pixel 3 years ago I babied the battery. I
bought a chargie.org SW-controlled charge limiter with the new phone to limit
battery charge to 80%. Android now limits to 80% by itself, with an occasional
100% calibration charge. I also almost always charge my phone on older USB A
2.4A chargers to limit the charge rate and minimize battery heating. I also try
to not let the battery go below 40%.
My battery status shows I've lost next just a few percent charge capacity over
3 years of heavy use.
For people here, a different chargie model may also be useful for laptop
battery life preservation; see their site about this.
Pixel SW is supported by Google for 5+ years; 7 years for newest models.
GrapheneOS has also been providing "harm reduction" releases for older
models, without the driver/firmware patches when they can no longer get
those from Google. So ideally, get the newest used phone that you can /
suits you for longer SW support.
It's a great effort to reduce e-waste. :-) Because these older phones are just
as useful now for almost all uses.
I'll keep an eye out. Unfortunately, my current phone is relatively
young (bought it new in April 2025) so I can't justify turning it into
e-waste at the moment.
I used my old iphone for 10+ years until the screen was smashed.
I'll wait for it to start acting up before looking for a replacement.
Maybe you could sell it on getorchard.ca or elsewhere, and with replacing it
with a used phone the overall cost would not be too much?
Finally, every GrapheneOS (prospective) user should check out their docs
on grapheneos.org. They are at the same informative quality as Arch docs.
Their web forum is very active too.
Brett
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