End of Life for S5

[daithidearg]

I'm using an old S5 and I'm getting concerned about the Vulnerability of the phone.

It's on Android version 6.0.1 but the Android Security Patch Level is April 2017 and also the Kernel version is 2017.

I have tried Downloading Updates and it says I'm at the latest version.

I can share additional information as required.

Is there an End of Life for phones?

 

[mikedt]

Probably not vulnerability, not unless you're side-loading whatever apps on it from untrusted sources. However compatibly might be a problem with recent apps. Google no longer supports Android 6 AFAIK.

An S5 I think is still a good candidate for using custom ROMs though, that are still supported and updated. Like Lineage OS.
https://lineageos.org/

 

[Fox Mulder]

The S5 is still a viable device, but the lack of updates can be an issue with some apps as Mike indicated. Also depending on your usage and needs the storage and memory may not be sufficient (16GB internal/2GB RAM). I used my S5 for several years and was very happy with it, but earlier this year I realized it was time for something newer and got an S9.
You can probably continue using the S5 for a while as long as it continues to work well but its limitations will only become more obvious over time. I'd recommend looking around for a more current device.
When you do finally upgrade to a newer phone you can still make use of the S5 as a wifi device for plenty of uses, such as music streaming and various utilities. As one of the last mainstream phones with an IR blaster it can be used as a universal remote.