The question: when a tablet has stopped getting OS updates but everything on it still runs, how do you decide whether to keep using it or retire it? I would like to compare methods, because I have a lean and I am not sure it is right.
My lean is to keep it, with limits. A tablet that does one job, like showing a recipe, playing music, or running a dashboard on a kitchen wall, does not need this year's features. What worries me is the missing security patches, and that worry grows with what the device is allowed to do.
So my rough test is three questions:
- Does it hold anything I would mind losing? Banking apps, saved passwords, work email. If yes, I retire it or at least wipe those off.
- Does it browse the open web? A browser that no longer gets fixes is the part I trust least. An appliance tablet that only talks to one app on my own network is a much smaller risk.
- Is the physical side holding up? Battery swelling, a cracked screen, or a charge port that needs wiggling usually ends the argument for me before the software does. Check the cable and port first, as always.
If it stays in service, I would put it on the guest or IoT VLAN, no access to anything I care about, and write down in the binder what it is for and the date I decided to review it. That last part sounds fussy, but it keeps a "temporary" tablet from living on my network for eight years without anyone asking why.
I do not know how long app developers keep supporting old OS versions before the apps simply stop installing or updating. That is the part I cannot predict, so I would like to hear what others have seen.
What made you finally replace a tablet that still worked? And do you keep the old ones around for a dedicated job, or do they go in a drawer?