how we resurrected a tech icon

Have you ever considered resurrecting an old phone? This is precisely the experiment we have attempted. Robin took his Google Nexus 5 out of the closet and dusted it off. He then proceeded with repairs, including screen and battery replacement, before installing Android 12. He even used it for a week.

Who has never opened an old drawer to come across a forgotten object, triggering a wave of nostalgia? For me, these moments are often related to technology. One of my strongest memories is linked to my very first Android phone, the HTC Magic. However, it’s another device, the Nexus 5, that holds a special place in the heart of my colleague, Robin.

The Nexus 5 is like the shooting star of the Android world: fast, brilliant and fleeting. Launched in 2013, this smartphone, born from the collaboration between LG Electronics and Google, quickly became an icon. It perfectly embodies the spirit of the Nexus range: to offer a stock Android, a pure experience, without frills and without overlay, at an affordable price.

We bring out the Nexus 5

Robin, nostalgic for those bygone times, decided to dust off his Nexus 5 and restart it, while giving it a little makeover. He recorded every step of this nostalgic and technical journey in our latest YouTube video.

First step: repairs. To bring the Nexus 5 back to life, Robin had to change the screen and the battery. A challenge in itself, given the age of the device and the availability of these parts. He was thus able to prove that technology, despite the years, can sometimes be repairable, durable.

The second step, perhaps the most exciting for tech enthusiasts, was to install Android 12 on the Nexus 5 via a custom ROM. A real technical challenge, but an exciting feat. Of course, Android 12 was not designed to run on a smartphone released a decade ago. You will see that we should not always do the unthinkable.

Robin took the experience even further: he used the device for an entire week. But obviously, a decade of technological advancement can’t be ignored…and nostalgia has its limits.

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For those who share our love for Android and technology, this video will be a real treat. You’ll see how the Nexus 5 was resurrected from guts to glory, while getting a glimpse of the work that went into fixing it and installing Android 12 to this mobile tech veteran.

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