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Choosing your hardware

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Most advice about digital safety is about what you do on a device. This page is about the device itself. A phone, laptop or router is only as safe as the security fixes it still receives, and every maker eventually stops sending them. When that happens, the device keeps working while newly discovered flaws stay open for good.

That makes the most useful question when you buy anything connected: how long will it be supported? This page explains why, what the rules and promises look like in 2026, how to handle routers and smart devices, and why encryption matters if a device is lost. It doesn’t recommend specific brands. Those picks belong on a page with testable criteria.

Why the support period matters most

Security researchers and criminals find flaws in devices all the time, and makers fix them with updates. A device that no longer gets updates carries every flaw found after its last patch. The longer you keep using it, the more flaws pile up, and attackers can read about each one publicly.

You can see this with operating systems. Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, after which free security updates, bug fixes and technical support stopped. Microsoft offered a paid one-year extended security updates option to consumers, which was due to run out in October 2026, so check its current terms. In September 2024, before the cutoff, StatCounter data showed about 59% of Americans still ran Windows 10. A large share of machines were heading for the end of support.

Phones and tablets

Phone makers now publish longer support promises than they once did. These are what each company has said, and they apply to specific models, so check the one you’re buying.

Maker and line What it has stated Notes
Google Pixel 8 and later Seven years of OS, security and feature updates Applies across the range since the Pixel 8
Samsung Galaxy S24 and later S and Z series Seven years Cheaper A-series phones get less, for example four years of OS and five of security on the Galaxy A25
Apple iPhone 15 At least five years from first sale Stated in a UK regulatory filing, and Apple has often supported older phones longer
OnePlus About four years of OS updates As of a 2025 comparison

Seven-year promises are only as good as the record behind them, and Android Central noted that Google and Samsung still have to prove they can keep them. Apple didn’t publish a support period before 2024.

Regulation is catching up. New smartphones and tablets placed on the EU market from June 20, 2025 must receive operating system updates for at least five years after the last unit is sold, and spare parts must stay available for seven years. The rules don’t cover devices already on sale before that date or high-security communication phones. They show up on the new EU energy label as a repairability score.

Before you buy, find the model’s stated support end date or period. If a maker won’t state one, count that as information.

Computers

Computer makers generally support operating systems for years, and the pattern is the same: a published end date, then nothing. Before buying, check how long the operating system will be supported on that hardware, including whether the machine meets the requirements for the current version. When a machine can’t run a supported version, that’s the point to replace it, or to accept the risk knowingly.

Used and refurbished computers can be a good value, but the support period then counts from the original release, so the same checks apply.

Routers and other things that sit quietly

Routers, cameras and smart speakers get forgotten because they just work. They also sit between you and the internet, or inside your home network, which makes them good targets.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center warned in May 2025 that criminals were exploiting end-of-life routers, meaning ones whose makers no longer sell or support them. It said routers dated 2010 or earlier likely no longer receive updates, and that attackers had infected such routers with malware called TheMoon, installing proxy services to commit crimes anonymously. Because the malware lives in the router, the FBI noted that antivirus software can’t scan for it. Its advice was to replace end-of-life routers, apply available updates, and, if you suspect trouble, update, change your password and reboot. The FBI also noted that some compromised routers had remote administration turned on.

Smart home devices have the same issue. Since April 29, 2024, UK law (the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act) has required makers of consumer connected products to avoid easily guessable default passwords, publish a way to report security flaws and state a minimum period for security updates. It covers smart speakers, TVs, doorbells, cameras, baby monitors, wearables and appliances. UK law is a useful benchmark even if you live elsewhere. If a product from any market lacks a stated support period, a contact for security reports and a unique password, that tells you how much the maker thinks about security.

Fewer connected devices means fewer things to keep updated. If you don’t need a smart version of something, a plain one has no firmware to go stale.

Encryption and locking

Updates protect against remote attackers. Encryption protects you if the device is lost or stolen. With full disk encryption, data is readable only after the correct password or PIN is entered. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office says it’s especially effective when a device is lost or stolen, notes that most modern operating systems include it, and cautions that it may not be on by default and depends on the strength of your password.

In practice, university IT guidance says iPhones and Android phones encrypt their data automatically once a screen lock is set, while laptops usually need BitLocker on Windows or FileVault on macOS turned on. Use a PIN or password that isn’t trivial to guess. A thief can’t copy files off an encrypted drive, and the FTC’s chief technologist wrote in 2015 that encryption also makes stolen devices less useful to criminals.

Encryption doesn’t help if someone has your unlocked device, or your password.

What to look for when you buy

Judge a device by testable criteria. Fail any of the first four and we’d look elsewhere.

  • It has a stated, current security support period, or a maker with a track record of supporting similar devices.
  • That period covers how long you expect to keep it.
  • It supports encryption and a screen lock, and you can turn them on.
  • For anything on your network, it doesn’t use a shared default password, and the maker publishes a way to report security problems.
  • Nice to have: spare parts and repair access for as long as the support period, as the EU now requires for new phones.

The trade-offs are real. Longer support usually costs more up front, though over the life of the device it can cost less. Choosing a phone for its update promise may mean giving up a feature you wanted. How much that matters depends on what the device holds, which threat modeling helps you judge.

What this page leaves out

This page doesn’t cover privacy screens, camera covers, hardware security keys, tamper protection or protecting yourself against someone with physical access and plenty of time. Those situations depend heavily on your threat model. Multifactor authentication covers security keys.

Sources

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