Supplementary (additional) guide for the original Android 5 guide by u/iloveneoni_so-much5 https://www.reddit.com/r/androidafterlife/comments/1ssiitz/android_5_lollipop_ultimate_survival_guide/

I’m writing this to make it easier to answer questions from other users. I’ll try to make everything as straightforward as possible here and keep this guide up to date. If any links are broken, an app no longer works, or you have any suggestions for additional content, let me know in the comments!

(In this tutorial, I'm assuming that your cell phone has been completely reset to factory settings.)

1. Initial configuration

Once your phone has been reset to factory settings, the first thing I recommend you do is update the system certificates, since most of the default certificates in Android 5 have expired, causing problems with loading content from the internet and preventing you from using several apps on this list.

To update the certificates on Android, follow the step-by-step instructions in this tutorial here: https://www.reddit.com/r/androidafterlife/comments/1r2uk1l/guide_how_to_add_tls_certificates_to_fix_some/

Once all the certificates have been updated, you can proceed to the next step.

2. Updates and Services

Although it’s common practice to update the Google Play Store and Google Play Services first, I recommend that you don’t do that. Because even though Android 5 is still technically supported by Google in this regard, the latest versions of these apps—especially Play Services—can really drain performance and battery life, even on high-end phones from that era, such as the S4, for example. Plus, they collect a ton of data and can create new security vulnerabilities on the device.

Instead, I recommend using the Aurora Store along with MicroG Services. They are open-source alternatives to the Play Store and Play Services that do not affect device performance, do not collect user data, and do not require users to log in to use them or download apps.

Aurora Store: https://store.auroraoss.com/
MicroG Services: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore

As for other apps pre-installed on the device, I recommend that you disable any that you won’t be using anymore, such as Google+, Google Hangouts, Google Talk, Google News, … Or apps you don’t plan to use at all, such as Google Photos, Google Play Books, … Doing this will free up some space and may even make your phone run faster by removing these unnecessary background services. Once they’re removed, you can download updates for the remaining apps (if there aren’t any updates available for them through the Aurora Store) via APKMirror, where you can search for compatible APKs using the search options.

https://www.apkmirror.com/?post_type=app_release&searchtype=apk&s=&minapi-max=22&dpi%5B%5D=nodpi&bundles%5B%5D=apk_files

Even so, if you want to sign in to your Google account on the device and are having trouble, try updating WebView; that usually fixes the problem of not being able to sign in.

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/android-system-webview/android-system-webview-95-0-4638-74-release/

Bonus: If you want to use Google Play Music to play music files from your device, this is the latest version that works: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-play-music/google-play-music-8-22-8261-1-p-release/

3. Browsing the Internet

For browsing the internet, Firefox is undoubtedly the best option in this case. This is mainly because of its wide variety of extensions and the fact that the browser does not rely on the system's WebView to render pages.

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/mozilla/firefox/firefox-fast-private-browser-143-0-4-release/

In Firefox, I recommend that you try out the recommended privacy extensions, but above all, I recommend that you install Adblock Origin. H264lify is also highly recommended if you want to watch YouTube in your browser.

https://ublockorigin.com/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/h264ify/

4. Communications and Social Media

The list of social media platforms that still work on Android 5 is currently short, and that number is likely to shrink even further, as apps like WhatsApp will stop supporting Android 5 by the end of this year (2026). Even so, you can still use these apps through your browser; sites like Twitter and Bluesky still work well. Currently, the social media platforms that still natively support Android 5 are:

• Facebook (Lite): https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/facebook-2/lite/facebook-lite-524-0-0-7-106-release/
• Instagram (Lite): https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/instagram/instagram-lite/instagram-lite-524-0-0-3-106-release/
• TikTok (Lite): https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/tiktok-pte-ltd/tiktok-lite-save-data/tiktok-lite-save-data-fast-43-2-65-release/
• Telegram: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/telegram-fz-llc/telegram/telegram-12-9-2-release/
• Telegram X: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/telegram-fz-llc/telegram-x/telegram-x-0-28-10-1800-release/

(As I said, these apps are still being updated, so I recommend checking to see if there are new versions available.)

Another option for those who don't want to use the web version of the apps is to use alternative clients or patched apps. However, I am not responsible for your data—be careful with alternative clients or patches from unknown sources!

• NewPipe (YouTube client): https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.schabi.newpipe/
• SkyTube (YouTube client): https://github.com/SkyTubeTeam/SkyTube
• RedReader (Reddit client): https://f-droid.org/packages/org.quantumbadger.redreader/
• Patched Discord: (Check the original guide)

5. Games

As for this list of games here, I'll organize them from the least resource-intensive to the most resource-intensive, so if you have a more basic phone, you'll know which ones to choose.

• Pou: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/zakeh-ltd/pou/pou-1-4-124-release/
• Dr. Driving: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/sud-inc/dr-driving-2/dr-driving-2-1-70-release/
• Angry Birds Classic: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/rovio-entertainment-corporation/angry-birds/angry-birds-8-0-3-release/
• Geometry Dash Lite: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/robtop-games-geometry/robtop-geometry-dash-lite/geometry-dash-lite-2-2-14-release/
• Hill Climb Racing: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/fingersoft/hill-climb-racing/hill-climb-racing-1-62-1-release/
• Temple Run: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/imangi-studios/temple-run/temple-run-1-27-0-release/
• Turbo Dismount: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/secret-exit-ltd/turbo-dismount/turbo-dismount-1-43-0-release/
• Subway Surfers: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/sybo-games/subwaysurfers/subwaysurfers-3-33-0-release/

If you have any other game suggestions for me to add here, just let me know in the comments!

I think that’s all. I’ll try to keep this guide up to date. As I said at the beginning, if any links are broken, an app no longer works, information is out of date, or you have suggestions for additional information, let me know in the comments! Thanks to everyone for your help.

I found an old Android phone that still works perfectly, but feels unusable because it's slow and overloaded.

Would you use it again if it only did the things you actually need?

Iam trying to flash any kind of custom rom on it . My laptop doesn't even recognize it, i tried alot . I installed Samsung drivers several times and i cleaned the Charging port it gives me the yellow mark and the adb also don't recognize. What should i do ?.

i have android 4.2.2 in a vm in my phone, works fine for older stuff, but i wanna use web browsing in it just because and the most modern web browser i can get for it is from 2021 and it doesnt load anything