Jan "Jenkings" Škoda - blog

My first piece of official Google phones. The Nexus series is the predecessor to today's Pixel series, which it was transformed into in 2016. This is a series of phones whose design, development, and especially marketing involve Google, but which are manufactured and developed in collaboration with selected established manufacturers. Specifically, this model, the Nexus 5, was manufactured in collaboration with LG. The entire Nexus series was characterized mainly by its practically pure Android and high level of optimization.

The model I got my hands on was manufactured at the turn of 2013 and 2014. It is powered by a Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 processor supplemented by 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is more than generous considering when it was launched.

Considering its age, it also has a very good camera with a relatively large lens. The sensor with a stated resolution of 8MP can take very beautiful photos even by today's standards in good conditions, and can also cope with slight dimness.

Although it was released with Android 4.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), it can be upgraded to 6.0 (Marshmallow), which is the operating system running on my device.

The piece I received has a significant cosmetic issue. The power/lock button is broken and there is an ugly microbutton outside the case. The previous owner used it as an IP camera, so he did not care. However, in that condition, it was not really a piece that would be stored as a collector's item.



I had kept that Nexus in my drawer for over ten months. I was thinking about replacing the button or finding another way to make it look nice again. I tried a few things, but I couldn't get anything that looked good enough.

However, I have a colleague who is a perfectionist. I showed him the phone and described the problem.

He took the phone and disappeared for a couple of hours, after which he returned with the phone looking completely repaired. Even on closer inspection, I would not be able to tell that the button had been replaced.



After a while, he told me that he had found a microbutton on a PCB containing samples of it. It fitted the motherboard. Then he took a piece of black cuprefite PCB and, using scissors, a knife, a file and tongs, he made a very nice button cover. He assembled everything together and it is absolutely beautiful!

I would usually install some games and software, but unfortunately, the Android 6.0 is not capable of connecting to the Play Store, so I would need to do a sideload.

However, it is definitely worth adding it to the collection and keeping it. I'm really enjoying that piece.