Which gadget did you keep far longer than you should have?

[Mbappe]

Most of us have one. A phone with a cracked screen and a battery that dies by lunchtime, a laptop held together with tape, or a pair of headphones where only one side works if you hold the cable at the right angle. We keep using them out of stubbornness, loyalty, thrift or simple laziness. Eventually something forces the upgrade, and we wonder why we waited so long

Mine was an old MP3 player that I kept using for years after my phone could do everything it did. The battery was shot, the screen had a dead line across it and syncing music meant digging out an ancient cable. But it had every album I owned and fitted perfectly in my jacket pocket. I only gave up when it finally refused to turn on

Sometimes keeping old tech is the sensible choice. It saves money, reduces waste and avoids the hassle of learning something new. Other times we hang on long past the point of reason, putting up with daily frustrations that a cheap replacement would fix. The line between thrifty and stubborn is a thin one. Pride plays a part too

With prices rising thanks to the memory shortage, more people might be stretching their gadgets further. Repairing rather than replacing is becoming more popular too. So this feels like a good time to share stories

What gadget did you keep far too long? What finally made you replace it, or are you still using it now?