this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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Privacy
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Been using Fdroid to the point where my first boot into a new phone is:
Open chrome > download fdroid > open settings > uninstall/disable every single application I can > open fdroid > install all the relevant apps I require for making my phone useful
I'm just waiting for a small life upgrade in order to be able to support some app developers; it will be money better spent than using the standard google apps.
You might want to consider your next phone to be a pixel+grapheneOS.
any lineage os supported device is enough, i think
LineageOS isnt degoogled by default
It's a lot better than stock, even though there are still some Google things left over. If you don't install your own GApps, then the Google stuff in Lineage is minimal.
Doesn't take long to De-google it up to 95% or so
It's insane that I can't make any steps towards ungoogling myself w/o paying 2.5 times the price of a phone. I can't buy an allready degoogled pixel here, I can't buy fairphone here, I can only use a package forwarding service from the US, declare it to customs - and watch them add a monstrous fee to it.
I wish I could have the courage to buy a pixel and try to replace the OS myself - but I fear I will just brick it...
Installing GrapheneOS is actually ludicrously easy if you're expecting some kind of root exploit nonsense like you used to have to do with custom ROMs! Full instructions here, happy to answer any questions if you need!
You 99% won't brick it, I guarantee you. Graphene's install is really easy. You press a few buttons on a website and never touch a terminal, aside from if you're on GNOME. As for price, I got a used Pixel 4a 5g for 100 and newer ones won't be as expensive as the things you might've gone for. Try a used Pixel 6a? (Graphene doesn't extend software support)
I just did it two days ago, had the same fears, everything went smooth like butter
Bricking is a possibility but for phones that can be unlocked, it should be a matter of following the instructions on Lineageos - unlock the bootloader, flash the recovery partition, flash lineageos + Google apps.
The biggest pain in the ass for me was trying to get the adb & fastboot tools to talk to the device in the first place. For example OnePlus requires drivers for its devices but Windows doesn't install them automatically so you have to go find them. Except the adb driver works but the fastboot one didn't. Then after a bunch of searching it turns out OnePlus forgot to sign the fastboot driver so Windows refused to install it and I had to boot Windows in a convoluted way to disable signature verification to get the driver installed.
After all that, the rest was relatively straightforward but it still took several hours of effort. IMO Lineageos is a pretty ugly dist but if you install Google Apps it's not missing anything and it extends the phone's life beyond what the manufacturer could be bothered to support.
The first issue is that you're in the US.
As for installing Graphene, it's very unlikely that you will brick your mobile, since with the new WebUSB installer, you don't have to do anything. Just set it to install and have your favourite beverage whilst the Web installer deals with it
I just run lineage os
I've used so called entry level phones my entire life; I can't motivate myself to spend the amount a Fair Phone costs, although the concept is appealing and regardless the geek in me going nuts with the idea of tinkering with my phone as I do with my computer. I also prefer rugged phones, which is something most brands don't cater to.
My current phone is an Oukitel and has already passed the three year mark, still more than enough for my needs, in great part thanks to my option to run FOSS whenever possible.
I just run Lineage os. Sure its not as secure but it supports many phones and is clean and light.
Combine it with F-droid and your golden
I doubt I can get that to run on my phone. Being a minor brand, it is as if it doesn't exist.
What device is it? There probably is an unofficial build.
Also 3 years is not that old. My phone is from 2019 and runs Android 13 just fine (Motorola-ocean)
Oukitel WP8 Pro
It has an MT6762D CPU, with 4GB RAM.
And now I'm doubting for how long I've had it, has the last update for the Android 10 it runs is from 2020 and I can remember updating it, for sure.
Ok, your right there is very little support for that device. Sorry I couldn't be more help