Hello, I am considering de-googling my mobile experience. It seems like Samsung has bad security on their phones, which is why GrapheneOS is not available on Samsung phones, I guess. Ironically, google pixel phone is supposed to be the best fit for GrapheneOS.
So anyway, should I switch ? Ideally, I want to keep my phone. But my phone is quite old at this point, so I can consider buying a new phone. If I buy one, which one should I get?
Also, I heard call and mobile data does not work well on GrapheneOS and the like. How bad is it?
When it comes to de-Googling, you have many options such as LineageOS, CalyxOS, and a few more custom ROMs. GrapheneOS is good; however, Google Pixel hardware isn’t great. After running GrapheneOS for 2/3 years on Pixel 6 and 8, I ditched the Google Pixel series and got OnePlus 11 with LineageOS.
I was thinking of switching to Graphene but I then read your comment.
Would you be able to honestly tell me why you ditched Graphene?
Firstly, my Pixel 8 completely died on me when I switched to GrapheneOS (the phone is to blame). I returned it and then bought the OnePlus 11 for half the price of the Pixel 8. (Pixel = £599, OnePlus 11 £349 from eBay)
There’s nothing wrong with the operating system itself; it’s just the limitations of the devices. I don’t think Google Pixel phones are worth the money, even though they have one of the best cameras. Besides, I don’t see the point, especially when you can get phones that are equally good (except for the camera) for a cheaper price.
For me the ability to install whatever custom ROM and the knowledge that the phone will be secure for however many years is what makes the Pixel the better phone (also I’ve never paid full price for one!)
And have you installed lineage on your new phone?
I usually go with Samsung phones as I am not a fan of pixel. However, I use a lot of banking apps and I am not sure if they block usage once they detect a jailbroken phone.
Has that happened to you?
This is true, but if you’re coming from a Galaxy S8, a Pixel 9 will be a significant upgrade in performance. More comparable to an S21 or S22 as far as cpu performance goes.
Thanks, I guess I will keep my phone for now. As it is significant risk for me to install different OS, I would resort to using android and just replacing google apps with FOSS apps.
Sad that current infrastructure is soo dependent on the spywares.
I used to be really anxious about it, but after installing GrapheneOS or LineageOS on many devices (I started doing it for friends who asked), they’re all humming along nicely
The way I got comfortable enough to do the first one was upgrading my previous phone right after replacing it. Of course I found that the older phone running free software was more responsive and had better battery life. (Funny how not running crapware helps!)
Experiencing that difference was enough to tempt me to put a cleaner operating system on all my new phones immediately, going forward.
In the meantime, there’s strong evidence that getting rid of random apps substantially improves privacy. May as well go for it.
But, of course, getting rid of Google apps is still the elephant in the privacy nightmare room until it’s done.
People focus way too much on Graphene, Lineage with microG is fine for most people (particularly those who can’t or won’t shell out for a Google flagship model).
As a die hard paranoid security guru, I want to highlight your point here.
I adore GrapheneOS, but Lineage can be a fast and easy switch for a solid 80% or 90% improvement in privacy for most people.
Absolutely agree. Sure, GrapheneOS is great for us keenos but if you’re using an old phone that hasn’t had a security update for 4 years then something “not bad” is a huge improvement!
Or can’t afford a Pixel unless it’s secondhand or EOL. Or if GOS itself has stopped updates, as their support is pretty short.
What do you mean pretty short, they provide it for as long as the manufacturer provides firmware updates and then seem to give extended support on top of that!
Yeah, I meant that the manufacturer’s support is pretty short. For example, mine has it for just 5 years, later ones extending it to 7. Minus whatever you have to wait until you can afford the phone, since they are egregiously, unaffordably expensive new. So… Without Lineage, it would still be spending quite a while without any updates.
I guess it’s good that we’re being spoiled by long update promises now, my Pixel is the first phone I’ve ever had that even has a support window, previously it’s just been “one major update, within a year if you’re lucky, and what the fuck is a security patch?”
Yeah, true - it absolutely is an upgrade from all of my previous phones that spent most of their life EOL) Sad that this is like this for the majority of people.