DeGoogle Yourself

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A community for those that would like to get away from Google.

Here you may post anything related to DeGoogling, why we should do it or good software alternatives!

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My Pixel 5a just died after 5 months of use. Looking for a new phone I can deGoogle. (lemmy.ml)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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It seems that the motherboard is dead, and that it's a common issue with the 5a and I "should've known better," despite it being impossible to find decent information on phones these days.

I got it because it was the last Pixel with a headphone jack, and because it had good official LineageOS support. But I compromised: giving up the SD slot was tough for me, and now that I've been burned by not having one (I typically auto-backup my Signal history and other things to the SD card) I don't want to get another phone without it.

But the landscape seems bleak. The vast majority of phones that are officially supported by LineageOS are Pixels. It's impossible to find easy information on which phones have non-official LOS ROMs. Search results are useless these days, and I also keep running into an issue where after researching a phone for half an hour I discover that it has some arcane process to unlock the bootloader that doesn't always work, and the forum posters imply that the purchasers "should've known better." I'm just at my wit's end.

If anyone can suggest something that has decent deGoogled ROM support with the following features, I'd be very grateful:

OLED screen (a must-have for my photosensitivity)
SD card slot
I am willing to give up the headphone jack in order to expand my options

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Cool something similar happens with my 4a. Googles phones are so reliable.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (4 children)

It seems that the motherboard is dead, and that it’s a common issue with the 5a

Where did you get it? Can you ask for warranty and get it replaced?

Frankly speaking if you're looking to de-google and have a secure experience (including re-locking the bootloader and having everything signed and encrypted) then your only option is GrapheneOS + Pixel phones.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@TCB13 @inasaba not entirely accurate. CalyxOS, but albeit following a different process, also allows for degoogling and relocking the bootloader.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Besides the fact that you can re-lock in CalyxOS in some specific cases... or end up with a totally broken phone is isn't just as good as GrapheneOS. They don't even like to point out this situation, they try to navigate around with with less than ideal information on their documentation or complete omission.

They also do a lot of snitching on you (including to Google and Mozilla) and they overlook critical details such as this one allowing the OS to contact 3rd parties such as Qualcomm. This Qualcomm situation clearly shows how unable to actually research things properly and work around them they are. Those kinds of issues don't happen in Graphene because they’re actually better at covering all grounds.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Use Kimovil and Gsmarena sites to filter phones you want to look at.

My non root smartphone guide is well equipped for all your privacy and security needs, since you do not have to unlock a phone and risk bootloader security issues. But you seem to want that good juicy custom ROM stuff, so I will not stop you from the indulgence. You could change a few things like Invizible Pro root mode instead of VPN mode, for example, and a system wide HOSTS ruleset. Other than that I am sure you know what to do.

My 4.5 years old Huawei P30 Lite is dead and the SD card in it saved my ass considerably, but I did lose some photos and years of screenshots. Lesson learnt about backup negligence, needs to be more frequent, and all phones can give up the ghost any time after 4 years of lifespan. Picked up an Honor 90 as I value my eyes, wrists and privacy. Lightweight so will not give wrist issues. Debloating took 10 minutes, and the skin is very stock like inside. Great ultrawide and night 4k video means I am set for years, and unlike the Pixels with bad QC and lots of heating, this one is cool as a rock. Lost SD card slot and 3.5 jack, regained the jack as a dongle.

Consider a Xiaomi, Motorola or Sony for an unlockable phone, and the former two for well supported community ones.

Might come off as a ranty weird comment :/

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago

Hi! I know this option doesn't respect the second point of your list. That beijg said, if i was you i would buy a Google Pixel 7 or 8 and then i would put GrapheneOS on it!

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