Which phone to get for alternative OS
Recently I've been looking for a phone that will allow me to install an google-free OS. I've never installed a different OS on a phone before. I've been looking online but haven't really found a clearly best option.
Problem with standard recommendation
From what I've read GrapheneOS seems the best alternative OS. Unfortunately they only support the Pixel devices. I want to have local, offline access to my files (e.g. music files, documents) and don't want to be dependent on cloud services. The Pixel with the most storage comes with only 256GB and no slot for an SD card.
Possible options
There are some other routes that may be feasible that I've listed here.
Fairphone 6
- No USB 3
- Pricey for what you get, both in terms of hardware and in terms of fairness, at least according to this post).
- It has an SD card slot
- You can order it with e/os installed, very convenient
- No GrapheneOS
Fairphone 5
- According to this post, the FP6 is a lot snappier
- Not significantly cheaper than the FP6
- It does come with USB 3
- It has an SD card slot
- Can also order this with e/os.
- No GrapheneOS
Sony
According to the Bootloader Unlock Wall of Shame Sony isn't the worst of the bunch.
- Many Sony's from the LineageOS list of compatible devices have an SD card slot
- Have to install the OS yourself
- No GrapheneOS
Pixel
Get a refurbished Pixel anyways and get a separate dumb MP3 player for music.
- Might be an option but 256GB is still cutting it tight with what I want to have available offline.
- The 256GB option is a lot more expensive than the 128GB option compared to the cost of a 128GB SD card
- Extra costs from buying the extra MP3 player
- Have to install the OS yourself
- Can install GrapheneOS
DumbPhone:
Get a dumbphone for calls, texting, banking, govt stuff, 2FA app, and music listening. Have a separate linux phone for all the other stuff.
- Not sure how privacy friendly the dumbphones are, might still be using Google Play services?
- Two devices instead of one to carry around
- Extra costs for two devices
- Tinkering with a linux phone could be a fun project
Bonus option: don't get the linux phone
- Less screen time
- Only 1 device to buy/carry
- Can't go on the internet while traveling
Questions
- What would be your recommendation that allows plenty of storage on the phone?
- Do you have good/bad experiences with any of these phones/operation systems?
- Are there any good options I've missed?
shortwavesurfer
in reply to lavendertea • • •Does your no cloud policy extend to running a nextcloud instance on your own computer and pulling data over the network when necessary?
If that's something you are willing to do, then I would go with the Pixel and just pull data from your nextcloud device when needed. I believe you can install nextcloud through Docker to make it super quick to update and deploy.
like this
abeorch likes this.
lavendertea
in reply to shortwavesurfer • • •shortwavesurfer
in reply to lavendertea • • •In that case, I'd probably go with the Fairphone 6, since you can get /e/OS on it by default, but you can also put lineage on it, if you wished.
Personally, I absolutely hate the /e/OS launcher. It reminds me too much of iOS. And I honestly hate it.
lavendertea
in reply to shortwavesurfer • • •shortwavesurfer
in reply to lavendertea • • •So I wanted to make sure before you did so, and it turns out the Fairphone 6 is not as of yet on the lineage OS website as officially supported. So you might be stuck with sl/e/OS for now. I'm fairly certain the Fairphone 6 will get lineage. It just does not appear to have it yet. So you might either want to wait or consider buying the 5 instead, which already is supported for certain.
wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#fa…
Devices | LineageOS Wiki
wiki.lineageos.orglavendertea
in reply to shortwavesurfer • • •shortwavesurfer
in reply to lavendertea • • •I believe these six will be supported. I just think it's new enough that it hasn't gotten official support yet.
Also, to the best of my knowledge CalyxOS is dead for the moment. I want to say the main developer who was working on it left and they said it would be like six months or something like that before they could get a new person.
FrostyPolicy
in reply to shortwavesurfer • • •You can install whatever launcher you want. No need to stay on the default (don't like it either). One of my old phones has /e/os and I'm using Zim Launcher.
Zim Launcher | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
staging09.gitlab.ioshortwavesurfer
in reply to FrostyPolicy • • •lavendertea
in reply to FrostyPolicy • • •FrostyPolicy
in reply to lavendertea • • •abeorch
in reply to shortwavesurfer • •DeGoogle Yourself reshared this.
Arghblarg
in reply to lavendertea • • •lavendertea
in reply to Arghblarg • • •Info about dumpling | LineageOS Wiki
wiki.lineageos.orgArghblarg
in reply to lavendertea • • •lavendertea
in reply to Arghblarg • • •chi-chan~
in reply to lavendertea • • •Fairphone 5 with CalyxOS?
No updates, but you'll have one of the best Android OSs, and a SD card slot.
lavendertea
in reply to chi-chan~ • • •doogstar
in reply to lavendertea • • •A letter to the CalyxOS community
calyxos.orgmonovergent
in reply to lavendertea • • •Pixel + GOS just works, even has proper sandboxed Play Services if the need arises. Never had a Fairphone myself, but I really do fancy a SD card slot and removable battery.
Words of caution on dumbphones though, especially if you live somewhere with 4G as the minimum:
hansolo
in reply to monovergent • • •Additional dumb phone warning:
SIM swapping attacks take all of 10 minutes to accomplish, and will give an attacker access to your phone number for them to use SMS 2FA codes to lock you out of your email and accounts. You will have zero access or recourse until you physically go into a carrier location and get your phone number fixed. Then you begin a lengthy process of reclaiming accounts to see how bad the damage is.
lavendertea
in reply to hansolo • • •hansolo
in reply to lavendertea • • •Correct. 2FA apps are the safest option.
2FA codes sent by SMS are barely better than just a password, but if your password leaks and your phone number is public info on a data broker site, it's simply a matter of when the attacker makes it to you on a list. It's especially bad for people who flaunt crypto or stock wins online and make themselves a target worth trying a SIM swap on.
monovergent
in reply to hansolo • • •hansolo
in reply to monovergent • • •lavendertea
in reply to monovergent • • •Yes, I wish GOS would support the fairphone, then it would be a no-brainer.
Thanks for the warning re: dumphones, I had no idea. Is there one that you think is suitable for privacy and 4G+VoLTE support?
monovergent
in reply to lavendertea • • •estutweh
in reply to lavendertea • • •ScoffingLizard
in reply to estutweh • • •krolden
in reply to lavendertea • • •lavendertea
in reply to krolden • • •krolden
in reply to lavendertea • • •I like it when I can get it to run on unsupported devices but I've never had an officially supported device.
If you pay for a license you get their android compatibility layer
smeg
in reply to lavendertea • • •monovergent
in reply to smeg • • •Not speaking for OP, but having a 1 TB microSD would let me:
All for under 100 USD
smeg
in reply to monovergent • • •lavendertea
in reply to smeg • • •DSN9
in reply to lavendertea • • •DSN9
in reply to smeg • • •Don't buy the fairphone 4, qualcom doesn't support the drivers. Security is shit. As to the 5 and 6, they don't meet the hardware security requirements of the GOS team.
If security is your priority go for a Pixel with GOS.
Filen offers a mountable drive stackable 100gb lifetime deal. Free 10gb, so 110gb. The lifetime deal is like 20 bucks. So pay 40 bucks 220gb. The deals are stackable.
If you use my referral I get an additional 30gb 😂
Anyways that's not why I recommend them, i was in the same position using syncthing, self hosting. Until I spend the time to harden remote access filen is simple and damn good.
Filen – Next Generation End-To-End Encrypted Cloud Storage
filen.iolavendertea
in reply to DSN9 • • •How did you harden remote access filen?
Unfortunately 220 gb would not cover having a real music collection, but potentially with a separate mp3 player it could work. The issue with lifetime deals is I don't think it makes sense for them to offer a lifetime deal for something with recurring costs.
Privacy is my main priority, of course security is also important. However doesn't it depend a bit on the threat model? I'm no celebrity or politician, isn't "regular" security good enough unless you are a target?
lavendertea
in reply to smeg • • •The convenience of cloud is to always have access to your documents when you need them. I want that, but without relying on a cloud provider. Syncthing syncs from desktop to phone when I'm home and I always have access to everything when I'm away.
There's about 100GB of various photos, files, documents, notes I sync. Music collections can easily grow to significant sizes if you don't use streaming services.
Witziger_Waschbaer
in reply to lavendertea • • •If you use a VPN to connect you phone to your home network you don't even have to expose any service to the general web.
like this
abeorch likes this.
lavendertea
in reply to Witziger_Waschbaer • • •doogstar
in reply to lavendertea • • •lavendertea
in reply to doogstar • • •Witziger_Waschbaer
in reply to lavendertea • • •But yeah, it does require some maintenance and a backup strategy. I bought an unraid license back when the lifetime ones were still cheap, that makes it pretty easy to work on overall.
lavendertea
in reply to Witziger_Waschbaer • • •antipiratgruppen
in reply to lavendertea • • •abeorch
in reply to lavendertea • •Blort™ 🐀Ⓥ🥋☣️ likes this.
DeGoogle Yourself reshared this.
rapchee
in reply to smeg • • •smeg
in reply to rapchee • • •millerjutsu
in reply to lavendertea • • •monovergent
in reply to millerjutsu • • •lavendertea
in reply to millerjutsu • • •antipiratgruppen
in reply to lavendertea • • •I clicked a few buttons, scrolled for a while, and then found the specs on this page, including this chart:
The specs seem generally fine, I think. I notice a built-in minijack, which I like. Though, I also notice only 10W charging which isn't a lot – about half the charging power of my Pixel 7 Pro – but the battery will probably last for more cycles then. What do you notice? Any numbers that seem too low/high/outdated to you?
BraX3: the most privacy-friendly smartphone!
Indiegogolavendertea
in reply to antipiratgruppen • • •GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social)
GrapheneOS Mastodonlemmyng
in reply to millerjutsu • • •GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social)
GrapheneOS Mastodonlavendertea
in reply to lemmyng • • •Ardens
in reply to lavendertea • • •lavendertea
in reply to Ardens • • •A lot of people around me who have never been interested in tech are messaging me asking about what browser is most private, what social media alternatives there are, etc. Maybe there is more momentum now?
Ardens
in reply to lavendertea • • •HiddenLayer555
in reply to Ardens • • •DreasNil
in reply to lavendertea • • •I got my FP6 with /e/os a few weeks ago and I love it so far! Only downside is the camera which will apparently get a software update eventually.
Edit: someone told me to enable the HDR setting which wasn't enabled from the start. So there's hope for the camera yet! I haven't had time to try it out but it sounds promising.
lavendertea
in reply to DreasNil • • •rapchee
in reply to lavendertea • • •Phoenixz
in reply to rapchee • • •rapchee
in reply to Phoenixz • • •DreasNil
in reply to lavendertea • • •cabbage
in reply to DreasNil • • •DreasNil
in reply to cabbage • • •Mike
in reply to lavendertea • • •rdri
in reply to Mike • • •Mike
in reply to rdri • • •lavendertea
in reply to Mike • • •lavendertea
Unknown parent • • •Thanks a bunch for this great overview. Looks like you keep up with open hardware. The multi-device route is something I'm considering as well, e.g. going to the gym with only an mp3 player, having a separate navigation device, etc.
The Tangara music player looks awesome, unfortunately they're currently not available (according to this). Do you know of any other cool open hardware devices that are worth checking out?
Had a look at the Mudita Kompakt, never heard of it before. Love the idea of a minimalist eink phone. You say it's slow, is that because of the eink display? Is it slow also when texting/using Signal or only when using more intensive apps? Do you know if the OS is open source? It looks like they have Mudita OS open sourced, but that it's not used in the Mudita Kompakt.
Shipping News and More
Crowd Supplykittenzrulz123
in reply to lavendertea • • •DSN9
Unknown parent • • •saimen
in reply to lavendertea • • •volla.online/en/index.php
This might interest you. Comes with own google free android OS or Ubuntu Touch.
I have no experience with it though, just stumbled upon it when looking for alternatives.
Volla Mobile Devices
Volla Deviceslavendertea
in reply to saimen • • •lavendertea
Unknown parent • • •lavendertea
Unknown parent • • •Cool stuff, the precursor looks like it could end up being very useful.
cabbage
in reply to lavendertea • • •Regarding Fairphone, I found modularity to make their phones cheaper than the competition in the long run, even though the initial cost is slightly higher.
I have not experienced any performance issues on my FP5 with /e/OS, so unless you plan to do something crazy with it I don't think it being snappier should be the reason to opt for a FP6 instead.
lavendertea
in reply to cabbage • • •cabbage
in reply to lavendertea • • •I'm liking it a whole lot. I think for my purpose it strikes a pretty ideal compromise between supporting parts of the Android ecosystem (I could easily install banking and public transportation apps) and avoiding Google and a lot of the things that were increasingly present in Android and that increasingly annoyed me.
It also integrates really well with Nextcloud out of the box, which I appreciate. Basically when setting up the phone instead of being asked to provide a Google account you're asked if you want to either sign in to Nextcloud or to sign up to their instance of it. You can of course choose to do neither and to keep your stuff away from the cloud.
I have had trouble using a couple of apps - most annoyingly I can't manage to sign in to AirWallet, which I need in order to do laundry - but for the most part it's been a really smooth experience.
The default camera app can be a bit hit or miss, but on FP5 there's an option to use the stock Fairphone camera app, which works just as well as in normal Android. If I didn't have that option this would probably be my only real complaint.
lavendertea
in reply to cabbage • • •