this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2024
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DeGoogle Yourself

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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 5 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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[–] TCB13 1 points 5 months ago (2 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] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I got it on eBay and I will be trying to get the warranty to cover it, but I don't want this to happen again if they send another Pixel 5a. I already lost enough data from this.

Not interested in GrapheneOS.

[–] TCB13 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Not interested in GrapheneOS.

Okay, then it will be easier. But be aware of the security implications of running the other alternatives, if someone gets your phone they can mess with your bootloader / turn it into a tracking device / add spyware / extract data.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I've been running custom ROMs since 2015, I am well aware.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] TCB13 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

@TCB13 they are 2 different beasts, for sure, and I certainly am more inclined towards GrapheneOS's road to privacy. However, the alternative of keeping the stock OS because "Micay this or that" argumented by some people is worse than actually using something else, such as Calyx.

I believe that any move towards removing as much Google as possible from our lives is worth it, and we should be glad that there are options, unlike in the iOS world.