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Which phone to get for alternative OS (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 16 hours ago by lavendertea@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml
21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

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?
top 21 comments
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[-] millerjutsu@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

You should look at Brax 3 on indiegogo right now. No telemetry tied to big tech under $300. Iode is privacy focused. Braxtech.net

[-] monovergent@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 hour ago

Quite impressive of Mr Braxman. Third time he's worked with an ODM to release a phone degoogled out of the box at this price point. Would love to see something analogous for GrapheneOS, though I suspect it's been hard for them to find an OEM that meets their high bar for security.

[-] smeg@feddit.uk 3 points 5 hours ago

Out of interest what music files and documents do you need with you at all times that will fill up a 256GB phone?

[-] monovergent@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 hour ago

Not speaking for OP, but having a 1 TB microSD would let me:

  • Sync my music library in FLAC without having to re-encode over storage limitations
  • Have more of Wikipedia downloaded through Kiwix
  • Keep a backup copy of my photos and important documents on hand
  • Pop the card directly in the computer and bypass the clumsy MTP protocol when syncing files

All for under 100 USD

[-] krolden@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 hours ago

Sony phones are supported by sailfish OS

[-] monovergent@lemmy.ml 8 points 10 hours ago

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:

  • The overlap between 4G+VoLTE support and true dumbphones is very small
  • Watch out for KaiOS "dumbphones", which will come bundled with Google's goodies and telemetry
  • Voice calls and SMS are already unencrypted and monitored, so I don't see any undue risks from a dumbphone, as long as you don't store any more data on it than you need and use a true dumbphone rather than one with KaiOS or even Android.
[-] hansolo@lemmy.today 5 points 9 hours ago

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.

[-] DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone 5 points 10 hours ago

Sony Xperia with Sailfish

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 19 points 15 hours ago

Pixel + GOS - no complaints works great

[-] eruchitanda@lemmy.world 3 points 12 hours ago

Fairphone 5 with CalyxOS?

No updates, but you'll have one of the best Android OSs, and a SD card slot.

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 9 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

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.

[-] lavendertea@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 15 hours ago

Kind of, it seems like a lot of extra work to keep that secure and up to date, esp with having access from outside. My current solution is just Syncthing desktop <-> phone and works exactly the way I want.

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 8 points 15 hours ago

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.

[-] FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 1 points 11 hours ago

Personally, I absolutely hate the /e/OS launcher. It reminds me too much of iOS. And I honestly hate it.

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.

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 1 points 11 hours ago

True, but ever since Android 10, third party launchers don't work quite as well as they used to.

[-] lavendertea@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 15 hours ago

Thank you, yes, that does seem super convenient and in case /e/OS sucks I could change it to Lineage

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 1 points 14 hours ago

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.

https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#fairphone

[-] thejevans@lemmy.ml 4 points 13 hours ago

I have a Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS that used to be my daily driver. It's nice, but I'm trying to move away from doing everything on an Android or iOS smartphone, so I'm going the multi-device route. I still use my Pixel for banking apps on wifi at home and as a Briar server.

I got a OnePlus 6 to install Linux on because it's one of the more well-supported options and I got it on eBay for $80. It works okay, but doesn't check enough boxes to replace any devices. I'm waiting on an MNT Pocket Reform computer that I hope can be a better, albeit more bulky option.

I got a Mudita Kompakt as my phone primarily because of the switch that can cut power to the GSM module and the 4-day battery life. It's slow, but calling, texting, and Signal work fine on it. I use it with a $10/month 30GB/month T-Mobile data-only plan and a VoIP phone through JMP. chat.

I use a digital camera for photography and a Tangara music player.

I got a physical transit pass to not need a smartphone for that.

When the PocketMage kit becomes available, I hope to offload notes and calendar to that. I'm also playing with replacing other smartphone functionality with a Meshtastic or NomadNet bot hosted on a server at home combined with a T-Deck LoRa device for things like live transit schedules and weather forecasts.

It is a lot of different devices that take up a significantly larger volume and are heavier, but what I've found is that I don't need all of them all of the time and more often than not I still just have the Mudita Kompakt in my pocket.

[-] Arghblarg@lemmy.ca 2 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

They're not new, but if you can get a Oneplus 5T or some models after that, they run LineageOS fine. With Magisk even my banking apps work. All save the finerprint reader work well. Sadly I hear OnePlus is going to stop allowing unlocking in new models.

[-] lavendertea@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 15 hours ago

Thanks, looks like it doesn't have an SD card slot unfortunately. According to these specs

[-] Arghblarg@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 hour ago

No, the 5T doesn't sadly. The 128gb model I find roomy enough... but if you absolutely need an SD socket I guess that rules it out.

this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2025
37 points (97.4% liked)

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