4 ms·

You can run the play store just fine on lineageos, which has modifications and isn't official. https://www.google.com/android/uncertified/ https://www.google.c

by ikeboy 8y ago

You can run the play store just fine on lineageos, which has modifications and isn't official. https://www.google.com/android/uncertified/ https://www.google.com/android/uncertified/ just need to register here as of earlier this year apparently

notacoward 8y ago
Apparently Play Store is unaffected, but some other apps - banking, streaming, even Pokemon Go - will break. And your warranty (including hardware) is voided. So I stand corrected, and thank you, but I don't think the correction affects the main point.
- ikeboy 8y ago
  Those apps are making a conscious decision to exclude phones/roms not certified by Google. That's their choice. Generally hardware warranty will remain if it's purely a hardware issue - you can always flash back anyway. Android is free software in the sense that you can make and distribute modified versions. If app vendors choose to discriminate against those versions that doesn't make it unfree any more than software supporting windows and not Linux makes Linux unfree
  - notacoward 8y ago
    > Android is free software in the sense that you can make and distribute modified versions. I don't think that's enough to make it free software, and "free software in the sense..." is nonsensical. Free software would guarantee the continuance of that freedom. Since that guarantee doesn't exist, Google could place limitations on the Play Store at any time. The fact that they haven't makes the example less clear, but it doesn't make Android free software. Even Google doesn't claim that it is.
    - ikeboy 8y ago
      Play store isn't part of Android. Even if it was only available to specific phones, that wouldn't make Android unfree. Play store isn't open source at all. Amazon was able to take Android and put it on their extremely popular devices with 0 support from Google, no play store. That's what I call freedom
      - zamazingo 8y ago
        > Play store isn't part of Android. It is extremely well integrated into it, by design.
      - SSLy 8y ago
        Play store isn't part of AOSP.
  - dahart 8y ago
    > Those apps are making a conscious decision to exclude phones/roms not certified by Google. That's their choice. Isn’t the entire point of Google’s certification process to encourage app vendors to make that choice?
    - ikeboy 8y ago
      No, only for apps that value certified behavior over accessibility. Typically this is payments (high liability for fraud, higher fraud rates from non-certified users), DRM, and multiplayer gaming (prevent cheating).
- oDot 8y ago
  Some Android OEMs will allow you to unlock the bootloader and makes changes to the OS without any warranty problems.
  - tushartyagi 8y ago
    The problem with this is that the bootloader is now becoming more and more locked down and the consumers have to jump ever more hoops to unlock it. Some years ago I had Samsung S2 where unlocking the bootloader was an offline activity. I don't remember how but doing that was quick and easy. Now I own a MotoG4 where unlocking means going to some website, entering my email address and then receiving unlock code in my email. If Motorola knows my email address, or can link the (supposedly unique) unlock code to my phone, what's stopping them from voiding my warranty? I have a hunch that newer versions of some mainstream phones do not allow unlocking the bootloader, and this is going to become more and more common.
    - ikeboy 8y ago
      Newest Samsungs cannot be unlocked
- orf 8y ago
  Magisk takes care of that.
- mikeash 8y ago
  It’s not legal to void your warranty because you changed some software, unless the software change actually caused the problem you’re trying to get fixed under warranty.
  - dctoedt 8y ago
    > It’s not legal to void your warranty because you changed some software, unless the software change actually caused the problem you’re trying to get fixed under warranty. Citation, please?
    - timewasted 8y ago
      I’m assuming the poster is referring to the Magnuson-Moss Warrany Act: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act
- ascii_only 8y ago
  They work. You just need to install additional software. Magisk + safetynet fix.
amelius 8y ago
Yes, but for how long?
- dextersgenius 8y ago
  Does it matter? There are alternative stores (F-Droid, Amazon, Yalp) and microG for Google login/push notifications.

by ikeboy 8y ago

notacoward 8y ago

Apparently Play Store is unaffected, but some other apps - banking, streaming, even Pokemon Go - will break. And your warranty (including hardware) is voided. So I stand corrected, and thank you, but I don't think the correction affects the main point.

ikeboy 8y ago
Those apps are making a conscious decision to exclude phones/roms not certified by Google. That's their choice. Generally hardware warranty will remain if it's purely a hardware issue - you can always flash back anyway. Android is free software in the sense that you can make and distribute modified versions. If app vendors choose to discriminate against those versions that doesn't make it unfree any more than software supporting windows and not Linux makes Linux unfree
- notacoward 8y ago
  > Android is free software in the sense that you can make and distribute modified versions. I don't think that's enough to make it free software, and "free software in the sense..." is nonsensical. Free software would guarantee the continuance of that freedom. Since that guarantee doesn't exist, Google could place limitations on the Play Store at any time. The fact that they haven't makes the example less clear, but it doesn't make Android free software. Even Google doesn't claim that it is.
  - ikeboy 8y ago
    Play store isn't part of Android. Even if it was only available to specific phones, that wouldn't make Android unfree. Play store isn't open source at all. Amazon was able to take Android and put it on their extremely popular devices with 0 support from Google, no play store. That's what I call freedom
    - zamazingo 8y ago
      > Play store isn't part of Android. It is extremely well integrated into it, by design.
    - SSLy 8y ago
      Play store isn't part of AOSP.
- dahart 8y ago
  > Those apps are making a conscious decision to exclude phones/roms not certified by Google. That's their choice. Isn’t the entire point of Google’s certification process to encourage app vendors to make that choice?
  - ikeboy 8y ago
    No, only for apps that value certified behavior over accessibility. Typically this is payments (high liability for fraud, higher fraud rates from non-certified users), DRM, and multiplayer gaming (prevent cheating).
oDot 8y ago
Some Android OEMs will allow you to unlock the bootloader and makes changes to the OS without any warranty problems.
- tushartyagi 8y ago
  The problem with this is that the bootloader is now becoming more and more locked down and the consumers have to jump ever more hoops to unlock it. Some years ago I had Samsung S2 where unlocking the bootloader was an offline activity. I don't remember how but doing that was quick and easy. Now I own a MotoG4 where unlocking means going to some website, entering my email address and then receiving unlock code in my email. If Motorola knows my email address, or can link the (supposedly unique) unlock code to my phone, what's stopping them from voiding my warranty? I have a hunch that newer versions of some mainstream phones do not allow unlocking the bootloader, and this is going to become more and more common.
  - ikeboy 8y ago
    Newest Samsungs cannot be unlocked
orf 8y ago
Magisk takes care of that.
mikeash 8y ago
It’s not legal to void your warranty because you changed some software, unless the software change actually caused the problem you’re trying to get fixed under warranty.
- dctoedt 8y ago
  > It’s not legal to void your warranty because you changed some software, unless the software change actually caused the problem you’re trying to get fixed under warranty. Citation, please?
  - timewasted 8y ago
    I’m assuming the poster is referring to the Magnuson-Moss Warrany Act: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act
ascii_only 8y ago
They work. You just need to install additional software. Magisk + safetynet fix.

amelius 8y ago

Yes, but for how long?

dextersgenius 8y ago
Does it matter? There are alternative stores (F-Droid, Amazon, Yalp) and microG for Google login/push notifications.