11 ms·

Hello, LineageOS 17.1

210 points by qilo 7y ago

pachico 7y ago
Although possible, I wish installing operative systems in phones was as simple as it is for computers. I'm already hearing experts saying it is the simple but it's not :(
- mister_hn 7y ago
  Now is getting harder even on PCs, for instance Mac and Windows forcing hardware protection prevent anyone form installing other OSes on a machine
- noisem4ker 7y ago
  There's a full spectrum of possibilities here. - Google lets you flash Android from the browser, using WebUSB: https://flash.android.com https://flash.android.com. - Most Android phones can be unlocked and flashed with some command line tool. - With Apple, you're screwed.
  - pabs3 7y ago
    With an old enough iPhone bootrom you can install Android using a jailbreak: https://projectsandcastle.org/ https://projectsandcastle.org/
- IanSanders 7y ago
  It's easier with some manufacturers than others. Sony's android devices pioneered being extremely developer friendly, shame that department was closed. It's hopefully unrelated, but someone will interpret this as impact of being developer friendly on your business.
- pabs3 7y ago
  The main issue is phone vendors not sending their hardware support and other customisations upstream to the Linux kernel, bootloaders and AOSP, but the open source community sometimes does work on this. The second issue is boot security, but some companies allow unlocking and there are a lot of exploits for bootroms and kernels. The third issue is GPL violations and other binary-only hardware support (kernel drivers and userland daemons), but reverse engineering can help there. It is definitely possible though, I've done it myself in 2012, but I pretty quickly gave up due to the above issues and the bugs I found in the hardware vendor code: https://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/log/2012/12/03/debian-mobile/ https://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/log/2012/12/03/debian-mobile/
- thsealienbstrds 7y ago
  Yep, I wish it was better as well. The situation has improved a little bit though. For example, you can upgrade to newer builds of the same LineageOS version OTA using a built-in updater app.
- Guest42 7y ago
  Takes practice and ideally having an extra phone that you aren’t scared of bricking although every mistake I made last time was recoverable from and it started to make more sense.
- jaimex2 7y ago
  Depends on the phone I guess but I can't say I've ever spent more than 30 minutes following an XDA guide to flash a new Android OS.
- ajayyy 7y ago
  With Treble, it's getting closer to this as one ROM can support many phones
- fsflover 7y ago
  You should consider Librem 5 or PinePhone.
  - abawany 7y ago
    Et voila: https://www.pine64.org/2020/04/02/pinephone-ubports-community-edition-pre-orders-now-open/ https://www.pine64.org/2020/04/02/pinephone-ubports-communit... .
- listic 7y ago
  /e/ is working on this. https://e.foundation/register-to-test-the-e-os-installer/ https://e.foundation/register-to-test-the-e-os-installer/
teekert 7y ago
It's till unclear to me if I can now just download the new zip, download the new openGapps (on the phone), boot to twrp, select both zips and boot into them keeping all my apps and their data. I don't need adb right? Also, I don't need to loose any data, right? Edit: Well for anyone reading this, I just did this and everything works and I have android 10 (with all apps and their data intact. Took 10 min, very nice).
- clort 7y ago
  you had LineageOS installed already though?
  - teekert 7y ago
    Yes, indeed and twrp, on my OnePlus3. New installs require complete wiping afaik.
    - opan 7y ago
      Just updated on my oneplus3 after reading this!
    - kagenouta 7y ago
      Depends on your device state. If you've unlocked your bootloader already, you should only need to wipe system-level partitions (which would affect applications, but not user storage). But if you haven't, you need to do that first, which requires you to wipe your entire device, including data.
lsh 7y ago
Removed 16.0 devices: Wilefox Storm (kipper) Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro (violet) Yu Yuphoria (lettuce) --- I bought a device with the express purpose of installing Lineage OS and not having to worry about it for the next ~5 years. Less than four months later support was removed.
- norswap 7y ago
  Just like the constructors (whom you actually pay), supporting additional devices comes with a cost unfortunately :'(
- sergiomattei 7y ago
  Well, there's no guarantee. It's shipped by unpaid maintainers that have to deal with a barrage of users that treat them like absolute crap. Source: created my own ROMs and witnessed the hell that it is to be a developer on XDA.
  - zozbot234 7y ago
    > Source: created my own ROMs and witnessed the hell that it is to be a developer on XDA. "What works: You tell me!" see also "VoLTE, when???"
    - Ristovski 7y ago
      People don't realize /this/ is literally how XDA is these days. Quite amusing how /r/xdacirclejerk is basically just typical XDA posts instead of you know.. elaborate circlejerking.
  - rcxdude 7y ago
    TBH, it's just hell to be on XDA, user or dev.
- zozbot234 7y ago
  You can still find 'unofficial' builds for these devices on xda, they're simply not officially maintained.
jaimex2 7y ago
Having OnePlus phones running OxygenOS completely removed any need I previously had to flash a custom rom as soon as I bought it. It's such a nice out of the box pure Android experience with monthly updates. They are doing a stellar job. Its still great to know once they drop support I can keep my OnePlus 6 going for a few extra years with LinageOS. If you have a phone that runs like crap because of all the bloat I can't recommend flashing Linage enough.
- petre 7y ago
  What should I get if I'd like a phone that's 1. not huge 2. not ancient as in max 2y old and 3. runs LineageOS? I have a Nexus 5 now. The rubber has started to peel off, the battery is toast. I wanted to get a Galaxy S10e but can't flash it with any decent non spyware.
  - sm4rk0 7y ago
    Have you checked this? https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/samsung-galaxy-s10--s10--s10-5g-cross-device-development-exynos/rom-lineageos-17-0-s10-exynos-t4006917 https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/samsung-galaxy-s...
  - genpfault 7y ago
    Best I could swing a year or two ago was a Moto X4; still running it and looks like it has a 17.1 maintainer. Still bigger than I'd like and no user-replaceable battery :( Does have a MicroSD card slot though.
brnt 7y ago
Excellent project, and glad 10 finally came through. I never buy a phone that isn't supported by LineageOS, and it's the first thing I install when I get a new (or old!) one. I see my Pixel is not yet supported though (by 17.1). Could not find a list of phones that should be getting support later on. Anyone know if I am missing something?
- Scene_Cast2 7y ago
  LineageOS's supported devices are typically a bit older (e.g. Galaxy S6 but not, say, the S10). But support will likely come after some time. Meanwhile, there's this new thing called Treble, where you can flash a generic ROM on any new Android phone. There isn't an official LOS Treble build (for various reasons), but it's a solution if you must have a 3rd party OS build.
  - brnt 7y ago
    Well, my Pixel XL is a bit older, and I happily run 9/16.0. Just can't find if it's planned to be lifted to 10/17.1. I never buy one that can't run (any version) of LineageOS right now though. That's why I got this older Pixel in the first place. Its' the only way to get some sort of longterm updates and a degooglified Android.
    - _bxg1 7y ago
      OnePlus makes really good phones for good prices, and tends to have great support from Lineage. Only downside is that it's a Chinese brand. Of course you're replacing the OS wholesale, which would get rid of any traditional telemetry, but technically it's possible there's something nefarious in the firmware itself, depending on how paranoid you are.
  - ATsch 7y ago
    > There isn't an official LOS Treble build (for various reasons) could someone share what those reasons are?
    - 7y ago
maelito 7y ago
If only there could be an open source desktop version of Android on par with Samsung's Dex...
- zozbot234 7y ago
  Desktop docking support for AOSP is hardware dependent. If it works on a Samsung stock build, it should work on the same device when flashed w/ official LineageOS.
  - maelito 7y ago
    Yes, but the desktop interface of AOSP is far behind Samsung's as far as I know.
    - kagenouta 7y ago
      Tl;dr up front: For now. The UI absolutely isn't as fleshed out, but that's not the thing that makes this important. Yeah, it's built primarily as a test environment for apps that require free-form multiwindow, multi-resume, and the like -- think foldables, mostly. So it's pretty skeletal at the moment. (Incidentally it's also hidden behind a developer flag.) However, it's managed by the system launcher, meaning it can be extended by the community or by OEMs, and the Android team is actively encouraging people to do that. It also means that there's a set of standard interfaces for them to build this functionality on. The latest version of DeX was reworked to use it, LG rolled out an implementation with Android 10, and there have been rumors of Nvidia working on a transformable SHIELD device. (I would assume EMUI Desktop was also rebased, but haven't seen anything confirming that.) It's also starting to pop up in custom ROMs like BlissOS. This has much bigger implications than DeX did (or foldables do), imo, for a few reasons: - Google has been slowly building out broader, less hardware-dependent support for large form factors across a variety of projects - from ChromeOS' Android runtime (which will also benefit from more developers targeting this), to Fuchsia's scalable UI, to Flutter's recent web and desktop support, to PWAs (which are responsive by definition) and their integration into pretty much every major platform. The ecosystem around convergence across their products is actually a bunch of different pieces that are all evolving somewhat in parallel, all of which are somewhat symbiotic with one another, and many of which you can try out in some form right now. - That said, this particular piece has a much lower barrier to entry. You don’t need a particular class of Android device or laptop, or a specific product, or a custom ROM, or even root. That doesn’t mean the average user will pick this up for a while, but the fact that the average user can guarantees that a bunch of tinkerers and power users already are. Something which never happened at scale for, say, Android tablets. - This creates a lot more incentive to build for desktops, with the potential to then recycle that larger UI for form factors like tablets. Giving desktop UIs a standard base means that supporting, say, DeX no longer has to mean writing a vendor-specific implementation (see also: biometric sensors, styli, and various other hardware classes that the ecosystem has picked up over time, but only got broad third-party support after being added to AOSP), and the fact that it only requires a display output on your device enables you to target a much broader audience (even if your current audience is mostly just places like XDA). Putting aside broader conversations about the kinds of use cases that could arise from convergent UIs, I’d argue that this is one of the biggest steps forward we’ve had in a while toward making that future actually happen.
mikece 7y ago
I am very eager to see the number of handsets supported increase. Right now only my Galaxy S4 is supported; I would like to put this on my Nokia 3.1 Plus!
- as1mov 7y ago
  Nokia doesn't allow bootloader unlocking afaik, so until they do support it, chances of LineageOS on it are slim.
mikece 7y ago
I love the project but I worry about the brain trust working on and improving the project getting massive "OMGWTF?!" offers to work full-time for Google on Android itself. Over-paying per head to lure the main devs away from Lineage would be a devious and effective way to put a stop to it.
- kagenouta 7y ago
  This actually happened once before -- Cyanogen himself spent several years working as an engineer at Samsung. The project didn't actually start running into serious sustainability issues until the team tried to build it into a company. Of course, that's probably got to do with bus factor. A similar story happened w Paranoid Android, only OnePlus hired several of their devs to work on OxygenOS, and the project hasn't been the same since.
  - kubanczyk 7y ago
    That's why I pay attention to the license when contributing to FOSS. For MIT, BSD, Apache 2, it's quite easy for a company to hire a handful of active maintainers and starve the original project by redirecting their attention to a closed-source fork. http://hintjens.com/blog:27 http://hintjens.com/blog:27 GPL, and especially AGPL, are better in this regard.
- est31 7y ago
  But why would Google want to stop Lineage OS? First, in the grand scheme of things, Lineage OS is so small that it doesn't matter, according to stats.lineageos.org it's 1.7 million active installs (that have turned on tracking). Android on the other hand has around 2.5 billion devices. Second, LineageOS might not ship Google apps by default, but opengapps makes it possible to install them, and Lineage OS installation guides mention it as an option. I guess many people do it so that they can participate in the Google ecosystem. So Lineage OS only adds more customers to Google's apps and services, more eyeballs that Google can sell. The main damage is dealt on the device vendors due to the LineageOS use case as an aftermarket firmware creating less need for people to buy their new hardware. My phone was released in 2014. I bought it in 2020 and thanks to Lineage OS, I can use modern Android on it. IMO since then, phones have gotten worse in many regards (non-removable batteries, no jack, glass everywhere so that phones break more easily, overall more expensive, etc, ...), so I'm quite happy with this setup.
hedora 7y ago
Does this call out to google services by default? I stopped paying attention after they rejected MicroG.
- solarkraft 7y ago
  No, it does not, but it does (often) contain some proprietary drivers. What you are (probably) referring to is the rejection of signature spoofing patches required to use MicroG, probably over security concerns. LineageOS is however still the best (mostly) free version of Android, by far. Almost all custom ROMs not based on manufacturer ones or AOSP are based on LineageOS and that's for a very good reason. I consider it the Debian of Android. Because of the rejection of the patches (and LineageOS still being pretty cool, with impressive hardware support), the microG project provides builds of LineageOS with microG pre-installed and man, it's great! Everything just works. Hardware support is the same as that of LineageOS. Consider me a happy customer :-) https://lineage.microg.org/ https://lineage.microg.org/
  - h4waii 7y ago
    I believe both DNS and the network connectivity check hit Google endpoints after a fresh install.
eXpl0it3r 7y ago
I was quite happy to use LineageOS for my Nexus 5X and it worked great up to the point where my bootloader was now unlocked and certain apps, like for the bank or remote access apps, did not work anymore, as they considered the device unsecure. Do other phones allow you to flash the bootloader checksum, so you can lock it again?
- mehdix 7y ago
  Make sure to check out Magisk.
- h4waii 7y ago
  There are a few AVB 2.0 devices that will allow this, including the Pixel series, and the OnePlus 5T, but it can be risky. GrapheneOS works seamlessly with it, allowing you to relock the bootloader and only accept signed-OTA updates. You may be interested in the Magisk [0] project which allows your device to pass Google's "SafetyNet" and present as an unmodified device to apps using that API to detect if they should refuse to run for "security" reasons. 0. https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk
  - zozbot234 7y ago
    Note that Google SafetyNet is now (as of mid-March 2020) requiring hardware-based remote attestation in order to pass their "CTS" check. This check will fail if the bootloader is not in its default "locked" state, and cannot be feasibly bypassed by Magisk. https://github.com/topjohnwu/magisk_files/blob/master/notes.md https://github.com/topjohnwu/magisk_files/blob/master/notes.... Magisk (and even its 'hide' component) will still be useful for many purposes, but we should not be expecting it to pass all such "safety" checks.
- ppseafield 7y ago
  As a sibling comment suggested, using Magisk Hide lets you conceal your rooted status from those apps. Had this happen with my banking apps, and can confirm (on my Nexus 5x) that Magisk Hide did allow me to use those apps. As for reflashing, you have to have a copy of the original image, for the device which you can download from various places, but once you have it, you may reflash it back to factory and relock.
Cribbio 7y ago
Sorry, but LineageOS is pretty much a joke now. Most maintainers just randomly stop maintaining devices after a little bit of time. Also, there is shady stuff at the limits of legality when it comes to proprietary binaries. They preach security is their focus, but doesn't look like that. Also, vendor roms are quite good already, no need to install unstable roms like it's 2015.
- rijoja 7y ago
  yeah, so a more positive mind would call for more people to join in on a good cause here.
- Jaecen 7y ago
  The main value I find in LineageOS is for devices past the end of vendor support. If LineageOS supports a device I own, great, I get to keep using it with security updates for extra months or years I wouldn't have otherwise.
- mimimi31 7y ago
  >Most maintainers just randomly stop maintaining devices after a little bit of time. Hasn't that always been the case? The project is community-driven and nobody wants to maintain a device they don't use anymore. Often there are other maintainers, but sometimes there are none. >They preach security is their focus, but doesn't look like that. I wasn't aware of any big security issues. Can you give an example? In terms of security patches LOS is usually more up to date then the OEM roms. >vendor roms are quite good already, no need to install unstable roms like it's 2015. They also come with all kinds of stuff many people don't want on their phones. If want current security patches (especially on older devices) and no Google Apps, preinstalled vendor apps, telemetry etc. you still have to install a custom rom. In my experience LOS is very stable too.
  - unicornporn 7y ago
    > They also come with all kinds of stuff many people don't want on their phones. If want current security patches (especially on older devices) and no Google Apps, preinstalled vendor apps, telemetry etc. you still have to install a custom rom. In my experience LOS is very stable too. This. I can highly recommend https://grapheneos.org https://grapheneos.org if you have a device that can run it.
rv-de 7y ago
Two months ago I bought an OP3T on Ebay specifically for LOS 16 and I am super happy with it. Actually, I am running LOS for microG so I can still use apps like Uber, Moia or FreeNow. OnePlus phones have been so far the best devices for LOS. OP phones are great by themselves. One reason why they have been so consistently supported by the LOS project is because the boot loader is unlocked with ease.
- as1mov 7y ago
  > Uber, Moia or FreeNow Does Uber work fine with microG? Last I tried the map rendering was messed up and I couldn't really use it.
  - RussianCow 7y ago
    It was broken for me for a couple weeks, but one of the recent updates (either LOS or Uber, not sure) fixed it and it works fine now.
  - rv-de 7y ago
    It works but it sometimes takes some fiddling or restarts with those kind of google depending apps until the intention is accomplished. So, I wouldn't recommend LOS to the average user. But most apps I use work perfectly fine.
    - SECProto 7y ago
      > So, I wouldn't recommend LOS to the average user. LineageOS works fine with google apps, if you install OpenGApps. It all depends on why you're using LineageOS - if you're trying to use MicroG, you're probably trying to avoid google spying on you. On the other hand, if you have an older phone for which you want more features/security updates, OpenGApps works fine.
    - as1mov 7y ago
      LOS with GApps flashed makes it work without any issues, it's just that some apps don't work if you replace GApps with microG.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
jdofaz 7y ago
Disappointed they didn't add any new google devices. It seems odd to me they built this off of the Pixel 4 tag but they don't support the Pixel 4 (or the 2,or 3, or 3A). I'll just keep running vanilla AOSP on my 3A :/
- codethief 7y ago
  As a Pixel 3a owner, you might be interested in GrapheneOS -> https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/
  - jdofaz 7y ago
    I hadn't heard of this, thank you
kmnns 7y ago
Upgrading to LineageOS 17.1 on Fairphone 2 via adb sideload worked like a breeze for me. Seems to be fully functional. Kudos to the maintainer chrmhoffmann! Notes: - It looks almost like 16.0, except for some icons. - There is no root image available so far, so you can’t use e.g. Adaway for now.
Night_Thastus 7y ago
I want LineageOS so badly, but it does not support the Samsung A50. (Frankly, no projects like it apparently do) I didn't know before I bought it and now I'm stuck with it. :/
jackallis 7y ago
I would LOVE, LOVE, for them to setup auto update without having to manually install everytime new update comes around. Still running OS 14 on Galaxy S5.

210 points by qilo 7y ago

Although possible, I wish installing operative systems in phones was as simple as it is for computers. I'm already hearing experts saying it is the simple but it's not :(

mister_hn 7y ago
Now is getting harder even on PCs, for instance Mac and Windows forcing hardware protection prevent anyone form installing other OSes on a machine
noisem4ker 7y ago
There's a full spectrum of possibilities here. - Google lets you flash Android from the browser, using WebUSB: https://flash.android.com https://flash.android.com. - Most Android phones can be unlocked and flashed with some command line tool. - With Apple, you're screwed.
- pabs3 7y ago
  With an old enough iPhone bootrom you can install Android using a jailbreak: https://projectsandcastle.org/ https://projectsandcastle.org/
IanSanders 7y ago
It's easier with some manufacturers than others. Sony's android devices pioneered being extremely developer friendly, shame that department was closed. It's hopefully unrelated, but someone will interpret this as impact of being developer friendly on your business.
pabs3 7y ago
The main issue is phone vendors not sending their hardware support and other customisations upstream to the Linux kernel, bootloaders and AOSP, but the open source community sometimes does work on this. The second issue is boot security, but some companies allow unlocking and there are a lot of exploits for bootroms and kernels. The third issue is GPL violations and other binary-only hardware support (kernel drivers and userland daemons), but reverse engineering can help there. It is definitely possible though, I've done it myself in 2012, but I pretty quickly gave up due to the above issues and the bugs I found in the hardware vendor code: https://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/log/2012/12/03/debian-mobile/ https://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/log/2012/12/03/debian-mobile/
thsealienbstrds 7y ago
Yep, I wish it was better as well. The situation has improved a little bit though. For example, you can upgrade to newer builds of the same LineageOS version OTA using a built-in updater app.
Guest42 7y ago
Takes practice and ideally having an extra phone that you aren’t scared of bricking although every mistake I made last time was recoverable from and it started to make more sense.
jaimex2 7y ago
Depends on the phone I guess but I can't say I've ever spent more than 30 minutes following an XDA guide to flash a new Android OS.
ajayyy 7y ago
With Treble, it's getting closer to this as one ROM can support many phones
fsflover 7y ago
You should consider Librem 5 or PinePhone.
- abawany 7y ago
  Et voila: https://www.pine64.org/2020/04/02/pinephone-ubports-community-edition-pre-orders-now-open/ https://www.pine64.org/2020/04/02/pinephone-ubports-communit... .
listic 7y ago
/e/ is working on this. https://e.foundation/register-to-test-the-e-os-installer/ https://e.foundation/register-to-test-the-e-os-installer/

teekert 7y ago

It's till unclear to me if I can now just download the new zip, download the new openGapps (on the phone), boot to twrp, select both zips and boot into them keeping all my apps and their data. I don't need adb right? Also, I don't need to loose any data, right? Edit: Well for anyone reading this, I just did this and everything works and I have android 10 (with all apps and their data intact. Took 10 min, very nice).

clort 7y ago
you had LineageOS installed already though?
- teekert 7y ago
  Yes, indeed and twrp, on my OnePlus3. New installs require complete wiping afaik.
  - opan 7y ago
    Just updated on my oneplus3 after reading this!
  - kagenouta 7y ago
    Depends on your device state. If you've unlocked your bootloader already, you should only need to wipe system-level partitions (which would affect applications, but not user storage). But if you haven't, you need to do that first, which requires you to wipe your entire device, including data.

lsh 7y ago

Removed 16.0 devices: Wilefox Storm (kipper) Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro (violet) Yu Yuphoria (lettuce) --- I bought a device with the express purpose of installing Lineage OS and not having to worry about it for the next ~5 years. Less than four months later support was removed.

norswap 7y ago
Just like the constructors (whom you actually pay), supporting additional devices comes with a cost unfortunately :'(
sergiomattei 7y ago
Well, there's no guarantee. It's shipped by unpaid maintainers that have to deal with a barrage of users that treat them like absolute crap. Source: created my own ROMs and witnessed the hell that it is to be a developer on XDA.
- zozbot234 7y ago
  > Source: created my own ROMs and witnessed the hell that it is to be a developer on XDA. "What works: You tell me!" see also "VoLTE, when???"
  - Ristovski 7y ago
    People don't realize /this/ is literally how XDA is these days. Quite amusing how /r/xdacirclejerk is basically just typical XDA posts instead of you know.. elaborate circlejerking.
- rcxdude 7y ago
  TBH, it's just hell to be on XDA, user or dev.
zozbot234 7y ago
You can still find 'unofficial' builds for these devices on xda, they're simply not officially maintained.

jaimex2 7y ago

Having OnePlus phones running OxygenOS completely removed any need I previously had to flash a custom rom as soon as I bought it. It's such a nice out of the box pure Android experience with monthly updates. They are doing a stellar job. Its still great to know once they drop support I can keep my OnePlus 6 going for a few extra years with LinageOS. If you have a phone that runs like crap because of all the bloat I can't recommend flashing Linage enough.

petre 7y ago
What should I get if I'd like a phone that's 1. not huge 2. not ancient as in max 2y old and 3. runs LineageOS? I have a Nexus 5 now. The rubber has started to peel off, the battery is toast. I wanted to get a Galaxy S10e but can't flash it with any decent non spyware.
- sm4rk0 7y ago
  Have you checked this? https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/samsung-galaxy-s10--s10--s10-5g-cross-device-development-exynos/rom-lineageos-17-0-s10-exynos-t4006917 https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/samsung-galaxy-s...
- genpfault 7y ago
  Best I could swing a year or two ago was a Moto X4; still running it and looks like it has a 17.1 maintainer. Still bigger than I'd like and no user-replaceable battery :( Does have a MicroSD card slot though.

brnt 7y ago

Excellent project, and glad 10 finally came through. I never buy a phone that isn't supported by LineageOS, and it's the first thing I install when I get a new (or old!) one. I see my Pixel is not yet supported though (by 17.1). Could not find a list of phones that should be getting support later on. Anyone know if I am missing something?

Scene_Cast2 7y ago
LineageOS's supported devices are typically a bit older (e.g. Galaxy S6 but not, say, the S10). But support will likely come after some time. Meanwhile, there's this new thing called Treble, where you can flash a generic ROM on any new Android phone. There isn't an official LOS Treble build (for various reasons), but it's a solution if you must have a 3rd party OS build.
- brnt 7y ago
  Well, my Pixel XL is a bit older, and I happily run 9/16.0. Just can't find if it's planned to be lifted to 10/17.1. I never buy one that can't run (any version) of LineageOS right now though. That's why I got this older Pixel in the first place. Its' the only way to get some sort of longterm updates and a degooglified Android.
  - _bxg1 7y ago
    OnePlus makes really good phones for good prices, and tends to have great support from Lineage. Only downside is that it's a Chinese brand. Of course you're replacing the OS wholesale, which would get rid of any traditional telemetry, but technically it's possible there's something nefarious in the firmware itself, depending on how paranoid you are.
- ATsch 7y ago
  > There isn't an official LOS Treble build (for various reasons) could someone share what those reasons are?
  - 7y ago

maelito 7y ago

If only there could be an open source desktop version of Android on par with Samsung's Dex...

zozbot234 7y ago
Desktop docking support for AOSP is hardware dependent. If it works on a Samsung stock build, it should work on the same device when flashed w/ official LineageOS.
- maelito 7y ago
  Yes, but the desktop interface of AOSP is far behind Samsung's as far as I know.
  - kagenouta 7y ago
    Tl;dr up front: For now. The UI absolutely isn't as fleshed out, but that's not the thing that makes this important. Yeah, it's built primarily as a test environment for apps that require free-form multiwindow, multi-resume, and the like -- think foldables, mostly. So it's pretty skeletal at the moment. (Incidentally it's also hidden behind a developer flag.) However, it's managed by the system launcher, meaning it can be extended by the community or by OEMs, and the Android team is actively encouraging people to do that. It also means that there's a set of standard interfaces for them to build this functionality on. The latest version of DeX was reworked to use it, LG rolled out an implementation with Android 10, and there have been rumors of Nvidia working on a transformable SHIELD device. (I would assume EMUI Desktop was also rebased, but haven't seen anything confirming that.) It's also starting to pop up in custom ROMs like BlissOS. This has much bigger implications than DeX did (or foldables do), imo, for a few reasons: - Google has been slowly building out broader, less hardware-dependent support for large form factors across a variety of projects - from ChromeOS' Android runtime (which will also benefit from more developers targeting this), to Fuchsia's scalable UI, to Flutter's recent web and desktop support, to PWAs (which are responsive by definition) and their integration into pretty much every major platform. The ecosystem around convergence across their products is actually a bunch of different pieces that are all evolving somewhat in parallel, all of which are somewhat symbiotic with one another, and many of which you can try out in some form right now. - That said, this particular piece has a much lower barrier to entry. You don’t need a particular class of Android device or laptop, or a specific product, or a custom ROM, or even root. That doesn’t mean the average user will pick this up for a while, but the fact that the average user can guarantees that a bunch of tinkerers and power users already are. Something which never happened at scale for, say, Android tablets. - This creates a lot more incentive to build for desktops, with the potential to then recycle that larger UI for form factors like tablets. Giving desktop UIs a standard base means that supporting, say, DeX no longer has to mean writing a vendor-specific implementation (see also: biometric sensors, styli, and various other hardware classes that the ecosystem has picked up over time, but only got broad third-party support after being added to AOSP), and the fact that it only requires a display output on your device enables you to target a much broader audience (even if your current audience is mostly just places like XDA). Putting aside broader conversations about the kinds of use cases that could arise from convergent UIs, I’d argue that this is one of the biggest steps forward we’ve had in a while toward making that future actually happen.

mikece 7y ago

I am very eager to see the number of handsets supported increase. Right now only my Galaxy S4 is supported; I would like to put this on my Nokia 3.1 Plus!

as1mov 7y ago
Nokia doesn't allow bootloader unlocking afaik, so until they do support it, chances of LineageOS on it are slim.

mikece 7y ago

I love the project but I worry about the brain trust working on and improving the project getting massive "OMGWTF?!" offers to work full-time for Google on Android itself. Over-paying per head to lure the main devs away from Lineage would be a devious and effective way to put a stop to it.

kagenouta 7y ago
This actually happened once before -- Cyanogen himself spent several years working as an engineer at Samsung. The project didn't actually start running into serious sustainability issues until the team tried to build it into a company. Of course, that's probably got to do with bus factor. A similar story happened w Paranoid Android, only OnePlus hired several of their devs to work on OxygenOS, and the project hasn't been the same since.
- kubanczyk 7y ago
  That's why I pay attention to the license when contributing to FOSS. For MIT, BSD, Apache 2, it's quite easy for a company to hire a handful of active maintainers and starve the original project by redirecting their attention to a closed-source fork. http://hintjens.com/blog:27 http://hintjens.com/blog:27 GPL, and especially AGPL, are better in this regard.
est31 7y ago
But why would Google want to stop Lineage OS? First, in the grand scheme of things, Lineage OS is so small that it doesn't matter, according to stats.lineageos.org it's 1.7 million active installs (that have turned on tracking). Android on the other hand has around 2.5 billion devices. Second, LineageOS might not ship Google apps by default, but opengapps makes it possible to install them, and Lineage OS installation guides mention it as an option. I guess many people do it so that they can participate in the Google ecosystem. So Lineage OS only adds more customers to Google's apps and services, more eyeballs that Google can sell. The main damage is dealt on the device vendors due to the LineageOS use case as an aftermarket firmware creating less need for people to buy their new hardware. My phone was released in 2014. I bought it in 2020 and thanks to Lineage OS, I can use modern Android on it. IMO since then, phones have gotten worse in many regards (non-removable batteries, no jack, glass everywhere so that phones break more easily, overall more expensive, etc, ...), so I'm quite happy with this setup.

hedora 7y ago

Does this call out to google services by default? I stopped paying attention after they rejected MicroG.

solarkraft 7y ago
No, it does not, but it does (often) contain some proprietary drivers. What you are (probably) referring to is the rejection of signature spoofing patches required to use MicroG, probably over security concerns. LineageOS is however still the best (mostly) free version of Android, by far. Almost all custom ROMs not based on manufacturer ones or AOSP are based on LineageOS and that's for a very good reason. I consider it the Debian of Android. Because of the rejection of the patches (and LineageOS still being pretty cool, with impressive hardware support), the microG project provides builds of LineageOS with microG pre-installed and man, it's great! Everything just works. Hardware support is the same as that of LineageOS. Consider me a happy customer :-) https://lineage.microg.org/ https://lineage.microg.org/
- h4waii 7y ago
  I believe both DNS and the network connectivity check hit Google endpoints after a fresh install.

eXpl0it3r 7y ago

I was quite happy to use LineageOS for my Nexus 5X and it worked great up to the point where my bootloader was now unlocked and certain apps, like for the bank or remote access apps, did not work anymore, as they considered the device unsecure. Do other phones allow you to flash the bootloader checksum, so you can lock it again?

mehdix 7y ago
Make sure to check out Magisk.
h4waii 7y ago
There are a few AVB 2.0 devices that will allow this, including the Pixel series, and the OnePlus 5T, but it can be risky. GrapheneOS works seamlessly with it, allowing you to relock the bootloader and only accept signed-OTA updates. You may be interested in the Magisk [0] project which allows your device to pass Google's "SafetyNet" and present as an unmodified device to apps using that API to detect if they should refuse to run for "security" reasons. 0. https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk
- zozbot234 7y ago
  Note that Google SafetyNet is now (as of mid-March 2020) requiring hardware-based remote attestation in order to pass their "CTS" check. This check will fail if the bootloader is not in its default "locked" state, and cannot be feasibly bypassed by Magisk. https://github.com/topjohnwu/magisk_files/blob/master/notes.md https://github.com/topjohnwu/magisk_files/blob/master/notes.... Magisk (and even its 'hide' component) will still be useful for many purposes, but we should not be expecting it to pass all such "safety" checks.
ppseafield 7y ago
As a sibling comment suggested, using Magisk Hide lets you conceal your rooted status from those apps. Had this happen with my banking apps, and can confirm (on my Nexus 5x) that Magisk Hide did allow me to use those apps. As for reflashing, you have to have a copy of the original image, for the device which you can download from various places, but once you have it, you may reflash it back to factory and relock.

Cribbio 7y ago

Sorry, but LineageOS is pretty much a joke now. Most maintainers just randomly stop maintaining devices after a little bit of time. Also, there is shady stuff at the limits of legality when it comes to proprietary binaries. They preach security is their focus, but doesn't look like that. Also, vendor roms are quite good already, no need to install unstable roms like it's 2015.

rijoja 7y ago
yeah, so a more positive mind would call for more people to join in on a good cause here.
Jaecen 7y ago
The main value I find in LineageOS is for devices past the end of vendor support. If LineageOS supports a device I own, great, I get to keep using it with security updates for extra months or years I wouldn't have otherwise.
mimimi31 7y ago
>Most maintainers just randomly stop maintaining devices after a little bit of time. Hasn't that always been the case? The project is community-driven and nobody wants to maintain a device they don't use anymore. Often there are other maintainers, but sometimes there are none. >They preach security is their focus, but doesn't look like that. I wasn't aware of any big security issues. Can you give an example? In terms of security patches LOS is usually more up to date then the OEM roms. >vendor roms are quite good already, no need to install unstable roms like it's 2015. They also come with all kinds of stuff many people don't want on their phones. If want current security patches (especially on older devices) and no Google Apps, preinstalled vendor apps, telemetry etc. you still have to install a custom rom. In my experience LOS is very stable too.
- unicornporn 7y ago
  > They also come with all kinds of stuff many people don't want on their phones. If want current security patches (especially on older devices) and no Google Apps, preinstalled vendor apps, telemetry etc. you still have to install a custom rom. In my experience LOS is very stable too. This. I can highly recommend https://grapheneos.org https://grapheneos.org if you have a device that can run it.

rv-de 7y ago

Two months ago I bought an OP3T on Ebay specifically for LOS 16 and I am super happy with it. Actually, I am running LOS for microG so I can still use apps like Uber, Moia or FreeNow. OnePlus phones have been so far the best devices for LOS. OP phones are great by themselves. One reason why they have been so consistently supported by the LOS project is because the boot loader is unlocked with ease.

as1mov 7y ago
> Uber, Moia or FreeNow Does Uber work fine with microG? Last I tried the map rendering was messed up and I couldn't really use it.
- RussianCow 7y ago
  It was broken for me for a couple weeks, but one of the recent updates (either LOS or Uber, not sure) fixed it and it works fine now.
- rv-de 7y ago
  It works but it sometimes takes some fiddling or restarts with those kind of google depending apps until the intention is accomplished. So, I wouldn't recommend LOS to the average user. But most apps I use work perfectly fine.
  - SECProto 7y ago
    > So, I wouldn't recommend LOS to the average user. LineageOS works fine with google apps, if you install OpenGApps. It all depends on why you're using LineageOS - if you're trying to use MicroG, you're probably trying to avoid google spying on you. On the other hand, if you have an older phone for which you want more features/security updates, OpenGApps works fine.
  - as1mov 7y ago
    LOS with GApps flashed makes it work without any issues, it's just that some apps don't work if you replace GApps with microG.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

jdofaz 7y ago

Disappointed they didn't add any new google devices. It seems odd to me they built this off of the Pixel 4 tag but they don't support the Pixel 4 (or the 2,or 3, or 3A). I'll just keep running vanilla AOSP on my 3A :/

codethief 7y ago
As a Pixel 3a owner, you might be interested in GrapheneOS -> https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/
- jdofaz 7y ago
  I hadn't heard of this, thank you

kmnns 7y ago

Upgrading to LineageOS 17.1 on Fairphone 2 via adb sideload worked like a breeze for me. Seems to be fully functional. Kudos to the maintainer chrmhoffmann! Notes: - It looks almost like 16.0, except for some icons. - There is no root image available so far, so you can’t use e.g. Adaway for now.

Night_Thastus 7y ago

I want LineageOS so badly, but it does not support the Samsung A50. (Frankly, no projects like it apparently do) I didn't know before I bought it and now I'm stuck with it. :/

jackallis 7y ago

I would LOVE, LOVE, for them to setup auto update without having to manually install everytime new update comes around. Still running OS 14 on Galaxy S5.