4 ms·

Fwiw the degoogled phone experience is rough: I installed GrapheneOS on my Pixel 4 XL 2 weeks ago (yes I appreciate the irony to have to use a Google phone to .

Fwiw the degoogled phone experience is rough: I installed GrapheneOS on my Pixel 4 XL 2 weeks ago (yes I appreciate the irony to have to use a Google phone to ... degoogle your life :) The notifications aren't working properly: this morning my alarm didn't ring and this evening a reminder didn't fire either. The Fdroid store is nice but it lacks a lot of well designed apps. I don't have access to my bank app. KeepassDX (password manager) doesn't work in the chromium forks available. The AOSP keyboard doesn't "learn" and doesn't offer suggestions for the next word I might type. I can't change the layout. I tried another keyboard from FDroid, it didn't even have auto completion. A lot of things aren't customizable like the ugly icons (looking at you Bromite! ;) So for the first time my phone isn't my enemy but it's so limited that I'm not sure it's worth continuing using it. For the first time I'm thinking going to Apple. I know their privacy stance is mostly marketing but they scare me less than Google. I don't know.

mickotron 6y ago
Hi, You can get access to your bank app via Aurora store, available on F-Droid. It is a front end to google play store and allows install/update of the apks. It also shows you the report on what trackers are known in each app. Note that without google services, some app functionality that relies on it may not work, like notifications. The alarm app is bundled with AOSP so should work, weird. Keepassdx works fine with Vanadium for me. Magickeyboard is amazing for auto type. That being said maybe the pixel 4 builds aren't as mature. I am running on Pixel 3a and it has been smooth sailing. A phone experience I have long been waiting for. Also the project is not as well resourced as big companies, so some bugs and rough edges are expected . Support the project financially if you want a viable open source and secure mobile os.
- jmnicolas 6y ago
  Hi, I didn't install the Aurora store because if I install non open sources app I'll get tracked again. In term of privacy what does it imply to install the Aurora store? I didn't look much into it, I thought I would get everything with FDroid. The AOSP clock adds an audible notification 1.5 hour before the alarm (this was silent on my regular Google Android build). If I deactivate the notification, the alarm is still triggered but I have to go into the app to deactivate it (and I'm not sure how reliable it is). I installed the clock from SimpleMobileTools. It's reliable 80% of the times which isn't ideal for an alarm! A lot of apps on FDroid are outdated and warned me that they were made for an older version of Android. I would support the project financially if I stay on it, but the way I see it if I want to remain on GrapheneOS I'm going to have to code (or modify) all the apps I need. I have 0 knowledge in mobile dev, and frankly I'm not exactly thrilled to have to spend all of my next year free time to build what I need. I'm not exactly thrilled to go to Apple either, and at this point I think I'd rather go without a mobile phone than to go back to Google. I need to chew on this.
  - mickotron 6y ago
    I only have my bank app, RSA token app (needed for work, nonnegotiable) and music app (Deezeer) from Aurora. Blokada blocks trackers well enough. Yes it is a compromise but atm, like you have indicated, no-compromise is not very usable. I have keepassdx version 2.8.7 installed and it has magic keyboard. Go to settings > Form filling and play around with magic keyboard settings. Yes F-Droid has some outdated apps, and it seems to by default install an older app version. You can check and usually you can upgrade to a newer version if it's in the repo. Otherwise, some apps or authors do have their own repos you can add.
    - jmnicolas 6y ago
      Thanks a lot.
- jmnicolas 6y ago
  I didn't find Magickeyboard on FDroid.
  - gradeless 6y ago
    Magikeyboard is a function you enable in KeepassDX. Gives you an extra 'keyboard' you can switch to just for entering passwords. Stops other apps being able to swipe your passwords from your clipboard.
gradeless 6y ago
There are endless launcher apps and icon packs you can get from F-Droid or elsewhere if you want to change the look of your phone. AnySoftKeyboard is the keyboard on F-Droid with the most features

mickotron 6y ago

Hi, You can get access to your bank app via Aurora store, available on F-Droid. It is a front end to google play store and allows install/update of the apks. It also shows you the report on what trackers are known in each app. Note that without google services, some app functionality that relies on it may not work, like notifications. The alarm app is bundled with AOSP so should work, weird. Keepassdx works fine with Vanadium for me. Magickeyboard is amazing for auto type. That being said maybe the pixel 4 builds aren't as mature. I am running on Pixel 3a and it has been smooth sailing. A phone experience I have long been waiting for. Also the project is not as well resourced as big companies, so some bugs and rough edges are expected . Support the project financially if you want a viable open source and secure mobile os.

jmnicolas 6y ago
Hi, I didn't install the Aurora store because if I install non open sources app I'll get tracked again. In term of privacy what does it imply to install the Aurora store? I didn't look much into it, I thought I would get everything with FDroid. The AOSP clock adds an audible notification 1.5 hour before the alarm (this was silent on my regular Google Android build). If I deactivate the notification, the alarm is still triggered but I have to go into the app to deactivate it (and I'm not sure how reliable it is). I installed the clock from SimpleMobileTools. It's reliable 80% of the times which isn't ideal for an alarm! A lot of apps on FDroid are outdated and warned me that they were made for an older version of Android. I would support the project financially if I stay on it, but the way I see it if I want to remain on GrapheneOS I'm going to have to code (or modify) all the apps I need. I have 0 knowledge in mobile dev, and frankly I'm not exactly thrilled to have to spend all of my next year free time to build what I need. I'm not exactly thrilled to go to Apple either, and at this point I think I'd rather go without a mobile phone than to go back to Google. I need to chew on this.
- mickotron 6y ago
  I only have my bank app, RSA token app (needed for work, nonnegotiable) and music app (Deezeer) from Aurora. Blokada blocks trackers well enough. Yes it is a compromise but atm, like you have indicated, no-compromise is not very usable. I have keepassdx version 2.8.7 installed and it has magic keyboard. Go to settings > Form filling and play around with magic keyboard settings. Yes F-Droid has some outdated apps, and it seems to by default install an older app version. You can check and usually you can upgrade to a newer version if it's in the repo. Otherwise, some apps or authors do have their own repos you can add.
  - jmnicolas 6y ago
    Thanks a lot.
jmnicolas 6y ago
I didn't find Magickeyboard on FDroid.
- gradeless 6y ago
  Magikeyboard is a function you enable in KeepassDX. Gives you an extra 'keyboard' you can switch to just for entering passwords. Stops other apps being able to swipe your passwords from your clipboard.

gradeless 6y ago

There are endless launcher apps and icon packs you can get from F-Droid or elsewhere if you want to change the look of your phone. AnySoftKeyboard is the keyboard on F-Droid with the most features