6 ms·

I've got a Xiaomi phone (Mi 10 Lite) and am pretty happy with it. Hardware is great. Software (MIUI) is adware crap, which I knew when I was buying. I tweaked

by senko 5y ago

I've got a Xiaomi phone (Mi 10 Lite) and am pretty happy with it. Hardware is great. Software (MIUI) is adware crap, which I knew when I was buying. I tweaked privacy settings as much was possible, and I use almost none of the builtin apps. Instead I use Firefox Focus+Mobile for browsing, Amaze for file management, Dropbox for file storage and PDF view, etc. Overall the entire experience is comparable (for me) to a Samsung or Apple phone at 3x the price. The most annoying things are still Google and YouTube ToS accept dialogs I get all the time because I'm effectively using an incognito browser, and I'd get those on any phone.

ekianjo 5y ago
Is it possible to easily install LineageOS and still have everything working ?
- zekica 5y ago
  I'm running LineageOS on Mi 10T Pro and everything works fine, but it wasn't the case until a couple of weeks ago.
- alpaca128 5y ago
  Xiaomi sells a few phones with the "Android One" label, meaning it's mostly standard Android and mine let me uninstall basically all the typical useless apps. Only the Play Store and one or two others can't be removed. Not perfect and LineageOS would still be a bit better, but close enough for me. I don't enjoy using smartphones either way.
  - vbezhenar 5y ago
    AFAIK Android One is barely supported at this point and phones are old. I used to be a supporter of Android One and bought two phones myself, but I wouldn't recommend it now. Google failed this program like it failed numerous programs before. The only reliable way to get standard android without unlocking and tinkering seems to be buying Google Pixel nowadays.
    - limeblack 5y ago
      Nokia is close to stock to the Pixel https://dontkillmyapp.com/ https://dontkillmyapp.com/
    - robocat 5y ago
      I bought a Nokia 3.4 released late last year. Cheap and Android One. Really great phone for the price point. I absolutely hate any manufacturer version of Android. Pixel is great, but only occasionally is a cheaper model available. I break and lose phones so I buy functional but cheaper (buying second hand is risky). https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3_4-10404.php https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3_4-10404.php I previously had a different Android One Nokia Phone which was great and well supported.
- climb_stealth 5y ago
  AFAIK you won't get proper camera support. For example my Poco F1 has two cameras on the back, but with LineageOS only one is used. Whether everything works ends up depending a bit on how you use your phone.
as1mov 5y ago
Most of the Xiaomi phones are supported by LineageOS. If you have an hour to spare, you can easily unlock the bootloader and install it to get a stock Android experience (even skip out Google Services if you want). I have the Poco F1, cost me about $230 for SD845 + 8GB RAM + 4000mAh + 256GB storage. It's a pretty good deal after installing LineageOS on it.
- chronogram 5y ago
  Back when I last looked you had to register an account, use a Windows application and wait a few weeks before being allowed to unlock the phone. Has that been changed then?
  - dmos62 5y ago
    Wow, we've had very different experiences with LineageOS.
    - snemvalts 5y ago
      I don't think that's lineageOS, it's for unlocking the bootloader on Xiaomi phones
  - mkup 5y ago
    Windows application is still required, but loader unlock was granted instantly after creation of a new Xiaomi account last time I tried it (last Friday for Xiaomi Pocophone F1).
  - as1mov 5y ago
    The waiting is kinda random really. I didn't have to wait at all, as the unlock code was available instantly. Regarding the account, I just used a spare throwaway SIM and a Windows VM for that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Though most of the brands (except Nokia and Samsung) seem to have pretty reasonable terms for unlocking the bootloader and aren't as ass-backwards as Xiaomi's.
  - the_third_wave 5y ago
    I'm using a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 ('whyred') from 2019. The first thing I did was get that unlock code (it took ~3 days) and unlock it. For the latter I used MiUnlockTool [1], a Java program which ran OK on Linux - no Windows needed. The tools seems to work on more recent models from what I gather at the related XDA thread [2]. [1] https://xiaomitool.com/MiUnlockTool https://xiaomitool.com/MiUnlockTool [2] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-win-lin-mac-miunlocktool-unlock-bootloader-of-xiaomi-devices-on-mac-linux.3782444/ https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-win-lin-mac-miunlock...
nsonha 5y ago
try unlocking the bootloader (annoying that you have to wait like other have noted) and use the MIUI EU distro. It's pretty much standard Android (might not even include gapps, I don't remember), plus the core MIUI and their international version of the apps (ones that don't link to Chinese online services). Best of both words. For example I use their Music app for playing Youtube in the background without ads, I didn't even install the Youtube app.
jackbrookes 5y ago
>The most annoying things are still Google and YouTube ToS accept dialogs I get all the time because I'm effectively using an incognito browser, and I'd get those on any phone. You may be able to add a list to uBlock which blocks cookie popups. https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/ https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/
- senko 5y ago
  Thanks! I didn't know about that one. Sadly Firefox Focus on Android doesn't seem to support extensions or manually loading block lists, but as I do mainly browse from private mode on desktop as well, the extension will help there.
Nux 5y ago
Just got my hands in the 10T Lite 5G, it's a pretty good phone, must admit. Toying with the xiaomi.eu rom until it's properly supported by Lineageos. The UI is growing on me, no adware that I can see and I have frozen most of the google apps. The camera is mediocre, I am hoping for a gcam port.
jatins 5y ago
Their software wasn't always this bad. I had an Mi3 and I thought the UI was better that what stock Android was offering at that time. But overtime they kept adding more and more crapware.

by senko 5y ago

ekianjo 5y ago

Is it possible to easily install LineageOS and still have everything working ?

zekica 5y ago
I'm running LineageOS on Mi 10T Pro and everything works fine, but it wasn't the case until a couple of weeks ago.
alpaca128 5y ago
Xiaomi sells a few phones with the "Android One" label, meaning it's mostly standard Android and mine let me uninstall basically all the typical useless apps. Only the Play Store and one or two others can't be removed. Not perfect and LineageOS would still be a bit better, but close enough for me. I don't enjoy using smartphones either way.
- vbezhenar 5y ago
  AFAIK Android One is barely supported at this point and phones are old. I used to be a supporter of Android One and bought two phones myself, but I wouldn't recommend it now. Google failed this program like it failed numerous programs before. The only reliable way to get standard android without unlocking and tinkering seems to be buying Google Pixel nowadays.
  - limeblack 5y ago
    Nokia is close to stock to the Pixel https://dontkillmyapp.com/ https://dontkillmyapp.com/
  - robocat 5y ago
    I bought a Nokia 3.4 released late last year. Cheap and Android One. Really great phone for the price point. I absolutely hate any manufacturer version of Android. Pixel is great, but only occasionally is a cheaper model available. I break and lose phones so I buy functional but cheaper (buying second hand is risky). https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3_4-10404.php https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3_4-10404.php I previously had a different Android One Nokia Phone which was great and well supported.
climb_stealth 5y ago
AFAIK you won't get proper camera support. For example my Poco F1 has two cameras on the back, but with LineageOS only one is used. Whether everything works ends up depending a bit on how you use your phone.

as1mov 5y ago

Most of the Xiaomi phones are supported by LineageOS. If you have an hour to spare, you can easily unlock the bootloader and install it to get a stock Android experience (even skip out Google Services if you want). I have the Poco F1, cost me about $230 for SD845 + 8GB RAM + 4000mAh + 256GB storage. It's a pretty good deal after installing LineageOS on it.

chronogram 5y ago
Back when I last looked you had to register an account, use a Windows application and wait a few weeks before being allowed to unlock the phone. Has that been changed then?
- dmos62 5y ago
  Wow, we've had very different experiences with LineageOS.
  - snemvalts 5y ago
    I don't think that's lineageOS, it's for unlocking the bootloader on Xiaomi phones
- mkup 5y ago
  Windows application is still required, but loader unlock was granted instantly after creation of a new Xiaomi account last time I tried it (last Friday for Xiaomi Pocophone F1).
- as1mov 5y ago
  The waiting is kinda random really. I didn't have to wait at all, as the unlock code was available instantly. Regarding the account, I just used a spare throwaway SIM and a Windows VM for that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Though most of the brands (except Nokia and Samsung) seem to have pretty reasonable terms for unlocking the bootloader and aren't as ass-backwards as Xiaomi's.
- the_third_wave 5y ago
  I'm using a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 ('whyred') from 2019. The first thing I did was get that unlock code (it took ~3 days) and unlock it. For the latter I used MiUnlockTool [1], a Java program which ran OK on Linux - no Windows needed. The tools seems to work on more recent models from what I gather at the related XDA thread [2]. [1] https://xiaomitool.com/MiUnlockTool https://xiaomitool.com/MiUnlockTool [2] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-win-lin-mac-miunlocktool-unlock-bootloader-of-xiaomi-devices-on-mac-linux.3782444/ https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-win-lin-mac-miunlock...

nsonha 5y ago

try unlocking the bootloader (annoying that you have to wait like other have noted) and use the MIUI EU distro. It's pretty much standard Android (might not even include gapps, I don't remember), plus the core MIUI and their international version of the apps (ones that don't link to Chinese online services). Best of both words. For example I use their Music app for playing Youtube in the background without ads, I didn't even install the Youtube app.

jackbrookes 5y ago

>The most annoying things are still Google and YouTube ToS accept dialogs I get all the time because I'm effectively using an incognito browser, and I'd get those on any phone. You may be able to add a list to uBlock which blocks cookie popups. https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/ https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/

senko 5y ago
Thanks! I didn't know about that one. Sadly Firefox Focus on Android doesn't seem to support extensions or manually loading block lists, but as I do mainly browse from private mode on desktop as well, the extension will help there.

Nux 5y ago

Just got my hands in the 10T Lite 5G, it's a pretty good phone, must admit. Toying with the xiaomi.eu rom until it's properly supported by Lineageos. The UI is growing on me, no adware that I can see and I have frozen most of the google apps. The camera is mediocre, I am hoping for a gcam port.

jatins 5y ago

Their software wasn't always this bad. I had an Mi3 and I thought the UI was better that what stock Android was offering at that time. But overtime they kept adding more and more crapware.