6 ms·

don't buy Chinese phones...

by underscore_ku 5y ago

benbristow 5y ago
* Chinese branded phones
- Hokusai 5y ago
  What is the difference? To not buy branded Chinese phones seems just protectionism and has little to do with security. I have nothing against wanting to protect and industry, but it should not be done with misconceptions.
  - erulabs 5y ago
    I would guess the implication is that almost all phones are built in China. So "Chinese cellphones" is a curious term - "Cellphones designed by Chinese firms" and "Cellphones manufactured in China" are wildly different circles in the venn diagram of mobiles.
    - nicce 5y ago
      Only Chinese cellphone design companies have a meaningful direct responsibily for Chinese government, which makes the difference. Manufacturers have resposibility too, but if they manufacture something else than intended, it will stop quite quickly.
  - tablespoon 5y ago
    > What is the difference? To not buy branded Chinese phones seems just protectionism and has little to do with security. How does "protectionism" have anything to do with this? It's weird to inject that economic framing into a question about what kind of policies you want to be subject to, and who you want to be setting those policies.
duxup 5y ago
At this point I’m averse to anything from non free nations. I’ve started to take that into account when shopping. That’s not a criticism of the individuals there, just a recognition of the conditions. Admittedly that’s not any easy thing to define all the time.
- inetknght 5y ago
  > I’m averse to anything from non free nations Which nations are truly free then?
  - duxup 5y ago
    At this point I think non free nations are significantly different from “more free” nations.
  - boxmonster 5y ago
    I can help you with that If you can tell the President on Christmas Eve "Let's Go Brandon" which means something vulgar and you don't go to jail then you live in a free country If you are incarcerated in a re-education camp because of your religion then you live in an unfree country
    - zodiakzz 5y ago
      I can make violent threats against the President at his face and nobody would bat an eye. But my country is at the peak of unfree. So you didn't help :( Edit: Ah, silly me. That was just a thinly veiled insult against China, the great big devil.
      - throwawayay02 5y ago
        Where do you live?
        zodiakzz 5y ago
        Pakistan
yorwba 5y ago
Just make sure beforehand that they're supported by LineageOS. Then you can wipe the OEM crap and run software you trust instead (assuming you trust the LineageOS developers). If they're the kind that's sold artificially cheap under the assumption that they can make up the difference by showing you ads for the whole lifetime of the device, running a different OS has the added benefit of eating into their profit margins.
- iszomer 5y ago
  People should also be aware that certain devices will have specific features disabled when flashing to a custom ROM like LineageOS; vendor binary blobs on the OEM side and LineageOS' policy on reverse engineering them.
  - commoner 5y ago
    I believe the only manufacturers that have features disabled for unlocked bootloaders are Sony[1] and Samsung (Galaxy Z Fold 3 only).[2] Many Snapdragon-based Samung devices can't be bootloader-unlocked in the first place, and this includes most U.S. models. Vendors that are LineageOS-friendly include Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Asus.[3] If you already have a Xiaomi phone, replacing the stock operating system with LineageOS could improve your privacy. [1] https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/unlock-bootloader https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/... [2] https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639869/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-3-camera-disable-bootloader-unlock https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639869/samsung-galaxy-z... [3] https://www.lineageoslog.com https://www.lineageoslog.com
- kuratkull 5y ago
  Yes, but there's always the risk that the malware is planted deeper, aka a rootkit
walrus01 5y ago
Show me a mid-market up to top end Android phone that isn't made in China... Yes I know there's a series of specific Samsung models that are approved for US govt use and are likely made in a facility in south Korea. I think we have two categories of things A) phones made in China with software/OS load for CCP compliant censorship and data collection B) phones made in China with software and OS load for the global market (example would be oxygenOS on an English language OnePlus phone. If it turns out there's hidden data collection or censorship frameworks in oxygenOS I would be very disappointed.)
- JudasGoat 5y ago
  I bought my Pixel 4a specifically because it wasn't made in China (Vietnam). I would have considered upgrading to the 6 if it were made somewhere else. I also was considering a Google Titan security key until I learned they were made in China, too.
- older 5y ago
  You are wrong at least about Samsung phones: https://www.sammobile.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made https://www.sammobile.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made
  - walrus01 5y ago
    Is it known for certain where the series of devices mentioned here are manufactured? https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung-devices-achieve-approval-u-s-department-defense/ https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung-devices-achieve-approval... https://www.samsung.com/us/business/solutions/industries/government/ https://www.samsung.com/us/business/solutions/industries/gov...
- ChemSpider 5y ago
  All Samsung phones are NOT made in China, or? At least that is what I read here: https://www.makeuseof.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made/ https://www.makeuseof.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made/ Apple: I trust their US QA to detect planted spyware.
- i_am_proteus 5y ago

don't buy Chinese phones...

benbristow 5y ago

* Chinese branded phones

Hokusai 5y ago
What is the difference? To not buy branded Chinese phones seems just protectionism and has little to do with security. I have nothing against wanting to protect and industry, but it should not be done with misconceptions.
- erulabs 5y ago
  I would guess the implication is that almost all phones are built in China. So "Chinese cellphones" is a curious term - "Cellphones designed by Chinese firms" and "Cellphones manufactured in China" are wildly different circles in the venn diagram of mobiles.
  - nicce 5y ago
    Only Chinese cellphone design companies have a meaningful direct responsibily for Chinese government, which makes the difference. Manufacturers have resposibility too, but if they manufacture something else than intended, it will stop quite quickly.
- tablespoon 5y ago
  > What is the difference? To not buy branded Chinese phones seems just protectionism and has little to do with security. How does "protectionism" have anything to do with this? It's weird to inject that economic framing into a question about what kind of policies you want to be subject to, and who you want to be setting those policies.

duxup 5y ago

At this point I’m averse to anything from non free nations. I’ve started to take that into account when shopping. That’s not a criticism of the individuals there, just a recognition of the conditions. Admittedly that’s not any easy thing to define all the time.

inetknght 5y ago
> I’m averse to anything from non free nations Which nations are truly free then?
- duxup 5y ago
  At this point I think non free nations are significantly different from “more free” nations.
- boxmonster 5y ago
  I can help you with that If you can tell the President on Christmas Eve "Let's Go Brandon" which means something vulgar and you don't go to jail then you live in a free country If you are incarcerated in a re-education camp because of your religion then you live in an unfree country
  - zodiakzz 5y ago
    I can make violent threats against the President at his face and nobody would bat an eye. But my country is at the peak of unfree. So you didn't help :( Edit: Ah, silly me. That was just a thinly veiled insult against China, the great big devil.
    - throwawayay02 5y ago
      Where do you live?
      - zodiakzz 5y ago
        Pakistan

yorwba 5y ago

Just make sure beforehand that they're supported by LineageOS. Then you can wipe the OEM crap and run software you trust instead (assuming you trust the LineageOS developers). If they're the kind that's sold artificially cheap under the assumption that they can make up the difference by showing you ads for the whole lifetime of the device, running a different OS has the added benefit of eating into their profit margins.

iszomer 5y ago
People should also be aware that certain devices will have specific features disabled when flashing to a custom ROM like LineageOS; vendor binary blobs on the OEM side and LineageOS' policy on reverse engineering them.
- commoner 5y ago
  I believe the only manufacturers that have features disabled for unlocked bootloaders are Sony[1] and Samsung (Galaxy Z Fold 3 only).[2] Many Snapdragon-based Samung devices can't be bootloader-unlocked in the first place, and this includes most U.S. models. Vendors that are LineageOS-friendly include Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Asus.[3] If you already have a Xiaomi phone, replacing the stock operating system with LineageOS could improve your privacy. [1] https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/unlock-bootloader https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/... [2] https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639869/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-3-camera-disable-bootloader-unlock https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639869/samsung-galaxy-z... [3] https://www.lineageoslog.com https://www.lineageoslog.com
kuratkull 5y ago
Yes, but there's always the risk that the malware is planted deeper, aka a rootkit

walrus01 5y ago

Show me a mid-market up to top end Android phone that isn't made in China... Yes I know there's a series of specific Samsung models that are approved for US govt use and are likely made in a facility in south Korea. I think we have two categories of things A) phones made in China with software/OS load for CCP compliant censorship and data collection B) phones made in China with software and OS load for the global market (example would be oxygenOS on an English language OnePlus phone. If it turns out there's hidden data collection or censorship frameworks in oxygenOS I would be very disappointed.)

JudasGoat 5y ago
I bought my Pixel 4a specifically because it wasn't made in China (Vietnam). I would have considered upgrading to the 6 if it were made somewhere else. I also was considering a Google Titan security key until I learned they were made in China, too.
older 5y ago
You are wrong at least about Samsung phones: https://www.sammobile.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made https://www.sammobile.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made
- walrus01 5y ago
  Is it known for certain where the series of devices mentioned here are manufactured? https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung-devices-achieve-approval-u-s-department-defense/ https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung-devices-achieve-approval... https://www.samsung.com/us/business/solutions/industries/government/ https://www.samsung.com/us/business/solutions/industries/gov...
ChemSpider 5y ago
All Samsung phones are NOT made in China, or? At least that is what I read here: https://www.makeuseof.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made/ https://www.makeuseof.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made/ Apple: I trust their US QA to detect planted spyware.
i_am_proteus 5y ago