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Would like to understand how this is done. Is this flashing some unofficial Android version? What hinderances does this cause -- can you run typical apps? Th

by alok-g 2y ago

Would like to understand how this is done. Is this flashing some unofficial Android version? What hinderances does this cause -- can you run typical apps? The apps I use most often are WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Uber, Outlook, etc. Thanks.

theandrewbailey 2y ago
It heavily depends on the phone you have. I used LineageOS on an older Moto, but if you have a Google Pixel, you might want to try GrapheneOS. I followed the steps on the wiki, involving running fastboot and adb commands to load the images. As for app stores, I primarily use F-Droid, but also have Aptoide. I don't use any apps that require the Google services frameworks, but if you need that, maybe MicroG will suffice. https://www.lineageos.org/ https://www.lineageos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/ https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/ https://en.aptoide.com/ https://en.aptoide.com/ https://microg.org/ https://microg.org/
- alok-g 2y ago
  This is awesome! A good weekend project for me. :-) I see an old phone I have supported on LineageOS. I am assuming once the alternate OS is flashed, there is no way of going back to the original? Or would a factory reset get the original back?
  - theandrewbailey 2y ago
    It completely blows away everything on the internal storage (but not SD cards), so no going back without reflashing from another device. You might want to have a stock image from the manufacturer handy just in case. I struggled with a "Baseband: <not found>" error for an entire day (preventing calls and sms) until I flashed an image that worked. Though if you want the real Google ecosystem back, instead of going back to stock, try reflashing LineageOS and add in the MindTheGapps zip. MindTheGapps includes the real Google Play Store and other components, just like most Android phones. The LineageOS flashing directions for your phone should mention when and how to do that. You'll have a phone with Google, but without BS apps that you can't delete (aside from simple phone, sms, contacts, camera, etc apps), and should run faster. https://wiki.lineageos.org/gapps/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/gapps/

by alok-g 2y ago

theandrewbailey 2y ago

It heavily depends on the phone you have. I used LineageOS on an older Moto, but if you have a Google Pixel, you might want to try GrapheneOS. I followed the steps on the wiki, involving running fastboot and adb commands to load the images. As for app stores, I primarily use F-Droid, but also have Aptoide. I don't use any apps that require the Google services frameworks, but if you need that, maybe MicroG will suffice. https://www.lineageos.org/ https://www.lineageos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/ https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/ https://en.aptoide.com/ https://en.aptoide.com/ https://microg.org/ https://microg.org/

alok-g 2y ago
This is awesome! A good weekend project for me. :-) I see an old phone I have supported on LineageOS. I am assuming once the alternate OS is flashed, there is no way of going back to the original? Or would a factory reset get the original back?
- theandrewbailey 2y ago
  It completely blows away everything on the internal storage (but not SD cards), so no going back without reflashing from another device. You might want to have a stock image from the manufacturer handy just in case. I struggled with a "Baseband: <not found>" error for an entire day (preventing calls and sms) until I flashed an image that worked. Though if you want the real Google ecosystem back, instead of going back to stock, try reflashing LineageOS and add in the MindTheGapps zip. MindTheGapps includes the real Google Play Store and other components, just like most Android phones. The LineageOS flashing directions for your phone should mention when and how to do that. You'll have a phone with Google, but without BS apps that you can't delete (aside from simple phone, sms, contacts, camera, etc apps), and should run faster. https://wiki.lineageos.org/gapps/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/gapps/