/e/ OS 3.0: Slightly less clunky, slightly more private Murena's /e/ OS is arguably the most mainstream de-Googled Android OS, and the new version catches up with important features. It is nearly 40 years since the Dead Kennedys flipped Patrick Henry's 1775 speech and suggested the deal to which most mobile device users basically agree: Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death. If you …
On phones with a lot of crapware I try and debloat them (I use Manjaro Linux and use the "Universal Android Debloater Next Generation (UAD-ng) app" but there are Windows equivalents as well). Don't really care for AI software being injected into pretty much everything so I try and simply avoid it all by using Pixels (with GrapheneOS), debloating non-Pixel hardware or using LineageOS (with or without microG as needed), running Linux (or if I have to use Windows, run Windows 10/11 LTSC IoT).
I note the absence of Huawei and other names their phones are being sold under. Being able to root these devices eg. P30 and more recent, would be helpful in getting a more current and “supported” variant of Android on these still usable devices (the 2019 P30, still outperforms many new Samsung and other manufacturers devices…, but it’s running an increasingly old and not updated version of Android…).
That article reminds me of what HP did a few years back and removed the master bios unlock codes, so if you had forgotten the bios admin passcode, you could recover the laptop. (I have an HP laptop with this problem, so am unable to install firmware updates and thus update the Windows 10 build.)
Looking forward, perhaps a test case under the Right to Repair legislation is needed to determine whether we do have the right to install a third-party Android distribution and thus have the bootloader unlock code.
In addition to bootloader unlocking, VoLTE (Voice over LTE) is required on the three major carriers in the U.S.
Samsung's VoLTE implementation is closed-source, so their phones will never (again) have custom ROM support.
Google Pixel is the safest choice (avoid Verizon models). My OnePlus 5 is one of the oldest phones in active support. I hear that Motorola works.
/e/OS is heavily based on LineageOS; I think the supported hardware is close if not identical.
My two complaints about /e/OS are: 1) it asks for a Google account login for their store - use a throwaway account as this use might violate Google's terms of service, and b) the launcher is primitive and does not support widgets placed arbitrarily on the desktop (use https://lawnchair.app/).
GrapheneOS is the reason I use Pixel hardware that is currently supported. With older Pixel hardware no longer supported by GrapheneOS, I'll use LineageOS/microG and I have also tested CalyxOS.
@Liam: Looking forward to your postmarketOS review and wonder have you ever tried SailfishOS?
>Don't they heavily discourage MicroG?
It is originally because the GrapheneOS dev has some personal issues with the MicroG devs.
Just like the GrapheneOS dev and the F-Droid devs.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and the Aurora Store devs.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and the the Murena devs.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and the Fairphone devs.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and the CalyxOS devs.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and the CopperheadOS devs.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and the Techlore website.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and the Privacyguides website.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and Louis Rossmann.
Or the GrapheneOS dev and ...
(I'm a GrapheneOS user nevertheless)
> Looking forward to your postmarketOS review and wonder have you ever tried SailfishOS?
As it happens, the two projects are closely related, and I am trying them in conjunction. More soon.
So far, I like and am impressed by Sailfish 5, but I do find the navigation very confusing indeed.
I use a Pixel 5a with LineageOs/microG. Installing Play Store apps was clunky, until a fellow Reg reader pointed me to the Aurora store. After that, the phone does everything I require and has an excellent battery life. I haven't come across any app that failed from lack of Google services (microG provides an emulation).
Not wanting to be controversial, but......
If you are interested in Privacy, why would you want (whatever a) *banking app* (is) on an electronic device?
It seems you are just setting yourself up to be powned.
I don't know you, but your probably aren't worth enough for an attack group to be seriously interested in your finances.
On the other hand, your bank, which is collecting all this juicy info and access, is very likely to be a target for such groups.
So, they exploit your bank, and will find details of you; however, if you have denied all electronic commerce, you are in a better position than so many others.
Fine; rejecting all e-commerce is a stretch, but it isn't if you filter it through a few well defined portals ( visa, paypal, interac-e-xfer ), you can substantially limit your surface.
That isn't a recipe, just a guideline.
I don't think it is exactly a radical message : " Do Not Trust The F-ing Banks "; especially their apps which hold you accountable for their breaches via TOS.
With cash, you always know exactly how much you can spend because you can check your wallet at any time.
If you're replacing cash with a pre-paid debit card, then you need to have a way of knowing if you can still buy that kebab on the way home from the pub.
Time for some more consumer protection law updates. The EU did mandatory data export, so there's no reason they can't mandate MFA standards. (I'm assuming EU and other countries that implement their laws since as we all know consumer protection in leftpondia is even more limited than the bassackwards banking system.)
It has some nice privacy-focused features.
However last time I looked at it it lacked a bit of polish. Also the unfortunate choice of (new) name makes it hard to find from a search engine.
The project needs to recieve a good ummph, either from more interested developers, users, or some aemi-big backer/sponser. And for that it probably needs to be more well known.
Kudos to the article author for the Dead Kennedys reference BTW.
Thanks Liam. My main tablet is still on /e/ OS 2.1 - time to try 3.0 now.
In the olden days I was heavily involved in Maemo and Meego (Nokia). It was a great environment but eventually just not viable commercially to compete with Apple and Google. But all involved learnt a LOT about what worked and what didn't in mobile app development - and the early days of smartphones were very exciting.
After Nokia died, I moved to the Jolla/Sailfish community in the hope that the many good people there could build the technology base for a viable 3rd player. But, not to be.
/e/ OS 1.0 was clunky but at least its limited goals (basically to make LineageOS a viable end-user off-the-shelf Android) seem to be just about achievable. However, I have to admit that, although my tablets are /e/, my phone is an iPhone nowadays!
That app/destination map/category blocking for internet usage that iodé has looks good.
Yes, it is tedious. And my Samsung tablet running /e/ still warns me on every boot that the bootloader has been unlocked and insists I press a button before it even tries to boot the OS.
I understand why (to protect people who hand their device over to someone else for a bit who then replaces the OS with something that looks similar but captures passwords and personal info). But maybe after a year it could have stopped asking?
I love my Fairphone 4 with e OS installed - I don't have much use for apps but the few that I do need (Proton Suite, TP-Link's Deco/Tapo, Starlink, GiffGaff and Halifax) all work perfectly and install/update without needing to log into a Google account.
The only quibbles I have with the device are a) the battery life isn't stellar for a phone of this size and b) e OS doesn't currently fully support my hearing aids - I can stream stuff whilst wearing them but I can't answer calls with them which is quite inconvenient - also the volume on the Fairphone doesn't go up very loud.
I believe you can get e OS on the CMF Phone 1 now so for anyone that's interested in a de-Googled phone, that may be the cheapest option (other that repurposing an old phone which is obviously better if yours is supported).
Thought the easiest way to get a google free phone was to get an iPhone or iPad. if my cell phone service had been allowed to offer iphones i would probably have one today, but back then i couldn't afford the service or phone, so waited until they offered the moterola droid. haven't felt the need to change and still don't. don't think there's much difference on what data is harvested and commercialized with existing phones or what might be offered in the future. just too much money involved for anyone to keep a promise not to commercialize your data at some point. expect even the ones that claim that your data is safe with them are simply using it for their own services.
If you need something for work then you need a work phone.
It's exploitative at best to require you to use stuff on your personal phone for work purposes
If an employer says it's that or be fired then you should be looking for another job because they clearly don't care about legalities
I bought a FP4 from murena for my wife about a year ago. She used an old iphone (repaired multiple time until it was the main board) but wanted to go the fairphone route. I did not want to go down the google way.
Been working great, no google account, banking app works and even national ehealth apps. She is not a hardcore phone user though and I can still help if any issues pop up.
I was quite surprised that it just works (although android is quite confusing on the settings/service side).
I wish they would support some eink devices or smaller phones though. Most of those run chinese modified google android, not my cup of tea.
I bought a FP4 from murena for my wife about a year ago. She used an old iphone (repaired multiple time until it was the main board) but wanted to go the fairphone route. I did not want to go down the google way.
Been working great, no google account, banking app works and even national ehealth apps. She is not a hardcore phone user though and I can still help if any issues pop up.
I was quite surprised that it just works (although android is quite confusing on the settings/service side).
I wish they would support some eink devices or smaller phones though. Most of those run chinese modified google android, not my cup of tea.
