Running Stock Android Without Using Google

[SpongebobFan1994]

As I continue to look for a new phone, I still am finding very few recent phones that are not only capable of running either Lineage or Ubuntu Touch, but also are good, and in my price range. Some people have recommended the PinePhone, and after watching the most recent review of it, it still is a bit buggy. I also looked into the Librem5, and while I can use coupons to bring the price down, one guy who reviewed it 3 months ago said they're having supply chain issues, and if I did manage to order one, it'd take at least 6 months to finally ship it. Because this is becoming frustrating, I was considering buying a reasonably-priced Android phone, but not using any of Google's services (I'll just use whatever F-Droid has), and turning off things like WiFi and location, because I figured the less data I give to them, the better. I'm aware I can bypass creating an account, but I'd like to know how to do that. I'd also like to know if rooting the phone will allow me to remove any backdoors.

 

[gvisoc]

What about GrapheneOS? You can choose either to not run Google Services at all, or follow their "official" way to sandbox them if you'd chose to.

 

[SpongebobFan1994]

What about GrapheneOS? You can choose either to not run Google Services at all, or follow their "official" way to sandbox them if you'd chose to.

Its only compatible with Pixel phones, so I'd have to fatten Google's wallets just to do that

 

[gvisoc]

The only support officially pixel devices for production, but they state that the compatibility at a source code level is the same of AOSP. That means that if you manage to package it for your device, it may work.

Anyway, I get that you want something to download and flash, which I understand and to which I'd agree, so fair enough.

 

[Sunil1991]

You can visit LineageOS website. They support wide range of devices and then you can buy one .


Flashing google apps is optional and you can flash Lineage OS on supported device in a simple way

Unlock the bootloader (if you are planning on buying a phone, make sure OEM support bootloader unlocking)

Flash custom recovery (either lineage recovery or twrp)

Boot into custom recovery
Wipe cache system data vendor
Flssh Lineage zip file and reboot to system.

You will get weekly OTA update for official supported devices

 

[SpongebobFan1994]

You can visit LineageOS website. They support wide range of devices and then you can buy one .


Flashing google apps is optional and you can flash Lineage OS on supported device in a simple way

Unlock the bootloader (if you are planning on buying a phone, make sure OEM support bootloader unlocking)

Flash custom recovery (either lineage recovery or twrp)

Boot into custom recovery
Wipe cache system data vendor
Flssh Lineage zip file and reboot to system.

You will get weekly OTA update for official supported devices

I've gone to their site more times than I can count for research. The phones they list are either older or too expensive.

 

[SpongebobFan1994]

The only support officially pixel devices for production, but they state that the compatibility at a source code level is the same of AOSP. That means that if you manage to package it for your device, it may work.

Anyway, I get that you want something to download and flash, which I understand and to which I'd agree, so fair enough.

Will the source code work with any unofficially supported device, or do the devices have to be specific?

 

[gvisoc]

ASOP runs on the Linux kernel. As such, it depends on the chipsets used and whether they use free firmware or if you need manufacturer-proprietary blobs. Nonetheless, I think that since the Galaxy S4, an Android AOSP Generic System Image...

Is considered a pure Android implementation with unmodified Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code that any Android device running Android 8.1 or higher can run successfully.

Second to that, the sad thing is that AOSP doesn't prescribe is the packaging of the OS at runtime and the partition structure of the device, bootlader and firmware features: that's where the different ROMs come along, and that may be where the Graphene OS is more, or too, pixel-friendly.

I didn't have time to see if there's a cookbook on how to flash, or re-package and flash Graphene OS on non-pixel devices, but it may be possible (although officially unsupported).

 

[SpongebobFan1994]

ASOP runs on the Linux kernel. As such, it depends on the chipsets used and whether they use free firmware or if you need manufacturer-proprietary blobs. Nonetheless, I think that since the Galaxy S4, an Android AOSP Generic System Image...


Second to that, the sad thing is that AOSP doesn't prescribe is the packaging of the OS at runtime and the partition structure of the device, bootlader and firmware features: that's where the different ROMs come along, and that may be where the Graphene OS is more, or too, pixel-friendly.

I didn't have time to see if there's a cookbook on how to flash, or re-package and flash Graphene OS on non-pixel devices, but it may be possible (although officially unsupported).

I'll look into that

Update: I was looking at their FAQ on their website, and it says that porting it to a non-pixel device would be difficult from a hardware and firmware perspective (as stated by the following) "For most devices, the hardware and firmware will prevent providing a reasonably secure device, regardless of the work put into device support."