I'm trying to distance myself from Google products. Which is a bit hard since I have an Android phone. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on a custom ROM that has the least amount of Google implementation (Google Now, etc). I usually use Pure Nexus, which is great. But it still has Google Now and since it's on the pixel firmware, it's on the home screen.
BitterBuffaloh said:
I'm trying to distance myself from Google products. Which is a bit hard since I have an Android phone. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on a custom ROM that has the least amount of Google implementation (Google Now, etc). I usually use Pure Nexus, which is great. But it still has Google Now and since it's on the pixel firmware, it's on the home screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash Purenexus without GApps. Simple solution. You would not have any Google Services.
@BitterBuffaloh, it's simple: take a lite ROM without GApps.
Despair, SAOSP, ABC, Tesla (sorted by number of features).
rp158 said:
@BitterBuffaloh, it's simple: take a lite ROM without GApps.
Despair, SAOSP, ABC, Tesla (sorted by number of features).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, will try. Never heard of any of those ROMS. Despair, SAOSP, ABC, TESLA. Interesting! Gotta do some research. I've tried Pure Nuxus, Dirty Unicorns, and Reserruction Remix.
@BitterBuffaloh: PureNexus is out, since Beans decided to merge GApps. Manually remove isn't efficient. Resurrection and DU without GApps won't differ much with my suggestions. For best battery life try SAOSP +Franco kernel unchanged.
rp158 said:
@BitterBuffaloh: PureNexus is out, since Beans decided to merge GApps. Manually remove isn't efficient. Resurrection and DU without GApps won't differ much with my suggestions. For best battery life try SAOSP +Franco kernel unchanged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, will give this a shot. Thank you. Shame PurNexus merged with GApps.
BitterBuffaloh said:
Ok, will give this a shot. Thank you. Shame PurNexus merged with GApps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flash May PN, it's without GApps.
Edit: Careful with CopperheadOS: https://www.reddit.com/r/CopperheadOS/comments/8qdnn3/goodbye/e0icslc/
If you want to go full Google free and improve your phone's security at the same time, try CopperheadOS. I don't think they have a thread on XDA, but they are well known among privacy-conscious users. It's AOSP without the Google stuff.
Downloads: https://copperhead.co/android/downloads
Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CopperheadOS/
Tweets (were they publish interesting info): https://twitter.com/CopperheadOS
Or if you want to use something more familiar, just install LineageOS without any Gapps. You can also try other custom ROMs, but I'm not sure if they are as secure as LineageOS.
Awesome, will try that too.
My other question is without the App store installed how do I go about getting apps for my phone like Camera, Maps, etc. I can download Fdroid from my PC, then install it on my phone. Then get most my stuff from Fdroid?
I think the best solution is to try to find free alternatives to the apps you need on Fdroid, but some content is just not available there.
What I do is to have another phone with Google Play, get the apps/updates and then transfer the apk's to my Nexus 5X. It's annoying to do all this, but I only have the basic stuff installed so it's not a big deal.
Anyway, we get better privacy by moving away from Google, but I'm not sure if we are as safe. We have to trust other users here on XDA, websites that host apk's and Fdroid... If Google, with all their experience, money and resources sometimes fails to keep their store clean, imagine what happens outside their walled garden.
S4turno said:
I think the best solution is to try find free alternatives to the apps you need on Fdroid, but some content is just not available there.
What I do is to have another phone with Google Play, get the apps/updates and then transfer the apk's to my Nexus 5X. It's annoying to do all this, but I only have the basic stuff installed so it's not a big deal.
Anyway, we get better privacy by moving away from Google, but I'm not sure if we are as safe. We have to trust other users here on XDA, websites that host apk's and Fdroid... If Google, with all their experience, money and resources sometimes fails to keep their store clean, imagine what happens outside their walled garden.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, yes. This is true. Thanks for the copperhead recc, I'm going to try that out as I want to move away from Google due to security / privacy. I think copperhead is a bit over my head, as I'm not a security expert, but seems worth a shot.
@S4turno: thanks for Copperhead-link. I'll look at it.
A more conveniant way to get apps from GPlay is apk-downloaders.com. They download on their account from GPlay and forward to you. But it's for free apps only and you must look for updates by yourself.
CopperHead Discontinued
Hi @S4turno
It seems the Coppperhead project has been discontinued for some legal reasons. Do you know any other Google free custom ROM?
Cheers
S4turno said:
If you want to go full Google free and improve your phone's security at the same time, try CopperheadOS. I don't think they have a thread on XDA, but they are well known among privacy-conscious users. It's AOSP without the Google stuff.
Or if you want to use something more familiar, just install LineageOS without any Gapps. You can also try other custom ROMs, but I'm not sure if they are as secure as LineageOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LouisDelescluze said:
Hi @S4turno
It seems the Coppperhead project has been discontinued for some legal reasons. Do you know any other Google free custom ROM?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess the main alternative is LineageOS? It's not as focused on security, but it should be okay if your main intention is to run a phone without Google stuff.
Related
Hi everyone,
I just rooted my phone last night and now i'm ready to explore android. I know the question is probably been asked 1000 times but what do i do from here? I got Titanium app but that's about it. How can I:
1. Remove Bloatware
2. Get custome ROMS
3. Protect my device from malicous wares
4. Get new Widgets
5. Get paid apps? for free?
6. Modify Home Screens
7. etc
Please guide me.
Thanks
iampain13 said:
Hi everyone,
I just rooted my phone last night and now i'm ready to explore android. I know the question is probably been asked 1000 times but what do i do from here? I got Titanium app but that's about it. How can I:
1. Remove Bloatware
2. Get custome ROMS
3. Protect my device from malicous wares
4. Get new Widgets
5. Get paid apps? for free?
6. Modify Home Screens
7. etc
Please guide me.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Use TI to remove any Bloatware you dont want. Just make sure you do a full backup before toying around. Google "Nandroid" if you dont know how.
2) To each their own. If you want to keep wifi calling you must use one of the Tmobile based custom rom. Jedi Master 10 Rom is great.
3) See 5
4)
5) The devil is knocking but dont do it. Many of the great apps are already fee. Their are VERY FEW paid apps thats worth even the download. For those, its worth it just to pay a few dollars to get endless updates and feature improvements. I came from iOS, and over the years, I came to the realization that apps that are worth pirating is worth paying for. $2 or $3 are peanuts if I really like the apps and want all the latest features. Going the pirate route opens a world of hurt because anyone can infect these pirated apps. You really are ASKING FOR IT. Once you buy an app, you get it for life, so the next android device you run, these apps will continue to be useful. Pirating, honestly, is just a pain the ass. In iOS I would pirate to honestly try out an app, 90% of which I never even use a gain. In Android, its just too risky to be infected with malware. Pirating Android apps is just not worth the hassle.
6) Go wild, try Nova Launcher free
inspron said:
1) Use TI to remove any Bloatware you dont want. Just make sure you do a full backup before toying around. Google "Nandroid" if you dont know how.
2) To each their own. If you want to keep wifi calling you must use one of the Tmobile based custom rom. Jedi Master 10 Rom is great.
3) See 5
4)
5) The devil is knocking but dont do it. Many of the great apps are already fee. Their are VERY FEW paid apps thats worth even the download. For those, its worth it just to pay a few dollars to get endless updates and feature improvements. I came from iOS, and over the years, I came to the realization that apps that are worth pirating is worth paying for. $2 or $3 are peanuts if I really like the apps and want all the latest features. Going the pirate route opens a world of hurt because anyone can infect these pirated apps. You really are ASKING FOR IT. Once you buy an app, you get it for life, so the next android device you run, these apps will continue to be useful. Pirating, honestly, is just a pain the ass. In iOS I would pirate to honestly try out an app, 90% of which I never even use a gain. In Android, its just too risky to be infected with malware. Pirating Android apps is just not worth the hassle.
6) Go wild, try Nova Launcher free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. I'll do a search for Jedi Master 10 Rom. The problem is I still haven't mess around much so I don't really know how ROM works or installing them.
iampain13 said:
Thanks for the advice. I'll do a search for Jedi Master 10 Rom. The problem is I still haven't mess around much so I don't really know how ROM works or installing them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "basic" understanding, for now, when it comes to roms is only flash ones strictly designated for your particular phone model. At least until you get more comfortable with this device, that should be rule number 1. Next thing is to decide what kind of rom you prefer, as there are two basic categories as of right now. 1. Touchwiz based, and, 2. AOSP, AOKP, or other nonTW based roms (like CM, paranoid Android, carbon, etc).
A lot would breakdown 1. Touchwiz based into two subcategories A. Stock (or rooted-stock) and B. Custom TW based... really no difference here but if you like allshare than stay stock (or rooted stock) where as if you dont use allshare then a custom TW still keeps full SPen functionality while allowing OC/UV and other rom specific features, etc.
If TW doesn't float your boat, or you'd rather stay more up to date with like latest 4.2+ releases then option 2 (AOSP, AOKP, etc) roms will be your best bet...
As far as rooting you got various ways but all threads provide adequate instructions
Custom recovery has 2 options CWM and TWRP (I use TWRP, but it shouldn't make a difference, unless the flash OP calls for either one).. Also Odin/Mobile Odin is something you may want to look into
Don't flash anything that mess with your modem/radio/efs (unless you know what your doing and have the right backups)
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
iampain13 said:
Thanks for the advice. I'll do a search for Jedi Master 10 Rom. The problem is I still haven't mess around much so I don't really know how ROM works or installing them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you run custom roms no need to worry about bloatware really if you just plan to root just freeze with TB dont uninstall as that can cause some bad behavior. On a side note I highly recommend Jedi XX its awesome!
sleepy8686 said:
If you run custom roms no need to worry about bloatware really if you just plan to root just freeze with TB dont uninstall as that can cause some bad behavior. On a side note I highly recommend Jedi XX its awesome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 you can't go wrong with any version of Jedi ROMs.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Hello! Long (LONG!) time lurker. Decided to finally make an account today to ask you guys some questions...
My OnePlus 5T will be arriving today, and I plan to immediately flash FreedomOS - and wish to go as Google-less as possible.
RSalad said:
I simply want to minimize Google's presence in my day-to-day life... and that's a topic for a totally separate discussion that I don't really wish to partake in here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few years ago I heard about a way for the YouTube app to function without the Google Play Services. Is this still possible? I want to go completely without GApps, etc.
So far my plan(s) for application replacements are as follows:
1. Google Maps -> HERE WeGo
2. Google Drive -> Dropbox
3. Google PlayStore -> Use raw APKs downloaded from the internet + Aptoide + F-Droid
4. Google Calendar -> Etar or DigiCal
5. Google Photos -> QuickPic
6. SMS -> Signal
Anything I'm missing?
With that being said- Is there really any need for me to download/flash any GApps, whatsoever?
What are the benefits on going without gapps?
IonutP said:
What are the benefits on going without gapps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I simply want to minimize Google's presence in my day-to-day life... and that's a topic for a totally separate discussion that I don't really wish to partake in here.
funnoam said:
Better buy an iPhone then no ?
I mean even if you completely remove all Google apps, you pay a small percentage of the phone price to Google, then you're using AOSP but still coded by Google. Then by watching YouTube you're completely in the Google system too, and watching ads gives them money too.
So you want to do this the hard way ? Buy an iPhone, use Bing, stop watching YouTube.
There's no point just breaking android by removing Google services and play store...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, this is completely off-topic. If you have helpful insight to my questions then post it, if not- move along.
RSalad said:
Once again, this is completely off-topic. If you have helpful insight to my questions then post it, if not- move along.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just edited my message to give you some advices on some apps, but there's also a debate over buying an Android and in the same time do not want to support Google...
Do whatever you feel :angel:
Some apps are really broken when you don't have Play Services. Except crashes and missing features.
Also if you watch YouTube in browser (I suppose you won't use chrome then) you'll be limited to 480p.
funnoam said:
I just edited my message to give you some advices on some apps, but there's also a debate over buying an Android and in the same time do not want to support Google...
Do whatever you feel :angel:
Some apps are really broken when you don't have Play Services. Except crashes and missing features.
Also if you watch YouTube in browser (I suppose you won't use chrome then) you'll be limited to 480p.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm aware that some apps will not function correctly. I can work around that. I'm not concerned about that.
As far as the YouTube app hack is concerned, it is not a part of a browser. It is a hacked version of the YouTube app. Completely different, and is fully functional.
I have several years of experience developing/modding android, and I'm sure I will do just fine without GApps.
I am simply here asking about the old YouTube app hack method, and seeing if I am forgetting any baser level GApp.
Thanks so much for your... help...
I use iYTBP for my YouTube app as it features a black design, no ads and background listening. Not sure if it will work without Play Services but you can still try it.
Your welcome for my ...help...
Less condescension can work too.
You can use microG to spoof the Google services (at least in YouTube's case) and use iYTBP (google it, read the xda post and download from their website). Otherwise you could try NewPipe.
You don't need another SMS app, the phone comes with one from OnePlus by default.
It also has a gallery application from OnePlus, so you should avoid QuickPic (as it is pretty much adware).
You could also try to look for a HydrogenOS image on the chinese OnePlus website, but I'm not sure if any have been posted. That way you won't even need to get rid of the Google apps, as there are none.
Dariusdd said:
You can use microG to spoof the Google services (at least in YouTube's case). Otherwise, try NewPipe?
You don't need another SMS app, the phone comes with one from OnePlus by default.
It also has a gallery application from OnePlus, so you should avoid QuickPic (as it is pretty much adware).
You could also try to look for a HydrogenOS image on the chinese OnePlus website, but I'm not sure if any have been posted. That way you won't even need to get rid of the Google apps, as there are none.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wow is QuickPic really that bad? I've never tried it, but reading all about it, it seemed nice.
That's a shame.
Thanks for the notice about NewPipe by the way, I totally forgot about that!
Newpipe is a great replacement from YouTube and you can download videos/music
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
Some worthwhile reading for you:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/general/gapps-free-samsung-galaxy-s3-lte-gt-t3553620
FreedomOS does not give you the ability to remove all Google apps.
I flashed H2OS and microg as soon as I got the phone.
Didgeridoohan said:
Some worthwhile reading for you:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/general/gapps-free-samsung-galaxy-s3-lte-gt-t3553620
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy cow. I don't know of a more helpful or relevant post reference. Thank you so much for this!
The built in apps are pretty bad. Gallery is very limited. Messages is crippled. Dialer has a bug in it and Contacts is a bit wonky.
I put the Google apps back ON and disabled the built in apps.
You can also replace Chrome with Brave
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
n1kos said:
You can also replace Chrome with Brave
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enjoy the amazing battery life going googless. I did this a few years back for a while and enjoyed it.
Baldilocks said:
The built in apps are pretty bad. Gallery is very limited. Messages is crippled. Dialer has a bug in it and Contacts is a bit wonky.
I put the Google apps back ON and disabled the built in apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally off-topic, but I purchased a phone from you on Swappa last year. LG G6 for $475.
Edit: Not last year. Got it on June 21, 2017.
Edit2: How funny is that... Small world. Nice to see you around.
I mean you can still use the YouTube app and I have ads if you use the Xposed app to install YouTube adaway molecule to be completely ad-free
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
RSalad said:
Hello! Long (LONG!) time lurker. Decided to finally make an account today to ask you guys some questions...
My OnePlus 5T will be arriving today, and I plan to immediately flash FreedomOS - and wish to go as Google-less as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lulz
Install adaway, import this
http://t-ryder.de/googlehosts.txt
Also comes in other flavours btw...
http://t-ryder.de/facebookhosts.txt
http://t-ryder.de/xiaomihosts.txt
http://t-ryder.de/spotifyhosts.txt (ads only)
(all that stuff is maybe outdated a bit)
Is there a replacement operating system for an a70 phone. I want to clear google and all affiliates from my phone permanently. Thank you.
Yes, i suppose it's possible.
Flash Lineage OS to your phone (without GApps.)
adigha said:
Yes, i suppose it's possible.
Flash Lineage OS to your phone (without GApps.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done exactly this and I love it. For apps, I either search google for alternative download locations, or I use F-droid and Aurora Store.
The only real issue I have encountered is that not all apps use their own service for push notification and are dependent on gapps background services, or the app has to be allowed to run constantly in the background. Small price to pay to be able to ditch Google imho
Do I install CalyxOS BEFORE activating the phone with my carrier, or AFTER activating the phone with my carrier, or does it matter?
I'm purchasing an unlocked Pixel 6 pro and have very little experience with installing custom firmware, however I absolutely do not want to deal with google bloat and google spyware anymore, and this phone replacement is kind of urgent because my S8 is currently in the process of slowly turning itself into a brick (most recent example being the total loss of the ability to make phone calls).
I have a grandfathered-in call/text/unlimited data plan with Sprint(?) which I guess is T-mobile now(?) I haven't really been keeping up to date with how these buyouts affect me or my phone plan.
I'm not sure what you mean by "activate"? Whenever you feel like you're ready, move the sim card from old phone to new and you're off to the races.
I would always make sure a new device works as reasonably expected on stock, unrooted firmware before unlocking the bootloader and flashing a custom ROM (or even just rooting the stock ROM). The reason is that if you instead install the custom ROM immediately but it has problems - how do you know the problem is with the ROM, or with the phone? Running for a while stock ensures that it's working the way it's supposed to from the beginning, so you know the phone isn't the cause of a problem you might have with a custom ROM.
Good luck!
Calyx still has MicroG which has Google code in it. What your're looking for is GrapheneOS.
Also unless you're using a e-sim, you dont need to activate the phone with a carrier if you're just popping a simcard in. I bought my P6P from Bestbuy and just slapped my simcard in.
vassosman said:
Calyx still has MicroG which has Google code in it. What your're looking for is GrapheneOS.
Also unless you're using a e-sim, you dont need to activate the phone with a carrier if you're just popping a simcard in. I bought my P6P from Bestbuy and just slapped my simcard in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MicroG does NOT have "Google code" in it. It is an open source re-implementation of some of google services. If you depend on google services, its a better choice than graphene because it does NOT use any closed source google code, HOWEVER, if you do not depend on google code, its better to use Graphene since it doesn't have anything that connects to google unless you install it. Now having said that, graphene really has gone to a lot of trouble to set itself up to run *actual* google services in a sandboxed manner, avoiding some/much leakage of personal data to google.
96carboard said:
MicroG does NOT have "Google code" in it. It is an open source re-implementation of some of google services. If you depend on google services, its a better choice than graphene because it does NOT use any closed source google code, HOWEVER, if you do not depend on google code, its better to use Graphene since it doesn't have anything that connects to google unless you install it. Now having said that, graphene really has gone to a lot of trouble to set itself up to run *actual* google services in a sandboxed manner, avoiding some/much leakage of personal data to google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to GOS, MicroG leaks data.
Full Disclosure, I'm on GOS and appreciate the sandboxed profiles so for apps that I NEED to have that require Google Play, and now their storage scopes is great at telling the apps that they only have permission to see specified files.
Also, GOS seems to be updated much more frequently than Calyx.
vassosman said:
According to GOS, MicroG leaks data.
Full Disclosure, I'm on GOS and appreciate the sandboxed profiles so for apps that I NEED to have that require Google Play, and now their storage scopes is great at telling the apps that they only have permission to see specified files.
Also, GOS seems to be updated much more frequently than Calyx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I use graphene too.
What you say is great, but (a) not exactly unbiased, and (b) gapps leaks MORE data.
I'd be curious to see what leaks more? microg or graphene+sandboxed_gapps....
Best option if you really must use gcrapps would be sandboxed microg.
My advice: wean yourself off of gooble. Its... liberating.
.
96carboard said:
Yeah, I use graphene too.
What you say is great, but (a) not exactly unbiased, and (b) gapps leaks MORE data.
I'd be curious to see what leaks more? microg or graphene+sandboxed_gapps....
Best option if you really must use gcrapps would be sandboxed microg.
My advice: wean yourself off of gooble. Its... liberating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An unbiased comparison would be interesting.
Microg does the bare minimum to spoof the basics of FCM/GSF, right? Where as sandboxed play services is play services that allows it to run sandboxed, and with less privileges... But it's still play services (if you're installing all 3 packages in GOS).
I use both ROMs and I can say that google dns activity in GOS is about double than what it is on Calyx. Now this doesn't mean much (or anything), and it was 5 months ago when I last did a comparison. But it's interesting to say the least.
I would expect that those extra dns checks are probably from gapps. Graphene does a pretty good job of providing alternatives where applicable, such as grapheneos servers for connectivity check.
I don't know about "bare minimum". I am under the impression that microg really is aiming to be a complete functional replacement that is open source.
vassosman said:
Calyx still has MicroG which has Google code in it. What your're looking for is GrapheneOS.
Also unless you're using a e-sim, you dont need to activate the phone with a carrier if you're just popping a simcard in. I bought my P6P from Bestbuy and just slapped my simcard in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CalyxOS supports no installation of MicroG during initial configuration.
Greetings All,
New to this community, running a Moto Z2 Play (albus), with stock Android 8, which was the last update available to me. Here we are 5 years later and the phone is still in amazing condition but I'm having trouble with the PlayStore telling me "this version isn't available for your device", and the older the phone gets the more apps I learn no longer support it. So I learned how to sideload apps (like Microsoft office, OneNote etc) but I figure that the writing is on the wall unless I upgrade Android.
After a quick google search I learn you can root your phone and there is an Android 11 image called Lineage OS 18.1 ... which sounds pretty sweet. BUT after additional searches, I'm reading so many cons about rooting a phone.
What's really at stake? I don't have any warrantee to void, I also figure if I brick the device I was probably going to buy a new phone sooner than later anyways.
Questions: If I install Lineage OS 18.1 successfully...
Will the Play Store and Apps continue to update, or will I stop receiving notifications regarding available updates? Or am I forever stuck with sideloading?
If I don't install G Apps is this bad? I don't use stock Google Apps, I've opted to use the Microsoft equivalent like Outlook for email and calendar... or do I still need to install Google Apps to gain the ability to layer Microsoft products on top?
Why is there so much negative talk about malware infection with rooted phones? If I'm not downloading and installing apps constantly, the risk would still be no more threatening than it is now correct?
I heard that Moto mods stop working, no biggie - I never used any of them anyways (I thought the included LCD Micro projector was cool, but ask me how many times I've actually used it = 0). While discussing moto stuff, would the gestures still work? I do like shake for camera, and the flip upside-down for silencing the ringer but I could learn to live without them.
Would the camera still work? Its probably the only real feature I use that I couldn't live without.
Are there any apps that would realize the phone is rooted and refuse to run? Some searches told me that security apps may not like a rooted phone. Does rooting it affect Microsoft Authenticator app?
I mean what's really at stake? My phone is fighting to be relevant for the few select apps I use (mostly Microsoft stuff) and I don't play games.
It looks like win-win, unless I'm missing something really important.
Thoughts?
Firs of all Flashing a rom doesn't actually count as root but some apps (will refuse to work) will detect an unlocked bootloader or something like that if you install the LineageOS rom
twmonahan said:
If I install Lineage OS 18.1 successfully...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is also Pixel Experience and Dot OS roms to flash (I already test both) so:
when it comes to Pixel Experience:pros:
Stock "clean" Rom
Android11 so your phone will have access to the apps you said refuse to work on Android8 also the phone will be detected as a Pixel 5 by Google Services.
all Google apps and support out of the box for basically everything you would normally use on a stock phone
somehow with this rom the apps wont/never detect any unlocked bootloader unless you install Magisk
unlock 64-bit and use all 4GB of RAM so it perform just better than stock rom with the same or even slightly better battery performance
MOTO MODS support
Google Camera support out of the Box
cons:
there is basically no cons of using this rom unless you want to root it.
somehow this rom is the most unestable when it comes to install magisk addons and slide load things cuz it can randomly brick/bootlop by just accessing to the custom recovery TWRP. Could also be a fault of my phone but I doubt it..
Dot OS:
pros:There is a GAPPS version of this rom and it basically has all the same pros as Pixel Experience
this is by far the most customizable and beatiful rom when it comes to UI personalization
cons: and also the reason I avoid using it
huge battery drain even on idle whithout GAPPS installed
twmonahan said:
Questions: If I install Lineage OS 18.1 successfully...
Will the Play Store and Apps continue to update, or will I stop receiving notifications regarding available updates? Or am I forever stuck with sideloading?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the rom I actually use
Lineage OS wont have installed the Play Store/any Google Play Service/related app.., out of the box but
- you can actually slide load the pico opengapps package just after install the rom using TWRP so:
you will have the same support and features of Google Play services that the Pixel Experience rom has (like streaming to a nearby device, gps auto location, sync accounts/passwords/contacts, find my device, updates notification, install new apps, etc), heck opengapps even add out of the box support for nfc payment
pico version of open gapps will just install the Play Store and no other Google app so LineageOS remains very stock and lightweight.
twmonahan said:
2. If I don't install G Apps is this bad? I don't use stock Google Apps, I've opted to use the Microsoft equivalent like Outlook for email and calendar... or do I still need to install Google Apps to gain the ability to layer Microsoft products on top?
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As I said you can install pico gapps which are a very lightweight version of Google Play services without compromising any feature the stock version has, also the battery drain of picogapps package is barely noticeable comparing it with stock gapps
twmonahan said:
3. Why is there so much negative talk about malware infection with rooted phones? If I'm not downloading and installing apps constantly, the risk would still be no more threatening than it is now correct?
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Magisk(is the only recommended method of rooting these days) is pretty safe, it even has a Github repository. As you said unless your a noob and dont even know what are you installing you can get infected even on a stock phone..
twmonahan said:
4. I heard that Moto mods stop working, no biggie - I never used any of them anyways (I thought the included LCD Micro projector was cool, but ask me how many times I've actually used it = 0). While discussing moto stuff, would the gestures still work? I do like shake for camera, and the flip upside-down for silencing the ringer but I could learn to live without them.
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Yes, gestures work, LineageOS have a menu just for Moto gestures.
twmonahan said:
5. Would the camera still work? Its probably the only real feature I use that I couldn't live without.
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Yes the camera will work normally, if you dont like the camera app LineageOS include you can always install the Gcam (support out of the box if you install opengapps)
twmonahan said:
6. Are there any apps that would realize the phone is rooted and refuse to run? Some searches told me that security apps may not like a rooted phone. Does rooting it affect Microsoft Authenticator app?
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Sadly Google Play services will detect LineageOS as a rooted rom even if you dont root it so any bank app, streaming apps like Netflix, CrunchyRoll, etc., won´t work.
Though Microsoft app will work even if you dont have gapps installed (except lite versions) and I think Microsoft apps dont detect root and even if they do you can easily bypass that by using Magisk deny list. As for Microsoft Au I confirmed it does not detect root
twmonahan said:
I mean what's really at stake? My phone is fighting to be relevant for the few select apps I use (mostly Microsoft stuff) and I don't play games.
It looks like win-win, unless I'm missing something really important.
Thoughts?
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Yes, is a win-win, specially because LineageOS have the best battery performance of the three roms I listed before and you can make it more efficiente by installing the Stratosphere addon for Magisk by CRANKV2