Also, dude, brotherhood is not the preferred nomenclature. siblinghood, please.
let’s use brood; saying that you joined the “graphene brood” sounds much better. lol
deleted by creator
🤜🤛
Nice, how’s it treating you? Run into any issues?
I hope graphene serves you well, maybe someday I’ll make the switch as well :)
It’s surprisingly smooth, basically “just Android” but less bloat, spam, and creepiness. Way easier than my transition to Linux has been (which still wasn’t bad), and I feel like I can relax now.
I AM mildly annoyed that I was unable to fully degoogle though. I need Android Auto which needs Play Services. And I need a navigation app, and the one I chose (Here We Go) works in Android Auto ONLY if downloaded from the Play Store specifically, not even Aurora. Literally the only app that did that once I enabled side loading in Android Auto settings, and literally the only app I needed to work on Android Auto. But it was either that or Google Maps from Aurora basically and uh…nah. I found Open Street Map based apps to be unusable.
Still, it’s sort of nice to have the Play Store and Play Services. Play Store is most secure for downloads. Notifications are more reliable. I only give network permissions to each and turned off Play Protect so they can’t phone home. Most things auto update between Graphene App Store, Droid-ify, and Play Store (Aurora and Obtanium can auto update on my old phone, but not on GrapheneOS). The stuff I have left in Obtanium are just a few game emulators which aren’t security critical. I made a new burner account from the phone settings with a VPN on and it didn’t ask for a phone number that way. I can make a new burner next time I get a phone. Or not, and I can buy Play Store gift cards with cash if I really need paid apps. I was starting to like Koala Sampler for example, though it does have a few trackers which I’m not comfortable with.
I’m also mildly annoyed that I had to overpay for the hardware just to lose my SD card slot. Gaming is unimpressive, it’s barely an upgrade from a Snapdragon 865+. It definitely still has a premium flagship feel though, and the CPU and camera is a big improvement from my old phone.
Thanks for sharing your experience, thats super helpful! I’m curious what navigation app you’re liking, I’m currently still using google maps and occasionally trialing foss osm maps, but I’m not sure if they’ll adequately fill my needs.
Yeah having to use a pixel is a bummer, I have weird hardware preferences and would really love to have more options but understand why thats not possible. I just dont love what google offers and some of the things I’d loose out on vs more niche options
I hope graphene continues to work well for you! ☺️
You’re welcome!
Yeah OSM does not meet my needs in my area. I love the idea though. I’m using Here We Go. Good privacy policy, European, not sketchy. It is easily one of the best functioning alternatives to Google, and only 2 trackers: Crashlytics (which you can turn off in settings) and Facebook Login (which you can just not use). You can save locations and access search history without an account. There is a toggle to work offline if you’ve downloaded maps for your area, which I usually use. If you use it online it has integrated reviews from TripAdvisor, and traffic data, but you have to opt into sharing yours as well which I don’t want to. I use GMaps WV for discovery and reviews, and Here We Go for navigation. But you could probably get away with just Here We Go. As I mentioned though it does require Play Store for Android Auto.
Yeah but you know, first world problems. Still a good phone.
Thanks!
Gotcha, I’d not heard of it! I’ll have to try it out sometime
Hope you have a lovely day ☺️
Welcome brother
🫶
Nice!! Hope you enjoy your time!
One of us, one of us.
Where’d you get the sticker?
Brother! 🤝 I made it myself with Canva and a Cricut!
Where did you buy the case?
It’s spigen case. Logo is sticker on case
i envy you, you jumped in while i’m still on the shore fearing getting wet again. lol
Graphene has been the easiest part of the journey so far tbh. The hard part was finding alternative apps and deleting accounts :) Heck, buying the phone in cash was harder than Graphene, dear lord do stores feel like they’re entitled to ask invasive questions. I had to order it too because they didn’t have the larger storage model in stock so I had to give a fake name with a fake email, a hotel address, voip number, wait over a week, and then argue with them about showing ID until they gave up when I came back to pick it up.
how did you prove that the package was yours?
I had the receipt, a separate piece of paper that they printed with my “name and info”, the email, and the text. Luckily I’d also forseen this happening and spoke to the manager when buying the phone, so I had him ready to name drop and he’d put in the notes that I’d “lost my ID” and wouldn’t have it for pickup so the guy couldn’t really argue with me for long. I did get some pushback initially though, I was a little stressed that they were trying to scam me out of my money but I played it cool.
Where did you get that case from, looks nice wth the Grapheneos Logo! I cant find it on the spigen homepage, is there somewhere you can create your own design?
It’s their tough armor case in green. The sticker I created myself with Canva and a Cricut. I may have to remake it and use a bit of glue on the edges though.
Thanks!
You don’t need Termux anymore!
Android 16 - so graphene as well - has a full built in linux terminal (look for terminal in settings).
Nice, I did not realize that. How well does it work?
