My Pixel 5a just died after 5 months of use. Looking for a new phone I can deGoogle.

It seems that the motherboard is dead, and that it’s a common issue with the 5a and I “should’ve known better,” despite it being impossible to find decent information on phones these days.

I got it because it was the last Pixel with a headphone jack, and because it had good official LineageOS support. But I compromised: giving up the SD slot was tough for me, and now that I’ve been burned by not having one (I typically auto-backup my Signal history and other things to the SD card) I don’t want to get another phone without it.

But the landscape seems bleak. The vast majority of phones that are officially supported by LineageOS are Pixels. It’s impossible to find easy information on which phones have non-official LOS ROMs. Search results are useless these days, and I also keep running into an issue where after researching a phone for half an hour I discover that it has some arcane process to unlock the bootloader that doesn’t always work, and the forum posters imply that the purchasers “should’ve known better.” I’m just at my wit’s end.

If anyone can suggest something that has decent deGoogled ROM support with the following features, I’d be very grateful:

  • OLED screen (a must-have for my photosensitivity)
  • SD card slot
  • I am willing to give up the headphone jack in order to expand my options
K0W4LSK1, (edited )
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

IMO pixel phones are still the best for security an degoogling with grepheneOS also you should look into the downsides of having a customOS like linage that unlock your bootloader and can root your phone. They are worse for security then a regular phone.

So I think newest pixel with graphene OS is the best option still as they are the only phones that use the titan chip

TheAnonymouseJoker,
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

Pixel+graphene is a joke. Graphene is not special compared to stock AOSP. It is mostly a rebranding of features.

K0W4LSK1,
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

It doesnt unlock the bootloader or root your phone. Which is the most important security your phone can have. While any that root your phone leave it wide open to maid attacks

TheAnonymouseJoker,
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

Is Graphene or Pixel tested against evil maid attacks? I have not seen any proof they are secure against such attacks. On the contrary, I have seen Graphene lying about testing. i.imgur.com/woNxPhx.jpg

K0W4LSK1, (edited )
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

OK not sure about that will do some reasearch myself, but a photo of them saying they did it in a YouTube video is a weird piece of proof

But my point is that grapheneOS doesnt require the bootloader to be unlocked or root the phone which itself is the main defense in your phone from those attacks so unless others dont unlock the bootloader they are just worse for that reason alone. From 2022 but still relevant Article on bootloader and rooting

TheAnonymouseJoker,
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

Quoting madaidan immediately tells how much you know about security. I have a lot of criticisms about that idiot.

K0W4LSK1,
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

OK I didnt really quote him just linked an article he wrote and yeah I have some too but the article is still relavent info and you have not said anything useful or given me information to help prove your point and change my Mind I’m willing to hear the other side. So instead of attacking me. Why not attack the idea?

TheAnonymouseJoker,
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

I have attacked the idea for a few years, but you people keep falling for nonsense.

old.reddit.com/…/writeup_criticism_of_rprivacygui…

old.reddit.com/…/grapheneos_corporate_foss_loving…

Also I did provide more substance than whatever you quoted, because they vomit so much crap.

K0W4LSK1, (edited )
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Thanks I will look into those more as well new to reddit and Lemmy. But who are you why should I trust you as well? Just wondering these are your write ups is all

I dont really get your last paragraph and again I didnt quote shit just sent you one fucking article . and I agree madaidian has some very intense views but. I’m not saying use grapheneOS over another customOS. From what I’ve read of your write up so far. I should just use stock OS because none of this changes the fact of bootloader security and root

TheAnonymouseJoker, (edited )
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

I founded r/privatelife many years ago to combat the privacy nonsense spouted on Reddit, and to combat the favouring of Apple and western Big Tech companies that western moderators did themselves and also allowed to flourish. Then I made c/privatelife on Lemmy as a mirror. I write guides for smartphone hardening, Linux/Windows computing, threat modelling, activists, and have written a few dozens of micro guides.

Currently, I am moderating c/privacy and c/technology on Lemmy.ml, and head my c/privatelife community.

You quoted madaidan, one of the biggest idiots who has been collectively shat on by r/Linux and many people who know the grifting he does. He loves his Windows and MacOS and shits on Linux, claiming insecurity, and does the 4chan meme unironically where he declares security of software and OSes based on programming languages it has been written with.

K0W4LSK1,
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Cool thank you for being civil. I will start following your stuff and reading your write ups I see the issues with him but then I would like your input on the bootloader and root even with madadians crazyness that makes sense IMO that the bootloader and root are most important for security. I’m look at the Sudo arguments for linux as an example

K0W4LSK1, (edited )
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

I am new to android safety and honestly the world of the internet drama I have always kept to myself but recently needed to get into this and there’s mountains of data fighting for both sides. Sorry for being standoffish just tired of bs as well and sifting through years of articles and shit. What’s your take om hackliberty.org?

TheAnonymouseJoker, (edited )
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

I’ll probably stay away after looking at this the moment I opened their Discourse forum. He calls COVID fake. forum.hackliberty.org/t/…/103

Actually, my goal is exactly that - to end this fucking privacy circus. And I think I am the one who has made biggest strides in accomplishing this, since almost everyone loves to pivot themselves to drama and fill their empty lives with all this bullshit. I do not have much allies though, since it is counterintuitive to their drama goals. Those same people try to accuse me of being dramatic, just because I put in 5 years of effort to join the dots and expose this circus singlehandedly.

K0W4LSK1, (edited )
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Yeah that shit is crazy also that is just one of his moderators not the author of the site and I dont care about drama I just want the most secure phone lol

So again what’s your opinion on that cause the bootloader and root argument seems strong IMO madaidian or not

TheAnonymouseJoker, (edited )
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

My reason for advocating for no rooting and unlocking is the same as madaidan, Micay and these other people (yes I agree with few basic things they say), so my non root smartphone guide is going to work well. It applies to every single Android phone since Android 9, and any phone you get nowadays will have 3-5 years of official security updates. Just get any Android you want instead of limiting yourself to some brand because someone told you something. All of the mainstream ones are solid and secure enough for regular usage and threat actors being yout mischievous friends, nosy wife, that tech whiz kid or hackerman friend. Even police cannot do much in most countries, unless they use tools like expensive Israeli Cellebrite kits reserved for high profile criminals.

If your enemy is a state actor or government, I do not think any smartphone will help you. Those require different ways of using devices, and less reliance on phones. You will need a computer, an OpenWRT router and certain type of secure OS like TailsOS for that, which I doubt is your daily need.

TLDR just get any decent Android phone, debloat it, do steps I recommend in my guide, harden it that way and you have eliminated 99% of your problems without the inconvenience, risks and complications. lemmy.ml/post/128667 Go through it, you will love it.

K0W4LSK1,
@K0W4LSK1@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

I want to say I do not agree with most of madaidians post but this one seemed logical is all. I totally understand phones are just not something someone who is an anarchist or activist should even carry lol.

Thank you for your input I have been reading your guide and it is exactly what I need for this threat model I pretty much already do everything minus a few things which I never thought of. I am a privacy enthusiast who likes to understand how my shit works and a very noob self taught programmer/hacker (idk what I’d call myself, just want to understand the stuff im using to protect myselfl ) I have so many questions about the other set up and will be joining your matrix to pick your brain about a few products and software hope you dont mind lol

And I want to finish I’m sorry if I offended you. I too dont like listening to people telling me to use a certain OS and phone but researching this has been hard so thank you for your well written guides

aa1,

Hi! I know this option doesn’t respect the second point of your list. That beijg said, if i was you i would buy a Google Pixel 7 or 8 and then i would put GrapheneOS on it!

Raiderkev,

5a had an extended warranty because this is a known issue. I got a new replacement 6a for free from Google, when I contacted them about it. If the MB is fried, they should still replace it even though you rooted / degoogled, they won’t be able to turn it on to even see anyway. This was roughly a year ago. Might not still be a thing.

Asudox,
@Asudox@lemmy.world avatar

Why not get a new pixel phone? They all support GrapheneOS

Grass,

No microSD card slot

Asudox,
@Asudox@lemmy.world avatar

Fairphones then.

greyw0lv,

Cool something similar happens with my 4a. Googles phones are so reliable.

ser, (edited )

The Redmi Note 10 Pro has all you are asking for and is supported by custom roms.

I’m using crdroid on it.

TheAnonymouseJoker, (edited )
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

Use Kimovil and Gsmarena sites to filter phones you want to look at.

My non root smartphone guide is well equipped for all your privacy and security needs, since you do not have to unlock a phone and risk bootloader security issues. But you seem to want that good juicy custom ROM stuff, so I will not stop you from the indulgence. You could change a few things like Invizible Pro root mode instead of VPN mode, for example, and a system wide HOSTS ruleset. Other than that I am sure you know what to do.

My 4.5 years old Huawei P30 Lite is dead and the SD card in it saved my ass considerably, but I did lose some photos and years of screenshots. Lesson learnt about backup negligence, needs to be more frequent, and all phones can give up the ghost any time after 4 years of lifespan. Picked up an Honor 90 as I value my eyes, wrists and privacy. Lightweight so will not give wrist issues. Debloating took 10 minutes, and the skin is very stock like inside. Great ultrawide and night 4k video means I am set for years, and unlike the Pixels with bad QC and lots of heating, this one is cool as a rock. Lost SD card slot and 3.5 jack, regained the jack as a dongle.

Consider a Xiaomi, Motorola or Sony for an unlockable phone, and the former two for well supported community ones.

Might come off as a ranty weird comment :/

Blaze,

I share your pain… No solutions for you however, sorry

Tundra,

Had a similar issue as did one of my friends with pixels, which is unfortunate as grapheneos is one hell of a operating system.

After having 2 different pixels break (planned obsolescence) I ended up settling for a fairphone (which I can easily repair and replace parts myself with e/os - but divestOS also looks promising.

bloodfart,

You already said you’re willing to give up the headphone jack. That’s a good start, since there’s fewer and fewer models being manufactured with it every year. May I recommend you give up the sd card slot as well?

Straight out the gate: sd cards suck and will betray you at the worst time. It’s not their fault, they’re possibly the only kind of storage you can still buy that doesn’t have a controller. Just raw doggin blocks through a set of spring contacts in a high vibration environment. Into a flash with no over provisioning capability.

But you’re using it as a backup. That’s no good! It’s like using a spinning hard drive as backup but then shaking it around and fucking with the cable while it’s doing its thing (it’s actually worse because the ata standard has a bunch of ways of dealing with that, the drive itself has a cache and the ability to say “woah there, hold up” to the host and is overprovisioned so it can silently automatically deal with bad or damaged blocks.)

If you can, back up to something else instead and verify your backups. If you got a computer you can use it, you could also use a cloud service or something. It still feels weird to call something as simple as sftp a cloud service but whatever.

Good luck.

inasaba,

I do back up to my computer. But not every day, like I can with an SD card. I’ve never had an SD card fail on me, and having one has saved me when my Note 4 memory died. Having one makes it easier to transfer data between phones.

I’ve already given up removable batteries and headphone jacks. Why do I have to give up every single feature that used to be considered a basic necessity? Why should I spend so much money upfront for storage that I may not need, when I could easily expand it with an SD card if I need for much cheaper down the line?

I already tried a phone without an SD card slot and look where it got me. Installing the custom ROM was a pain. Transferring my data was a pain. The motherboard died with no warning, and now I’ve lost 2 months worth of data. I’m not doing this again.

bloodfart,

i swear i’m not saying this to chastise you, but not every day and two months is a big gap. if you don’t want to spend the cash for phones with sd cards that are supported by lineage and backing up to pc every couple of days isn’t feasible, why not use a usb storage doohicky to back it up? you can get an m2 usb enclosure cheap nowadays and they’re small enough to fit into a pocket.

those m2 drives have all the stuff that most sd cards don’t and they’re cheap as heck.

i hesitate to recommend a usb flash drive as a good backup option because they sometimes suffer from all the problems of sd and there’s been an identity crisis going on with them for the last few years.

another option is some kind of cloud backup. most people trying to degoogle are wary of cloud services but there is proton’s thing, others that i’m not really keeping up with and hosting your own, which could be as simple as sftp to your trusty computer at home with key based auth and a high port forwarded on the router.

you don’t have to give up every single feature that used to be considered a basic necessity. you are choosing to. between the sd, price, age and lineage support (and you want it to be good lineage support, not some one off mess), you have set a very high bar.

i know that you said sd never caused you a problem before. that’s great! it’s not a very good idea to rely on sd as a storage expansion though for all the reasons i already mentioned.

inasaba,

Listen, I didn’t remember to take my medication this morning because my phone didn’t remind me to do it. I have to schedule my entire life with reminders in order to function; manually backing up twice a year when I’ve never had to before is pretty freaking good. The storage medium isn’t the problem. I have plenty of disk space on my computer. I need an AUTOMATIC solution that doesn’t rely on my plugging in something, and that doesn’t rely on a cloud subscription. Preferably not on having a data connection at all, because I often don’t have one.

I don’t need official LineageOS support. I mentioned in the post that I was looking at phones without it. I’ve had one on a community LOS build before and I was happy enough with it.

SD cards have worked for me for over a decade. I don’t have any of the problems you mention.

I get that I’m going to come across as rude for these comments, but I really don’t think I’m asking for too much here. I’m asking for two basic features that I need for accessibility reasons, one of which used to be ubiquitous. I’m willing to pay a pretty high price for a phone, but I need it to last. I’ve thrown away too much money over the last three years on a revolving door of phones that failed again and again for reasons beyond my control. I’m at my wit’s end, here. I used to buy a 2-year-old flagship for half of its original MSRP, throw LOS on it, and have no issues for 4 years or so. Now I can barely find a phone that can run LOS, and it fails within the year. I’m tired. Every time I have to set up a new phone it’s a huge ordeal. I’m disabled. I don’t have the energy to do this every 6 months for the rest of my life.

bloodfart,

You’re not coming across as rude. A lot of what you just said was kinda implied by your tone and description of the situation.

Tbh it sounded a lot like me about twelve years ago when my phone died and I had to restore from an older backup. Given, the backup was only a week old but I was running hot back then and lost a lot of conversations and stuff. So it’s not out of a need to chastise you but instead from recognition that that kind of thing sucks and a desire to help.

what you’re talking about sounds very familiar. I rely on notifications for everyday stuff too and you might not but I get distracted easily and forget to do important things.

I moved out of cell service range about a decade ago. I was able to get by before there was internet at the house with a cloud based backup system and relying on always stopping for a long morning coffee at a place with free WiFi that was in cell service range. Five years ago they put a tower up so I don’t have to do that any more.

My recommendation to figure out how to get away from sd was not just because it’s an awful storage medium that fails silently and leaves you in the lurch, but also because it’s not ever gonna get easier to find phones with sd support. You said yourself it’s getting harder and harder every time this happens and you need to prioritize reliability.

If you’re willing to figure out a different way of handling your automatic backups I think you can get a reliable phone, it’s only gonna get harder, more expensive and more frustrating otherwise.

If you want, and when you have time, I can help you figure out how to get to a situation where you don’t have to do this every couple years.

eco_game, (edited )

I’d recommend the Sony Xperia lineup, but it seems as though the IV and V devices aren’t supported by LineageOS (maybe just not yet?).

The Sony Xperia 1 III or 5 III might be fitting for you though.

SpiderShoeCult,

Have you looked at what sony has to offer? They latest xperia had a headphone jack, sd card and I believe lineageOS support.

i installed lineageOS on an xperia 5 ii, so older model, and seems to be going strong. got latest update 1 week ago.

inasaba,

They haven’t been sold in Canada for years, and when I went looking for them on eBay the prices were ridiculous, if they were available at all. Most of the time I look for a model, there simply aren’t any listings.

SpiderShoeCult,

That’s a damn shame. I really liked their phones, their only downside, I think, was the crap support - they only give 2 years of updates. But with lineage that is no longer an issue.

inasaba,

They were the only option for a smaller phone for a long time as well, but sadly not available here… :(

vikingtons,
@vikingtons@lemmy.world avatar

Are you talking about phones like the Xperia 5 IV?

They have unlockable bootloaders and AOSP ROM support?

SpiderShoeCult,

Aye, they have unlockable bootloaders and sony also provides instructions and firmware needed to build your own AOSP if that’s your pleasure. I just went the lineageOS way.

vikingtons, (edited )
@vikingtons@lemmy.world avatar

That’s wonderful to hear. Do they support relockable bootloaders with self signed keys? If so, that makes em possible to use with projects like GrapheneOS, CalyxOS

SpiderShoeCult,

I’ve no idea on the relockable bootloader support with self signed keys. Though I do remember reading at some point from some lad ranting about why it’s a bad idea to relock, and seemed to make sense, so I didn’t look further into the matter. The post was on the… ehm… other website.

vikingtons,
@vikingtons@lemmy.world avatar

Relocking is ideal for system integrity, you can have full verified boot support on ROMs like graphene

jsomae,

If anyone has other recommendations that don’t precisely match OP’s needs, I’ll also be in the market soon.

sub_ubi,

As someone who has given up, I admire your patience and persistence.

Have you considered grapheneos.org ? A cursory look has me considering a jump back in to the de-googled world.

inasaba,

I tried GrapheneOS. They don’t have a black theme, and they refuse to add it as an option. I immediately flashed LOS over it.

Inui,

I have a dark theme in my options, unless you mean something different.https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/d8f7e46b-fc75-4c14-a8e2-ee667c795175.png

inasaba,

It’s grey, not black. LineageOS has this option. Google removed it (of course) because now, after ten years of having it, all of a sudden they think that having white text on a black background causes “smearing” when you scroll, and they need to save users from this. Nevermind that some of us want the option.

inasaba,

Source for it not being added.

anarchoilluminati,
@anarchoilluminati@hexbear.net avatar

If you can live without a few things, I highly recommend GrapheneOS if you want to deGoogle.

inasaba,

LineageOS works just fine for me, thank you.

BearOfaTime,

Sorry this doesn’t directly answer your question, but I start with the supported phone list at Lineage then use www.gsmarena.com and www.phonearena.com to compare specs and release date.

This goes into a spreadsheet so I can sort/filter by specific features (in your case, headphone, SD slot, etc). Makes comparing easier.

From what I’ve seen, generally the unlockable phones (other than Pixel) come from Motorola, Sony, Xperia (there are others, those just seem to be the most prolific).

I’m currently working with Pixel 5’s - I like the price point and size, and the simple flashing. Plus there’s an image from DivestOS (a version of Android based on Lineage that’s a little more security-minded, kind of between Lineage and Graphene).

How flashing is done could be a useful metric in your spreadsheet - some phones are rather straightforward (e.g. fastboot flashing unlock), while others require a separate app with (looking at you, Samsung).

inasaba,

This is basically what I’ve been doing. But every time I find something that seems like a decent option, it’s unavailable to purchase. I was interested in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro despite them being a bit older until I couldn’t actually find one. I can find the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro and newer, and of course they aren’t supported. It’s just so frustrating.

And the Pixels don’t have an SD slot and seem to have bad problems with dying randomly based on discussion I saw on Reddit, so I’m not excited to try them again.

My old go-to was the Moto line, but they’re so expensive now for what you get. $450 + shipping + import fees, for a Moto G from two years ago? When I bought a brand new one on release day in 2015 for $200? I just can’t bring myself to do it, not when it only has 4GB of RAM. The Pixel 5a had 6GB and already had lag even running a very lean ROM.

BearOfaTime,

Yea, I run into the same problem.

Pixel 5 has become my current choice, but dammit they’re hard to find.

Those prices for Moto are insane. I’m sure part of the problem is few phones meet your requirements (definitely my issue too). So there’ll be fewer available used.

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