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
TCB13,
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

It seems that the motherboard is dead, and that it’s a common issue with the 5a

Where did you get it? Can you ask for warranty and get it replaced?

Frankly speaking if you’re looking to de-google and have a secure experience (including re-locking the bootloader and having everything signed and encrypted) then your only option is GrapheneOS + Pixel phones.

linuxjj,

@TCB13 @inasaba not entirely accurate. CalyxOS, but albeit following a different process, also allows for degoogling and relocking the bootloader.

TCB13, (edited )
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

Besides the fact that you can re-lock in CalyxOS in some specific cases… or end up with a totally broken phone is isn’t just as good as GrapheneOS. They don’t even like to point out this situation, they try to navigate around with with less than ideal information on their documentation or complete omission.

They also do a lot of snitching on you (including to Google and Mozilla) and they overlook critical details such as this one allowing the OS to contact 3rd parties such as Qualcomm. This Qualcomm situation clearly shows how unable to actually research things properly and work around them they are. Those kinds of issues don’t happen in Graphene because they’re actually better at covering all grounds.

inasaba,

I got it on eBay and I will be trying to get the warranty to cover it, but I don’t want this to happen again if they send another Pixel 5a. I already lost enough data from this.

Not interested in GrapheneOS.

TCB13, (edited )
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

Not interested in GrapheneOS.

Okay, then it will be easier. But be aware of the security implications of running the other alternatives, if someone gets your phone they can mess with your bootloader / turn it into a tracking device / add spyware / extract data.

inasaba,

I’ve been running custom ROMs since 2015, I am well aware.

shortwavesurfer,

I was going to say the OnePlus Nord N200 because it has official lineage 20, but it’s only got an LCD display so that won’t work out for you.

lemmyreader, (edited )

As someone who thinks that “all” phones should have headphone jacks and that sustainability is a precious thing : www.sustaphones.com

inasaba,

Sadly Murena only sells two models in Canada, one of which is the Pixel 5.

MrFunnyMoustache,

I absolutely despise it when people say “should have known better” when companies mess up. Not everyone is going to spend weeks researching obscure information before buying a phone.

InputZero,

Ah yes, but it is the job of you, the consumer, to make sure you educate yourself about the products you buy. As the manufacturer, it’s not my job to tell you anything about my product; except what I am legally responsible for divulging. It’s your fault dear consumer, you didn’t do your due diligence. Now, let me sell you another. /S

chahk,

You had me in the first half.

BearOfaTime,

Sounds like OP was aware the 5a had a known higher failure rate, ignored the reports and bought one anyway. Just doing a search for Pixel 5a comes up with results about motherboard failures. I’ve never seen that while searching for phones, so it must have been a significant issue with the 5a.

Someone looking for flashable phones is going to run into these results while choosing a device. I know everything about the phones I have - it’s part of choosing a device.

I wouldn’t buy a 5a knowing there’s a higher-than-usual failure rate.

I should’ve known better when I flashed a phone and bricked it by not following proper procedure - I knew the risk and ignored it, like OP.

inasaba,

Uh, no. I had no idea that the phone had issues. You are the kind of person I’m alluding to in the post.

Flax_vert,

It’s like when I got a Moto G4 just to realise it didn’t have a compass

MrFunnyMoustache,

Wait, not every phone has compass hardware?

Flax_vert,

That’s what I thought too.

MrFunnyMoustache,

I would have never even thought of checking that. That’s very surprising.

Fake4000,

If you don’t mind getting an older used phone, then the Samsung A52s might be a good choice.

Its, OLED, has an SD slot, and has a headphone jack.

Also, apparently Lineage OS supports this device. wiki.lineageos.org/devices/a52sxq/

The other option is to get another Pixel and install Graphese. Though they don’t come with an SD slot.

inasaba,

So far this is the only thing I can actually find, so it might have to be what I go with if I insist on not getting a Pixel again. My last Samsung was a pain to flash, but I’ve heard that Odin is a thing of the past so hopefully it’ll be easier this time.

timo_timboo_,

The S10 line of phones might be something to look for as well. They do have a headphone jack and a SD card slot.

greywolf0x1,

if they’re getting an S10, they should not get a US or Exynos chip versions. The US versions are bootloader locked and can’t be unlocked and the exynos version are bad perfomance wise. If they can get their hands on Chinese or Hong Kong released versions, those have snapdragon chips and can be unlocked.

timo_timboo_,

Hm, that would probably be a challenge, might not be worth it.

I’m using an S10e with the Exynos chip since recently, and I think it runs great. The problem is that I was coming from a 5 and a half year old Huawei phone, and most phones offer a better experience than that so I’m not sure if I can really give a good performance estimate.

vii,

Don’t buy Exyonos phones. They are full of weird incompatibilities and quirks. I’ve returned my A52 because once someone sent me a movie from their phone and I couldn’t play it because the hardware didn’t support some obvious codec.

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