Anyone here with a rooted Android, LineageOS, etc in 2020?

i rooted all of my phones from 2007-2013. Eventually it became a hassle, worrying if my phone was gonna bootloop in my pocket, or run hot and eat the battery… always pulling my phone out of my pocket to some problem.

Was rely nice not having the Google, but between a VPN and running Firefox with ublock origin my experience is largely the same now… they’ve made the creepware less intrusive. Modern phones can’t be rooted anymore anyway, and many services like Samsung pay or Microsoft outlook rely on an unmolested bootloader.

I suspect you know about XDA developers

So you are running [ROM][OFFICIAL][RIVER][NIGHTLIES] LineageOS 17.1, isn't it?

I am still on AospExtended 5.7, works super so if it ain't broke, don't fix it… ;-)

Once I get some cash in a nearby future I'll consider some other terminal (@#$% with AMOLED :THUMBS-UP: displays).

The lack of removable battery terminals means you are forced to replace the battery yourself, or pay for such service. I can do it myself, but I must admit it requires quite some work and special tools.

Yes, I also @#$% with the size creep of phones as you say. But not only this, another problem is the retarded out of proportion displays of nowadays, with stupid aspect ratios which make them less useable imho. Too narrow when in portrait, too short when in landscape (I mostly use landscape, typing over Hacker's Keyboard).

Swipe? Nah. I also never enable auto-caps, suggestions or auto-correction, something which also reduces keyboard height and so I can see more screen content. I just type quickly with both thumbs (namely in full 5 row keyboard layout). ;-)

This is simply not true. I will always rely on free software. I always root and it's me who decides what I do with my device, not them. I am self-sovereign. Whoever believes otherwise can lick my arsehole anytime. LoL!

My primary phone is the property of my employer, so I haven’t rooted or modified firmware for years.

But an /e/OS phone looks kinda cool. A Fairphone looks awesome, but I’m in the US, so not yet.

Why rooted? I get that it’s fun to have full control, but I’d rather set things up with adb or wtv, and then not have the device rooted when in daily use. Sure, you could choose which apps have root access, but still… Using the minimum privilege level is the linux way. Anyhow, custom ROM is a separate subject.

I recently set up an older phone with /e/ OS, based on Lineage OS and adding microG as a substitute for Google Play Services. It’s quite usable. The preferred source of apps is F-Droid, but for a few needed apps from the Google Play Store, Aurora Store works nicely. Just note that support for (in-)app purchase license verification requires the Play Store.

Similar to TurbyPots I used to root all my phones. Started in 2008 with the first Android HTC G1. Overclocking, undervolting, stripping back to bare minimum - it was a lot of fun for years. It was more to get rid of unwanted bloatware and also improve performance\capability as opposed to ‘deg00gling’.

When I got my first Pixel phone (moved away from Samsung) I stopped rooting and flashing custom everything because there was nothing I wanted to get rid of or change. Android had improved and the (ahem) makers of the Pixel deliver the OS in it’s purest form. Talk about walking into the lions den.

Like many things, it can easily become something of an obsession. XDA and BLF
are interchangable.

Yesterday updated my old Samsung S5 from 16 to 17.1. Everything works fine. Phone is rooted. Using Lineage about 3years newer had any problems.
First of all get recovery TWRP > LinageOS+ OpenGapps micro + Root(Magisk)+ whatever you want.

Back in the nexus days I used to flash ROMs and tweak nearly everything all the time. Nowadays on stock android (especially on my pixel 4a where the software is brilliant) I don’t feel I need to. The only reason I would is to get a system wide ad block, limit charging to 85% and maybe a few magisk modules. It was also a bit of a pain with my previous phones as some couldn’t have their bootloader unlocked (Xperia XA / M4) or kept messing up (Moto G5S plus). I had a ton of software issues including my IMEI being deleted from the device unless I used one specific android version (so no ROMs / software updates) also custom recoveries aren’t really a thing anymore and flashing with a PC is a pain.

I have a rooted Xiaomi Mi 9 SE with CrDroid.
Small size, excellent Camera for less than 300€.

Because my smartphone is not someone else's playground, and it is my right to fully manage it at my will.

Certain things like using a custom user agent with the G00gl€ chrome browser is still only possible with a rooted system. And although certain others are catching up such browser is still the best overall, imho.

Also, in the past I've seen certain applications go bad or rogue with updates. This is, losing useful features or whatever other mishaps. Applications like that get frozen in time, or just the great kick in the arse.

I stop rooting phones when www.blokada.org wet out. But I still have rooted tablet to cheat in android games :slight_smile:
Mike

I use AdAway, something you may be using already btw.

It needs root afaik.
Mike

I used to root my phones, until I was unable to install banking apps. I’ve heard this might be different now, but since have gone over to Nokia with Android one. I was pleasantly suprised to discover that you can uninstall most of the apps previously baked in, including most of the google apps.

Probably still not fully in control, but good enough for me now.

Yes, that’s exactly the ROM I’m running. No Magisk yet and also haven’t reinstalled TWRP since the reflash. Only extra mod I did was restoring a Moto symbol on startup in place of the warning screen. I did that through ADB and a Win10 pc. Funny enough the Galaxy S5 Neo (version SM-G903W) is a phone on my list to try and acquire. How is it performing?

/e/ is very interesting to me as they have bundled and streamlined LineageOS and microG. They have a beta build available for my G7 (river), so I’m likely going to give that a test run as well. A Galaxy S8/S9 running /e/ is something I’m considering… but

The kicker for me in all of this is having a non removable battery. No matter what OS I’m running, there is integrated hardware with proprietary drivers running the device. Nobody seems to know what exactly goes on ‘down-there’ and quite frankly, I don’t trust it. I want to reserve the right to remove power from the device at will. I don’t know when/how it has become acceptable for either corporate or gov entities to have such information and access to a wide open backdoor into our lives. Whether it’s my location, interests, conversations, or sleep cycles… Truly not information that anybody needs nor shall have. efff that.

In true BLF spirit though, I have some ideas on this. Going to give it a try and see what happens. But I’m thinking of using the space and port provided by 3.5mm jack to actually route one of the battery poles through, and create a “kill-pin”.

The problem with 3th part OS is that it have no proper camera driver and camera cant focus in dark like with original driver.

I’m really hoping the modular Fairphone gets to the U.S. soon. It’s probably not as sleek and slim as the latest and greatest blackboxes, but I would buy one for sure.

I can hear you man. While it may not be the same, how about a faraday bag?

A faraday bag effectively blocks all incoming or outgoing radiation from the device.

Other than this, as they are to cut-off power from a device's battery it would be necessary to install a (MOSFET) switch in its connector or somewhere else, or resort to somehow directly switching off the MOSFETs inside the inbuilt BMS in the battery. Which makes me think that a short circuit would attain that, for example, but needs to be well implemented. So a solution may be possible, but certainly a lot of hassle as things are now.

Sun, 10/18/2020 - 19:59

I have never experienced a problem even if using a "3rd party" OS. My experience is in fact awesome, with the 3rd party ROMs I've used being a lot more powerful than their stock counterparts.

Good idea with artificially tripping the cells inbuilt protection. I’ll need to study the circuits and micro controllers to see if that’s a practical way of doing it.

I already ordered a faraday bag yesterday. Going to put it to the test when I get it. This is my best option for the time being until I can get a device with a hardware kill switch.