this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2024
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DeGoogle Yourself

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My Pixel 5a just died after 5 months of use. Looking for a new phone I can deGoogle. (lemmy.ml)
submitted 6 months ago by inasaba@lemmy.ml to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml
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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
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[–] TCB13@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago (5 children)

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.

[–] inasaba@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 months ago (2 children)

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@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

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@lemmy.ml 4 points 6 months ago

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

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