I’m thinking of migrating to grapheneos from ios, what are some things that I should be aware of? Keep in mind, I haven’t used android in about 3 or 4 years and have basically been using an iPhone since the 3GS. Any heads up or tips would be helpful. I’m just really tired of apples new business model and current executives, and am trying to move to all free software. Thanks in advanced.
Whatever you do, don’t use the search of the fdroid app. Find apps either via recommendation or by searching something like “calculator site:f-droid.org”.
Some things aren’t as integrated as on iOS or Androids from Manufacturers. For example the camera app has no qr code scanner built in. Also the share menu often doesn’t behave like you would expect it. If you share a Wikipedia link with the Wikipedia app it doesn’t open the article but instead puts the URL in the search bar and doesn’t find the article.
Apps I can recommend:
Thunder (Lemmy)
Calculator++
Organic Maps
Trail Sense (Outdoor stuff)
Antennapod (Podcasts)
NewPipe (YouTube)
Aegis (2FA)
OpenCamera
ClipboardCleaner
Personaldnsfilter (System wide Adblock)
In my experience moving to Graphene OS on its own was easy. The UI was refreshingly simple with no bloat at all, and I got used to it quickly.
Entirely ditching Google services is a different matter that I found much more difficult. I ended up installing Google Play Store/Services since some of my apps relied on it to work properly (usually because they rely on Google’s Notification service). Depending on what apps you use this might be easier or harder. There are good open-source alternatives for many things in F-Droid, and its possible to get everything else via the Aurora Store without using your Google credentials. You could also set up a separate profile for apps that require Google services so they’re in their own sandbox.
In the end I did none of that, and just logged into the Play Store with my Google credentials on my main profile. Everything just worked with little effort, and if I’m ever feeling particularly paranoid at least I have the option to revoke permissions and/or uninstall, Google services.
TLDR: Moving to GrapheneOS = Easy. Going full FOSS with no Google = hard (at least for me).
I guess the first thing you need to watch out for is making sure the Pixel you buy isn’t tied to a specific cell service provider (carrier unlocked). Here in Canada all our phones are carrier unlocked so I didn’t bother checking into this.
The best source of information about GOS is https://grapheneos.org/usage The site also has an FAQ and the instructions to install the OS.
I’m currently running GrapheneOS on my Pixel 3XL, have been for about a year. Overall the experience has been solid, a few bugs here and there but it’s hard to say if they’ve been GrapheneOS issues or Android issues.
One heads up is that GrapheneOS only officially supports a modern subsection of Pixel phones, so if you intend to keep yours for ages (or to buy second hand) it may have some rough edges in a few years.
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Whatever you do, don’t use the search of the fdroid app. Find apps either via recommendation or by searching something like “calculator site:f-droid.org”. Some things aren’t as integrated as on iOS or Androids from Manufacturers. For example the camera app has no qr code scanner built in. Also the share menu often doesn’t behave like you would expect it. If you share a Wikipedia link with the Wikipedia app it doesn’t open the article but instead puts the URL in the search bar and doesn’t find the article.
Apps I can recommend: Thunder (Lemmy) Calculator++ Organic Maps Trail Sense (Outdoor stuff) Antennapod (Podcasts) NewPipe (YouTube) Aegis (2FA) OpenCamera ClipboardCleaner Personaldnsfilter (System wide Adblock)
Games: Feudal Tactics, Unciv, Lemuroid, Open Golf
Open camera over Graphene’s?
I scan qr codes all the time with the grapheneos stock camera.
In my experience moving to Graphene OS on its own was easy. The UI was refreshingly simple with no bloat at all, and I got used to it quickly.
Entirely ditching Google services is a different matter that I found much more difficult. I ended up installing Google Play Store/Services since some of my apps relied on it to work properly (usually because they rely on Google’s Notification service). Depending on what apps you use this might be easier or harder. There are good open-source alternatives for many things in F-Droid, and its possible to get everything else via the Aurora Store without using your Google credentials. You could also set up a separate profile for apps that require Google services so they’re in their own sandbox.
In the end I did none of that, and just logged into the Play Store with my Google credentials on my main profile. Everything just worked with little effort, and if I’m ever feeling particularly paranoid at least I have the option to revoke permissions and/or uninstall, Google services.
TLDR: Moving to GrapheneOS = Easy. Going full FOSS with no Google = hard (at least for me).
I guess the first thing you need to watch out for is making sure the Pixel you buy isn’t tied to a specific cell service provider (carrier unlocked). Here in Canada all our phones are carrier unlocked so I didn’t bother checking into this.
The best source of information about GOS is https://grapheneos.org/usage The site also has an FAQ and the instructions to install the OS.
GrapheneOS also has a forum https://discuss.grapheneos.org/ You don’t need an account to lurk.
If you have specific questions I’m happy to answer or point you in the right direction.
I’m currently running GrapheneOS on my Pixel 3XL, have been for about a year. Overall the experience has been solid, a few bugs here and there but it’s hard to say if they’ve been GrapheneOS issues or Android issues.
One heads up is that GrapheneOS only officially supports a modern subsection of Pixel phones, so if you intend to keep yours for ages (or to buy second hand) it may have some rough edges in a few years.