Well, they say that development for these phones is mostly dead.
Also, I do think that getting a virus by simply downloading Android ROMs from some unknown source (or an open source project maintained only by 1 person) would be quite easy. Not to mention that xz-utils, an open-source project was recently backdoor-ed.
I want to install a (or build my own) custom AOSP-based OS on my Samsung Galaxy J3 SM-J337W that has microG instead of the proprietary Google Play Services. Please forgive me if I'm doing something stupid: I'm a complete noob with this.
So, the first thing I did was check and see if my device is officially supported by ROMs like LineageOS and I couldn't find anything. Not only that but my device isn't supported by TWRP.
Next, I've done a bit of further research and read about GSI ROMs and Project Treble. The Treble Info app says that my smartphone is Project Treble compatible with the following requirements:
- VNDK version: 28 (lite mode)
- System as Root: disabled
- Manifest location: Modern
- CPU architecture: ARM32
- Binder architecture: 64-bit
However, the only a64 non-SaR GSI images that I could find are some of Andy Yan's builds of LineageOS 16 and 17 and they do not have microG installed. Plus, I just don't want to install any malware-infested OS from some random Joe.
I've been thinking of building my own custom ROM or GSI. However, compiling AOSP would take a long time.
Has anybody ever managed to install a custom OS on the Samsung Galaxy J3 SM-J337W?
Well, I just found a guide on how to install twrp 3.2.3 on a Samsung Galaxy Star here, which has the model number SM-J337T. It has the exact same SoC, CPU and GPU as my device. The guide has a link to an unnoficial twrp recovery.img image. Would it be safe for me to use that for my SM-J337W?
PS. What does the T and W mean in the device model number?
I have a Samsung Galaxy J3 2018 (model number SM-J337W) on which I want to install my own custom AOSP ROM (because I don't want Google or Samsung to spy on me, I'm stuck with my current phone, and my phone is not supported by LineageOS, GrapheneOS, or CalyxOS). I have managed to install ADB for Linux and unlock the bootloader, but I can't download any TWRP binaries because my phone is not on the list of officially supported devices. I believe i've found the source code for TWRP on this Github page: [https://github.com/minimal-manifest-twrp/platform_manifest_twrp_omni](https://github.com/minimal-manifest-twrp/platform_manifest_twrp_omni). However, I'm not really sure how to build it. According to the code lines bellow, I believe it requires some kind of device number or code:
~~~
cd <source-dir>; export ALLOW_MISSING_DEPENDENCIES=true; . build/envsetup.sh; lunch omni_<device>-eng; mka recoveryimage
~~~
or if I'm not using a recovery partition:
~~~
cd <source-dir>; export ALLOW_MISSING_DEPENDENCIES=true; . build/envsetup.sh; lunch omni_<device>-eng; mka bootimage
~~~
Also, I am not sure whether or not if my device uses a recovery partition or not. How do I find that out on my specific device?
Also, when I open up AIDA64, then go to System -> Device, it says j3topltecs. Should I use that for my device number/code?
Also, please keep in mind that this is my very first attempt at rooting any Android smartphone so sorry if I sound like an idiot noob. I also use Linux and don't have Windows installed.
Also, is there any way I could tell lunch (or whatever tool does the compiling) to use only a specific number of threads because if it starts compiling using all 8 threads then my PC will definitely overheat.
PS. Do I even really need TWRP? Has anyone ever managed to install a custom ROM on this specific device?
Good. I hope this poorly written piece of spyware dies out soon. Carefully read Microsoft’s Privacy Policy and I guarantee you it will scare you away and make you run to Linux and other open-source software. No seriously. The amount of spying they do is simply unacceptable. Same thing with macOS (yes, Apple does collect a ton of data about you!). You can get Apple’s Privacy Policy here.
English
Well, they say that development for these phones is mostly dead.
Also, I do think that getting a virus by simply downloading Android ROMs from some unknown source (or an open source project maintained only by 1 person) would be quite easy. Not to mention that xz-utils, an open-source project was recently backdoor-ed.