LineageOS is currently installed on 1.5 million Android devices

Blaze@lemmy.zip to Android@lemdro.id – 470 points –
LineageOS is currently installed on 1.5 million Android devices
9to5google.com
102

Yeah, but I think I have like half of those devices in a desk drawer.

Why? I have had the same phone for the last 5 years.

Because people (like myself) do that with their old phone to have a backup thatโ€™s not horrifically outdated but that isnโ€™t actually needed day to day

85 % probably have outdated firmware.

That number probably higher. However that changes nothing as we can't control proprietary firmware blobs.

Honestly there is no way of knowing anything about the security of those blobs. Firmware vendors can do whatever they want.

The list of devices on Replicant OS is old and short. Proprietary blobs are a big issue for Android.

Why? I don't understand. Doesn't it have any update mechanism for that?

They mean that the device manufacturer and or hardware vendors are no longer putting out updates for the proprietary blobs.

I dont know if it even has to be proprietary. Vendors need to sign the firmware too.

Yeah, really bad.

That's why we work to mainline devices. It is very hard and there are only a handful of devices that work with mainline Linux but it simplifies a lot of things.

It's a really nicely built OS, well documented, and the install process is streamlined as much as possible (with detailed instructions).

I really hope we can get enough attention and support to this project (as well as others like it) for it to get mainstream.

for it to get mainstream

It will never get more mainstream than this.

Lineage has been the go-to ROM that beat every other ROM in active users by one or more orders of magnitude since the beginning of Android. Everyone that cares a little bit about custom ROMs knows what Lineage is, and if they don't they will recognize its previous name CyanogenMod.

Average users are never going to care about custom ROMs because it's not worth the effort for them, so why would you care about making LOS more mainstream?

Welp, TIL it's just CyanogenMod and you are correct, turns out I did know of and use it a decade ago.

More people using a thing (in this case I mean FOSS more than LOS specifically) influences the market, companies start to notice and may even be forced to adapt. Large private monopolistic ecosystem are really bad for everything.

It would make things easier for smaller brands to enter market as well - like what Raspberry/Banana Pi but for phones.

Also the official list of supported devices (wiki.lineageos.org/devices) has a super easy install process. Mainstream would mean more of these (eg the latest flagship Samsung supported is S10/Note10). And expanding this list would make a huge difference in addition - not everyone that knows about custom ROMs is tech savvy (or just wants a stable OS with OTA).

And this is also only the official list, there are unofficial ports for much newer Samsung devices like the Samsung S20 FE

Yes, but the list of bugs grows unfortunately.

That's why I want LOS to be more popular, at some point manufacturers would at least release drivers.

because adopting open source software is a societal good? the idea that it won't grow is kind of bleak. the industry standard for android device OS is dogshit for user privacy and a private monopoly and that's something we should want fixed. unless you like living under constant corporate surveillance.

I never said I didn't want it to get popular, I just think there's no point in trying to spread the word about its existence... because the problem is not in people knowing about its existence. The problem is that most average phone users will not find it worth the effort to switch to LOS, with the risks that come with it (banking apps not working half the time, upgrades sometimes needing a data wipe).

I wish I could use it but it's only supported on few phones that tend to be more expensive and older.

I use it on my old Pixel 3a to play livestream bird feeders for one of my cats.

And did your Pentester find any vulnerabilities yet? XD

๐Ÿ“ฑ๐Ÿˆโ€โฌ›

I always wanted to try it, but my bank wont let me login if I'm not on on the devices OG OS, I used to run Custom ROM until that started to happen.

Try the bankโ€™s web site. Companies all push apps to harvest all your data. Very few compute services actually need them.

There are workarounds:

Install magisk, add the app to the zygisk denylist before first run.

Install universal safetynet fix and magisk hide props config (modules for magisk).

For some apps, you may have to install them in island so that they can't detect the magisk app.

You need play integrity fix instead of safetynet and just activating zygisk should be fine on latest magisk.

Thanks. I have a pretty old install so my module list is a relic of the time but it makes sense why it still works for me. I'll edit.

Sounds like you should switch to a credit union.

That's besides the point. We don't know why OP needs to bank with them.

Yeah I was suggesting really any bank that doesn't have asinine requirements, I just default to credit unions since they are better for clients.

Better in what respect? Again, we don't know why OP needs that specific bank.

Your comment is starting to sound like those folks who have the urge to write "Just use Rust," or "Bitcoin solves this problem" in every thread.

Maybe I'm wrong.

And when it comes to apps, credit unions aren't always better... In fact I've noticed they almost never are.

Why do you need an app for banking...?

As opposed to what, using mobile web? That's a good question, yes. Some banks have the impression that an app is more secure... go figure.

Yes, pretty much. A web browser is almost always more secure and, at least in the case of my credit union, just as fast with a very usable interface. Whenever I see these people who say "oh I really wanted to use X ROM but it doesn't work with my banking app" I have to question their commitment to the project and/or level of ignorance. It's such a minor/non-existent issue to make or break a custom ROM.

I am really tempted to try and set this up on one of my devices. Never messed with this before so it's a bit intimidating

I have no idea what I'm doing but I imagine I should be able to. I have a xiaomi redmi note 10 and a galaxy tab a8 tablet laying around not really being used.

Follow the guides, if you have a supported phone. It is really nice for supported devices. But do follow the instructions exactly.

I think Lineage supports both of those.

Check https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

Also check out DivestOS, it's a fork of Lineage, supports fewer devices.

Divest is currently running a fundraiser to support further development. If the goal isn't reached, the project will be set aside.

Just something to keep in mind. I'm using it, and I hope it can continue, because it really is great.

If someone could crack the verizon bootloader lock that would be great. Have wanted lineage for years on my old pixel!

as long as it's paid off just give them a call and ask it to be unlocked and if they still don't want to just say your a developer and need it for work that normally works even if it isn't paid off

Is that supposed to be a lot?

Whenever Google kills a feature used by <1% people always cite that is still over a million people. But nobody looks at the reverse. 1.5 million Lineage users doesn't even make up a tenth of a single percent of Android overall.

For an OS that you need to install manually, it's definitely a lot.

Why compare it to the greater ecosystem?

"Hey, a million people started drinking coffee with pea milk that they made themselves."

"Is this supposed to be a lot? Pffft, regular milk drinkers are in the billions!"

Who cares.

Plus, Google killing a feature that is used "by a million people," even if it's <1%, is fucked up. That's three Icelands.

How can I do this? I have an old Realmi stuck on Android 9

Depends. 1st you need to find out if your phone/manufacturer allows unlocking the bootloader. No unlocking, no custom rom, no lineage os. If it is supported, you need to find a lineageOS rom for your phone. There is an official lineageOS website where you can find compatible devices. If itโ€™s not listed there (which is not unlikely), you can search the web for unofficial lineageOS roms or other custom roms. Be careful, some of your phoneโ€™s features might not work properly or at all but most custom rom developers provide you with a list of what is and isnโ€™t working.

And for the installation part, itโ€™s probably better to look up a full tutorial on the web as installing a custom recovery that you need to install the rom can be a bit trickyโ€ฆ

This annoys the shit out of me.

Iโ€™ve got a /unique/ device that I use to exclusively run a single specialist app. Itโ€™s 5 years old, and it does the job.

Well, did the job. But they dropped support for Android9. Canโ€™t unlock the bootloader (technically I can, but any rom just bootloops) and the vendor stopped releasing updates in 2021.

Sure, itโ€™s an edge case. But Iโ€™ve got perfectly functioning hardware, to run perfectly functioning software and 6 months ago everything worked fine.

Now it doesnโ€™t, and Iโ€™ve either got to find replacement software, or hardware. And Iโ€™m probably justโ€ฆ not. Everyone loses. Hardware manufacturers donโ€™t get a sale to replace broken hardware (and it wouldnโ€™t have been long, the phone has been yeeted down the road at 70km/h more than once), software vendors lose my subscription, and I just have a shitty experience.

And why? Because of some way software is packaged. Who benefits from this?

Thanks, doesn't seem like my phone's officially supported and I don't feel safe about the custom roms. Maybe one day

I would love to use lineage or /e/ again on my phone, but Google's Foto app is Soo good compared to all of the foss apps out there. Especially if you like modes like super-macro I did not find anything near that. This is a shame bc/ I've used an degoogled device for over an decade now.

Does anyone have an idea how I could come back on the good side without loosing the functionality of that app?

You cam use the pixelify module. It adds many pixel-exclusive features, including the google photos app!

Maybe I'm not aware what I'm missing out on. On GrapheneOS on a Pixel phone, you can install the camera app made by Google. com.google.android.GoogleCamera. Has some fancy features, but maybe not the ones you are referring to?

Does LineageOS work with Google Family Link if I add gapps?

I can't confirm if all features are working, but possibly. My case is that I have LineageOS on my phone and my son has an Amazon tablet that I've used Fire Toolbox on to install Google Playstore and services. I'm able to approve/deny apps for him to install (I get the notification on Family Link on my phone), but some things aren't working because I'm having trouble with Play services on the tablet.

I am using this, best decision I've ever taken. Using my device feels new again. There is still the issue with play integrity. Apart from that everything's good so far.

Had some trouble running it on my Azus Zenphone, but now on my Fairphone it works flawlessly.

The camera was horrible back then.

I like lineage os, but i tought its about do disappear?

Maybe for a particular phone model it will stop, but haven't read it will stop completely.

Its less and less phones supported until it vanishes. Thats what i was meaning. Just more phones unrootable or really hard or no peoper cfw

#GrapheneOS

Yes because every smartphone is a Pixel, apparently

Every smart person will have one with GrapheneOS installed

Ok, can you be smart somewhere else?

These comments where a bit selfish but GrapheneOS really is worlds ahead of LineageOS.

That might very well be, but their target audience is tiny, since they refuse to support anything but Pixel phones

Which sucks, because their features would also make other devices more secure. But at the same time they would

  • need substantially more resources (I think supporting Google phones is really easy, as they get full security patches for everything)
  • need to lower their security level a ton

No device needs even their basic requirements which are not even that high.

And even then the said points would be a problem

Theyโ€™re different projects with different goals. Graphene is more private & secure if thatโ€™s the thing that matters to you. Lineage supports far more devices

So.... Grapehene is better but lineage is sopported on more devices?

Graphene prioritizes security above everything else. This means that it does thinks like ship proprietary software if they think it will boost security. Lineage os is designed to be a Linux distribution for phones and is focused on providing a system that is all free software (excluding firmware). It doesn't kill off support for devices and is designed to be tweaked and doesn't support bootloader relocking out of the box.

Again..... One is just better than the other...

Thanks, since you're suggesting this, would you like to exchange your pixel for my cheap xiaomi?

I would suggest you get a pixel, why get a cheap xiaomi in the first place?

Coz I have no money? Isn't it obvious?

Can I get grapheneos in my phone??? Or are you going to suggest another unrelated crap?