LineageOS 19 • Hacker News Board

Re: LineageOS 19

#101

Post by notRobot » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:35 PM UTC

deng wrote: post #82

I just switched to LineageOS 18 w/ MicroG and oh my lord is this stuff still complicated. I'm fairly familiar with this stuff and yet still it took me many hours to set everything up correctly. To be clear, this is not the fault of LineageOS, this is simply the state of the FOSS Android environment and the fact that Google has no interest in supporting this setup whatsoever, to put it mildly. Not only is it complicat…

Whoa, I'm still on an older version of Magisk and Android, should I not update then?

I'm shocked and upset to hear that the Magisk repo and Magic hide are dead :(

Re: LineageOS 19

#102

Post by mocko » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:35 PM UTC

Does it have in-kernel Wireguard? Been holding my breath for that for so long.

Re: LineageOS 19

#103

Post by onli » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:37 PM UTC

deng wrote: post #82

I just switched to LineageOS 18 w/ MicroG and oh my lord is this stuff still complicated. I'm fairly familiar with this stuff and yet still it took me many hours to set everything up correctly. To be clear, this is not the fault of LineageOS, this is simply the state of the FOSS Android environment and the fact that Google has no interest in supporting this setup whatsoever, to put it mildly. Not only is it complicat…

I really like LineageOS, but this is partly on them as well. They are the most popular ROM and they do very little to make this situation easier. With this situation I do not mean the install itself - actually there they do a lot, the documentation for officially supported devices is really good (and you often do not need TWRP anymore, the lineage recovery is cleaner). But I mean everything else you mention: Rooting, Play services/MicroG, fighting against the security theater. They even officially ban talking about this and other impending topics of doom like VoLTE on their subreddit.

I do like what the project achieved, but I don't understand in the slightest what they are thinking. If I were to speculate, to me it feels like a leftover from their failed attempt to make this a business to ban everything some corporate partner might dislike. But what purpose would that serve for the project now? Just baffling.

https://lineage.microg.org/ really seems to be the way to go, as mentioned in the other comment.

Re: LineageOS 19

#104

Post by jeroenhd » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:37 PM UTC

hedora wrote: post #74

jeroenhd wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LineageOS relies on the open source kernels and pre-existing vendor blobs to run. Qualcom drivers and such won't receive any patches, the best you can hope for is that the driver blobs are extracted by the device maintainer and put into the next build. As for the Android stack itself, LineageOS follow the upstream Android branches very closely where it can. Most vulnerabilities in that stack will probably be shared a…

GrapheneOS is able to support relocking the bootloader, but only works on Pixel devices (the bootloader lock is one of the main reasons they only work with Pixels). I personally think the booloader lock is of dubious value. It protects against physical attacks against the device (evil maid attacks). That's very low in the list of threats I worry about. (Though I am using GrapheneOS, and am happy with it.) I'd be more…

I think evil maid attacks are a realistic problem for anyone regularly travelling through airports. I think there are quite a few people who would like to know when someone tampered with their phone. Certain shady governments are known for demanding you hand over your phone if you look suspicious/foreign enough.

I have no experience with GrapheneOS, but I've heard good stories so far. It's very good to hear that the Pixel devices allow re-locking of the bootloader.

Personally, I consider exploits in the Android framework itself and drive-by-exploits (like BlueFrag) to be the most important security vulnerabilities so I'm fine with LineageOS.

Not everyone might agree, though, and custom ROMs come with some security challenges or problems that stock software does not. I don't think such flaws should be left out of discussions like these.

Re: LineageOS 19

#105

Post by jeroenhd » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:38 PM UTC

josephcsible wrote: post #99

jeroenhd wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could be a Safetynet issue, which you can fix by rooting your phone and installing Magisk + the necessary module. It's not a perfect fix (Magisk can't make GPay work) but it works most of the time for me. My bank is fine with me running a rooted phone, so I can't tell you for sure if it'll fix your situation.

Depending on your phone, the necessary module will probably be one or both of https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/magisk-module-universal-s... and https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/module-magiskhide-props-c...

Indeed, I'm using the "universal safetynet fix" myself.

Re: LineageOS 19

#106

Post by zekica » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:39 PM UTC

aaaaaaaaata wrote: post #55

tmoravec wrote: post #41

I'm curious how secure LineageOS is. It doesn't seem to have the resources of Apple/Google to respond to vulnerabilities. I haven't even found anything on this topic at their website. Googling "lineageos security response policy" haven't found anything useful, either. How does it compare to flagship Samsungs/Pixels/iPhones? Is it usable in, say, corporate settings that do have some security standards in the vein of "…

Lineage actively and knowingly break the Android Security Model in order to achieve widespread compatibility and reduce e-waste. Security is not their top competency, nor mission. Check out the pages on GrapheneOS.org, definitely seems they're who you're after.

Lineage doesn't "break" android security model. It works around OEMs that don't support installing your own keys in the bootloader. Otherwise, security model works the same as any other android.

LineageOS's first priority isn't security - it's freedom. Graphene and CalyxOS have security as the first priority - but have only a couple of phones on their support list and they deprecate old devices as soon as they stop receiving vendor updates.

Re: LineageOS 19

#107

Post by deng » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:39 PM UTC

pja wrote: post #94

deng wrote: post #82

I just switched to LineageOS 18 w/ MicroG and oh my lord is this stuff still complicated. I'm fairly familiar with this stuff and yet still it took me many hours to set everything up correctly. To be clear, this is not the fault of LineageOS, this is simply the state of the FOSS Android environment and the fact that Google has no interest in supporting this setup whatsoever, to put it mildly. Not only is it complicat…

You could just run an unrooted LineageOS? What exactly are you getting out of a rooted phone that you couldn’t get with a straight LineageOS install?

Adaway, Magisk Modules, Neo Backup, and out of principle. :-)

Re: LineageOS 19

#108

Post by ck2 » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:40 PM UTC

I've got a ten year old Nexus running as well as a modern tablet thanks to cyanogenmod/lineageos.

Is there a more valuable free open-source community project like it for anything else in the world? Because it seems incredible to have.

Hard to figure a new tablet to buy that will get that same 10 year life, some custom rom development just vanishes over time. Popularity doesn't seem to be a guarantee.

Re: LineageOS 19

#109

Post by soperj » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:40 PM UTC

nfriedly wrote: post #24

I'm still pissed at Google for locking the bootloader on my Pixel 2. I bought the phone unlocked directly from Google, specifically so that I could install a custom ROM once Google stopped supporting it. But I sent the phone in to repair a broken USB port, and apparently it was Google's policy to send back a phone with a locked bootloader any time you get a repair. I can't even get a response from Google's support ab…

This sounds like it's class-action worthy.

Re: LineageOS 19

#110

Post by deno » Tue, Apr 26, 2022, 2:40 PM UTC

deng wrote: post #82

I just switched to LineageOS 18 w/ MicroG and oh my lord is this stuff still complicated. I'm fairly familiar with this stuff and yet still it took me many hours to set everything up correctly. To be clear, this is not the fault of LineageOS, this is simply the state of the FOSS Android environment and the fact that Google has no interest in supporting this setup whatsoever, to put it mildly. Not only is it complicat…

Just flash ‘LineageOS for MicroG’[1]—it already has F-Droid extension & obviously microG. Recovery images are provided right alongside, though of course you can use TWRP if you prefer but you don’t have to. IDK why you need root, but most people don’t need it. Push works just fine with microG alone, you just have to enable it in settings. Also LineageOS has an integrated backup solution now.

[1] https://lineage.microg.org/