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Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

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Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#121

Post by charcircuit »

fsflover wrote: post #113
charcircuit wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Being stuck with the custom kernel Android already works on the kernel. You don't need a custom kernel. >and the proprietary drivers If it uses proprietary Linux kernel modules they will still be proprietary kernel modules without the rest of Android.

> If it uses proprietary Linux kernel modules Librem 5 doesn't use them.

What's your point? If free drivers are available you have the freedom to use free drivers. If they aren't available you don't unless you make them yourself.

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#122

Post by [deleted] »

deng wrote: post #33

Has the author of this article ever used a custom ROM? There are so many free alternatives for these apps out there. If I remember correctly, LineageOS ships with their own version of Dialer/Messages anyway. I usually replace them with the versions of SimpleMobileTools, which work just fine. The main difficulty for custom ROMs are not these standard apps. The real issues are bootloaders which cannot be unlocked, undo…

[deleted]

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#123

Post by vodkapump »

pyeri wrote: post #112
Grimburger wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just look how Google effectively broke the AuroraStore App recently. For anyone who has been hit by this, you can workaround the api issue by long pressing on a playstore http link and clicking open in app (aurora icon). So you can't search using the app anymore, but if you have the link to what you want you can still install without playstore or a google account. It's frustrating but isn't the end.

Not a very clean solution but if someone (power user) wants to avoid the playstore entirely, they can perhaps do so by simply force-disabling the app (using tools like adb), and then use something like apkmirror[1] or apkpure[2] or aptoide to install the APKs for the apps directly and bypass the store entirely? [1] https://www.apkmirror.com/ [2] https://m.apkpure.com/

Have you looked at Obtainium? https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium It can use apkmirror and apkpure as sources. Along with lots of others.

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#124

Post by neurostimulant »

deng wrote: post #33

Has the author of this article ever used a custom ROM? There are so many free alternatives for these apps out there. If I remember correctly, LineageOS ships with their own version of Dialer/Messages anyway. I usually replace them with the versions of SimpleMobileTools, which work just fine. The main difficulty for custom ROMs are not these standard apps. The real issues are bootloaders which cannot be unlocked, undo…

After spelunking into the dialer source code a bit, it seems the important stuff related to receiving and initiating calls are already handled by android's TelecomManager and the dialer only provides interface for users to interact with TelecomManager.

I haven't really dig into Messages source code these days, but a few years ago I was making an app that can send MMS messages and it was insane how much heavy lifting a messaging apps have to do in order to send MMS reliably on any carrier. Losing the default Message app might be a big blow considering so many 3rd party message app still can't do MMS right (at least the last time I checked). For example, people are still posting MMS issues on the github repo for SimpleMobileTools app you mentioned.

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#125

Post by jraph »

palata wrote: post #98
jraph wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would export A-GPS [1] data to be the same for everyone. It's just orbital data about the satellites that the GPS satellites also send you, but at a speed of 50 bit/s and you have to wait for the satellite to start broadcast it. As a consequence, it would take about 10 mins to have a fix, while it is instantaneous when the data is already there because it was downloaded beforehand. This data is typically provided b…

Oh, I thought it relied on stuff like WiFi/Cell-based localization. Now I wonder if something is wrong with my software, or if the Fairphone 3+ is just slow at getting a GPS fix :)

Not for the GPS fix. Now, location is done both with GPS and with WiFi/Cell indeed.

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#126

Post by doctor_lollipop »

pmontra wrote: post #28
jraph wrote: post #3

This is the kind of shit I thought could theoretically happen and it was one of the reason I got rid of Android a few years ago and got a PinePhone when my smartphone died. I've been counting on the Linux mobile ecosystem to develop so we have an good alternative to Android and iOS. It's not there yet. I need my phone to be reliable and IMHO, it would need to reliably let me place an emergency call if I ever needed i…

There are no real alternatives. I'm installing apps on a factory reset Samsung A40 from 2019. The last ones of all the process are banking apps, github (only because they decided I need 2FA (*)) and a digital identity one for my country, basically another 2FA. I really don't have an alternative for them. In theory I could leave an Android phone in a drawer at home for those apps, use WhatsApp web on the Pine, maybe T…

FYI, you can use oathtool on your PC for 2FA, you don't need custom apps for that.

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#127

Post by neurostimulant »

Dwedit wrote: post #40

The much bigger thing making life difficult for Custom ROM fans is the "device fingerprint" nonsense making your device condemned to fail SafetyNet. Hope you never want to run a banking app.

Interestingly, Netflix was the one that give me problem (refused to run with unlocked bootloader). I can run all banking apps I need (5 of them) on my phone with unlocked bootloader just fine.

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#129

Post by pessimizer »

palata wrote: post #66
thunderbong wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's not like they have a choice, isn't it?

Hmm I think it's getting pretty easy today to get a de-Googled Android phone that "just works". You can buy Murena phones that come with /e/OS pre-installed (I did that). Probably the same with GrapheneOS/CalyxOS/etc. Users are lazy and don't want to take such a risk, but they do have a choice.

> Hmm I think it's getting pretty easy today to get a de-Googled Android phone that "just works".

This is a wild exaggeration.

Re: Google is about to make life more difficult for custom ROM fans

#130

Post by public_defender »

I agree with the many siblings that say this news is pretty irrelevant to people who use custom ROMs, but I don't think it's realistic to say that FOSS alternatives exist, at least for SMS. There are multiple references in this thread to Simple SMS, but that app is not at all ready for prime time. If your carrier/ROM didn't bundle an SMS app you can live with, I think you are out of luck. I'm glad to be proved wrong though, if anyone knows of a good SMS app.
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