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GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

discuss.grapheneos.org

331–340 of 653 posts

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Pixel phones are not sold worldwide Still boggles my mind the fact Google doesn't sell their phones worldwide. Obtaining a Pixel has proven to be quite difficult for me.

Not only obtaining but if you ever need warranty you're done. Just last week I went to a Samsung center and had my fold 6 fixed in 30 minutes, and these centers are everywhere around the world. Same thing with Apple, yet a 4.5 trillion dollar company can't ship and maintain a phone globally. It's so unserious.

As the old joke goes: Microsoft is a software company, Apple is a hardware company, Google is an ads company.

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#332
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I got a new phone last year, I purposely got a Pixel (open box 9a) to put GrapheneOS on it immediately. Been happy living the de-Googled Android life since. I was sad that I had to go through the OOBE setup on the stock image to unlock the bootloader. At least it doesn't force an internet connection and login, unlike Windows.

Is it possible to install basic Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Maps, Drive without googlifying the whole phone? I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS.

Yes, those are all compatible and the only way to use them is as regular sandboxed apps without any special access. Sandboxed Google Play can be installed in the profiles of your choice. Installing it in the main Owner user is a valid choice and doesn't at all ruin what GrapheneOS provides but you can make a dedicated work profile or Private Space for it to keep it separate. Only apps in the same profile can see it and use it, so you can control which apps will use their functionality depending on it that way.

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#333
Been toying with the idea for a long time, but I'm concerned about US financial institution apps and multiple countries specific apps (local transport, finance, medical and governmental), whose apks do no exist, as well as (crucial for me, as a heavy international traveler) google voice. For a lot such I now need to use a combo of Google playstore, for US account tied apps, and Aurora for non US apps.

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#334
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to install basic Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Maps, Drive without googlifying the whole phone? I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS.

> I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS. This is entirely possible as other posters have explained. But I think it kind of defeats the point of Graphene, at least somewhat. Google is already profiling every aspect of your life by reading your emails, files, calendar, location, etc? In that case, OS access becomes moot. I think that GrapheneOS makes most sense as part of a broader…

Using Sandboxed Google Play doesn't defeat the purpose of using GrapheneOS and neither does using Google apps. It does not exist specifically to avoid Google apps or services. It exists to provide a highly private and secure OS retaining high usability and app compatibility. Being able to use sandboxed Google Play is an important part of what it provides. Many GrapheneOS users don't use it and many who do use it are only using it in a dedicated profile for a small subset of apps but that's not at all required to heavily benefit from GrapheneOS. Moving to more private apps/services over time does make sense but it isn't mandatory and users can choose what kind of compromises they wan to make.

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#335
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to install basic Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Maps, Drive without googlifying the whole phone? I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS.

Yes, you install the Google Play store via the GrapheneOS App Store. The OS comes with like 5 apps out of the box. The rest is up to you. Biggest caveats that I've encountered: tap to pay via Google Wallet is a no go, Android Auto can be flaky, MDM managed work profiles don't work at the moment, and some apps that use the Google Play integrity API fail to validate and refuse to work (I've only encountered one app tha…

Android Auto is fully supported and shouldn't be any more flaky than it is on the stock OS. It's often flaky due to a bad USB connection or problematic implementation in the car. That's just how it is everywhere.

Google Wallet bans using anything other than an unmodified Google Mobile Services stock OS but there are alternatives in certain regions. In Europe, there are a lot of banking apps with tap-to-pay compatible with GrapheneOS and also Curve Pay. PayPal also has a limited tap-to-pay launch in Germany.

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use a solvent to dissolve the plastic from the card then epoxy the extracted antenna and chip innards to the back of your phone case. Problem solved. (I'm only 50% joking, you can actually do this but maybe epoxy isn't the best option.)

Somewhat similar, Polar sells a band with an NFC payment chip in it (no experience, just saw it the other day): https://support.polar.com/en/payment-wristband

Other solutions that use the same underlying technology:

https://fidesmo.com/consumer/wearables/

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I got a new phone last year, I purposely got a Pixel (open box 9a) to put GrapheneOS on it immediately. Been happy living the de-Googled Android life since. I was sad that I had to go through the OOBE setup on the stock image to unlock the bootloader. At least it doesn't force an internet connection and login, unlike Windows.

While the OOBE of the stock image doesn't force an Internet connection, the ability to unlock the bootloader does - whether you can do it or not depends on the phone manufacturer's desire, and Android for some reason uses an Internet connection to check that. My understanding is that it is impossible to unlock the bootloader on a new recent (Android 7+ at least; possiblt earlier) Android phone until it has connected…

...I feel a bit silly. When I said "Android 7+", I was thinking of my Pixel 7, which runs Android 13, so "Android 13+" is what I actually meant to say. Oops.

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#339
post #199

GrapheneOS would be so much more interesting if there was an official supported way for rooting it. That's the only reason I haven't switched to it on my several devices (all rooted)

But in that case why you would need to use GrapheneOS at all? Without security you cant have privacy and OS with security as priority cant just add hole in the system because it would allow to bypass all security features added on top of AOSP and AOSP features too. Most features people use root for can be achieved without root by modifying Android Framework itself with SystemUI/Settings app

If you wish so you can gain root privileges on your own in your own build or with modifying GrapheneOS existing builds. It wont be compatible with GrapheneOS provided updates because of signature mismatch

Re: GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17

#340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While the OOBE of the stock image doesn't force an Internet connection, the ability to unlock the bootloader does - whether you can do it or not depends on the phone manufacturer's desire, and Android for some reason uses an Internet connection to check that. My understanding is that it is impossible to unlock the bootloader on a new recent (Android 7+ at least; possiblt earlier) Android phone until it has connected…

Yep, on older phones it was certainly possible without an Internet connection. On the Nexus 5, you could just `fastboot oem unlock` right out of the box, install TWRP (custom "recovery") and install CyanogenMod/LienageOS, without ever booting the stock ROM. On my Moto G4 Play and Moto X4, you had to get an unlock code from the Motorola website (based on the phone serial number I think) and waive some warranty terms,…

I misspoke when I said Android 7+, my apologies; I was thinking of my Pixel 7, which runs Android 13.
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