Switching to Graphene phone...what are some of the reasons people fail?
194 sats \ 3 comments \ @Signal312 28 Mar tech
When I say "fail", I mean "fail to continue with the Graphene as their primary phone".
I'm planning on plunking down for a used Google pixel that I can run Graphene on. A couple people I know have tried out Graphene but decided that the extra work/hassle wasn't worth it, mostly because they're "doxed" in other ways anyway, so why take a bunch of trouble with Graphene. But I'd still like to try it.
Is there an article or something with a list of of functionality that the Graphene doesn't give you? For instance, if you definitely must have X feature, then don't bother with Graphene?
write
preview
related posts
196 sats \ 0 replies \ @final 29 Mar
A lot of the failures come down to people just not reading and understanding what GrapheneOS does and doesn't do before they choose to install it. Giving the docs a read should give everyone the best foresight.
A couple people I know have tried out Graphene but decided that the extra work/hassle wasn't worth it, mostly because they're "doxed" in other ways anyway, so why take a bunch of trouble with Graphene. But I'd still like to try it.
The merits of using GrapheneOS aren't worthless if you are a public person or not. You'd still have a more secure device using GrapheneOS and security is very important for everyone. Many of the security enhancements for GrapheneOS are seamless and aren't seen or touched by most users.
A completely average person could (and many do) use GrapheneOS as a normal phone. They'll use all the Google services and apps and mainstream social media but with better security and privacy than on the stock OS. Many people completely miss the mark and refuse to use GrapheneOS thinking it isn't okay to use it like this, you have the option to at your discretion. The Sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer is there for that.
Is there an article or something with a list of of functionality that the Graphene doesn't give you? For instance, if you definitely must have X feature, then don't bother with Graphene?
Some reasons you may not use GrapheneOS are:
  • You must have contactless credit/debit card payments with Google Pay.
  • You must use an app that blocks running on anything but a Google-certified OS (Google Pay contactless requires this), A small run of bank apps do this, installing Sandboxed Google Play would fix apps that don't do this.
  • You require an oddly specific Stock OS feature no matter what.
Most of these are fixed by having a second phone, but, may be a deal breaker to some.
Check the posts on SN about GrapheneOS, I also made a lot of posts about GrapheneOS on here in the past and I have used it for several years, I strongly recommend giving it a try. Since those posts I've now made a close relationship with GrapheneOS so I am not neutral in my answers.
reply
100 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 28 Mar
I made the switch. Here are two posts I made: #200175
#216475
If you check the comments, there are a few SN stackers who really understand graphene inside and out. FWIW, I'm still using it without any major issues.
reply
39 sats \ 0 replies \ @expatriotic 28 Mar
For me I think one of the main benefits is sandboxing. Even if you "need" google for example, you could put it in a profile that you need to explicitly switch to for those apps to get live. Meaning that using it is a net positive even if you have things you want to do on it that wouldn't be considered super cypherpunk. As for getting started, there are tons of helpful vids on yewtu.be
reply