2025Q3 install of /e/OS 3.1 summary and questions

/e/OS Devices Nothing
13

Misc notes:

  • while CMF1 has only USB2, using a brand new USB3 5Gbps cable is advantageous as these spec cables are most shielded and can help avoid signal issues during data transfers
    • certainly don’t use a random old USB2 cable intended primarily for charging - which technically has data wires, but is NOT as robust
  • while downgrading base Android can lead to problems on most phones, this is not an issue on CMF1
  • The high saturation is pretty high, fortunately running two commands from one’s desktop cures it unil next reboot :slightly_frowning_face:
    • fix source: Oversaturated colors on CMF Phone 1
    • The color correction being off, effectively prevents one from switching color profiles in Setting and using Extra Dim mode, as the over-saturation will return :slightly_frowning_face:
  • UI hang during fingerprint scanning (1-time)
    • during 48h of intense usage and testing (-some sleep), I got one UI freeze when training my second thumb for the fingerprint. Hopefully this is rare under normal unlock usage :slightly_frowning_face:
    • will try to ssh-in (via termux+sshd) to hanged UI phone to confirm this is only UI
    • will try to see if I can unhang via ADB root
  • CMF1 8+256 model for only $209 is an amazing deal :+1:
    • screen is large, crisp, high contrast and high dynamic range - definitely above its pay-grade
    • the device is very snappy, benchmarks I’ve read place it above Samsung S10 performance which I have and CMF1 is a noticeable upgrade
    • this is a big device compared to S10, I knew that ahead of time, still was surprised, but like it
    • the battery life is amazing, 48h on single charge down to 10%
      • included flashing, copying all my data over, setting up, migrating settings, experimenting and playing around
      • I’ve never had a phone with this much battery life - amazing! :grin:
    • the 4G+5G converage on Mint Mobile (T-Mobile infra) is much better than my S10’s 4G-only
      • more bars and better connectivity with CMF1 :+1:
    • no NFC - fine
      • I don’t put all my eggs in one basket and have a wallet with <sic!> cash and cards inside of it…
      • I’m OLD, get off my lawn!! :wink:
  • /e/OS and LineageOS and AOSP A14 notes:
    • frame of reference: I came from stock Samsung S10 (A12) with up-to date apps (brave, signal, etc) and many F-droid apps.
    • everything works amazingly well, expectations EXCEEDED :grin:
      • between App Lounge (logged in to goog for a few paid apps), Aurora Store (anon) and F-droid (majority of tools) I got ~everything working
      • afterwards locked down micro-G cloud notifications to only those apps absolutely needing them (2 apps)
      • ability to lock down network access for apps not needing it is great!!
        • really just full control over any permission
        • ie. no background use, nice fine grained controls, etc…
      • I’ve been using Organic Maps for a long time, aside from lack of traffic it is great!
      • Brave works great
      • Signal works great
      • obviously everything from F-droid is fine
      • even my bank app works fine
      • only failure is: Blink Camera app - can’t get it to login with it’s stupid oauth web redirect
        • excuse to replace it with motionEyeOS :slight_smile:

In summary - if you are technical and privacy > convenience|games oriented then DO IT!

Now I shall set aside some money and donate to those projects I rely on to help them continue - we need them!

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