I hope not to leave /e/ tonight

If my current phone has any major problems, whether by hardware failure or if a new update renders it unusable, there is no phone currently available in local (Hong Kong) stores that I would be able to quickly buy and switch to, while still using /e/. There are not many current-year phones supported on /e/, and around here the second-hand market is full of knock-off brands and fake phones.

So I guess I should roll the dice? Update and hope for the best? 1 out of 5 chance of buying a new phone tonight and no longer using /e/.

Please make more 2022 and 2021 models available.

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online servicesphone

Is this your Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra which I think you mentioned previously? You might mention the device in the title.

Not relevant, and this thread should definitely not be moved to a specific model thread. I currently have 2 phones with /e/ that I manage in my family, and am hoping to add a third phone. Someday the 2 phones will fail as well, since phones do that eventually, usually suddenly.

I can’t continue to use /e/ when that happens if there is no suitable compatible new phone to buy. The models of the old phones have no bearing on this problem - Sony XA2 Ultra, and XA2. But obviously would need to buy a new model, since stores here only carry the newest models.

1 Like

/e/OS is based on LineageOS. Apart from rare exceptions first LineageOS has to be available for a device, then there can be /e/OS.

Which 2022 and 2021 device(s) with LineageOS support and no /e/OS support yet would be suitable for the mobile network bands in your area?

https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/
https://doc.e.foundation/devices

What about the 2021 phones /e/OS already supports (release date is given in the list)? Nothing suitable?

Look and thou shall find. Get a Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G (released 2020, October) or Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro (released 2021, March), install /e/OS-R until the upgrade to o /e/OS S / 12.1 / 19.1o occurs in Q4 IV 2022.

For what it’s worth, I just re-flashed my Xperia XA2 to R. The process is described in this thread. If you are looking for a data point that might give you some peace of mind, this could be it.

I flashed it to 1.0, which then did an OTA to 1.1, and has since then done another OTA to 1.2 a few days ago. So, so far, the process has been working.

3 Likes

@anon29344687 Thank you. I should have been more specific. I avoid mainland brands like Xiaomi and Huawei because of security concerns. There is also the Zenphone 8, which works with /e/, but would be too narrow for my sausage fingers. So I’m looking for a non-mainland brand non-slim screen phone that is carried by Fortress or Broadway or similar stores. I went through every phone on the list of /e/ phones with salespeople from newest to oldest, until we reached phones that were so old that they thought it was funny that anyone would even ask.

So, if my phone broke today, my options for a new one are:

  1. a mainland Chinese brand, which I do not trust at the hardware level for security
  2. Zenphone 8, a daintily narrow phone, which is not wide enough for either my wife or I to type on - and this is the ONLY non-mainland phone compatible with /e/ currently available.
  3. Give up on /e/. Buy whatever looks nice.

/e/ was great for refurbishing 2 out of 3 of the phones we were already using - but sooner or later we are going to need new phones, at a moment’s notice, so too late to order direcly from /e/ through a reshipper. @AnotherElk 's suggestion is a good one, and I will be looking to see what Lineage devices upstream might do the trick.

I don’t need a new phone - yet. But I figured I can’t be the only /e/ user facing this dilemma. Maybe I have another few months of life in my phone - then maybe that’s enough time to see if this situation can be somehow addressed.

“leave tonight” seems dramatic. You could stock up on a spare (refurb etc) if you feel panicky.

New Google Pixels quickly get lineage releases and subsequent /e/ - good phones, can be bought in large sizes, non-mainland brands. HK stores list Pixel 5’s in-stock. Pixel 6 soon will have official builds.

(Edit: But yes, I get the gist of your request: availability)

Hi @hkmike
Well, I think I understand your thoughts. But I see it as a contribution to smartphone security when I replace the Xiaomi Stock Android with a degoogled /e/OS. And where no /e/ custom ROM is available, I try to use /e/OS Q-10 GSI.

If there should be /e/OS GSI R-11 or S-12 one day, then the possibilities to free current smartphones from data hijackers will be even greater.

@tcecyk Finding a reputable Google Pixel vendor in Hong Kong would fix my problem, and I would love to check out any leads you have. I was told that they have no official reseller in Hong Kong - where did you find them available in Hong Kong?

expansys.com.hk lists in-stock phones, maybe this reddit comment still applies. Poking the hk subreddit again can turn something up

@tcecyk Thank you. I’ve been so stupid. I was stuck on wanting to buy phones that had a three-year manufacturer’s warranty. I never realized, somehow, that that was a waste, since as soon as I rooted the phone to install /e/, that it would void the warranty anyway. That if I want to continue to use /e/ (which I do) then I’m better served by buying “grey goods” from places like the one you mentioned that have a fairly good rep and offer a one year “store warranty” rather than sticking to the big electronics stores. Choice and price will both be better.

Thank you so much, all of you - I am now much better prepared to continue to use /e/ for the foreseeable future than before I asked my question. Lots of research still to do, but a needed huge mental breakthrough has now taken place.

1 Like

Might be true for major global brands, but isn’t true for every vendor out there.
(But e.g. Fairphone don’t sell and support outside of Europe currently.)

@hkmike
You can forget about warranty and guarantee as soon as you change the operating system. Any dealer will send it to the South China Sea ( jokingly :smirk: ) - and a legal dispute is very expensive.

Why do you root a smartphone with /e/OS?

This topic was automatically closed after 14 days. New replies are no longer allowed.