I have a problem. I cannot stick with the conventional ROM – the one that comes with the phone, also known as the stock ROM. I own a MiA1 my current phone and previously owned a Moto E 2nd gen and a Redmis 3s. The stock ROM on these phones are clogged with proprietary software from their manufacturers. Then Lineage OS came to my rescue. I converted an old PC at home into a build machine and was churning out ROM’s for these devices. Then I ran into a problem. I did not want google, but wanted to use some apps like twitter and whatsapp which are dependent on Google Play Services. Setting up MicroG is a pain. My search on the net led me to / e / .
The first set up of / e / that I did was on the Redmi 3s. The setup was super-smooth. Since I had a ‘e’ test account the post setup configuration was smoother. The ROM worked flawlessly. I had hoped to do some testing and find some flaws and raise bugs. Needless to say I was not able to find many. That is a lot to say considering that this was a beta release!
The Moto E otus and my MiA1 are currently not officially supported. I built a ROM for the Moto E and again was able to set it up without hassles. Currently working on building a Rom for my MiA1.
Pro’s
Smooth setup, daily updates, dedicated support groups, integrated Microg ,
Con’s
Launcher has a cluttered look ( I prefer a clean main screen), installed Trebuchet apk to fix this.
Weather app does not work properly for my location – Mumbai. Setup is also a bit nerve racking.
Maps app has a long way to go to compete with the smoothness, coverage and clarity of Google maps.
Built in Browser has issues…
Raised bugs for these in the system…yes you can raise bugs and expect a resolution \ response to your problems as well!
Given that this is the beta version and most of these apps are still W.I.P my / e / experience has been quite rewarding. This is a small step for e.foundation but a giant step for the end user – YOU . A giant step which will take you away from a world dominated by the googles, apples, amazons and Microsoft’s of the world. I am sure my experiments with / e / with translate into a life long commitment with the / e / ROM or like someone once said towards the end of a movie ‘…., I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship’.
All the best to the / e / team!!!
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