Hello- I am ready to give /e/ a try and could use some help regarding devices. I have always used iOS and so am relatively unfamiliar with Android devices. I am not in Europe and so I cannot purchase a device with /e/ installed. Rather, I am looking to purchase a used device and want to flash /e/. Can someone suggest an ideal device that would be somewhat affordable but also modern enough to last a few years? Beyond that, I don’t have a lot of requirements other than a headphone jack and reasonable battery life. If you were looking at a new phone specifically for /e/, what would you go for?
Thanks!
Which region are you in cause that can change what device would be most suitable.
Here is a post about an improved supported devices list
Personnally I would go for the Xperia XA2 or the Redmi note 5 pro, they’re quite recent and are not that expensive
Since LineageOS now officially works on Redmi Note 7 Pro, guess it’s only a matter of time before it will be added to the eOS’s support list.
But if you could find a used Samsung Galaxy S9 (model SM-G960F, SM-G960F/DS or SM-G960N) at a price suitable for you — it would be the ultimate choice at the moment, I think.
Xiaomi Pocophone F1 is somewhat cheaper made, have a higher SAR ratings and its bootloader a little tricky to unlock, but it’s still a fine affordable device too.
Having installed /e/ on three different types of phones and had few complications but certain constraints due to the protection devices used by these phones, I can affirm that the easiest by far was the OnePlus 5T - and also the most up-to-date with respect to security features. If you follow the help pages either here in the community and on the wiki, it is the quickest phone to unlock and using adb, poses no problem to transfer files and flash the /e/ zip file. The updating via OTA worked perfectly with little user intervention and I have yet to discover the sort of problems that Samsung users have posted here. Bluetooth works like a charm, the camera is good to my perhaps non-perfectionist eyes and fingerprint unlocking is simple. I’d highly recommend this phone which probably costs as little as $250 US through suppliers of refurbished phones.
Thanks for the reply. I’m in the USA.
Yeah either a OnePlus as suggested or I can recommend the Essential phone which is a US released and a solid phone for pretty cheap, all the US released Galaxys are snapdragon and /e/ isnt compatible to my knowledge. My essential phone worked perfectly with /e/ (currently nougat build) when I was traveling in the US.
I would also check out the Xiaomi Pocophone, it has absolutely amazing specs, and the bootloader is very easy to unlock.
Isn’t it require to give Xiaomi co. your real phone number and to receive the SMS on your own SIM-card, which is strictly necessarily to be installed into the unlocking phone? If that’s true, then it contradicts everything we’re here for.
Thank you for the advice- this is exactly what I was hoping to discover. I’ll keep my eye out for a 5T.
Not to my knowledge, I unlocked a Mi A1 recently and it was very easy, no contact with Xiaomi. And I love the specs of the Pocophone F1, however I never unlocked one! I have read that they’re very easy to unlock. I really don’t know if you need contact with Xiaomi to unlock! Anyone else know?
I will second what @Grendel had suggested. I recently got a good deal on the OnePlus 5T and was able to flash the /e/ ROM with minimal issues. I would choose the 5T because it has an 8 series Qualcomm chip that is fairly new and 8 GB of RAM if you find the right version.
In my brief research it really does seem like with Android the more RAM the better. While 4GB will work fine for now that may not be the case in a year or two as apps get bigger and code gets sloppier.
I’ve been pleased with the OnePlus 5T and I think you would be as well.
The Mi A series is an exception, because is part of Android One project, which has more in common with old Google Nexus than with the rest of Xiaomi phones.
Why not just wait for the release for OnePlus 6, which has already received official LineageOS support on which eOS is based?
There is no published timeline for when devices will receive /e/ support (that I could find). Plus with that thought pattern you could wait forever since there is always something better on the horizon.
If OP wants to buy a phone relatively soon then they would want to choose from the currently available devices. Unless the /e/ team can publicize when support comes to devices once that have an official LineageOS build you could be waiting 2 weeks or two months for the OnePlus 6 to get support. If OP can wait for the exact phone they want to come along with /e/ support than I see no issue waiting.
However I don’t recall reading anywhere that /e/ will be supported in every device that LineageOS supports. Is it possible the OnePlus 6 never gets support?
I very much doubt that /e/ devs will allow themselves to skip one of the most demanded devices of the last year, which OnePlus 6 truly is.
However, if to take OnePlus 6 right now, I don’t think it would be a tragedy to temporarily flash it with unofficial eOS build or LineageOS 16 for microG with Bliss launcher.
On the other hand, if to buy 5T, you will get the more obsolete device that you will not be able to change as easily as it’s firmware.
Be aware that the 1+ devices don’t have CDMA so don’t work with Verizon or Sprint. I would suggest a Pixel, they cover all providers, are inexpensive, and are easy to flash with /e/. Only the XL and 2 XL are officially supported at this time, so if you prefer the smaller (non XL) device you are limited to unofficial builds. Look for devices on swappa.
Based on specs, essential phone runs on CDMA too if needed.
Support for the OnePlus 6 really could depend on what the company vision and roadmap for /e/ is going to be in the short term. If attention and adoption from mainstream users is what they want the company may not decide to offer /e/ for every phone under the sun. At this point I think OnePlus caters more to the techs/geeky side of the spectrum than say Samsung. Offering OnePlus support doesn’t draw in the mainstream as well as other brands would. There is a reason that the devices that /e/ is trying to sell to consumers are all Samsung devices. Far as I can tell /e/ wants to be a business instead of a niche ROM vendor hanging in the periphery. If that is true then normally focus is needed to succeed.
Personally, I’d almost rather that /e/ draw a line in the sand on supported devices and make what they do support work as well as the competition. I find a lot of odd UI bugs, glitches, or things that just aren’t “as nice” in /e/, compared to Apple or Samsung devices. I believe that taking time to get support for another device would inevitably take development time away from tweaking the OS.
Essential phone does not appear to be listed on the Verizon “approved devices” list (I don’t know how up to date the webpage I checked is). This would mean you can’t register a SIM with it. Some devices will work OK once the SIM has been registered with an approved device.