Android

Once my phone becomes that limited I may as well go back to a feature phone after mine stops being usable.

I'm going to wait for someone else to figure out a workaround and write a tutorial. Then wait for some indian youtuber to make a video tutorial out of that.

Use whatever I got for now and then hope that phones that allow custom Roms don't die out when it comes to buying a replacement in the future.

I don't even use gmail anymore which made it easy to start degoogling and moving away from using Google account based stuff like Google Keep and opting for Foss variants. So hope custom ROM scene can survive or look into Linux phones.

I'm probably going to spam this around a bit, since most people don't seem to know about it, but a reminder that FuriLabs has a (GNU+)Linux phone with decent spec.s and the ability to run Android app.s (from what I've heard) pretty decently: https://furilabs.com/

Biggest drawback is it's based on Halium. Usual growing pains of a new product/company apply but apparently the company is pretty responsive and their dev.s have worked with customers to get things like calling working with the carrier and bands of their country where it hasn't worked before so improvements move pretty quickly.

Collection of different experiences I've variously seen online over the last year or so:

• https://clehaxze.tw/gemlog/2025/07-20-flx1-actually-usable-linux-phone.gmi
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41839326
• https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1fa1ljn/furilabs_flx1/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1j46f2w/flx1_linux_phone_display_out/
• https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/03/furiphone_flx1/

I don't own one, myself, so I can't give any personal experience but I've seen it around for a few years now but most people don't seem to even know about it. Maybe there's a reason for that? But none I've ever seen anyone say.

(all that said, – if they take PayPal – I'm gonna buy one with PayPal credit as soon as humanly feasible; the end goal, for me, was always to move to Mobile Linux, eventually, so I'm very interested to try out if this makes it finally feasible, for me)

my plan is not updating my phone until the google plan is reversed.

Honestly no idea. It's hard enough finding a phone with an audio jack, and now I have to find a phone with an audio jack, and an unlockable bootloader so I can install another OS?

Just seems like my way of living is incompatible with modern society. It's all just too hard

What are you talking about a ban on sideloading?

So how long until celluar providers also say you have to have a trusted device to activate your SIM? Apple, Google, Samsung, automotive and Windows would be fine and they’d probably allow their branded or limited hotspots.

This would basically eliminate any Linux option (pc or phone), and DIY devices. I could see other OOB vendors getting on board to be certified to have a certificate issued to them.

I've been using LineageOS for years, and have been planning for my next phone to be a used Pixel running GrapheneOS. While this announcement from Google sucks shit, it won't affect me I don't think. More worrying are the other changes in the pipeline that would stop development of GrapheneOS. I am dying for a working Linux phone.

Burn google down

Gonna push me to using a dumb phone and a Linux laptop I guess.

what are the downsides of rooting?

If this actually happens, my next phone will probably be a dumb phone, unless I can find a true linux phone.

There hasn't been anything Google on my phone for a while now, so I'll first wait and see how they regain control over my phone :D

Hopefully GrapheneOS can be my solution since I've got a Pixel 7a, but I first need to move over all my 2FA accounts because Twilio Authy does not work on GrapheneOS 😭

I'm not sure really.

I like the idea of alternatives like a Linux phone OS or a custom ROM like Graphene, but I also hate the idea of needing to faff around with my phone to make it work how I want it to.

We'll have to see how they implement it first. If it's just through Play Protect, I'm fine as I'm already not using that. If not, guess I'll have to make-do with a Linux phone.

The ban is only in Brazil, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Terrible, and those are some of the bigger markets, but I am not affected in a years time. I will have to see more as we approach the date on working around it.

I'm probably going to have get a separate phone for work, need a few apps that I don't foresee working on a Linux phone anytime soon.

"The apps don't work on my phone" won't fly as an excuse lol, and I like my job most days.

PinePhone?

Well, I don't like throwing away devices I can still do something with, so I'm going to keep using the android devices I have until they stop working. After that, I'm not actually sure. I don't want to completely give up on mobile gaming because I do like having an easy way to play games away from home, but I haven't found a good alternative yet. Mobile Linux devices either aren't worth their price or, if they are, I have no way to purchase them.

I would just install a mobile Linux distro onto newer android devices but on top of the fact that you can't just install Linux onto android devices like you can on PCs, I've heard that, at least with some manufactures, that's soon to be impossible as well.

Use whatever I have for now, with less and less apps. Turn the device off when I am not using it. Start experimenting with project boards with modem cards.

OG iPad with a Bluetooth headset would have been a goto mobile device for most things in size, battery life, cellular reception. Never happened, of course, when they could sell you 30 devices kneecapped in various ways instead. So if what I end up building is a bit large, that is just fine.