Looking for a privacy friendly ROM for Mi A3 - Xiaomi Mi A3 Questions & Answers

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a privacy oriented ROM.
LineageOS isn't official and nobody posts there anymore.
Any ideas?

Crdroid is the rom for you then. It has signature spoofing for microG

Jemec26 said:
Crdroid is the rom for you then. It has signature spoofing for microG
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Click to collapse
Nice.
I tried searching some comparisons betwen LineageOS and this, mainly for differences, especially depending privacy, but I didn't find any.
Any info?

Well, CRDroid for mi a3 is based on lineage, mainly differences besides that, are the amount of features that CRDroid has compared to lineage. And you have a big plus with OTA updates.
For your concern, privacy is very strict between both of them at the same level, as of now, CRDroid has already April patch which lineage doesn't.

Yeah I read it's a fork of LineageOS and has more features.
My concern is not security (which is what patches address) but privacy, it has to do with google telemetry hard coded in the kernel, and other stuff like network scanning, wifi triangulation etc.

if you're really really concerned about privacy and will go overboard my advice is just flash any aosp rom without gapps. Just find alternative apps for youtube (this was my main concern) like newpipe.

I've been researching a whole lot of privacy focused apps and started replacing them one by one.
But ROM should be first.
Does aosp ROMs or CrDroid contains Google services?

Voliminal_8 said:
I've been researching a whole lot of privacy focused apps and started replacing them one by one.
But ROM should be first.
Does aosp ROMs or CrDroid contains Google services?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crdroid contains signature spoofing if you want to install microg.
Probably the best rom at the moment when it comes to privacy and going gappsless

garylawwd said:
Crdroid contains signature spoofing if you want to install microg.
Probably the best rom at the moment when it comes to privacy and going gappsless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly is signature spoofing?
And microG?

Voliminal_8 said:
What exactly is signature spoofing?
And microG?
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Click to collapse
If you are so focused on privacy then ditching all Google apps and researching microg would be the first thing you should do. Replacing apps now is useless as Google will still pull your data from every app on your device so long as play services are installed (or any Google app for that matter)
Read here
And here for more information

Paranoid Android 10 is out, someone needs to bring it to this phone.

debido666 said:
Paranoid Android 10 is out, someone needs to bring it to this phone.
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Click to collapse
It is. But it comes with gapps. I think there is a build without gapps also though

garylawwd said:
If you are so focused on privacy then ditching all Google apps and researching microg would be the first thing you should do. Replacing apps now is useless as Google will still pull your data from every app on your device so long as play services are installed (or any Google app for that matter)
Read here
And here for more information
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks for the links.
So wait, is microG needed? If I got it right, you only need it if you want to run most of google apps. Right?
If I get CrDroid without Gapps and install very other app replacement like, NewPipe, Singal Messenger, etc. won't it be google free?
Damn I'm confused.

Voliminal_8 said:
Ok thanks for the links.
So wait, is microG needed? If I got it right, you only need it if you want to run most of google apps. Right?
If I get CrDroid without Gapps and install very other app replacement like, NewPipe, Singal Messenger, etc. won't it be google free?
Damn I'm confused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Micro G it's kinda confusing first times you read. To answer your questions, yes, you will be Google free. Microg is mostly for apps that depends on Google services to live. It replaces the Google apps but without sending any info to Google anonymously. They just connect to make a login, that it's why signature spoofing is important, without it, microg wouldn't be able to fake gapps for those apps who required then.
Different thing is that you don't use any app who doesn't require Google services. But banking apps, for example, most of them requires it, so that it's the moment when microg plays the fake game.

Related

[Q] Android without GAPPS?

I am not really comfortable with the idea of sharing data with Google, so I wonder how it could be possible to run Android without the Google apps.
Using CM7 as the base for my devices (SE X10 mini pro & ZTE Blade) is already a good starting point, by not installing the GAPPS package.
But then what?
How to get apps from the market without GAPPS?
Which (offline) navigation software instead of Google Maps?
Which calendar app instead of Google Calendar?
Any other Google service replacement?
Any suggestions are highly appreciated.
You could probably use amazon appstore instead of market. The real market requires google's framework. As far as the calender i'm not sure look around on the amazon market for one.
Personally i would just use gapps what could you possibly be doing where the info google collects could hurt you ? They don't collect personal data like sms or phone calls. So unless you download child porn its prob ok to use google's apps.
I am not thinking about anything illegal, but you can be identified by your (required) Google account, and once you enable data synchronization / localization service, or the background data submission required for using the Market, you are already deeply caught in the Google network.
I don't know about the Amazon Appstore. Does it feature the same apps as the Google Market? I guess not, and when I try to access it, it tells "The Amazon Appstore is only available to customers located in the United States.", so I don't think this is a suitable alternative anyway.
So the only real downside of not using GAPPS is access to the market. A possible workaround could be to use the Android emulator of the Android SDK to download apps, then package them up to APKs and copy them over to your mobile.
I am sure there are a lot of others which are not comfortable with Google as well, but do not want to surrender their Android phones.
If you just want the apps you can install them from your pc to your phone on the market website. If you don't have a Google account or want one at all maybe use 4shared to download them. You can also usually download them from the developers website.
Sent from ???
I am still testing the use of Android without GAPPS, but there are some issues I have no idea how to overcome:
There seems to be no suitable Calendar App that does not rely on the Google Calendar / synchronization with Google. My preferred app would have been aCalendar, which works kind of, but no appointment can be saved because it tells "You have no calendar". Any suggestions? How is the calendar issue solved on Android-without-GAPPS devices like the Kindle Fire?
Some apps simply can not be installed without the Google framework present. For example when trying to install the Adaffix and QR Droid apk's manually, it simply tells "Application not installed" without any error message pointing out the problem. Any idea about that?
These two issues are the main problems with having no GAPPS on the phone, and as much as I would have liked to run my Android phones without GAPPS, it seems there is no way around it, if one does not want to have it overly complicated.
I have been using android for a few weeks now with no google account. Installing a firewall and lbe privacy seems to work fine. Just dont allow any google services access to the net. Works fine for me
I don't understand why you would by a Google OS but not want google apps.
UPDATE: Android without GAPPS is a go now!
Android is NOT really a GoogleOS, it's a Linux distribution with proprietary Google apps added. You can successfully run Android without Google, which is what Amazon already proofed with the Kindle Fire on a large scale.
I am not talking about running Android without Google account, but Android without GAPPS installed, and I am happy to confirm, that it is indeed possible without too much hassle, since I overcame my initially major issues:
The calendar issue could be solved by installing Jorte, which uses its own database.
I simply omit apps which rely on the Google Framework, so I replaced QR Droid with Barcode Scanner, and just deleted Adaffix, for which there is no replacement (not that much of a loss, especially since I was not really sure about their privacy policy; would you willingly submit the phone numbers of all your callers to a private company?).
I am going to use MapQuest instead of Google Maps, a free app based on https://www.openstreetmap.org
I already installed all my apps, which I previously downloaded from the Market, on that Google-free phone, in addition to AdFree, to get rid of the advertisement in the typical free apps, as well as AmazonAppstore (just in case). Now for my kind of use I don't miss any Google services at all.
The next logical step is to install the Android SDK on a computer, run Android 2.3 including GAPPS for Market access in the Android emulator, and just download all the desired software and software-updates there, to be exported (using ASTRO) to the Google-free phone.
Some may argue that it may not be worth the hassle, but I am still in the opinion, that it's best not to share ANY data with Google ever.
BTW Don't use Google at all, not even for simple searches -> have a look at https://duckduckgo.com (they even have an Andoid app)!
Where to start?
Android is not a Linux distribution, it only uses a Linux kernel, these two mean vastly different things and should not be confused.
What exactly do you want to hide from Google?
Your email? It goes through dozens of servers without encryption. The only people not reading it are the ones who don't want to.
Your location? Your cell phone provider has it. And so does your government)
Your searches? Okay you're right on this one I use duckduckgo on my pc.
The point is that most of your data is tracked by hundreds of companies. They use your os and flash version, your cookies, user agent, screen resolution. You can run but you can't hide.
You're not on Facebook, are you?
---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 PM ----------
smokin1337 said:
You could probably use amazon appstore instead of market. The real market requires google's framework. As far as the calender i'm not sure look around on the amazon market for one.
Personally i would just use gapps what could you possibly be doing where the info google collects could hurt you ? They don't collect personal data like sms or phone calls. So unless you download child porn its prob ok to use google's apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never make the assumption that if you're not going anything illegal than you shouldn't worry about tracking. Never never never. Okay? If you do you don't deserve privacy. Read "little brother" by Cory Doctorow.
For the calendar and the contacts i use to synchronise every day my Desire S with an old version of Lotus Notes (7.xx) on my Job computer. I use MyphoneExplorer with a USB connexion. It works very well without microsoft exchange or any connexion with google agenda.
Wikipedia said:
Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices
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Click to collapse
From my point of view I consider everything based on the Linux kernel a Linux distribution. Android = Linux kernel plus a bunch of open source software, the proprietary Google code does not have to be considered to be part of the base system.
What I want to hide from Google? About everything. Isn't it the same with Facebook, where the user is not the customer, but the product?
Of course everybody leaves a large track in the net, but one can at least try to prevent data sharing as much as possible, and not using Google services and not providing them any additional info is part of it.
Of course that topic is mind splitting, but I know I am not alone on this, and as shown, it it indeed possible to successfully use an Android phone completely without Google, and I do not see any disadvantage in it.
Hope this helps:
http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-download-any-apk-to-your-computer-62153/
(apk leecher)
There are many other reasons for wanting to avoid Google. For example, let's say you have your contacts synchronized. You're using gmail and calendar and you have a card linked to your Google Play account.
You go on holiday and you card gets cloned. The criminal uses your card to do something horrendous and you wind up in jail. Because you had all your eggs in one basket your account has been disabled and your defense has no access to your emails to plan your case and defend you in court. You're utterly screwed.
By using different companies and services you at least have more chance of keeping access to those services.
Google services are pretty monolithic. They're great, but there's advantage in using separate services if you can.
Here are some alternatives to the Google apps:
- Gmail = K9mail
- Play = app leacher, sdk virtual image method. fDroid
- Maps = MapQuest. Various SatNav apps. Waze
- GTalk = Skype or Fring (though both of those aren't greatly done). Various SIP/VoIP apps like cSipSimple
- contacts = t9dialer?
- Goggles = any barcode scanner will do for me
- any others?
I use f-droid.org .
It is strictly open-source. Has all the basic apps in there (Email, Firefox, tons of Timers, AlarmClocks, etc).
randomchars said:
You're not on Facebook, are you?
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Click to collapse
Of course ! Why not ? Facebook leaves you the choice what to upload.
i agree with this thread, i dont mind sharing my information with companies, i do it all the time, but i dont like forced sharing with no opt out, this is essential stealing. eg ics and motoblur contacts
i guess you could say the opt out is to not install, which is what the thread is talking about
i think we are lucky to have android available without the gapps bloat such as with cyanogen mod
zzerozzero1 said:
I use f-droid.org .
It is strictly open-source. Has all the basic apps in there (Email, Firefox, tons of Timers, AlarmClocks, etc).
Of course ! Why not ? Facebook leaves you the choice what to upload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
// Puts on tinfoil hat.
Sure kid. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
haydent said:
i agree with this thread, i dont mind sharing my information with companies, i do it all the time, but i dont like forced sharing with no opt out, this is essential stealing. eg ics and motoblur contacts
i guess you could say the opt out is to not install, which is what the thread is talking about
i think we are lucky to have android available without the gapps bloat such as with cyanogen mod
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here's my fix http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1808037
zzerozzero1 said:
I use f-droid.org .
It is strictly open-source. Has all the basic apps in there (Email, Firefox, tons of Timers, AlarmClocks, etc).
Of course ! Why not ? Facebook leaves you the choice what to upload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually facebook track you a lot. Use your browser to visit youtube and you'll see a share button for it just as many sites have now.
Facebook know a lot about where its members visit
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk 2
randomchars said:
// Puts on tinfoil hat.
Sure kid. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL ...
You obviously don't agree. Which is fine.
But plz don't troll
---------- Post added at 01:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:22 PM ----------
mistermentality said:
Actually facebook track you a lot. Use your browser to visit youtube and you'll see a share button for it just as many sites have now.
Facebook know a lot about where its members visit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using Ghostery and Adblock Plus for years. They should take care of that.
If your really worried about your privacy you should check out Orbot the Tor client for android (https://guardianproject.info/apps/orbot/)
I will revive this thread, because I also install CM10.1 and try to use withoug GAPPS.
My phone is already running much smoother than with stock rom (Galaxy S3 I9300).
No Samsung push service, Google push, Calender...
So I am already using f-droid and androidpit now. At the moment I am missing Skype and Facebook Messenger.
I know worrying about privacy + using facebook might sound strange. But most friends I can only contact by Facebook (or SMS, lol), so I have to use it.
David.

[Q] Is there a "Noogle" ROM project?

Tonight i showed installing CyanogenMod on my Galaxy S4 live at a cryptoparty.
After reboot, the device showed up with exactly all that Google bull**** i wanted to get rid of - and i still can't uninstall it!
I really wonder:
Where is that ROM project that claims to allow for a Google-free experience?
I mean a real FOSS ecosystem. One that can be secured from sinister interests.
Those CyanogenMod guys, however, have ultimately lost my trust tonight.
Any hints, out there?
blausand said:
Tonight i showed installing CyanogenMod on my Galaxy S4 live at a cryptoparty.
After reboot, the device showed up with exactly all that Google bull**** i wanted to get rid of - and i still can't uninstall it!
I really wonder:
Where is that ROM project that claims to allow for a Google-free experience?
I mean a real FOSS ecosystem. One that can be secured from sinister interests.
Those CyanogenMod guys, however, have ultimately lost my trust tonight.
Any hints, out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would CyanogenMod have lost your trust? CM does not come with proprietary Gapps included. What is in the package is very clear and spelled out. But the % of people that prefer their phone sprinkled with Google goodness far outweigh the % of people who feel the need to be so secure that they have to partially neuter the functionality of the phone in some form or another. Anyway, you can check out the NoGapps project here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/sho...tmctr=(not provided)&__utmv=-&__utmk=34876962
Is CM11 just missing a switch to keep the GApps of the former ROM or drop them?
es0tericcha0s said:
Why would CyanogenMod have lost your trust? CM does not come with proprietary Gapps included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, then explain what i find in my Harddrive: (see attachment).
I haven't figured out yet why these GApps persistently stay on my phone no matter how often i wipe /cache and /system and reinstall CM, but i do guess something has changed in their policy.
Maybe it's just a missing switch that should ask me if i want to keep them or drop them?
What bothers me even more, is that i can't uninstall GApps. I can just deactivate them, where what i seek is pure absence of code. Operating virginity fu(king system.
And what makes me lose trust in CM is that, coming with the commercialisation, this windows installer comes up with this clean black box window that just says "downloading" or "installing" for ages, leaving me without any clue about what is currently transferred - and in what direction.
"Theoretically, the CyanogenMod installer could easily have uploaded literally every bit of my private data off my phone within that time."​I guess everybody would feel a lot better if the installer eats the good old .zip i feed it, or at least reports which one it is downloading and at what bandwidth or percentage.
es0tericcha0s said:
Anyway, you can check out the NoGapps project…
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Click to collapse
Thanks for that, man. It's so refreshing to learn about these little steps in the right direction. Will definitely support them!
I much prefer to just download the roms myself vs. using an installer. That would eliminate the "What is it doing??" issue. http://download.cyanogenmod.org/ - I didn't know which version of the S4 you have, so couldn't be more specific. The only time Gapps should be persistent across wipes (though shouldn't happen if you wipe the system...) is when the Gapps you are using also includes a script to save the Gapps across updates. Look in your /system/etc/init.d folder and see if you have any scripts in there you don't recognize or say something about Gapps. CM does come with a few of the open source Google apps included like Voice Search and such. But you can uninstall the apps that you do not want with a file manager that has root access or a system app remover app like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp You can also remove unwanted apps BEFORE you install if you have the rom zip on your PC combined with a PC app like 7zip that will allow you to open as an archive (regularly unzipping with break the signature of the rom) and deleting the apps from /system/app before you flash.
Keep in mind that disabling will typically be better than uninstalling the app because the end result is the same : not in the app drawer, not able to run, can't use CPU processes, etc. but if you do decide you need it, it is easy to enable, reboot, and use the app again. Removing the apps from /system does not give your phone more usable space for other apps or anything like that since the apps we install get put into /data/app not /system/app whose partitions are already set. Now, you can throw apps from /data/app into /system/app and save some space like that, but you have to give those apps the right permissions as well as some do not like to update properly when there.
Other alternatives include seeing if there is a solid AOSP build for your version of the S4 and use the NoGapps project, or to learn how to dev yourself.
Currently, CyanogenMod helps google to maintain a trap
Again i appreciate your words, es0tericcha0s.
As described before, these scripts work for Google, making their Apps happily survive any attempts to really wipe my own phone.
Today's stock ROMs contain bloatware and spyware, which every proprietary component with root privileges must be considered to be.
Rather than saving memory or improving performance, my goal is to teach to as many "normal" people as possible an easy way to setup trustible alternatives.
I know everything can be accomplished in a root shell, but the way out of this observation hell must be prepared for the masses now.
Starting with Dominik Schürmann's article about An Android without Google i will continue focussing on Replicant.
"As soon as Cyanogen and his team offer a simple exit door to the trap they currently help Google to maintain, i shall be in peace with them again."​
blausand said:
Again i appreciate your words, es0tericcha0s.
As described before, these scripts work for Google, making their Apps happily survive any attempts to really wipe my own phone.
Today's stock ROMs contain bloatware and spyware, which every proprietary component with root privileges must be considered to be.
Rather than saving memory or improving performance, my goal is to teach to as many "normal" people as possible an easy way to setup trustible alternatives.
I know everything can be accomplished in a root shell, but the way out of this observation hell must be prepared for the masses now.
Starting with Dominik Schürmann's article about An Android without Google i will continue focussing on Replicant.
"As soon as Cyanogen and his team offer a simple exit door to the trap they currently help Google to maintain, i shall be in peace with them again."​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I'm certain that the scripts that keep the apps are from the developers, and not Google themselves since they aren't the ones who bundle the Gapps for our use with roms, and that script to keep them across flashing is helpful to more people as is often requested to make it easier to update the rom without a complete reflash.
Ah, I forgot about the Replicant program. I had seen it pop up before but couldn't remember the name. I do a lot of android modding at my shop and it's just something that no one ever asks me to do, so never really bothered to get that far into it. People who know about it are typically gonna be able to do it themselves and the ones that don't know often are not the type of people wanting to relearn how to use their phone. I just weigh the pros and cons for Google's oversight of my phone vs not using some of my favorite Google apps easily like Maps and Gmail and the pros of Google win every time, for me. Luckily there are alternatives though as that is what keeps things moving along. I triple boot with Ubuntu Touch and FireFox OS on my Nexus 5, so it's not like I am against alternatives at all.
You could go full out security geek style and rock this: http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/24/5441642/blackphone-silent-circle-geeksphone-pre-order-launch
Peace after all. A short apology.
Since i tampered quite a bit about cyanogenMod in this thread, i should at least tell how i finally got rid of GApps.
I installed OmniROM just to learn that it's wizard leads me into even wilder Google service agreements than CM did.
(So, unfortunately, i haven't seen and felt it at all )
After that, just out of sheer curiousity, i went into the "advanced" menu of the ClockworkMod bootloader. Surprisingly, the wellknown "clear dalvik cache" was hidden there. So i did and also installed CM over, restarted, earned an endless loop in the Cyanogen Account wizard, did "wipe data /reset", installed CM once more, and finally rebootet into a virgin CM that seemingly didn't contain any GApps anymore.
So, in fact i thank everybody who contributes to a better smart phone experience and of course the community behind what is now venturing as "CyanogenMod". Always remember:
"Don't be evil!"​
blausand said:
Since i tampered quite a bit about cyanogenMod in this thread, i should at least tell how i finally got rid of GApps.
I installed OmniROM just to learn that it's wizard leads me into even wilder Google service agreements than CM did.
(So, unfortunately, i haven't seen and felt it at all )
After that, just out of sheer curiousity, i went into the "advanced" menu of the ClockworkMod bootloader. Surprisingly, the wellknown "clear dalvik cache" was hidden there. So i did and also installed CM over, restarted, earned an endless loop in the Cyanogen Account wizard, did "wipe data /reset", installed CM once more, and finally rebootet into a virgin CM that seemingly didn't contain any GApps anymore.
So, in fact i thank everybody who contributes to a better smart phone experience and of course the community behind what is now venturing as "CyanogenMod". Always remember:
"Don't be evil!"​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just another reason I prefer TWRP recovery as it has the dalvik cache in the regular Wipe menu.
If you don't want any Google stuff on your phone don't have an android or flash a completely different os, cyanogen, omni or just about any ROM in this forum will be based off Google. You can probably flash pure Debian but that won't do you much good if you want to use it as a phone. So youre stuck with hoping someone ported Firefox os or Jolla or Ubuntu touch or whatever.
Your other option would be getting something akin to pdroid or imbed some framework spoofing, some of which may be done for you if you look into your device forum.
But compiling about cyanogen or any other custom ROM is silly as not one of them claim to be Google free or even suggest it, and not installing gapps won't mean there is no Google 'stuff' as its still running android
Best of luck in your endeavors
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Android withour Google: Pdroid permission control.
demkantor said:
If you don't want any Google stuff on your phone don't have an android or flash a completely different os, cyanogen, omni or just about any ROM in this forum will be based off Google. (...)
Your other option would be getting something akin to pdroid or imbed some framework spoofing (...)
But compiling about cyanogen or any other custom ROM is silly as not one of them claim to be Google free or even suggest it, and not installing gapps won't mean there is no Google 'stuff' as its still running android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for commenting.
I was thinking that Google's initial contribution to android is both open source and promised to stay away from google's servers. Am i wrong with that?
I've never tried Pdroid. To be honest, the approach shows clearly how conceptually failing the whole perrmission system of android is. And since it is so crucial to the architecture of android, i guess in the next 2 years the real long term killer mobile OS will appear.
I'm also writing this because cyanogenMod is driving me crazy with some bugs and shortcomings, and today i checked the Replicant website and nothing has changed since march.
http://www.cnet.com/news/firefox-os...web-gaming/?part=propeller&subj=news&tag=link
Maybe Firefox OS will become what you want, my guess is that a couple more years and it will work out the kinks and those with a dislike of apple Google and Microsoft will have another choice. Well also jolla looks promising
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Best ROM today? Best ROM tomorrow? (no gapps)

I'm wondering what people think is the best ROM (no gapps) for this phone today, and how that's likely to evolve over time.
Do any ROMs stand out in terms of features, performance, or battery life? Are there any ROMs that have significant problems?
Are any ROMs "official", or likely to be? Should that be a concern or factor?
Also I'm looking to set this up no gapps, so micro-g integration is a factor. It seems like the Magisk module should work well enough with most ROMs, but I'm new to this part.
Bump. Anyone…?
"Best" is such a personal thing that I can only tell you that I'm using Resurrection Remix and am extremely pleased; lots of customization, stability, Slim Recents, and no Gapps are what make it perfect for me.
It's the first ROM I tried on this phone, and it works so well for me that I'm not (currently) considering trying something else...although my curiosity and general nature (see my sig) may lead me to trying out a different ROM...eventually, maybe.
- Resurrection Remix has a long history, but who knows for sure about developement for this phone?
- Feels nice and snappy to use, but I have no Gapps and I've only installed a few (5 or 6) apps.
- Battery life is great, for me, I don't use my phone much and go 3-4 days with still 80% left.
- Not interested in Google or microG, so can't speak to that.
TiTiB said:
"Best" is such a personal thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Certainly there's allowance for people to describe what they consider best.
TiTiB said:
I'm using Resurrection Remix and am extremely pleased
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far I'm liking RR, but IIUC there's no plans for that to be official for this phone.
Previously, I loved CR-Droid, but on this phone it's missing a lot. IIUC, there's a plan to make that official, but I haven't seen any progress for a few months.
TiTiB said:
Not interested in Google or microG, so can't speak to that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious, how does that work? I'm new to de-Googled phones, and I thought microG was kind of necessary to get most apps working. It certainly seems important for apps that use location, eg weather and mapping.
go vegan said:
Certainly there's allowance for people to describe what they consider best.
So far I'm liking RR, but IIUC there's no plans for that to be official for this phone.
Previously, I loved CR-Droid, but on this phone it's missing a lot. IIUC, there's a plan to make that official, but I haven't seen any progress for a few months.
I'm curious, how does that work? I'm new to de-Googled phones, and I thought microG was kind of necessary to get most apps working. It certainly seems important for apps that use location, eg weather and mapping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do my best to never allow anything to know my location. I use Open Street Maps in offline mode for maps, my weather app uses my zipcode, etc.
I'm totally ungoogled on my phone. F-droid apps only.
EDIIT: Preemptive correction. Not true about F-droid apps only, or even FOSS only. Obviously Brave Browser, for instance, is neither.
TiTiB said:
I do my best to never allow anything to know my location. I use Open Street Maps in offline mode for maps, my weather app uses my zipcode, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using this - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.tobykurien.webapps/
If I want a "web app" to have access to my location, I can permit that on an as-needed basis.
I'm also migrating towards weather apps from F-Droid - https://search.f-droid.org/?q=weather&lang=en
TiTiB said:
I'm totally ungoogled on my phone. F-droid apps only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not there yet, but I think I'm on my way. Location (via microG/NLP) is handy for lots of things, especially when I have control over it.
I'm new to de-Googled phones. Can you point me to resources about the pros and cons of microG? I was under the impression that it's kind of necessary for notifications and location services…? But maybe if you don't need/want notifications and location services, then there's no need for it?
go vegan said:
I've been using this - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.tobykurien.webapps/
If I want a "web app" to have access to my location, I can permit that on an as-needed basis.
I'm also migrating towards weather apps from F-Droid - https://search.f-droid.org/?q=weather&lang=en
I'm not there yet, but I think I'm on my way. Location (via microG/NLP) is handy for lots of things, especially when I have control over it.
I'm new to de-Googled phones. Can you point me to resources about the pros and cons of microG? I was under the impression that it's kind of necessary for notifications and location services…? But maybe if you don't need/want notifications and location services, then there's no need for it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't had interest in microG in years, and don't have any info about what is or is not required for location or notifications. I have no need for either. I use my phone for calls, texts, and, very rarely, web access via Brave, Bromite, or Fennec—that's it. If need to look at a map, I have it already downloaded is OSM.
TiTiB said:
I use my phone for calls, texts, and, very rarely, web access via Brave, Bromite, or Fennec—that's it. If need to look at a map, I have it already downloaded is OSM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use a dumb-phone for calls and texts. I use a smart-phone as a pocket-size portable computer.
Which custom rom did you end up trying? Im also on the same boat as you in terms of wanting to degoogle. I just successfully unlocked the bootloader and rooted the device via magisk. Now I'm trying to figure out the next step in getting rid of gapps and having microG in place of play services. The user fulalas created a debloat magisk module, and if that removes core gapps I'm wondering if implementing that and then installing microG will be the solution for me

Question who is on a custom rom? how do you like it?

who is on a custom rom? how do you like it? do you recommend it?
EvolutionX - link to the ROM is in the 6 Pro forum. Some great modifications while maintaining all stock features. Very good battery.
Proton is very good - minimal apps - great online installation.
I'ld love to see a MIUI port - and waiting for LineageOS to show up.
Evolution X
I'm trying grapheneOS which answers to my needs : no play services
Also waiting LineageOS which was my daily ROM for years
dj0 said:
I'm trying grapheneOS which answers to my needs : no play services
Also waiting LineageOS which was my daily ROM for years
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i thought grapheneOS had google play services,framework and store sandboxed,not removed.
is google gone completely?
replaced with something else?
nutzfreelance said:
i thought grapheneOS had google play services,framework and store sandboxed,not removed.
is google gone completely?
replaced with something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my understanding, not present by default:
GrapheneOS is also hard at work on filling in gaps from not bundling Google apps and services into the OS. We aren't against users using Google services but it doesn't belong integrated into the OS in an invasive way.
(https://grapheneos.org/features)
They provide a compatibilty layer and capability to install it as an app
CalyxOS since Jan/Feb with no G stuff. I'm not moving from here it's a happy place for my phone and use case.

ROM advice request

Hi, I have an old GT-i9300 phone that I was going to lend to someone going on holiday. They wanted a phone that they would not be worried about if it grew legs and walked off, so old and slow was fine.
They wanted to use it for:
google maps,
google translate,
google photos,
gmail,
chrome
And all was going well until i was testing google maps and after a few days i started getting annoying popups informing me that android 4.3 or older are no longer supported. And then said person requested support for a pile of other apps.
So I have no choice but to install a custom rom as android 8 or higher is now required.
I have come here seeking your wisdom and knowledge in finding a custom rom for android 8 or later that is stable enough for daily use, has working wifi, NFC, data roaming and camera.
Please help
stonefisher
stonefisher1 said:
Hi, I have an old GT-i9300 phone that I was going to lend to someone going on holiday. They wanted a phone that they would not be worried about if it grew legs and walked off, so old and slow was fine.
They wanted to use it for:
google maps,
google translate,
google photos,
gmail,
chrome
And all was going well until i was testing google maps and after a few days i started getting annoying popups informing me that android 4.3 or older are no longer supported. And then said person requested support for a pile of other apps.
So I have no choice but to install a custom rom as android 8 or higher is now required.
I have come here seeking your wisdom and knowledge in finding a custom rom for android 8 or later that is stable enough for daily use, has working wifi, NFC, data roaming and camera.
Please help
stonefisher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive tried a couple of roms in the past days. they all have some kind of little issues. especially the higher android versions from 8-12 are quite buggy.
what i can recommend is:
1. resurrection remix 5.8.5 android 7: https://sourceforge.net/projects/resurrectionremix/files/i9300/ and https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/rom-7-1-2_r2-i9300-ressurrection-remix-n-5-8-3-official.3270121/ (for reference)
2. lineage os 14.1 android 7 by mibo: https://github.com/Mibo5354/i9300_builds/releases
this one i tried today and it looks to be the best overall one so far:
3. lineage os 16.1 android 9: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...-16-0-by-team-infusion-beta-20-08-19.3940142/
this one may also be a good one:
4. lineage os 15.1 anroid 8: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...-15-1-for-galaxy-s3-by-team-infusion.3941516/
if you want to look further go from here:
List of Best Custom ROM for Samsung Galaxy S3 [Updated]
Do you want to Install any Custom ROM for Samsung Galaxy S3 device? then you are at the right place. Here we will list all the Custom
www.getdroidtips.com
if you want gps navigation take mapfactor navigator with open street maps. google maps, translator and mail you can use via browser, as browser take opera gx, it has adblocker and antiminer built in. play store you dont need just take the apks. i never install gapps. photo / gallery is available in all roms by default.
but if you want gapps you have to chose a specific package for the respective roms, like opengapps for arm.
The Open GApps Project
OpenGApps.org offers information and pre-built packages of The Open GApps Project. The Open GApps Project is an open-source effort to script the automatic generation of up-to-date Google Apps packages. All Android versions and platforms supported.
opengapps.org
Thanks i will look into these, any update on your findings?
stonefisher1 said:
Thanks i will look into these, any update on your findings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive been using this (https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...-16-0-by-team-infusion-beta-20-08-19.3940142/) now for quite a long time and its really, really good. my favorite of all mods i tried. the next closest recommendation is resurrection remix.

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