GrapheneOS: first impressions, stumbling blocks, and opinions
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
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In today's very fun and very improvised video, I'm going to install GrapheneOS on a brand new Pixel 7. I haven't changed an OS on an Android phone in years, so this will be exciting. And messy!
Resources (these are not affiliate links):
📖 Companion blog post: vkc.sh/how-i-use-a-smartphone/
📱 GrapheneOS website: grapheneOS.org
🤖 F-Droid project: f-droid.org/
🌃 AuroraOSS website I visited briefly, I hope it's legit: auroraoss.com/
I also reference two videos from other CZcamsrs: I have not watched these in their entirety and am merely providing these as information which you may want to consider (I am not endorsing any views here):
Louis Rossmann video referenced: • Why I deleted GrapheneOS
Techlore video referenced: • GrapheneOS: Documentin...
Chapters 'n' stuff:
0:00 This is not a GrapheneOS tutorial
0:51 What is GrapheneOS
2:47 Pixel 7 unboxing
3:51 Starting to install GrapheneOS but oops I need to update first
6:13 Actually installing GrapheneOS
11:46 Booting GrapheneOS for the first time
13:36 The great "app installation" saga of 2023
20:30 Should I use the Aurora Store, maybe?
23:30 Immediate conclusions about the initial install and configuration
25:03 Conclusions after a few weeks with GrapheneOS
#android #privacy #grapheneOS - Věda a technologie
I like the vibe of these unscripted, but minimally edited videos. It's really nice!
Veronica's personality is quite winsome and she comes across quite well
I have to agree, gives a better feel for what a First-time User is more likely to experience. In this case, running into Aurora Store Errors has me doing my own research before I might go ahead with GrapheneOS since I know now I'll have to find an App Store option.
There are some phone cases that use materials which can detune the antenna a bit making them less efficient. (Ham Radio operator here). It really is insane how locked-down the smartphone ecosystems are as a whole. Thanks for bringing us along on your exploration of GrapheneOS! (Also, DANG that PowerPC Macintosh looks sooo good!)
Agree with @tekdragon - try wrapping the phone in a metal box.. pretty sure no radio signals will work🤣🤣
Graphite would be one of those materials.
@tekdragon - I'm KE8CQC. What's your call?
bigcorp locking down their services (and you along), gee, I wonder why would they do that 🙂
I guess one reason for saying it's ok for 5G on the box is that it's a question a lot of people might ask in a store (given all the uncertainty that is being generated about 5G), so it's nice to have the answer out there. And, to my surprise, you point out that it's not a dumb question. Plus, of course, it's a marketing gimmick.
Having been around tech for over 50 years, I wish I had the enthusiasm you bring to each of your videos. Thanks for keeping the tech fires burning...
Absolutely agree! I'm not quite 50 years 👏, although only by a year or two short! 😁
I'm only 27 and I already feel dead inside
gonne be 17, and I can't feel the BURNING enthusiasm for everything related to tech i had few months ago like slowly i feel dead inside/tired to even open my phone and head to CZcams or discord to have fun
@@emiyakiritsugu6329 that's not it xD by tech we mean the tech industry, electronics, computer science etc, and specifically working in it... But do reduce your screentime and enjoy the rest of your teenage years!
Great video, Veronica! Regarding the drama behind GrapheneOS, the head developer at the heart of the drama was reported to have stepped down 3 weeks or so ago, so hopefully the drama will evaporate and allow the GrapheneOS team to continue development based on its merits.
Wait, he's left? That's actually pretty good news. The guy might have been good, but he was ruining the GrapheneOS community, and general vibe of the project. Hopefully we'll see things change for the better.
@@madness1931 I did hear from Louis Rossman about his way of talking, looks like he has communication issues.
This is informative and fortunate!
Sauce?
It's a pity that we get our knickers in a twist over difficult people. In grad school (math) and my early career I worked with difficult people. One of my most fruitful collaborations was with a fellow I disagreed with constantly. The company owner thought we were enemies, but our work product was a dialectic synthesis greater than my thesis or his antithesis. We need to learn to work through such difficulties. My daughter at UMich (Engineering) described some of the guys there as having "low social skills," and those of us who can cope are wise to make allowances.
Google can't lock you out of apps downloaded through aurora, the downloaded files aren't liked to any particular account by default, despite the login requirement for google play itself. Also, CalyxOS is a bit more user friendly than Graphene in it's post install phase, so you might want to review that one too.
Great comment, that was informative.
Many Thanks for Sharing!
Regardless of which OS one choose's to utilize. It's not the cell phone itself that is the issue with giving access to one's personal data. It's the various "FREE" app's a smart phone relies on in order to be a smart phone. NO app is "FREE" ! The price or cost of any "FREE" app, is the ability to accesss your data. Regardless of it being personal or not.
@@wmgthilgen Patently false. The software that respects your privacy the most is completely free (not only free of charge, but also free to study, modify and redistribute.)
@@wmgthilgen instead of spouting off about what you think is happening, and your theories behind how these apps in this OS operate do some research yourself instead of trying to dissuade people on the grounds of uneducated, speculation.
I've used GrapheneOS for about 2.5 years now. Basically when it was first introduced and love it ever since then.
what is your go to appstore? Do techies such as you self, still use messenger, or another "tracked" phone? Thanks in advance!
When I saw this, I thought it was going to be click-baity, but damn, was I impressed with this process! Anyone who might not be familiar with booting something on a phone might think it's kind of obvious, but the level of automation in this is next level. Cool stuff, I'll look more into GrapheneOS!
I thought it was pretty neat, and I'm looking forward to comparing the installation process against other OSs in the future. Thanks for watching!
19:30 they kinda did! Graphene OS prefers sandbox Google play as the app store. That's why they put so much effort into providing a sandbox version and also give you the ability to install it natively.
Yes, it works fine and after using and hearing of some short comings of other app stores I found the sandboxed play worked well which is where I got most of the standard apps. Overall a good experience; just not so sure about the battery as my experience with Graphene vs standard OS was it seemed a bit less efficient - what about your experience?
Organic Maps is surprisingly nice. Since I started using it, I've discovered a bunch of new cool biking trails that just do not show up on Google Maps by default
All thanks to OSM!
Thanks for the recommendation, I should check it out :)
And if you do want the Google like extras, Mapy is pretty good.
I've heard of that6. Does it offer real-time positioning? Like, if I drive will it constantly update my position on the map? I was of the impression that you just put your current location and your intended destination.
@@cameronmoore136 That totally works
That's what I use, although the OSM data seems to be somewhat lacking in address information. if you want to look up a specific address or business, it's not going to be in there. It can at least get you to the street you need to be on though. And it can use raw GPS sensors without location services being on. It's surprisingly accurate. And yes you can have a live view of your position.
I liked the video. It looks like it took you more than a day to do it. This demonstrates your commitment to your community and to the task of offering us the best or at least the most complete analysis of your experience. I just want to say, thank you for this.
I appreciate that! Yes, this video took a while- a couple of hours over the course of a few days to film, but then about 15 hours of editing all that footage down!
@@VeronicaExplainshem 3rd party app,stores have malware n all that still gets your information and google apps won’t run without google services
I haven't tried a custom rom ever since I got my current phone but I remember it being super annoying to unlock the bootloader and install stuff via recovery menu.
It wasn't really hard if you followed the instructions it just had a lot of steps where you could mess up. This web based installation on the other hand seems super easy and straightforward, I'm really impressed with how simple averything was.
certain cases that use *metallic* colours can act as sort of shield against frequencies, sort of like (partial) Faraday's cage as those metallic colours have some conductivity
Love the format and presentation of your vids. Has a wholesome/educational vibe, that i feel comfortable sending to someone like my nephew.. Great work, Veronica.
I would be happy if we had more hardware options. I don't have interest in phones without a 3.5 mm headphone jack, but Google Pixel devices don’t offer this once-standard feature.
I get to that a bit at the end- I agree that keeping old hardware up and running is super important and that means supporting greater numbers. At the same time, I get the idea of not being able to do much for phones where the vendor stopped supporting the firmware, etc. Makes me grateful for LineageOS and other projects which take a different approach.
GrapheneOS drops support after the device manufacturer does (as does Calyx OS, etc.) so most phones with locked-out firmware are headed to e-waste if the postmarketOS community doesn’t keep them out of the grave.
Flagships-esque with a headphone jack and community support limits one to ASUS Zenfones and Omni ROM it seems til eventually Lineage or postmarketOS support lands much later. Compiling Android takes so much hardware that we’re all reliant on the community to share builds. 😢
EDIT: Sony Xperia is the last major flagship out there with a headphone jack. ASUS shutdown their device unlock servers so I wouldn’t recommend buying their devices. Xperia phones don’t tend to pick up official Lineage support until their measly 2 years of updates period has ended. If hardware updates are not concern to you, they can be considered as Lineage OS & Lineage OS for microG will keep a device ticking for quite a while.
For me the big problem is the lack of SD-Card slot.
@@timurtheterrible4062 Seems like no sd is way to force on to cloud storage ie google photos😂
i recently watched a video about infinix gt10, had the 3.5 jack and sd card option, pretty nice phone.
I, like you, used to flash android devices in the early days. To see this process simplified into a step-by-step and even interactive and semi-automatic web interface is truly astonishing! Thanks for the video, might even try this on my pixel just for the shoos and goos
I appreciate how your channel is always so positive! It's just refreshing to watch a tech channel like this because you always find things to appreciate and don't overly criticize, and that makes trying new things look like fun!
Jumping straight in at the deep end is exactly how I have installed every custom OS's or new app. I VERY rarely read instructions or guides, I just want to give it a try without having to jump through hoops. To me, if it passes that intuitive test then it's a good start in my books.
@@christopher480 for many things instructions are not needed, and I know a few people who learned to drive without formal instruction. My niece was driving fork lift trucks at 13 without instruction and her dad's car (on private land) starting at 15 too. I was driving go karts well before I was driving on the road and no need for instruction. At 6, I learned to setup the time and program VCRs back in the 80s without using any instructions so my parents could record TV shows at set times and have it stop automatically. There are many many "technical" things that can be self learned to discover how they work, in fact it is one of the best ways to learn some things. No, not everything can or should be learned by trial and error.
I enjoy your videos. You do a really good job of presenting the information. The tone of your voice, the editing, it's all done really well.
I love the little bee-bop interludes 🙂
This is a great introduction to GrapheneOS, thanks for sharing your experience. I have nearly zero experience with Android based phones, so this was quite interesting. Back in the day I was hoping Canonical would get their smartphone experience based around Ubuntu into wide adoption, but alas, 'twas not meant to be. Your video has me intrigued about this ecosystem; I may have to find myself a second handle Pixel to give GrapheneOS a whirl.
Hi, @thatjpwing,
For years, I only used the top iPhone models. Months ago, I researched the topic of data protection and privacy very intensively and found out that Apple's iPhones are not the best solution for this. Since GrapheneOS has offered the best solution for privacy and data protection for years, I bought a Pixel 7 Pro in March 2023 to finally try out GrapheneOS myself.
Conclusion: I am still thrilled and can only recommend it to everyone!
Wow, this was an eye-opener. I've got a bunch of old cell phones lying around and I'm hoping the install process gets to a point that it allows me to breathe new life into these old devices. Just like how my love of Mint has me re-enjoying my 10 year old Dell.
Really great video. Thank you! The overnight tent reference was fun too!
Great video! Thank you for taking us along the journey - i’d love an update video around the 1 year mark and hear your perspectives again 😊
This is great. I have been watching many Graphene OS videos over the past year or so. I have Pixel 6a on order already and am hoping to get Graphene installed in the next week or so. Thanks for the good information.
Hey, thanks for the video. I really enjoyed that. You just tried it without doing a whole bunch of research cause that’s the level of my knowledge with us and so watching you do it was helpful.
"It's not a power button if it's the Talk to Google button!!" Yes, I feel your pain. Another example of when Marketing overrules the Hardware team.
My samsung phone did likewise, opening the bixby app I never wanted, never used, and never will use instead of turning off the phone, luckily I could change what the button does back to how it used to be before, just a power button.
Super cool to see the setup process for a nonstandard mobile OS like this! I still have my Pixel 3axl, & it's going strong on plain be-google'd android for now, but I definitely want to go full Linux Weirdo with my next phone (& make sure I can do a decent job of playing tech support for my wife, too). I'll keep an eye out for your longer-term review!
Just read the blog post and your use of a smartphone pretty much mirrors mine, except I spend even less time using it as a phone. So that made this episode even more interesting. Thanks.
That's a great video Veronica, I dived into custom roms a few years ago when my Galaxy S5 was performing poorly, it was no where near as easy as this one, I was very surprised! I've been considering buying a Google Pixel 3a or 3a XL phone I think it was to try ubuntu touch which is supported 100% including a couple of others, is that something you've considered? The Gnome Maps seems to work a lot better these days. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed watching!!
Great first look! I can very much relate to the initial button confusion, and the installer is indeed fantastic!
I just subscribed, I like your sense of humour 🖤
Your pre g3 power pc tower in the background gave me a flash back. Like from highschool.
Great video, and your Linux tutorials are fantastic also - subbed.
I am learning alot here technically and appreciate your simple approach !!! 😊 !!!
Thx for this sneak peak tour/guide vid, cheers!
The final fantasy 2 sleep melody immediately brought me back 25 years and watching my older brother play this for hours on end. Probably what got me interested in D&D.
Really enjoyed this video. Thanks! I'm a noob to all of this stuff and your videos really help me understand :)
Awesome video! It would be awesome to see more content about this from you!
That's a great video. What was particularly heartening was seeing Veronica struggling with some of the set-up. I'm a very non-technical user, and I get frustrated at installation/set-up instructions which probably make sense if you know all about the software, but which are totally opaque to the newb. I realise that when I'm trying out Linux distros, the installer is pretty much make or break (like, I kind of know about partitioning and mount points, but I'd like the installer to offer sensible defaults for a first try). And the video made me interested in GrapheneOS.
Oh, small phones. You, me, and my wife too, Veronica. But it seems there ain't a market for rationally sized devices, because Apple has stopped the Mini, and I don't think there's anything reasonably powerful with a screen smaller than 5.8".
Great review! I've been daily driving Graphene for a couple months now (Pixel 5a). It was a big adjustment from stock at first, but I am enjoying it now that I am adjusted. It's also seriously reduced the number of apps I keep on my phone.
How long will 5a be supported?
What would you say the main adjustments you've had to make have been? I'm curious as to how the day-to-day experience differs from Android.
Thank you again for another great video!! :)
yay
new Veronica Explains video
I'm blown away by this, didn't know this was even an option. It would be great to have a wizard guide the installation. I will be trying this out soon. Thanks Veronica.
Great video. Looking forward to a follow up video.
OOOHH, installation right from the browser is a very sleek experience. Snap!
My fav part of your videos are the bee boop skat noises you make in between scenes!
Hearing "cyanogenmod" and seeing the logo gave me some major flashbacks to ~8 years ago when I was trying to install them on my phone (because it was "cool" at the time) and, in turn, bricking my phone because I didn't know anything about how stuff works. And I probably couldn't read very well... Later, once the new phone became not-so-new, I tried it again, but after switching between different ROMs I bricked it again. But the fun I had!
Tinkering in the modern world 😂
Really? 8 years ago? I was using cyanogenmod in 2011 when it was actually cool.
very cool video. I am thinking of grapheneOS so it was great to see your process. thanks for sharing :)
:) THANKS MUCH for sharing! This is exactly what I was hoping to do as well:) Is it still working out, or did you switch to a different OS? ALL the BEST and Cheers from Upper Left Coast!
WoW! Veronika Madam, you explain stuff easily and make them simple for us. You are an asset for us. I don't like vs code and have been using codium as an alternative to it, without any tricky extensions in it. Running very fine and is a charm to use.. i don't like big corporations stealing my data..
What do you do on a pixel phone when a flash fails? I'm so used to Oneplus and having a MSM tool to save me.
Perfectly explained, thank you! 😎
I’ve been running graphene OS for a couple months now. Absolutely love it. I have Google play sandbox on a burner account so far so good no problems.
Wow that intro was slick! Nice video btw.
Wow! That installer is incredible! I remember following a blury video and installing a new kernel and ROM from an SD card then wiping everything. All using the volume keys and the power button and taking half an hour!
Love it. Thanks so much!
It seems the Developer in question has stepped down from the project. It's always good to be aware of these things even though drama is that last thing I want to think about when it comes to using a security focused phone OS.
Excellent Veronica! Thanks, GrapheneOS looks as if it may be a real goer. :D
Looking forward to hearing more about your experience with Graphene OS, and other de-googled Android ROMs in the future!
Hi, Veronica!
Thank you very much for this video! It's something different, from the perspective of a normal user.
I'm sure it helps other people who are not nerds and would otherwise never dare to do something like this.
And it can help software developers to better understand ordinary users and make their products better.
I'm looking forward to more videos from you on GrapheneOS and I hope you stick with it, because there's really nothing better at the moment if you value privacy and data protection.
I have been using it since March 2023 and have had many other smartphones and mobile operating systems before that.
Rooting smartphone to install any custom ROM (LoS, Mokee and others AOSP) is my daily hobby around 7 years ago. But now it's little bore to do that anymore. GrapheneOS is new for me so I want to try it. Thanks for your upload. Keep good content.
good review ive been using graphene os for a few months im quite happy with it as i had concerns with privacy
Cool, I love Improv!
I installed graphenos a couple months ago - I found that when I would switch between my google and non-google accounts it kept requiring me to enter the password rather than allowing a fingerprint - I saw on the forum that having a lot of fingerprints loaded could cause delays, but I thought it was possible that also could be my cause - I had doubled a few of the fingers to scan them twice but after I removed the extra fingerprints it has worked flawlessly since. It sounds like this might be an android issue that just doesn't otherwise have a lot of visibility since most folks don't have more than one user.
What a fantastic and entertaining video!
I love your channel. Any follow up on the graphene phone?
Your astonishment and delight mirrored my own as I installed GrapheneOS a little over a year ago. I could never have handled CyanogenMod. The initial user experience was easier for me because I started from the opposite position, using as few non-FOSS apps as possible and no Google apps, later adding sandboxed Google Framework Services (but not Play Store) to run Google Camera. I have never used Play Store and never signed in to a Google account on any phone I've owned.
It was fun to see your reactions. I intensely loathe the default Android experience. The first thing I do setting up loved ones' phones is turn off all those obnoxious notifications, tighten privacy settings as much as Google allows, and uninstall or disable bloatware. Did you know Facebook is now baked into many phones, can't be uninstalled but only disabled? I wish I could afford to give every loved one a de-Googled phone.
Still, my Pixel 6 running GrapheneOS does everything I need it to do: I even keep my calendar online on a non-Google server that syncs to my calendar app, Etar. For me it's a keeper, but I continue to cautiously add functionality. In recent months I installed sandboxed Google Play Services and Play Store on a secondary profile for the sole purpose of occasionally running a bank app. One thing I wish my phone could do is voice recognition (voice typing), that is, without sending everything I say to Google.
The number one point of Aurora is granting access to the google play store without requiring that you install Google Play Services and all of the other privacy-ignoring, battery-eating Google services that comes with. On my previous phone, I used microG to provide exactly the APIs that I needed to get a couple features working (GSM notifications in particular, and apps that fail to run without those APIs - even if I don't use them - in general). Aurora allows this.
However, on my new phone I don't intend to use apps that won't run without Google's bloatware. This does mean dropping Google Maps in favor of a good-enough FOSS replacement, namely OrganicMaps, available from F-Droid.
I have used Calyx OS everyday for the past 2 years on my Pixel 4. Love it. It uses Google Services anonymously through MicroG and I download from the Play Store through Aurora Store so never actually log in. And after a full charge, Battery lasts 2 full days with regular use. No complaints. Take your privacy back. Graphene OS and Calyx OS are the way to go.
You could just use the web-based google maps, but you might lose some features. I suppose. I have ubuntu on my surface go on a 10 inch screen or my desktop computer so I just use firefox for checking out maps mostly, course a phone is even smaller so I'm not sure how it would turn out on that. On my samsung android I use web based facebook (though I typically don't use fb there) just because I don't want those apps installed
OMG, that rate limitation notification is so timely as I'm watching this late...waow :D
I love that PowerMac behind you.... I have a PowerMac 9600 among others. That is still to this day i think the coolest case ever made when you open it up.
It's so fun. I can't wait to play with it on the channel.
Interesting. I always thought you used the Pinephone Pro with Arch Linux and Phosh, what are your thoughts on it?
I got it installed on the pixel 8 and it runs pretty well, no complaints at all. The installation process is a bit weird and you feel you're gonna brick the damn thing because it restarts several times, so just be ready for that. Aside from that, if you can set a microwave to make popcorn, you can install GOS on your Pixel.
The experience after using all my apps, same thing as regular Android. I totally recommend install it. I like not having all the bloatware on my device.
I had to watch this video for research !!! And liked, Subscribed and Shared !!!
Any further updates on your use of Grapheneos?
Great informative video. Phone cases all the way!
❤You are awesome. Great video!
Love you your voice g, somone learned projection and breath control.
5:59 I had one of those I gave away. I maxed that thing out so much and expanded EVERY port I could.
At one time? I even had 20 HDD's hooked up to it. It was CRAZY how cool the Old Mac's were to mess with.
OSX 10.2 using it as a Server with some modifications to the UNIX code I got from a book I still have someplace.
I think I was one of the first to DUmp in CCFL's and Leds at the time inside the case.
And the Golden days of Firewire!
Wonderfull look at GrapheneOS. In days of future past, I would regularly unlock my phone, and install CyanogenMod...I loved the idea of having a small, portable Linux box. Then Samsung started to lockdown their phones, and that was that. I had Google phones before, but they were manufactured by LG, and the quality was...not great. I don't know who is making Googles phones these days (looks it up...Foxconn who make many of Apple's phones) so the quality will probably have improved. I always try to keep at least one spare phone for when Muphy happens, and I sound like a fun project putting GrapheneOS on a Pixel phone. Thank you for your video!
Nicely done!😊
Dig the MST3K visual reference at the beginning
That’s a really good video...!!!
And really good info for those who are questioning Graphene OS...
Cool Personality there!!!
Subscribed after watching this! :)
Using a temp gmail might not actually offer more privacy since theyll tie all your gmail activity to that of the same household unless each device is on separate vpn networks
Interesting video, some people do get a wee bit paranoid about security but, having said that it is important.
Is it necessary to start with a cellular-unlocked phone (not tied to Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile or other)? Or can it start from a T-Mobile, for instance, locked phone?
Technically the burner account would work, however there is 1 MAJOR key to consider... The phone w 'privacy' could still be linked to you if it's nearby another 'known' device. (e.g. any other normally setup phone).
'What? This... It's for another video!' CAN'T WAIT!
I love the sound of that Model M
Thanks for sharing, the way you approached is logical. One thing I'm wondering is there a firewall app on here, something we can control, that'd be nice. 👍
Cool desk at video's end. Me envy.
That's the desk in my new recording space. Expect to see more of it in future videos eventually. :)
Great video! I’m curious… which mobile phone platform were you using before trying Graphene OS?
Oh, I've been on Android for years. Just haven't played with alternative operating systems in almost a decade.
@@VeronicaExplains Oh, gotcha! Hopefully I can try it out soon.
Thanks for the video, fascinating stuff, biggest thing was it looked good because it turned off all the rubbish that google and other manufacturers install - if you want a phone to make calls/messages and occasional note taking - as you said "I want my phone to be a phone" that sells it, thanks again for the deep dive! Also can;t wait to see what you do with the 486...
CyanogenMod/LineageOS expanded lives of so many smartphones that i've flashed for myself and others.
I'm intrigued by Graphene, but it being limited to Pixels only is basically a show stopper for me.
Out of all the brands it gets to benefit the least from something like this being already a fairly customizable device in the first place.
There's so many phones though and I remember people bugging like 1 dev for updates to specific roms 😂
Yeahhh, I so, so don't want to get a pixel...
23:33 - What's even more incredible is that I was able to install GrapheneOS onto my Google Pixel Tablet using a Debian LiveISO because I don't use Linux on my main PC and it worked just fine. Pretty great.
I thought the custom rom/os scene was pretty much dead. I will probably try this on an old phone.
I wasn't expecting the pixel 8 till next year were you referring to the 7a?
Great video! Hope to see an update to this video.