My pixel 7 is shitting the bed and I am considering upgrading and just installing graphene immediately on the new phone as part of my degoogling journey.

Is there anything I need to know about this? I work in IT, so I’m tech savvy. This is my first time installing graphene, however.

I’d be upgrading to a pixel 10 probably.

My carrier is verizon

  • human@slrpnk.net
    6·
    14 hours ago

    Installation was pretty easy. RCS is only available through the Google Messages app, and even then only seems to work with certain carriers. Other things that don’t work are NFC payments, Android Auto, and any app that uses the the Play Integrity API since it requires access to device identifiers.

    Some apps can be hit or miss, but there is an option to disable some of the exploit protections on an app by app basis, and that can sometimes get you signed in and then you can re-enable them.

    I make use of multiple users to keep certain apps isolated further.

    The forum is a good place to check the compatibility of specific apps. Personally I haven’t been very inconvenienced, and the trade off is well worth it.

    Edit: Android Auto does work now

    • laughingm0n@fedinsfw.appEnglish
      1·
      12 hours ago

      Adding in to this a little more. It’s a great OS but the Google integrity check can be a pain in the ass to overcome.

      Banking Apps, Uber, and some networking apps did not work because of that.

      Privacy first is great but it isn’t apples to apples. There are going to be some big tradeoffs you’ll need to be okay with.

    • shivvy@sopuli.xyz
      2·
      14 hours ago

      Android auto is working, has been for a while. Its in the Graphene app store.

      Major issues are typically banking apps, though I’ve been lucky in that regard.

      • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
        1·
        14 hours ago

        My banking apps mostly work, but with some functionally problems. I can’t get Zelle to work or CashApp, so quick payments and transfers are problematic.

      • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
        1·
        14 hours ago

        I’ve just set it up about a month ago. Some apps work fully and some only halfway. I think it has to do with some kind of authentication that Android is doing. So CoMaps only works for turn by turn, but they have said if it is installed from the Play Store, then it will work fully. Sandboxed Google Maps works seamlessly.

        Audio apps play in the mini player, including basic controls (play/pause, skip, etc.), but I get a crash anytime I try to launch one on the car’s fullscreen console.

        As I said, I’ve just set it up and haven’t tinkered with it yet; it could be user error still.

    • sloppy_diffuser@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      14 hours ago

      Additional issues I’ve not seen mentioned:

      • Ticketing systems have been an issue for me. I don’t do sports but went to a MLB game for a friend’s group event and it was hell. No paper ticket and can’t have someone show the ticket on your behalf from their phone. One ticket per phone. With sandboxed GPS the app didn’t show in the Play Store. Had to sideload. I probably could have used Aurora in retrospect but used Universal Installer from f-droid and a mirrored APK. Then had to disable exploit protections and VPN before I could get access to a ticket. Its random situations like this, while infrequent, it can get frustrating.
      • Managed work profiles. Work apps usually require GPS but the allow list of installable apps don’t include GPS (why would it, its available at the system level). So I can’t install or use any apps for work. I honestly prefer it this way, they can give me a work phone.
      • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
        2·
        14 hours ago

        Oh, yeah. This is a good point. A lot of things require their own apps to do now and quick installation is not always easy. I’ve had issues that were solvable but required some effort like this. Some friends invited me to a scavenger hunt and it took a while to get the app working (another friend on iOS couldn’t get it working either, so probably not a great design). Every parking lot wants a different app these days, which can be a pain.

        Event ticketing, work apps, etc may take a little longer than normal to find, install, and get working. Not like you can explain in a group setting, “ackshully, my phone isn’t working because its BETTER.”