For those of us that need a working daily driver

[Nutmeg]

For some history, my husband and I had old flip phones on 3G until they stopped working due to discontinuation of 3G service.  Our phones stopped working rather quickly and we are unwilling to embrace standard Smartphones for daily use.  We turned to the Pinephone, hoping that it might be stable enough for phone/text, which is all that we had before.  After a one month trial, and some serious head banging on the wall, I am feeling done until things get ironed out a bit more.  We both use Linux on computers, but we are not programmers and do not know much about development.  I am pretty much done trialing all of the various OS and have not had any consistent luck with any of them actually working for phone/text for daily use.  

Here is my question, and it is not specifically Pinephone related:  THe Pinephone does not currently seem capable of being a daily driver for us since we really only need phone/text (which is what a phone is for IMHO).  Do any of you know what other options are out there (affordable) for people who do not want classic smartphones to track us, spy on us, etc., but need a mobile phone/text that can run on 4G?  I do not really want another flip phone, as they are difficult at best.  If we were to buy a used phone that could run Ubuntu Touch, are the original Operating Systems disabled so that there is no longer any tracking, etc., or is it just a dual boot with the other OS running in the background?  I am considering that option while I wait for Pinephone development, but cannot figure out if UT wipes out the phone similar to a computer Linux installation vs. a dual boot. 

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

Megan

[rocket2nfinity]

In the case of Halium based builds, UT only uses the drivers from android. The part you know as android is removed and replaced. UT uses aparmour which isolates all apps from each other, so getting compromised, or privacy invaded as Google/Facebook does, is not easy to do. Unfortunately, getting UT up and going on Pinephone/Pinetab is on the backburner until after the 20.04 upgrade. Same with Lomiri.

While you wait, you can try halium based UT, Droidian (Mobian), and Lune on the Nexus 5 for real cheap. Or UT and Droidian on the Nexus 6P or Pixel2 XL for around $100. I just donated my Nexus 5 because although all works, it cannot do VoLTE which has become an issue in the US (although 2G support has been extended until the end of 2022). I own both the N6P and P2XL. My personal recomendation is the P2XL running UT because all works except MMS (it's being worked on). With N6P, all works including MMS except hotspot, and recorded videos must be played back using UT Media Player or other app from the openstore. Otherwise all works, has good battery life, and all three are a joy to use. Join us at UBports Forum or Telegram (Teleports) groups.

But, hang on to your Pinephone because improvements are coming.

[Nutmeg]

@rocket2infinity. Thank you!!!! That is exactly the answer I was looking for. And no, we will not give up on the Pinephone. We both love the idea of it, but we live out in the country with little human contact, and we really need reliable phone and text. Will check out the other phones you mentioned and see if we can get some used ones. Will keep messing with the Pinephone, but need something reliable for now!! Will also check out the UBPorts Forum as well. Thanks!

[rocket2nfinity]

Important tip. You need a phone that is both carrier unlocked and bootloader unlocked. Do not pick a phone that came from Verizon. They almost always permanently lock the bootloader on their network phones.

PM me if you need further help. As this can all get confusing very quickly. Or find me in the UBports forums, or telegram chat room.

[TRS-80]

For some history, my husband and I had old flip phones on 3G until they stopped working due to discontinuation of 3G service.  Our phones stopped working rather quickly and we are unwilling to embrace standard Smartphones for daily use.  We turned to the Pinephone, hoping that it might be stable enough for phone/text, which is all that we had before. 

Your point of view resonates strongly with me.

In fact, you sound exactly like me, except I was coming from Galaxy s5, which I ran LineageOS (and CyanogenMod before that)[0] on Android to make it bearable for many years.  But recently, they could not support VoLTE due to carrier "security" nonsense.  And Google (and carriers) have been slowly but steadily closing off the platform more and more for years now it seems.  Plus the general unease you speak of.  I finally had enough.

After a one month trial, and some serious head banging on the wall, I am feeling done until things get ironed out a bit more.  We both use Linux on computers, but we are not programmers and do not know much about development.  I am pretty much done trialing all of the various OS and have not had any consistent luck with any of them actually working for phone/text for daily use.  

Really sorry to hear that.

Have you tried Mobian?  Recently?  I read many comments stating it was one of most stable and usable OS at this time.  So I tried it myself and my experience has confirmed this.  In fact, for me[1] I am getting very close to "daily driver" usage.

Here is my question, and it is not specifically Pinephone related:  THe Pinephone does not currently seem capable of being a daily driver for us since we really only need phone/text (which is what a phone is for IMHO).  Do any of you know what other options are out there (affordable) for people who do not want classic smartphones to track us, spy on us, etc., but need a mobile phone/text that can run on 4G?  I do not really want another flip phone, as they are difficult at best.

You keep saying 4G, but technically I think what you are really looking for is VoLTE, which is practically becomimg mandatory these days (and going forward).

After looking at all options, including flip phones, etc. (as you have also it seems) I came to conclusion that GNU/Linux phone is probably my best option at this time.  Mainly because of the VoLTE issue.  But especially for someone like yourselves who are at least a little familiar with Linux.

Ubuntu Touch

I read the following (IMO, excellent) article almost 1 year ago, and I feel it really shed some light on the history and background of all the various current Linux phone OSes and shells:

The strategic advantages of Phosh for mobile Linux

It's a little long but well researched article that provides a lot of insight when choosing an OS and shell in this nascent ecosystem.  And the more time goes on, I think the author is only being proven more and more correct (and will continue to be so) for exactly all the reasons he laid out.

Summary (tl;dr)

I know you are frustrated, but I still think GNU/Linux phone (like PinePhone) is your best bet.  Maybe you need a break though, do more research, or try other options to realize this.  Or maybe in course of doing that you find something else you do end up liking better.



[0] In case you are unaware, these are essentially vanilla Android Open Source Project (AOSP) based operating systems without any of Google stuff.

[1] What each person considers "daily driver" can vary by a lot.  YMMV, as they say...

[rocket2nfinity]

@TRS-80 Great article. Thanks!

[Nutmeg]

@TRS-80 thank you for the post! It was very helpful and informative. We will definitely not give up on the Pinephones, but need something more reliable for the moment. I ordered a used N6P for the interim but dislike even using a Google phone, even if it is wiped with using Ubuntu. Will use it for now, and thanks to everyone involved in the project to get the Pinephone up and going. It is appreciated by those who are passionate are about security but not talented enough for coding!!