Ask Slashdot: Are Custom Android ROMs Still a Thing?

Thelasko writes: Reading Kashmir Hill's series Goodby Big Five on Gizmodo made me consider switching to a custom Android ROM like LineageOS again. The Gizmodo articles make it seem that most phones are so locked down it is almost impossible to do. My last experience with custom ROMs confirmed that to be true for me. Is anyone having success? Why is LineageOS making builds for 185 devices if no one can use them?

Comments

Derp summary summarized :

[Anonymous Coward]

"Why is LineageOS making builds for 185 devices if no one can use them" = you have yet to prove that nobody can use them, only that you cannot.

One possible reason...

[Penguinisto]

Just because you (the average consumer) can't use it on a phone you got from $carrier, doesn't mean that others can't put it to use.

That's not meant to be an insult, by the way... unlocked phones (that are truly unlocked, not just 'unlocked' to allow a different carrier w/ the same tech) can be loaded with the ROM and taken to town.

PS: If you're gonna talk about it, then be kind and provide a link to LineageOS, mm'kay? :)

Re:One possible reason...

[nnull]

The problem is, Samsung and now LG are selling phones to the US market that can't be rooted, making these roms useless. Sony lets you root but they gimp the camera so much that it negates the benefits of rooting their phones.

And by the way, I love lineage, but when more unrootable and unlockable bootloader phones flood the US market, it's making it very difficult to find a device that lets you load up lineage on your phone. Just look on the XDA forums. There's an ongoing attempt to root the LG40 with massive failure. The US Version of the Samsung S9 can't be rooted. And of course you get the whole "You don't need to root your phone anymore, trust in Samsung and LG guys, they know what they're doing *wink*" posters all over the place.

And yes, I know I can buy international phones from Ebay easily, but the point is, US devices are being gimped on purpose.

Absolutely still a thing

[schklerg]

I run it on my One Plus & Samsung tablet. I will not buy a device that doesn't let me root it & run Lineage. It also enables me to run adaway & block trackers and other stupid parts of the android ecosystem which I do not like. I may eventually move to Purism & LibreOS though. Privacy respecting technology is unfortunately not mainstream, but it matters to some of us.

Unlocked Bootloader

[thevirtualcat]

It's not impossible. It just requires doing your research before you buy. There are two things you need to look for.

1. Unlockable Bootloader

This is challenging because many OEMs will require you to go through a bunch of steps intended to make doing so as difficult as possible (beyond what is needed for data security.) There have been instances of OEMs just outright lying when it comes to bootloader unlockability. And of course, even phones that are to be unlockable have that disabled from some carriers. (Verizon, especially. Even Pixel devices can't easily have their bootloaders unlocked when purchased through Verizon.)

2. Community Support

LineageOS and xda-developers are good place to start. Popular flagship phones are more likely to have good community support around them if they're unlockable. Of course, you can always try to build AOSP for your own device, but community support will still be invaluable as most OEMs play pretty fast and loose with releasing their GPL code. (It's often difficult to get a fully working AOSP build with that the OEM gives you.)

Re:Unlocked Bootloader

[ctilsie242]

Community support is important. I have obtained phones and unlocked the bootloader... only to find that there are no ROMs available, and the only real option you have is to use a factory ROM with Magisk, so you continue to receive updates. This is better than nothing, but the best thing going is LineageOS.

I wish XDA would have a list of phones, which would be maintained/updated often (at least monthly) of phones to buy that are easily unlockable or rootable. That way, someone doesn't buy a Huawei device and then wonder why they can't do anything with it.

PixelExperience

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought the midrange Moto X4 last fall when my Nexus 5X died. Motorola's website allowed me to unlock the bootloader (with the caveat that this voided the warranty). After that, I have installed different variants of Pie roms. I found Lineage 16 to be OK but my on-screen buttons would disappear, especially when I switched users. I now enjoy the PixelExperience Pie rom which gives me a lot of flexibility with settings like dark mode which are coming to regular Android but are not there yet. I also was able to find some great Magisk (rooted) modules, including one that significantly improves the sound of my cheap bluetooth audio headset. I even used root mode to use my microsd card as adoptable storage which is not enabled by Motorola.

So, yes, Android roms are alive and well, despite what some "expert" at Gizmodo says. xda-developers website has a plethora of information.

Project Treble

[Namarrgon]

In some ways we're now entering a golden age for Android roms, with the advent of Project Treble.

All phones shipping with Android 8.0+ are required to support Treble's platform abstraction layer, making life dramatically easier for custom rom bakers, going forward. Older phones benefit too; once their idiosyncratic hardware support is adapted to Treble, they can also expect easier and more stable updates. Generic System Images (GSIs) are now the norm, and will more or less run on any compatible platform.