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Updated my Samsung phone and it installed unwanted apps
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2023
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Mildly Infuriating
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I highly recommend lineageOS, or better yet lineageOS with microg.
Running a completely degoogled android phone right now, and it feels smooth as butter. Microg has gotten so good, the vast majority of playstore apps work completely fine even without Google services, including things like my banking apps.
Feels liberating as fuck, not gonna lie.
Only apps that don't work for me are ones that require IaP's. About 30% of those I can crack with LuckyPatcher. I can also crack other paid apps with license protection.
Mostly I havent needed to do any of that though, because I've found that there are so many great open source apps that do the things I need.
You're mistaken. The vast majority of Android apps do not work without Play Services installed.
I don't know what to tell you mate. Have you tried microG recently?
I'm running my banking app, social media apps, a bunch of games, mail app etc, all without play services.
https://community.e.foundation/t/list-apps-that-work-or-do-not-work-with-microg/21151
Paid apps are harder to get working, but I've had some success patching them with luckypatcher.
Honestly though, the biggest surprise to me was how little I needed those proprietary apps. Usually with a bit of digging I was able to find great open source alternatives.
Same here. Running F-Droid and Aurora Store on CalyxOS. Every app like banking, authenticators and all the others work like a charm. True freedom. You can do everything with your phone what you want. Can even imagine to go back to Google restrictions and horrible bloatware.
MicroG uses Play Services. That's why you have to log into an account.
This is incorrect. You do not need to log into an account and MicroG works perfectly fine without one. MicroG doesn't use Google Play Services, it replaces it.
Where do you get the apk for banking apps if not the play store?
Aurora Store https://f-droid.org/packages/com.aurora.store/
LOS heavily hinders feature set, though. I wouldn't recommend to anyone that's not a techie, especially with MicroG.
Samsung features that'll get removed are:
• Camera. It'll work in LOS but quality will be much lower without Samsung's processing.
• Standby time. It'll last a lot less as LOS doesn't kill background apps like OneUI does.
• Any sort of audio video enhancement. Dolby Atmos will be completely gone. HDR enchantments won't be there either.
• Samsung DeX.
• HBM won't work automatically. On OneUI, if system detects you're under direct sunlight and auto brightness on; it'll boost the brightness above regular maximum. You can have this on LOS via LiveDisplay but it isn't automatic afaik.
• Phone will get hotter when it's used while charging. OneUI both lowers charging speed and lowers performance (unless you're in a game) while charging. LOS doesn't. It might get uncomfortably hot compared to OneUI.
• Noise reduction in voice calls barely work under LOS. This is especially true when calling on speaker, LOS is borderline unusable when there's even a little bit background noise.
Switching to LOS for a techie is fine, but recommending it to someone who you don't know how they use their device isn't great. If OP watches a ton of movies, OneUI will have much better experience. If all OP does is social media, LOS is completely fine.
Well, I wouldn't recommend anyone who doesn't have basic computer knowhow try and install a custom rom on their expensive new phone.
But outside of hurdle of getting the custom rom loaded, I don't think you need to be techie to appreciate or use LineageOs (even with microg).
It's true that you make some sacrifices when changing to a custom rom. But you are already making significant sacrifices by NOT using one.
Consider the sacrifice of having to create and sign in to multiple accounts when you set up your phone. The sacrifice of not being able to uninstall preloaded bloatware/spyware/adware. The sacrifice of your privacy as Google, Samsung, and a dozen other proprietary apps harvest and sell all your personal information. The sacrifice of your sanity and freewill, as you are bombarded with manipulative targetted advertisements. The sacrifice of not being able to modify, control, or even inspect many aspects of the behavior of your own device. The sacrifice of not actually owning the device that you paid for.
So yeah, my custom rom doesn't (quite) have the polish of a flagship OS (then again, can you really call an OS that comes preloaded with a bunch of unremovable bloatware polished?). But all those features you listed are basically just fluff, and most people who aren't hardcore consoomers probably wouldn't even notice the difference.
I'm not willing to sacrifice my privacy, be exposed to advertising, and have multiple big tech companies control and monitor the use of my device, just to have a camera thats 10% clearer and some 'HDR enhancements' etc.
I think that there are many, many non-techie people who would agree with this. But simply buy the latest Samsung or whatever because they don't think they have a choice, or are scared because they think it will be too different and they will get stuck if they try something else.
LOS by itself is perfectly good and usable by anyone, in fact its probably more suitable to non techies than Samsung is, thanks to the clean UX, and lack of bloat.
LOS with MicroG is also completely usable by most non techies. It just comes with the caveat that certain apps just won't work, no matter what. That's obviously an actual sacrifice and people should know in advance before they try it. But most stuff works great, and people who are willing to do a little digging can often find an alternative or a workaround.
At any rate, I don't think I was really trying to recommend to non-techies in my original post. I figure most people on Lemmy right now are probably somewhat technically inclined, interested in moving away from big corporate tech platforms, and willing to try new things even if they might lack a little polish.
I also run LineageOS, but some apps installed using Aurora will not work since the phone can not prove to be part of the Google bootnet. I think it's called SafetyNet. How do I get around that problem?
There is an option in the microg settings to enable SafetyNet. I can't confirm whether it works, since I don't have any apps that require it. I've heard it's a bit of a cat and mouse game.
I don't know much about this, since I haven't needed it myself. But personally, if safetynet uses Google servers or code for authentication, then I'd rather just leave it turned off. Even if it breaks a few apps.
Not being beholden to Google in any way just feels too damn good.
Thank you. I will look into those settings.
The problem is when those apps are required for banking, identification with government websites and money transfer and no free software alternative exists. Somwhow the government dont see it as a problem to force people to be Google or Apple customers. At the moment I am forced to have two phones. One relatively secure and free with LineageOS and one insecure and nonfree used for banking ++ which I only turn on when I need.
Yeah for sure, it's pretty fucked. Hopefully I can do my banking through a web browser if my bank ever decides to pull some dumb shit like that.
One thing that really fucks me off, are schools requiring students to use proprietary nonfree software. Windows, adobe, MS office, etc
IMO all schools should be using desktop Linux, and teaching students on free and open source software.
It respects student freedom and privacy, and doesn't unfairly punish the less financially fortunate. On top of that, it teaches students important lessons about sharing and collaboration. Imagine what the FOSS movement might look like if free and open source became the standard in education.