Simple question really! Are any of you running a Custom ROM? Furthermore, are any of you running a De-Googled ROM?

Why do you run your custom ROM, and what are the drawbacks?

  • ubergeek77@lemmy.ubergeek77.chat
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    1 year ago

    Been running CalyxOS for 3 years. Compile it myself from source with some extra tweaks and such. I’ve even got a nice build server going that automatically compiles builds monthly and pushes updates to my phone via OTAs. It was a little work to get set up, but now it doesn’t feel any different from the stock Android experience.

    It started because I was tired of all the unchecked spying Google does, and I wanted to get away from that. But now I can never go back to “regular” Android, because the vendor bloat in “stock” ROMs is incessant, and I am maintaining patches for quite a few features Google has either removed, or never supported in the first place (2-button navigation, AM/PM clock, automatic call recording).

    Honestly, there hasn’t been any drawbacks. The phone works perfectly, calls are fine, it runs great, and I haven’t needed Google Play Services for basically anything. My banking app still works. I don’t use Google Pay so I don’t really care that it doesn’t work. Android wearOS doesn’t work, but at this point Google has dropped the ball so severely, I don’t have the motivation to bother with a smartwatch.

    Most of my paid apps continue to work without patches, and I get them from Aurora Store. For the ones that don’t work, I just patch them myself to remove the license checks. I paid for them, so I should be able to use them regardless of what ROM I use.

      • ubergeek77@lemmy.ubergeek77.chat
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        1 year ago

        Thanks! But I can’t take all the credit. Calyx maintains the OTA updater and it’s very configurable. Just change the domain name, make sure your webserver has all the right files, and you’re off!

    • schnurzpiepe@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      Same here (CalyxOS on Pixel Phone). Except for me not compiling it myself. Its super easy to install and runs super smooth. In my case for two years without a single issue.