Active Topics

 


Reply
Thread Tools
Posts: 1,417 | Thanked: 2,619 times | Joined on Jan 2011 @ Touring
#1
For several reasons including needing NFC and a fully functional mobile web browser I need to find a LineageOS microG compatible phone to use as a tablet. I am looking for a small device, I was thinking of a Samsung S4 mini LTE(serranoltexx).
My concern in shopping for a used phone is that the bootloader would be hard locked and the device will be unusable to me, I refuse to use a stock android device.
Does anyone have ideas what to look for to get an unlockable Samsung? The only other experience I have with androids was helping with a One+1(stock Cyanogen) and a Nexus 7 which both only come with ADB unlockable or unlocked bootloaders.

(Edit - SOLVED!)
See posts 15 and 17 of this thread:
https://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?...6&postcount=15
https://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?...0&postcount=17
I found a Samsung S4 mini which is small and if an international I9195 is acquired it can be converted to a TWRP recovery and LineageOS 14 for microG. Post !7 details how to software disable the cellular radio and re-enable it if desired.

Last edited by biketool; 2019-11-16 at 21:21.
 

The Following User Says Thank You to biketool For This Useful Post:
Posts: 135 | Thanked: 351 times | Joined on Dec 2012
#2
Your description is kinda confusing.
If you want to use something as a tablet, why don't you get a tablet? If you want it to be small, then you need a phone, so I really don't know what to suggest here
Other than that, you have to give us a budget. There are thousands of options out there!
As for the s4 mini, that phone was 100% crap 5 years ago. I wouldn't recommend that to literally anyone today.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
 

The Following User Says Thank You to nikos523 For This Useful Post:
Posts: 1,417 | Thanked: 2,619 times | Joined on Jan 2011 @ Touring
#3
Originally Posted by nikos523 View Post
Your description is kinda confusing.
If you want to use something as a tablet, why don't you get a tablet?
I need a small phone sized android device, no intention of inserting a SIM and might later look into cutting the power pin to the cellular modem. I suppose now people call tablets big and phones small but I am more talking in the N800 is a tablet(no cellular until the N900) manner than the last 10 years.
I already have a Nexus 7 but that is huge, I need something pocket sized that can tether to my N900 but run some modern FOSS software.
Android is a bad solution even Lineage with microG but better than not having services I need when using public transportation.
 

The Following User Says Thank You to biketool For This Useful Post:
Posts: 135 | Thanked: 351 times | Joined on Dec 2012
#4
Why not an xperia x compact then?
I got a used one locally to try sfosX for 40€.
I mean sure, it's a budget and ancient device, but it will work and it's small!
But if you wanna try something modern, the galaxy s10e is about 1cm taller/5mm wider than the compact, but it's a million times better.
Obviously I'm talking for the exynos cpu version, cause I think you can't unlock the bootloader in the snapdragon version.
Not sure though.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
 

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to nikos523 For This Useful Post:
Posts: 1,417 | Thanked: 2,619 times | Joined on Jan 2011 @ Touring
#5
Originally Posted by nikos523 View Post
Why not an xperia x compact then?(snip)
the galaxy s10e
The S4 mini has a SD card slot, removable battery, and I can still run a current browser and OS. That and they are very cheap as long as I can be sure I can get past the bootloader step. The main difficulty is finding a used direct from Samsung phone(no code on bootloader) vs something unusable which was sourced from a US or Canadian wireless carrier and no hope of installing a usable OS.
 

The Following User Says Thank You to biketool For This Useful Post:
Posts: 135 | Thanked: 351 times | Joined on Dec 2012
#6
Whatever floats your boat mate!

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
 

The Following User Says Thank You to nikos523 For This Useful Post:
Posts: 391 | Thanked: 908 times | Joined on Aug 2011 @ suncity
#7
Hi,

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy A5 (2015) now with LineageOS... I do not have any idea of your worries or expectations about the size of the phone; it is fine for me. OK, it is way bigger than the n900 (I mean taller and wider) but I can use it with one hand at least and the big screen comes handy...
I have termux on it; I could even wrote a small python script and run it in the background to make some things done... So for me it is quite a good solution for having today's services (browser, navigation, pay/banking) with the capability to costumize (OK, not as deeply as on n900) and even write programs/scripts on it...

OK, it does not have a removable back cover and battery, NFC isn't working and yes, I should use google stuffs but I'm not struggling with ads or anything like that. Or at least you can use this to avoid google...

Last edited by justmemory; 2019-10-25 at 09:10.
 

The Following User Says Thank You to justmemory For This Useful Post:
endsormeans's Avatar
Posts: 3,139 | Thanked: 8,156 times | Joined on Feb 2013 @ From my Gabriola Island hermitage, near the Edge of the World
#8
Micro g?
I don't use no stinkin' micro g
(Bad rip off there)
I use nano on one of the nexus 5s I have ...that has floko pie on it.

You may rather enjoy trying out maru or Ubuntu touch ...biketool.
I like em.
Just saying...
__________________
Lurker since 2007, Member since 2013, Certifiable since 1972

Owner of :
1-n770 (in retirement), 3-n800's / 3-n810's (still in daily use), 5-n900's ((3 are flawless, 1 loose usb ( parts), 1 has no telephony (parts))
3-nexus 5's : 1 w/ Floko Pie 9.1 (running beautifully) waiting for Stable Droid 10 rom, 1 w/ ̶Ubuntu Touch, 1 with Maru OS (intend maemo leste when ready)

1/2 - neo900 pre- "purchased" in 2013. N̶o̶w̶ ̶A̶w̶a̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶c̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶f̶e̶w̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶ - neo900 start up declared officially dead -
Lost invested funds.


PIMP MY N8X0 (Idiot's Guide and a video walkthrough)http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=94294
THE LOST GRONMAYER CATALOGShttp://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...ight=gronmayer
N8X0 VIDEO ENCODING THE EASY WAYhttp://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...ght=mediacoder
242gb ON N800http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=90634
THE PAIN-FREE MAEMO DEVELOPMENT LIVE DISTRO-ISO FOR THE NOOB TO THE PROhttp://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=95567
AFFORDABLE MASS PRODUCTION FOR MAEMO PARTShttp://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=93325

Meateo balloons now available @ Dave999's Meateo Emporium
 

The Following User Says Thank You to endsormeans For This Useful Post:
mp107's Avatar
Posts: 166 | Thanked: 454 times | Joined on Apr 2015 @ Poland
#9
Regarding the Sony Xperia X Compact and custom ROMs…
If you are going to use any Android custom ROM based be aware that all the custom ROMs for X Compact (except some old, unmaintained CyaonogenMod 13/14.1 and LineageOS 14.1 builds for which the source code has been removed from GitHub and some stock ROM based ROMs) are based on Sony AOSP which for like two years or so contains a bug where on random basis (mostly on high GPU load) the phone restarts itself or "bricks" to the state a key combo reset is needed. I have struggled with these for like a year and abandoned this device for this reason, therefore I would not recommend this device for using it with any Android based custom ROM.

For clarification, I would not blame open source code as it is often maintained in developers' free time and I appreciate their work and will to do it but this bug seems to be in closed source drivers worked on mostly (except for providing logs) by Sony and that's why I personally feel rather disappointed.

Last edited by mp107; 2019-10-25 at 18:11.
 

The Following User Says Thank You to mp107 For This Useful Post:
nonsuch's Avatar
Posts: 584 | Thanked: 1,550 times | Joined on Sep 2019
#10
Originally Posted by biketool View Post
For several reasons including needing NFC and a fully functional mobile web browser I need to find a LineageOS microG compatible phone to use as a tablet. I am looking for a small device, I was thinking of a Samsung S4 mini LTE(serranoltexx).
My concern in shopping for a used phone is that the bootloader would be hard locked and the device will be unusable to me, I refuse to use a stock android device.
Does anyone have ideas what to look for to get an unlockable Samsung?
Do you think there's different versions of each device, some locked, some not?
FWIW, I have never encountered a "locked" device.
I'm not even 100% sure what people mean when they use that term.
If the device has clear installation instructions on the LOS wiki, it should also work that way, no?

The only other experience I have with androids was helping with a One+1(stock Cyanogen) and a Nexus 7 which both only come with ADB unlockable or unlocked bootloaders
Are you saying unlockable via "only adb" is bad/inacceptable???
 

The Following User Says Thank You to nonsuch For This Useful Post:
Reply

Thread Tools

 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 04:23.