Things to be aware when moving to GrapheneOS in terms of lost functionality

FlipSid

Important questions to ask before migrating.
If it weren't for the great usability of GrapheneOS I probably would not be as happy as I am.
But in my case I use my phone for everything, so usability is part of my threat model.
The only thing that I find is important, if you use sandboxed google play, is backups. Contacts, Pictures, Music etc. All has to be done manual.
In my case, at least I haven't found out yet, backing up apps doesn't work. Have to reinstall manual, so be sure to know what apps you had.
You will be logged out of all accounts, if you have 2FA make sure you can access it. I couldn't but luckily I could access the recovery Phrase 🤣
For YouTube you can use Grayjay or NewPipe.

Murcielago

FlipSid

When it comes to a complete phone backup, Seedvault is (currently) the only solution. I have no personal experience with it -as i don't have a need for a full backup solution- but many users describe it as poor:

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/6025-megathread-first-hand-experiences-with-seedvault

It seems that GrapheneOS wants to replace it with something new at some point; I am not aware of a timetable for this.

When it comes to synchronizing data, there are countless secure and privacy-friendly options, for which you can also get good information and help here in the forum.

Here are some solutions that are frequently recommended and that I can think of off the top of my head (not exhaustive):
Nextcloud, Davx5, Proton, Tuta, EteSync, Syncthing, Ente, USB stick

You can find more information in discussions like this:

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/15-how-do-i-backup-my-phone

And at the end of the day, you don't have to use none of them- if switching is too much trouble for you, with sandboxed Google Play installed you can also install and use all Google apps such as Google Calendar, Drive, Gmail etc.

Murcielago

MarsTrue

Personally, I totally agree - i also prefer a fresh installation from scratch. But my answer referred to part of FlipSid post and as spiral already mentioned: There are people who would like to have a complete backup solution.

prisi

FlipSid thank you for this. im a bit of old school and dont really store anything on cloud. more of HDD so i transfer images and music manually all the time! cheers!

FlipSid

Murcielago yeah, that's why I haven't tried it yet.
I use Google Drive with Cryptomator, after migrating away from Proton Unlimited, still need to put my Music in GD.
But no hurry for it. I think I have the (my) system worked out so far.
Just need to stay consistent 😅

MarsTrue

Murcielago what's wrong with good ol' wiping everything out and reinstalling the apps from scratch? most apps either use an account, have import-export functionality or save their data as plane files on the storage. when possible I use the latter so it's only a matter of copying a bunch of files. reinstalling is also a breeze with obtanium. I do it quite often just for the heck of it and only put back what I really use to keep everything nice and minimal. I wouldn't trust that a migration tool to not copy god knows what cache or bloat on my freshly wiped device.

spiral

MarsTrue

Totally fine if that works for you but it's obvious why most people enjoy a complete backup solution. I've done a fresh setup on multiple Pixels running GOS and it took me a couple of days of tweaking the settings to get the device close to where it was previously.

Eirikr70

MarsTrue I mainly agree. The apps that carry data on my phone are backed up on servers :

the photos server,
the contacts and calendar,
the emails,
the instant messages,
...
What are not backed up are only the sms.

mmmm

Murcielago coming from ios and their flawless backup and restore system, its my biggest worry on grapheneOS should disaster strike.

twitheatrophonic

redacted that's not true. If you log in to your personal You can install already paid apps. Not sure about buying new ones

bookreader

prisi pixel 7a might have additional battery stress and battery life might be shorter

Other way around. Your phone will use LESS power, thus longer between charges, resulting in greater longevity.

Eirikr70

prisi Never tried to build your own cloud ?

« Previous Page