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  • Are cell identifiers leaked on first Android boot before installing GrapheneOS?

surfwatch I think you've answered your own question. Option 3 is the only option that pretty well guarantees that your IMEI won't immediately become associated at or near your residence.

A large faraday cage would also work, but unless you've just got one lying around for this purpose then option 3 is the way to go.

The problem with using a faraday cage is that you need to provide internet access inside it in order to enable OEM unlocking on stock Android.

There are faraday bags that both have an USB port (so it should be possible to place a Wi-Fi dongle inside and open a throwaway AP) and allow the user to operate a touchscreen, but they are expensive.

I am curious about, how do you keep in contact when away from wifi?

For me personally, I am away from wifi during my work day. My child has certain serious health concerns, what if her school needs to contact me? I do not see how it can be done away from wifi, without using the cellular network.

    Harald as recently as 20 years ago, many if not most folks simply weren't within constant reach of others when they stepped outside their door. Yes, cell phones have been around since eighties, but almost no one in my circles carried them even into the late nineties unless it was for work, and even then it was usually a pager.

    Obviously, if you have family with special health needs then it is great to have that technology at the ready, but most people can get by with not talking on the phone while they commute to and from work, and many can even go their entire shift without a cell phone.

    I am fortunate enough to have wifi just about everywhere I go, but I also don't bother to take my phone everywhere I go. Health issues withstanding, it is okay to be incommunicado from time to time. It can even be liberating.

    In many ways, I feel that we, as a society have come to rely on technology for far too much. My own kids won't even consider trying to find an address without GPS in their vehicle, and some even share their locations with their partners 24/7.

    I probably just sound old, but I feel like many have forgotten (or have never known) what it means to live independently.

      mythodical

      Ditto!!

      I am amazed at the potential compromises made to get a stand-alone app/mail client of unknown quality along with google software involvement, just so one can get an immediate notification of a new email (push notification?)
      Especially when one can use vanadium - a known secure and hardened app - to check for mail when curious.

      abcZ without a cellular connection, its a paperweight. Kinda pointless to have a phone that cant... Phone.

      As I posted elsewhere, you can easily make phone calls without cell connection, by using a VOIP app and connecting to the network over wifi.

      I have done so for years. The main difference is that you cannot be reached at your phone number without a wifi or other net connection. If your phone is for your convenience and not for others to spam and bug/interrupt you, that might even be a feature :-)

      If you are super afraid of IMEI leaks you can remove your IMEI addresses from your pixel phone permanently by rooting your phone and using AT commands, you will lose your IMEI addresses forever and you'll never be able to use GrapheneOS with a locked bootloader + IMEI addresses. You will only be able to use your phone with a locked bootloader with GrapheneOS without IMEI addresses (which is what you want?). After that you can use airplane mode (double safe) and you can use WiFI. And if you want to have also i-net outside of your house you could buy a 4G router and use i-net outside your house.

        surfwatch

        Hi, why you don't want your home associated with IMEI when you using your phone wifi-only?

        I have set up my phone with your 2. option, and i am curious if option 3. would have been nessesery for me.

          Hathaway_Noa you can remove your IMEI addresses from your pixel phone permanently by rooting your phone and using AT commands

          I wasn't aware that this is possible for Pixels specifically. Can you post some more details, or maybe a link?

          But anyway, one would have to enable the OEM unlocking toggle first, so...

            bartenderstoneware why you don't want your home associated with IMEI when you using your phone wifi-only?

            For one thing, to reserve the option of using the cellular network in a pinch somewhere some day.

            Also, if you accidentally disable airplane mode while you're out (which is way too easy with the combined Internet tile), it would be good not to have the IMEI already associated with your home.

            bartenderstoneware why you don't want your home associated with IMEI when you using your phone wifi-only?

            The reason is to have the flexibility @rustybird mentioned. The phone is wifi-only at my home location but I want the ability to use a cell connection at remote locations if needed without associating that cell identity with my home location. Doing this perfectly is probably impossible because data may be leaked in other ways such as usage patterns but avoiding IMEI leaks is the most obvious part.

            If your phone is used 100% as a wifi-only device after installing GrapheneOS, then it should be insignificant if your IMEI was previously leaked.