payconiq/banking, identity apps/... on GrapheneOS?

c3023

Hello,

after 8 years, my Samsung S5 Duos is not only heavily blemished, but also a bit too slow for browsing, even with the much lighter LineageOS with microG.

I'm not a heavy app user, and my main aim is to not need google (or apple) on my phone, a good camera, install my favorite apps from F-Droid, and have the phone for as long as possible - all the while trying to get an as secure phone as possible for my use-case.

My LineageOS 18.1 with microG and unlocked bootloader can pass SafetyNet attestation, and only one app doesn't work: payconiq (which is quite popular where I live). I don't have magisk, rooted, or anything else in that direction.

In this forum, I only found one entry about payconiq (December 2022) which indicated that it didn't work, but that might have been due to the problem which is described in this post, and thus might have been solved.

Could anybody confirm whether payconiq works with GrapheneOS? And maybe if you have experience with other (banking, or identity) apps which work/don't work, that would also be interesting to know.

thanks!

treequell

Regarding banking apps on Grapheneos, these are the ones users have tested:
https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compatibility-with-grapheneos/

c3023

Hi treequell thanks for this list, very helpful! I hope I can contribute (there is only one app I use as well in the list ...)

@matchboxbananasynergy, which payconiq apps: I need this one to link payconiq to my bank/bank card:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.inthepocket.bcmc.bancontact&gl=US

matchboxbananasynergy

Can you tell me which of these two apps you want to use?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.inthepocket.bcmc.bancontact&gl=US
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.payconiq.customers&gl=US

matchboxbananasynergy

c3023 The app launches fine. Can't tell you much more beyond that, though. I hope it helps.

c3023

thanks @matchboxbananasynergy ! well, maybe it works then. Because with my current phone, upon launching the app, I get "a security error occured", and that I should make sure USB debugging or rooting is disabled (which both is), and that no customRom is installed (which obviously is the case).

matchboxbananasynergy

c3023 Okay, yeah, I definitely didn't get that. It brought me to the registration screen etc.

Keep in mind that I tried this in a profile with Sandboxed Google Play installed, so it is possible that's needed to make the app work.

Jos

Yes, this works. Payconiq, Itsme, banking apps etc.all work fine.
But you need to install them from the Google Play Store, not Aurora. It looks like some of these apps are able to detect they were not installed through Google Play Store.

First activate Sandboxed Google Play: Settings->Apps->Sandboxed Google Play.
You don’t need to activate Google Location Accuracy in the Sandboxed Google Play setting.
Then open the Play Store app and install what you need.

There is one banking app I can’t get to work: the Argenta Banking app. You need to add your account and then it switches to Itsme on a standard Android phone. This does not seem to work on Graphene OS.
Fortis, KBC, Deutsche Bank, Bank van Breda, ING work fine.

Don’t know if you already have a Pixel phone. But if you want face unlock, the Pixel 4 or 4XL is the only option.
I returned a PIxel 7XL just because it does not support face unlock.
It’s such a convenient feature, and unfortunately no other Pixel phone exept the 4 or 4XL have a secure face unlock system.
It’s not the fastest phone, but it’s not really a problem in daily usage either.
And you can find them pretty cheap used. Only 128 GB versions are harder to find.

I hope Graphene OS keeps this phone in extended support for a long time…

c3023

Hi @Jos thanks for this detailed info, and great to hear all the positive news.

However, I'm also at Argenta, so its sad that it doesn't seem work. Maybe both itsme and Argenta via Aurora outside of the sandboxed GMS? (Argenta + itsme work for me on LineageOS and Aurora, but I have microG).

I think I will get a 6a for latest EOL, smallest form-factor, and fingerprint unlock is good enough. The great option of Pixels is that I could switch to CalyxOS if GrapheneOS doesn't work out for me (and after EOL maybe even to LineageOS with microG again). I might still be without payconiq, but I should be able to use everything I have right now with Aurora, and microG.

ps: just came to my mind: did you try to link the argenta app without itsme installed? I think when I first installed the argenta app, I needed to verify myself via the banking card, and the digipass. So maybe if argenta can't link to itsme, it uses another way to verify. You could afterwards just install itsme again.

Jos

It’s possible you can connect the Argenta app with your card and pincode.
Didn’t try this, since I forgot my code for this card. I don’t use it for banking, only for my pension plan :-).

I tested CalyxOS first. To much hassle. GrapheneOS works better on a Pixel, gets more updates and is much more secure.

c3023

I purchased my Pixel 6a about 6 months ago, and can finally confirm that payconiq works!

All in all, I'm quite happy with GrapheneOS: the web-based installer was working perfectly, and the Pixel 6a is a real real improvement to my Samsung Galaxy S5. The only thing I note is that since about ₂ months, my phone sometimes suddenly reboots while I wasn't really excessively using it. In total this now happened about 4-5 times. I hope this is something temporary and is fixed with future OS updates.

CyberOtter

c3023 What is your auto-reboot time set to?

c3023

Hello CyberOtter thanks. I didn't even know this setting, but its not it: I think I never not use my phone for longer than overnight. And I remember some reboots were literally seconds after I locked it.

CyberOtter

c3023 There is another auto reboot feature which triggers after updates. Check if it's activated in Settings -> System -> System Update -> Automatic Reboot

c3023

Thanks CyberOtter but that setting is not activated. And the reboots also didn't always happen soon/immediately after an update.
The reboots haven't occurred for some weeks now, but if they do, the best thing is to address them at the os-issue-tracker repository on github? I didn't find any open issue about random reboots there.

[deleted]

c3023 the best thing is to address them at the os-issue-tracker repository on github?

yes, create an issue on the issue tracker

gertc

Itsme installed fine on my Pixel7a with GrapheneOS, installed from Google Play Store. However, when trying to use it, it displays a message 'this app is not supported on rooted device'... Is there some setting that I should change?

gertc

To answer my own question - I had developer options activated. After de-activating and reboot, itsme works again.

matchboxbananasynergy

gertc Interesting find! Sounds like something we should add to https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8330-app-compatibility-with-grapheneos as something to consider when a stubborn app doesn't want to work.

Kiba

A little feedback with a Pixel 6 and a Pixel 7a:
Itsme works perfectly, but you have to allow native code debugging, otherwise I get an error message saying that rooted devices are not supported.
KeytradeBank works perfectly, but you also need to allow native code debugging, otherwise the screen remains blank.
Argenta works perfectly (account added with card).
CBC Mobile works perfectly, but you need to have Google Apps installed, otherwise the connection is very slow (30/45 seconds).
Payconiq works perfectly. I get a message saying I want to use native code debugging, but I haven't done it and no problem.
Revolut works very well. I've had a problem with the SMS OTP not arriving, but I'm not sure it's gos's fault. It suggests adding the card to Google pay, which doesn't work.
The Amex Belux and Amex experience applications launch without a hitch, but I haven't received my card yet, so I haven't fully tested how it works.
Beobank works very well.

I find that Graphene OS has really excellent compatibility with the applications.