Slightly off topic. First, recycle anything that can't 4g. Then, take the easy path and look for a stock alt OS which can run on your phone.
Degoogling
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If the device still gets security updates on stock its more secure to stay there probably but otherwise finding a more current alternate rom like react os or lineage is ok. If you have a popular device there is usually a rom out there. All that said from a security standpoint I wouldnt expect much out of any phone thats no longer updated. [deleted]
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[deleted] I don't think there is a "unified" approach. Your best bet is to find out if there are any google free custom roms available for the particular phone/model. Then you'd need to install MicroG on top of that if you want to have extra app compatibility/functioning.
[deleted] strip of google dependencies, yet make them "fully functioning"
The expression "Fully functioning" might be a bit of a stretch here. Depends on what you mean. The most fully functioning de googled phone i know is pixel with GraphoeneOS. All the rest have various levels of "functioning", but less.
The other alternative is to build your own custom rom by taking LineageOS or GrapheneOS and finding and adding the drivers for your particular phone to the rom. As you can imagine this is not much of an option for the average person.
Generally, ROM availability is what determines whether a phone could be degoogled or not. Unless you are a rom maker.
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User2288 Yes, you are right. I am not a rom maker. Devices in metion are (way) past their official support. But I am not comfortable with recycling or scrapping them. Thanks for the replies. I gave it a thought and will find alternative offline use for them like ebook reader, tv remote/ps4 controller, note taking and so on.
Worth checking out https://divestos.org they do the best they can to keep devices secure as they get older, they make the securoty implications clear
There are charities out there that are looking to obtain old devices even just for their ability to dial 911 such as https://charity.lovetoknow.com/donate-cell-phones and also some charities looking for 911 devices for homeless people etc for emergency use only. Check your area for these.
I have removed a post promoting dubious "debloating" guides, since that often does more harm than good, and it can result in you damaging your device. While OP here is considering doing this on otherwise old and osbolete devices, others may stumble across this thread in the future. Thank you for your understanding.
I will not be locking the thread at this time as there seem to be a couple questions that haven't been answered by OP yet, but let's not treat this thread as a space to recommend dubious stuff please.
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zzz I would say both reasons.
Anyway guys, thanks, you've been helpful.