Bought Pixel with Graphene preinstalled, should I reinstall myself or paranoid?

yerrrr

I didn't think of this until after I bought it but, is there any chance that the seller could have put something weird in or some nasty spyware? They are very highly rated on eBay so I assume everything is okay, but also I have no idea if the Graphene firmware could be altered by the person installing it.

I'm more concerned though that if I revert everything to the stock Pixel OS/remove Graphene before reinstalling it I might brick the device, since I don't have prior experience with this.

forumuser

yerrrr Graphene OS is so easy to install, you should just reinstall.

It's good to know how to do anyway.

If you have a secondary phone, you can try to verify the current install integrity without the reinstall.

Croak3114

I would reinstall it, its extremely simple thanks to thr web interface installer.

You could also verify that the boot hash matches the one listed on the website, but personally i would reinstall

de0u

Croak3114 You could also verify that the boot hash matches the one listed on the website, but personally i would reinstall.

If the verified boot hash is checked digit for digit (not just the first/last few!) that provides a very strong guarantee... probably at least 95% as strong as reinstalling, arguably higher, but I am not an expert.

[deleted]

Yea don't be lazy, just reinstall it. It is very easy from the browser.
Don't know if you can install GOS directly or you need to install pixelOS first. As long as oem is unlocked i guess it should work installing it directly but ask first in this forum.

de0u

[deleted] Yea don't be lazy, just reinstall it. It is very easy from the browser.

Just be sure to follow all of the directions. The cable really matters. Having the right OS (not something "like Ubuntu" or "like Arch") really matters. Having the right browser, installed the right way, really matters. If all of the directions are carefully followed then it's easy.

[deleted] Don't know if you can install GOS directly or you need to install pixelOS first. As long as oem is unlocked i guess it should work installing it directly.

Indeed it should.

router99

de0u Having the right OS (not something "like Ubuntu" or "like Arch") really matters.

explain

KeenAmatuer

Reinstall, Graphene is so easy to install.

I have installed a lot of unofficial software on different devices (not just phones) over many years, most involve a lot of learning, huge frustration, occasionally hundreds of hours work, but not GrapheneOS. Just follow the instructions.

de0u

router99 When somebody re-spins an OS to make a new distribution, they (by definition!!!) change things. If one of the changed things is something the web installer depends on, then it may no longer work.

It could be that 100% of the changes are positive and the web installer works fine! But if the directions say "Ubuntu", and somebody tries an install on "USBuntu", a hypothetical Ubuntu-derived distribution characterized by l33t hax0r USB device acceleration, and the USBuntu install fails, it would be prudent to try an install using actual Ubuntu.

"Derived from Ubuntu" means not Ubuntu -- might work, also might not work. The "not work" scenario has been observed a fair amount.

router99

de0u I don't think it's good advice to suggest someone should only use Ubuntu or Arch when a plethora of others would be fine to use. According to your logic, the distribution of Linux that I am using would be a bad idea, when in fact it worked just fine to install Grapehene OS.

wahY0tai

I would also reinstall I think for piece of mind.

de0u

router99 I don't think it's good advice to suggest someone should only use Ubuntu or Arch when a plethora of others would be fine to use.

I agree, and I don't believe I made such a suggestion. The installation guide lists a plethora of other platforms: https://grapheneos.org/install/web#prerequisites

Meanwhile, there have been a fair number of forum posts from users reporting installation failures on one or another OS which is described as "like XXX". Typically these reports are not "like Windows 10" or "like ChromeOS"; I think the most common are "like Ubuntu", perhaps because Ubuntu and variants are popular.

router99 According to your logic, the distribution of Linux that I am using would be a bad idea, when in fact it worked just fine to install Grapehene OS.

I don't think I recommended against the distribution you used (I don't know which distribution you used). I'm glad it went well.

If the distribution you used that worked well is not on the list of supported platforms, it would be possible to file a pull request against the GrapheneOS web site repository suggesting that it be added.