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Comment by as1mov | Hacker News Reader

Most of the Xiaomi phones are supported by LineageOS. If you have an hour to spare, you can easily unlock the bootloader and install it to get a stock Android experience (even skip out Google Services if you want).

I have the Poco F1, cost me about $230 for SD845 + 8GB RAM + 4000mAh + 256GB storage. It's a pretty good deal after installing LineageOS on it.

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An hour to spare after waiting a week for Xiaomi to authorize unlocking of the bootloader. I bought a Poco X3 Pro yesterday, the phone is awesome for it's asking price (R$ 1800), but I'll keep using my current one (Redmi Note 4) until next week. Im not sure if I'm going to wipe it and install another ROM or just install root and use Titanium Backup to freeze most of Google and Xiaomi's stuff.

The downside is that you lose DRM-enabled content. For example, it's a hassle to use Netflix at 720p/1080p, and what's more important to my use case for example, is Spotify. It's _possible_ in theory, but it's extremely hacky.

I personally went the Google route w/ a Pixel 4a, so I get a simple, zero non-sense UI, with no forced ads or anything, just a smooth experience, at a slight premium (not that much to be completely fair ...)

I have LineageOS on my Xiaomi phone and the only hassle is contactless payment. Spotify works fine and I did not try Netflix.

Try it, it works. Parent probably tried a very old version of LineageOS.

That is true. Can you please point me to a guide to get it working ? Thanks in advance !

Well, I installed it in a Samsung S10, but here is a guide for your phone:

https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/sunfish/

I was happy with my Pixel 4A until I left it in my jacket pocket during heavy rain. The resulting humidity was enough to definitely kill it. I get that it has no IP rating at all so it's entirely my fault but still it's the first time this has ever happened to me in fifteen years of owning a mobile phone. The 4A is just extremely not waterproof.

After that, I'm never buying another cheap Pixel again.

> it has no IP rating at all

Just wtf. I had a $130 phone with Lineage die on me the same way recently. No IP on that machine, but if you pay for a Pixel you should definitely have it.

And camera isn't that great anymore.. You can't use the drm drivers anymore.

Back when I last looked you had to register an account, use a Windows application and wait a few weeks before being allowed to unlock the phone. Has that been changed then?

Wow, we've had very different experiences with LineageOS.

I don't think that's lineageOS, it's for unlocking the bootloader on Xiaomi phones

Windows application is still required, but loader unlock was granted instantly after creation of a new Xiaomi account last time I tried it (last Friday for Xiaomi Pocophone F1).

The waiting is kinda random really. I didn't have to wait at all, as the unlock code was available instantly. Regarding the account, I just used a spare throwaway SIM and a Windows VM for that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Though most of the brands (except Nokia and Samsung) seem to have pretty reasonable terms for unlocking the bootloader and aren't as ass-backwards as Xiaomi's.

I'm using a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 ('whyred') from 2019. The first thing I did was get that unlock code (it took ~3 days) and unlock it. For the latter I used MiUnlockTool [1], a Java program which ran OK on Linux - no Windows needed. The tools seems to work on more recent models from what I gather at the related XDA thread [2].

[1] https://xiaomitool.com/MiUnlockTool

[2] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-win-lin-mac-miunlock...

That's not required on A series phones, which ship with a mostly stock Android as opposed to the custom MIUI.

The last one they released is the Mi A3 in July 2019. They discontinued the line and never released the A4

A tragedy.

Xiaomi once conducted a poll on Twitter which OS users prefer - MIUI or Stock. 80 % or so voted for Stock Android hence Xiaomi deleted the poll.

Wow, unlocking a Xperia is super easy.

I don't suppose any of them allow setting a custom root of trust though, right?

I haven't managed to find anything other than the Pixels that have it.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 supports relocking the bootloader with a custom key, but only on older versions of the bootloader (MIUI 9 / Android 8.1, or earlier):

https://gitlab.com/CalyxOS/calyxos/-/issues/88

https://review.calyxos.org/c/CalyxOS/calyxos.org/+/2904/4/pa...

Not sure about other Xiaomi phones.

Interesting. Thank you, I'll check it out.

Another manufacturer that supports relocking the bootloader with a custom key is OnePlus:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-re-locking-the-boot...

None of the operating systems that are designed to be used with a relocked bootloader (e.g. CalyxOS, GrapheneOS, RattlesnakeOS) support OnePlus phones at the moment, so you'll need to build LineageOS, AOSP, or some other Android variant manually to use it on a OnePlus phone with a relocked bootloader.

There might be more device models with this kind of support. Search for "avb_custom_key" with the model name to see whether anyone has commented on this.

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