this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2026
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I'm a complete and utter newbie to this. But, based on the discussion about "not needing a new phone" and the availability of alternatives in Canada, can anyone recommend what might act as a suitable alternative to Android and iPhone OS. Ideally, I can keep my phone and just use a different OS. But I have some problems and could use some foundational knowledge to start my research and make a decision:

  1. I'm trying to keep my Samsung S21 Ultra as long as possible. I looked at Graphene and Lineage and both do not support it from what I can tell.
  2. Internet, heavy data use is not an issue. I have wi-fi wherever I go.
  3. I'd prefer not to buy a new phone. If I need to buy a used phone, I am leaning towards an older Pixel and Graphene OS. Is that a sound decision? If not, are there phones such as Fairphone (not in Canada...) to consider?
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[–] smeg@feddit.uk 5 points 4 days ago

Amusingly LineageOS seems to support the S20 and the S22 but not yours!

I've been buying cheap used Pixels for the past few years (as in getting one, putting GrapheneOS on it, using it until it starts nagging me that it's really definitely absolutely going to stop giving me security updates soon, and then looking around for deals on a newer old Pixel). GrapheneOS seems pretty good as something that gives you some good privacy and security while actually being usable as a daily driver, plus its absolutely trivial to install. If you're feeling decadent you could wait for the supposed Motorola GrapheneOS phone next year instead, but there's very little known about that.