Switch to open source Operating System

[john_evans_jones]

Just heard from fairphone about the end of update support for fairphone 3. Would like to continue using the device but need support to switch to open source OS

Firstly, have an SD card installed which has some of my photos on it. How do I transfer all over from main phone storage ? How do I check I formatted the SD correctly when I set it up ? Anything else to transfer ? Do not use cloud to keep CO2 emissions down but suppose I could do temporarily if SD transfer not possible.

Also, after that: Which open source OS to use ? Are they all compatible with Android apps ? Whatsapp and enterprise car club app most important to me.

[janweiss]

@john_evans_jones

Also, after that: Which open source OS to use ?

There are many Custom ROMs available for the Fairphone 3: ✏ Operating Systems for Fairphones
The most common ones I think are /e/OS, LineageOS and maybe iodéOS. Don’t know if they are all fully Open Source, you’ll need to check that.

@john_evans_jones

Are they all compatible with Android apps ? Whatsapp and enterprise car club app most important to me.

These operating systems are all compatible with running Android apps, yes. They are (besides Ubuntu) all Android.
But they come without official Google support, so no Google Services. And many Android apps require Google services to run, so some apps won’t work or only partially on custom ROMs; due to the lack of the Google services, not due to the missing Android support.

You can install replacements for Google services like MindTheGapps or microG, they try to imitate the Google services somewhat, but you will never have the guarantee that everything works like with an officially certified Google ROM. Some ROMs come with it by default, some don’t. Some provide forum comparisons of which apps tend to work and which not, some don’t. Like this one for /e/OS: [LIST] Banking Apps on /e/OS - Lists - /e/OS community

[AnotherElk]

Welcome to the community forum.

The closest to the Google-certified OS by Fairphone should be the combination of the following:

• LineageOS … https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#fairphone
  A community supported Android OS based on AOSP (the Open Source base of all Android OSes)

• MindTheGapps … https://mindthegapps.com/
  Those popular non-Open Source Google Apps and background services as a convenient package to install on Android OSes not having them (and not having microG as a replacement, there can only be one or the other)

• Google’s registration of devices running uncertified Android OSes for the legitimate use of Google services at https://www.google.com/android/uncertified to play it safe with your Google account.
  (If Google still continued this. I haven’t checked for ages and can’t check right now.)

Based on priorities and perhaps curiosity, other options might be worth checking out, of course.

[Meaghan]

@john_evans_jones depending on where you are based you may look for a local Angel for advice

@john_evans_jones

How do I check I formatted the SD correctly when I set it up ?

you may find the forum guide on SD cards useful in this regard

A little guide to... using SD cards

Android 6 introduced new options for using an SD card in your phone. When you format an SD card or insert a new SD card, you’ll have two options: Internal/phone/adopted storage or external/portable storage. The option that most closely matches older Android versions is the external option. There are a couple of things to take into account when choosing which option works best for you: TL;DR: Formatting as internal will allow you to store apps on it and have it encrypted with the system interna…

[john_evans_jones]

Thanks all. Making progress with moving photos onto SD cards in preparation for the switch to /e/. On the fairphone website instructions for this it says I need a USB data cable. Will the charging cable I received in the box of my fairphone 3 be a data cable too ?