Privacy-loving Luddite needs some translation help <3

[amosbatto]

@Rae

I’ve bookmarked the phones from Rob Braxman. I’m a little hesitant to buy anything from Google even if this guy has gutted it and put in a new OS. Is it risky to buy something from an individual who has gone that deep into a phone? It seems like you’d have to really trust him, because couldn’t he put his own trackers in there and steal your identity/money?

Rob Braxman is a well-known privacy advocate, and his public reputation and business would be ruined if he did something evil like that. Braxman isn’t doing anything special. He is just taking the LineageOS image that you can find on the xda-developers forum or LineageOS web site for the Google Pixel and installing it. I have been doing the same thing on my phones for the last 6 years. I just recommended using Braxman’s service, because you said that you don’t have much technical knowledge, so you may not want to install LineageOS yourself, but it honestly isn’t that hard if you are using one of the phones that is officially supported by LineageOS, because the web site has very clear instructions. However, if you buy a used phone to install LineageOS, make sure to buy a model that allows you to unlock the bootloader, which generally means avoiding any model that was originally sold by Verizon or AT&T.

@Rae

The Pro1-X looks awesome - I loooove the QWERTY pad and am so glad some people are still producing those Aside from loving the hardware, I’m not really seeing anything about privacy on this one. It says you can design the phone how you want, so that’s great if you have the skills to do that,

If you select LineageOS or Ubuntu Touch when you order the Pro1-X, then you are getting a privacy phone. LineageOS can’t legally include the Google Play Store or any of Google’s proprietary software. Just install the F-Droid repository and use that to install your apps. Read the description provided by F-Droid for each app, because it will tell you if the app does any data collection. If you select Ubuntu Touch when ordering, then your app store will be https://open-store.io/, which is also pretty safe.

@amarok

I’m not sure what that note “using 3G” is referring to…some other user’s personal phone SIM card, maybe… (that wiki was created by a forum member, @amosbatto, so maybe he can clarify).

dylanlesterpvcs 1 2 says that he only tested 3G on AT&T. He didn’t test 4G, but there are three other people who have tested 4G on the AT&T network through MVNOs.

@Rae

It seems like my issue with AT&T stems from their sim card telling them what phone I am using, and them rejecting it because its not on their “approved” phone list.

Some people have reported with other carriers (like T-Mobile) that they were able to activate their SIM card using an “approved” phone, and then they put the activated SIM card into the Librem 5 and it worked.

@Rae

Can the Librem work on 4G? If the BM818-A1 does not yet have VoLTE enabled, what does that mean for receiving service/signal? Does that mean I will be able to text and use data but not call (if relying on AT&T’s 4G in my area)?

Yes, the Librem 5 can work on 4G. However, the BM818-A1 modem currently lacks the VoLTE configuration for many carriers (it sounds like Purism is working on software to fix this). If you get a phone call with the BM818-A1, you can answer the call, but your internet connection (i.e. data) will switch to 3G or 2G. If the BM818-A1 can’t find find any available 3G or 2G networks for data, then you won’t have an internet connection while making a phone call, which isn’t that big of a deal in my opinion.