Do you have any suggestions about where to find non-free drivers for the proprietary components of smartphones?
Thank you.
Typically it’s impossible to find them, because they are designed for old versions of Linux (used in Android) and never updated. In addition all documentation for the hardware is closed, making it almost impossible to write new ones.
Some details: https://amosbbatto.wordpress.com/2020/08/05/advantages-of-phosh/ (Although the whole text not about it, but it’s discussed there).
For example (from the link):
Fairphone then spent €500,000 to switch from Qualcomm’s unsupported Snapdragon 801 drivers to community-developed drivers. In November 2018, the Fairphone 2 became the only Snapdragon 800/801 phone to officially receive a Nougat upgrade, but it arrived 27 months after its release. Today, the Fairphone 2 is using a version of Android which is 3 years out-of-date. It is unlikely to ever receive another official upgrade due to the high cost of complying with Android’s CDD and CTS, despite the fact that LineageOS 17.1 (AOSP 10) runs fine on the Fairphone 2.
Depending on your phone model, you might be more lucky than others, but the chance is low. This is one of the great selling points of Librem 5: lifetime updates and the lack of planned obsolescence.
Thanks very much. I appreciate the info.
The downside of phones like the Librem 5 is the cost when compared to others.
Further, the ability of Linux to revive old hardware would relate well to older phones.
Thanks again.
Yes, thanks for that. I already did, but my friends phone is A53 and there is nothing for that cpu.
I’m beginning the think that the only solutioni s to stick with a custom rom for the phone and use Fdroid for applications. That might give the most secure and most intuitive setup for now.
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