I recently got an e-mail from Fairphone that they will be ending support for Fairphone 3(+) in a couple of months and I’m thinking about getting a replacement with /e/OS installed on it instead of Android.
All the independent information I can find seems to be from two or three years ago, so I was wondering if anyone with recent experience or knowledge has any thoughts about it?
I’m not interested in recommendations for other operating systems as I’m only considering switching from Android because there is an option for it to come pre-installed on the latest Fairphone with the bootloader locked, which may solve a few headaches. I’d just like to know if /e/OS has any gotchas to be aware of and if Ecorp/Esolutions/Murena are considered to be reputable (i.e. they’re not going to steal my data).
So, I use a FP4 with /e/OS and I like it.
First things first: some things will break. Not many, and not often, but it happens. Mostly Google stuff, but on Android a lot of stuff is Google stuff.
Recently GMaps wasn’t working for a little longer than a week. I was still able to use HERE WeGo (my current favorite) and others even with Android Auto, so it was no problem for me, but still.
Banking apps and such almost always work, but there is a non-zero chance that one of those will break, even for a short while. I have three banking apps and they work flawlessly, plus itsme (Belgian gov app) and a German health insurance (this one refuses to login with fingerprint, but pass works).
Android Auto works, but I don’t think I ever managed to get Chromecast to do anything.
You do get something in exchange. The privacy improvements are there, and the OS-level adblocking as well.
But you have to accept that occasionally there will be a nonzero level of discomfort.
You could keep the old phone around for the apps that don’t behave, or you could use the old phone to test /e/OS before ordering.
Thanks for the info. I use Linux as my daily driver on my PC so I’m used to accepting a nonzero level of discomfort! :)