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The OnePlus 6 and 6T just got Android 11 from LineageOS before OnePlus itself
Nightly builds for both devices are now available
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We've all had a phone reach a premature death, running out of software updates well before the device is actually too slow to be used. Thankfully, the custom ROM community helps keep your old gadgets alive, and there's no better ROM out right now than LineageOS. The open-source project brought Android 11 to nearly 60 phones earlier this month, and two more are about to be added to the list. The OnePlus 6 and 6T have picked up Android 11 courtesy of LineageOS, with nightly builds for both now available.
Going Google-less: How to install a custom Android ROM with no Google apps or services
microG is almost a perfect Play Services replacement
If you're an Android user, Google has a scary amount of information on you, and matters get worse if you're deeply embedded in the company's app ecosystem — getting locked out of your Google account can have serious consequences then. Thankfully, Android is open source, so it's possible to evade Google without having to leave the platform altogether — just look at Amazon's tablets or Huawei's Google-less phones. But if you'd rather be completely independent from big corporations, going for a free and open-source custom ROM built on top of Android's core might be the best solution.I personally accept that there's always going to be some inherent privacy trade-off when you're using an always-connected mobile device that you carry with you everywhere you go, but I'm curious if there's a way to remove the ad company from the equation. It's probably still not feasible to use nothing but open-source apps, but you might be delighted to learn that it's possible to reduce your dependency on a single data aggregator like Google.
TeamWin updates TWRP to 3.5.1, Android 11 support coming soon
They're calling it a 'mini release' with a few notable feature improvements
The evergreen TeamWin Recovery Project received a sizable update to 3.5 back in December. Late last night they posted 3.5.1, which they're calling a "mini release," waiting for full support for Android 11. Most of the changes are housekeeping and small support additions, now split into two branches for Android 9 and 10.
Many older Android enthusiasts that dabbled in rooting or ROMing in the last decade may nostalgically remember Dirty Unicorns. Sadly, after today, all that will be left of the name are those memories, as Dirty Unicorns has decided to shut down.
LineageOS is the most popular custom ROM around, as it has extended the life of many phones and tablets that would have otherwise been abandoned. Even for phones still receiving software updates from the original manufacturer, Lineage can sometimes work better than the stock software, and it's a popular option for 'de-Googling' Android devices. Since our last roundup, several more phones have been added to the official Android 10 build roster (and a few have been removed).
LineageOS now supports every Pixel phone except 4a
The first time LineageOS has offered widespread Pixel compatibility
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LineageOS is the most popular custom ROM for Android devices, bringing new OS versions to phones and tablets that have long since been unsupported. The Pixel lineup has mostly been ignored by the project, outside of the original models, but now nearly every Google-made phone is receiving official builds of LineageOS.
OnePlus One gets Android 10 thanks to LineageOS 17.1, available now
A six-year-old phone getting the latest version of Android 10 is pretty incredible
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Custom ROMs are no longer as popular as they once were, but they still have their place in the Android world. Here's an example: the OnePlus One, a phone that came out in 2014, is now able to run stable Android 10 by way of LineageOS 17.1, which has just been released to the open-source project's download page.
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LineageOS is the most-used custom Android ROM around, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for others. Paranoid Android was a popular choice back in the KitKat days, and while the ROM returned in full force with Nougat builds in 2017, there hasn't been much news since. Now the project is back (again), touting Android 10 builds for nine phones so far.
The vast majority of Android device buyers don't know or care what a custom ROM is. There's nothing wrong with that — a phone or tablet's stock ROM will be enough for 99.9% of potential users. However, for the 0.1% that like to tinker, the development community surrounding a given device can drastically impact the value. Your purchase can become a much better deal if there is a wealth of custom ROM options available, extending its lifespan for possibly years (or roughly a decade, in the case of the HTC HD2).
LineageOS 17.1 adds support for Galaxy S9, Xperia XA2 Plus, and more phones
The Android 10 custom ROM is now on even more devices
LineageOS is the most popular custom ROM in existence, boasting official support for dozens of devices. The first Android 10 builds arrived earlier this month, and Lineage has continued to add to the roster of supported phones since then. The last time we covered the LineageOS 17.1, builds for the Nexus 6 and first-gen Pixels had just arrived, and there are even more additions now.
LineageOS 17.1 review: Android 10, coming to an old phone near you
The continuation of CyanogenMod keeps on trucking
CyanogenMod was the king of custom Android ROMs for years. Not only did it add plenty of great features on top of stock Android (Theme Engine, anyone?), but it also brought newer versions of the OS to devices that were never officially updated. LineageOS has done an excellent job of maintaining that legacy over the past 3+ years, and the project recently released version 17.1 of the ROM, based on Android 10.
LineageOS 16 drops support for Galaxy S5 Neo, Wileyfox Storm, and other devices
LineageOS 17.1 is here, but the 16.0 branch is sticking around
The LineageOS 17.1 custom ROM, based on Android 10, is finally here. However, until all the devices supported by the custom ROM get updated (or fall out of support through other means), the 16.0 branch based on Android 9 Pie will stick around. Since the last time we covered LineageOS 16, a handful of phones have been dropped.
LineageOS ROM releases first builds based on Android 10 (Update: Builds are back)
LineageOS 17.1 is here
LineageOS is the most popular custom ROM in existence, and the project prides itself on bringing newer versions of Android to unsupported devices. However, Lineage has been a bit slow to roll out a version based on Android 10 — the Pie-based ROM was already available by this time last year. Thankfully, the next major version of LineageOS seems to be just around the corner.
[Update: Nope] CEO says Huawei Mate 30 bootloader is unlockable, opening easy pathway to Google apps
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Huawei might have been able to deploy Android 10 just in time for its Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro releases, but, thanks to a looming U.S. imports ban, Western markets will not be able to use Google apps and services on those phones... at least out of the box. We've been expecting a couple of twists to come out of the company in order to accommodate those Google-dependent customers and they have certainly come — right out of the CEO's mouth.
OnePlus just published a recap of its second "Open Ears Forum" from all the way back in May. At the event, it gathered a handful of developers and fans central to the OnePlus community to solicit their feedback. Four months later, the company has revealed a set of changes influenced by that feedback, including more timely kernel sources for Open Betas and a new bounty program for reporting vulnerabilities. Most importantly for customers, though, OnePlus has promised to finally fix how aggressive its software is at killing apps in the background.
Developer group 'switchroot' has been working on porting Android to the Nintendo Switch for a while now, and a few days ago, most of the documentation and installation guides appeared. If you've been itching to play Candy Crush on your Switch, the unofficial Android ROM has finally been released.
CyanogenMod may be no more, but LineageOS is doing a bang-up job as a worthy successor. The ROM is constantly being updated and adding support for new devices. In this 23rd changelog, LineageOS describes all of the software's major changes since March 1st.
LineageOS is arguably the most popular custom ROM on the planet, with more than 1.6 million active installations. However, there have never been official builds available for the OnePlus 6, possibly due to the phone's use of A/B partitions. That has finally changed, as the first nightly downloads are available for the OP6.
Google decided to do something different with its Android Q previews — it opened participation up to twelve manufacturers. OnePlus is in that list, and today it's releasing its second Android Q build for the OnePlus 6 and 6T. Unfortunately, a factory reset is required to upgrade.
ASUS seems to get that plenty of the folks interested in the latest ZenFone 6 are among the same market that like OnePlus' devices, and one of the biggest advantages for Android enthusiasts when it comes to OnePlus' devices is developer support. The root and ROM crowd go for things like the OnePlus 6T in part because, well, you can root and ROM it. Now ASUS wants its ZenFone 6 to get some of that same developer attention, so it's sending phones to some of them.