this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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Hey there everyone !

I recently got a Huawei p20 to replace my old dumbphone.

I don't need most of a smartphone capabilities : no need for emails, GPS, discussion apps and common social apps (Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, ...) What I really need are SMS and calls, and I also like having a camera, a local agenda, a sound recorder and a notepad.

This new phone is pretty cool, and do what I want perfectly, but there is a lot of things that I dont need (un-uninstallable google and huawei apps, and a bunch of other functions). I also lack some options (no true dark mode, and navigation is not intuitive for me).

I recently learned that it is possible to change a smartphone's OS, and switch to opensources options, like LineageOS or GrapheneOS. If i understood, it could help with my experience, with the device's performance, and with the privacy/data sending (this is not my priority but i'm always happy if i can avoid generating data for corporations).

I searched a bit, but it seems that some options like GrapheneOS are only available for Google Pixels phones, and LineageOS has only unmaintained options for P20 Pro and P20 Lite (mine is just P20). I also searched for ParanoidOS, ReplicantOS, DivestOS, but none of it featured P20.

I also heard about Android stock, but i could not figure what it was exactly (a basic version of Android delivered by Google ?) : it seems like it could help me improve my experience, though it surely wont do anything on the privacy/data part.

So my questions are :

  • Do you happen to know any OS that might apply to a Huawei P20 (it's a bit old now, so i guess most of options are not maintained) ?
  • Though it seems to be strongly recommended to avoid using a P20 Pro/Lite build on a P20, would it be possible ?
  • Is it a possible to replace Huawei's EMUI with "Android Stock" ? If yes, would it be good for me ?

Sorry if some of my questions are naive, i'm not well aware on this subject. Thank you for reading and have a great day !

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[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Huawei is actively fighting against your ability to install a custom ROM. They shut down their bootloader unlock process a few years ago, so now you'd have to pay someone to hack it for you.

Literally any other android phone is better for custom roms, I'd say buying something else is worth it over trying to flash a huawei device.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Ok, so that's the reason why I cannot find much about Huawei custom ROM.

Thank you for your answer ! I didn't get to choose this phone, but if i do in the future, i will keep your advice in mind :D