[lsh]

Removed 16.0 devices:

Wilefox Storm (kipper)

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro (violet)

Yu Yuphoria (lettuce)

---

I bought a device with the express purpose of installing Lineage OS and not having to worry about it for the next ~5 years. Less than four months later support was removed.

[sergiomattei]

Well, there's no guarantee. It's shipped by unpaid maintainers that have to deal with a barrage of users that treat them like absolute crap.

Source: created my own ROMs and witnessed the hell that it is to be a developer on XDA.

[zozbot234]

> Source: created my own ROMs and witnessed the hell that it is to be a developer on XDA.

"What works: You tell me!"

see also "VoLTE, when???"

[rcxdude]

TBH, it's just hell to be on XDA, user or dev.

[h4waii]

I'd recommend this as a great time to start building directly from the source (either LOS or AOSP) so you can provide yourself with updates, including Android Security Bulletins, as they are merged in to LOS or AOSP.

You won't get any device-specific updates or bugfixes without applying them yourself (or going out of tree), but someone already did the hard work since it's an official device and has essentially full functionality. You'll be able to keep your device supported until Lineage drops the version.

Curiously, which device did you purchase?

[skylanh]

https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack

It's based on using an AWS instance; build times are in the order of:

"1.75 hours on a c5.4xlarge. 5 hours when Chromium is also needed"

Also, https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack#costs

[lsh]

It was the Redmi Note 5 (Whyred). They're pretty popular in India and a low cost option in Australia.

[nsomaru]

So, where does one start, and what's the process?

I'd be looking to get a nexus 5x to run 17.1

[h4waii]

To start, https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/bullhead/build but you won't get 17.1 support from official Lineage sources. The most you can do is the latest 15.1 with the last ASB merge from Google, but at that point you may as well find the last official and install.

I'd recommend looking for other 'trustworthy' developers who are working on your device in the open. You can install their pre-compiled builds or you can use their sources for your own builds. There are unofficial builds of Android 17.1 on XDA [0].

0. https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/development/rom-li...

[fooqux]

Usually the only thing required to get a device on the supported list is an active maintainer that can support that device and do the work for the build files, etc.

And I'd say usually when a device is removed like this, it's not usually technical- it's because the maintainer(s) got a new phone / new job / new whatever and can't maintain the build target any longer.

Basically, what I'm saying is if it matters that much to you, step up and be a maintainer. If not, don't. I know it sucks, but there's not really much of an alternative here.

[gnufx]

https://e.foundation supports more devices (still based on LineageOS, but actively de-Googled). My Nexus 5 is one such. They also sell refurbished phones with /e/ pre-installed (in Europe).

[phh]

/e/ isn't more actively de-googled than lineage, /e/ still uses Google's captive portal and fallback DNS, and that's the only google bits left in AOSP or LineageOS.

Also saying that /e/ support more devices is pretty misleading. Sure you can have /e/ on Nexus 5, but Nougat version only. And you can still get Nougat LineageOS for Nexus 5.

Also if your definition of supported is "works on", there is a LineageOS Oreo for Nexus 5 available. Nexus 5 is no longer officially supported by LineageOS simply because LineageOS has requirements as to the security of the device, but /e/ pretty doesn't care about security.

[gnufx]

It uses ecloud for the portal, defaults to the provider DNS (but you can change that), and treats any behind-the-scenes contact with Google (and others) as a bug to be fixed.

I don't think the support range is misleading at all, looking at the device lists, whatever versions are involved. It's support the same as for any free software OS, with maintenance and frequent OTA updates, not random XDA downloads. I don't know if the company provides commercial support. I'm not a developer, so I can't comment on the degree to which they care about security other than it relates to privacy, and the firmware quotes a recent Android security level.

Of course, /e/ is built on LineageOS, and obviously indebted to it. (I was disappointed to find it hadn't been contributing back changes.)

[oever]

What's insecure about Nexus 5 phones for the LineageOS project to stop supporting them?

[h4waii]

Google dropped support, Broadpwn (CVE-2017-9417) was released, and there are no blobs to fix it. This stops the device from meeting requirements in the Lineage Charter, thus it is dropped from official status.

Nexmon was working on it last I checked, but it's highly unlikely this device will get any of this backported and built for Android.

[gnufx]

I confess I didn't think it was vulnerable to that. If it is the reason LineageOS dropped it, the drop was a long time coming (2019).

[lostmsu]

Device list is here: https://doc.e.foundation/devices/

[norswap]

Just like the constructors (whom you actually pay), supporting additional devices comes with a cost unfortunately :'(

[zozbot234]

You can still find 'unofficial' builds for these devices on xda, they're simply not officially maintained.

[endemic]

Or compile it yourself. My device lost "official" support, but following instructions on the wiki worked pretty well.

[arbitrage]

You should ask for your money back.