Phone with no longer supported GrapheneOS vs currently supported with DivestOS? (Specially talking about the Pixel 3A).
honestly I would rather take a currently supported build of DivestOS.
It’s better to have a device with outdated firmware but an up-to-date OS than to have both outdated
Yeah, I’ll also switch to divestOS when my Pixel 7a gets dropped out of support
I can’t really upgrade though as I need a headphone jack and they stopped headphones jacks on pixels
That’s basically all phones at this point, you can’t use the 3A forever and I don’t see companies bringing the headphone jack back. You might just have to settle for using an adapter on a newer pixel with the extra wear it entails.
That’s what USB-C to headphone jack adapters are for. Here you can find suggestions: USB-C to Jack DAC compatibility list - GrapheneOS Discussion Forum . It’s long game over for headphone jacks in smartphones. Waiting for one is wasted time.
I’m not a cybersecurity expert, but I think it’s safe to say that an up-to-date OS is generally going to be better than an out-of-date OS which might have some extra hardening in comparison. Ultimately, bug fixes are extremely important. But as others have already mentioned, I believe the firmware is still going to be outdated, so either way it’s not ideal. However, if you can’t afford a new phone, DivestOS is probably your best bet when it comes to security and privacy.
https://divestos.org/pages/patch_levels#osSecurity
GrapheneOS hasn’t supported the 3a in over a year, switch to my DivestOS already so you can gain:
- Android 13
- This last version for 3a is on 12: Releases | GrapheneOS
- 13 months of core ASB backports
- various kernel security patches
- That last GrapheneOS is running Linux 4.9.292: https://github.com/GrapheneOS-Archive/kernel_google_crosshatch/blob/a72d58f8504024b1348ba16bc96e4ddf6497f943/Makefile#L1-L3
- DivestOS is on 4.9.337 (final) plus adds tons of CVE patches (many from 4.14): Scripts/LineageOS-20.0/CVE_Patchers/android_kernel_google_msm-4.9.sh · master · DivestOS Mobile / DivestOS-Build · GitLab
- WebView updates! That old version of GrapheneOS you’re on does NOT support out of band updates.
- First GrapheneOS with WebView updates via Apps: Releases | GrapheneOS
- The version you’re on is on Chromium 104! GrapheneOS and DivestOS are on 119! https://divestos.org/misc/ch-dates.txt
All of those patches dramatically outweigh any extra hardening it has over DivestOS.