this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2026
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Linux Phones
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The Discussion on Linux-based Phones.
Benefits:
- Hardware freedom.
- Perfect operating-system competition.
- Full utilization of specs.
- Phone lifespan raises to 10+ years.
- Less e-waste.
Linux Mobile Distros:
- Sailfish🇫🇮
- FuriOS🇺🇸
- Ubuntu Touch🇩🇪
- Postmarket OS🇨🇭
- Mobian
- Pure OS🇺🇸
- Plasma Mobile🇩🇪
- LuneOS
- openSUSE Mobile🇩🇪
- Nemomobile
- Droidian
- Mobile NixOS
- ExpidusOS
- Maemo Leste
- Manjaro Arm
- Tizen
- WebOS
Linux Mobile Hardware:
- Jolla Phone🇫🇮
- Shift Phone🇩🇪
- FLX1🇺🇸
- Fairphone 5🇳🇱
- Volla Phone🇩🇪
- Librem 5🇺🇸
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Thank you, I'd heard of Waydroid with my limited research on Linux phones but not Lepton. I did a quick search and it seems like a fork of Waydroid by Valve. That's pretty cool! I'm trying to see if I can find a cheap, used Linux phone I can tinker with here in Japan because I don't have the balls to dive head first into the Linux phone environment as my daily driver.
Ping me if you find a suitable target that isn't a pinephone. I'd like to have something that has a bit more horsepower.
Looks like in maybe a month there will be a viable fairphone 6 with PostMarketOS (via user TheMightyCat):
https://threadiverse.link/ani.social/post/35335064
https://lemmy.ca/post/69034826
I have a "close to viable on PmOS" Fairphone5 for 3 years now... sadly the devil is in the detail.
Looking at the PostMarketOS Wiki for Fairphone 5, it looks like audio, camera, calls, nfc, and fingerprint are all partial or broken.
themightycat@ani.social has been able to get audio, calls, and NFC working on the Fairphone 6. According to him, he is currently working on the camera(s) with another developer and also going to try and get the fingerprint reader working too).
I'm not sure how compatible they are, but it might be worth asking if he could look at porting the Fairphone 6 to Fairphone 5 for people. Alternatively, all his additions are open source, so someone else could take a look and see if they are portable.
Edit: corrected TheMightyCat's code repository link.
I am not planning to work on the FP5 unless there is significant demand, might run a poll after i'm done with the FP6. The most sensible phone after the FP6 seems to be the FP6 plus that will be coming out, depends on how much of the hardware is the same but since its a refresh it should be pretty similar.
Also you linked the wrong repo, my repo is: https://forgejo.catcrafts.net/Catcrafts/milos-linux
Thanks for letting me know about the wrong link, should be fixed now.
FP6+ makes sense. I initially figured you wouldn't go for the FP5, because I don't immediately see it for sale on the Fairphone website or anywhere else.
By the way, I think it's really cool you're going to be offering FP6 w/ PostMarketOS in the near future. My phone is still in good working order (and don't want to create needless e-waste), but not excited about the Google lock-down, so may be looking to switch out in the next year. Depends if I can get any decent price for my phone, otherwise probably ride it until its closer to death or the google lock-down becomes too rough.
There are some dutch websites that still sell the 5, but they are more expensive then the 6.
https://www.redshell.nl/fairphone-5-5g-6gb128gb-matte-black/
https://www.dustin.nl/product/5011353811/5
It's hard to justify to myself to spend so much money on a last gen phone that would also take alot of time to get running.
Thanks for the links. It's interesting to me that they still have some, when Fairphone doesn't sell them anymore.
More expensive and older. Yeah, that's a tough justification.
@TheMightyCat @Vicinus thank you for the work on the FP6, looking forward to test.
Found this one too: https://www.marktplaats.nl/v/telecommunicatie/mobiele-telefoons-overige-merken/m2393016558-fairphone-5-accesories-very-good-state
Not overly surprised that the FP5 is more expensive, given that in many aspects the FP6 was a downgrade.
I'm not familiar with the changes made. Why was it a downgrade?
The cpu, ram, screen, camera etc is pretty much the same specs, but the SoC went from an industrial grade one to a consumer grade one. Furthermore the FP6 only has USB2 and no display out. And last but not least, while the battery in the FP6 is a bit bigger, it is now a strange custom shape that you will never be able to find a new 3rd party replacement for in a few years, meaning all you will be able to buy is old stock from Fairphone itself that has already degraded to a certain extend.
The wiki for the FP5 referrs to the stable branch afaik. Audio and calls are basically working, but as I said, the devil is in the details, like audio routing for calls and such. I wouldn't be overly surprised if similar issues apply to the FP6 port.
The FP6 has full working audio calls with my image, yes the issue with audio routing was also there for the FP6 port, so i solved it by stopping to try to solve it.
Im doing IMS fully in userspace now, so it just goes via regular wireplumber instead of the modem's voice services.
That would make sense. TheMightyCat did say it would be a while before his additions would make it into the stable branch.
I recall one of his recent posts talking about the call audio routing issue and how he was able to solve it, but who knows, maybe an issue will pop up somewhere or I'm misunderstanding what he said in his posts.
There's a short list of options here.
https://itsfoss.com/linux-phones/
Sadly it doesn't list what actually works on each device :(
I have a Pinephone, but my problem with it was always the software, not necessarily the hardware. (Maybe it's slow too, but it's hard to tell when it hardly does anything to begin with.)
I haven't really touched it in a year or so, but if the software is better now then I think it would fulfill the role of "cheap, used Linux phone [k0e3] can tinker with" just fine.