KM OK if they are on a separate stick you could safely tick everything in the Advanced Wipe dialogue (except for USB-OTG of course). Just to be sure there are not leftovers of any kind anywhere. That's what I'd do in this situation.

I finally managed to get internet data with my sim card, so I may keep the phone. It hurts but not as dramatically as other OLEDs I looked at, i.e., iPhone X and Samsung S10.

  • Do you remember what is the latest version of OxygenOS which you could use no problem?
  • I think once you said that previous versions of the OS are not available anymore, aren't they? And even if they were available, could I completely wipe everything and load an old OS? I am making confusion with factory-resetting, I believe. Is it correct that with a factory-reset I eliminate all data and downloaded apps, and restore stock apps to how they came, but OS, security patch and kernel do not change, whereas flashing an old ROM would change OS, security patch and kernel as well?
  • I may want to try again to flash PA now that I am a bit more familiar with the process, and I know I can revert to OxygenOS. I still have one doubt. I noticed that I could not wipe the internal storage with TWRP. Its size remained the same after wiping, and I could still see files inside. You mentioned an Android folder I should get rid of. I wonder whether that is crucial? But are not the OS files contained in the System folder only?

Thanks! By the way, very low priority, no need to rush...

  • KM replied to this.

      AGI
      1) yes, I still have it here if I'm correct, the file is "OnePlus3Oxygen_16_OTA_041_all_1702081756_f9fb218af59d4aa6.zip". It is Android 7.0. The previous versions were also good.
      2) yes
      3) Deleting the Android directory prevents Giigle's security mechanism from.kicking in, requiring you to enter your old Google account password before you can use the phone. So that's why I always delete it, to save time and to know the new OS is clean and not disturbed by any leftovers. You are right and the OS itself is not on this partition. But parts of it can read old data there.

      • AGI replied to this.
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          KM "OnePlus3Oxygen_16_OTA_041_all_1702081756_f9fb218af59d4aa6.zip". It is Android 7.0. The previous versions were also good.

          Thanks! Would you download such file from unofficial website, e.g, the first I found, https://androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=76191?

          No problem to install that if the phone came with Android 8.0?

          • KM replied to this.

              AGI I wouldn't, but I can give you the md5sum so you can check if it's the same and then it means the bits are identical, regardless of where you downloaded from (even the most shady site):
              45e55a87cfeb061319858f46ed6b6aab

              No problem to install that if the phone came with Android 8.0?

              Probably not, I think problems arise with new releases only due to TWRP compatibility.

              Edit: OK it could be that Paranoid Android didn't work because the previously installed OxygenOS changed the device firmware somehow. But each OxygenOS comes with firmware, so they probably wouldn't have such problems ever. @degen said he had to downgrade his firmware before he could install Paranoid Android after trying the latest OxygenOS. I can imagine once you installed an older OxygenOS like this 4.0.3 version we are talking about, you would have an earlier firmware afterwards that is still compatible with Paranoid Android. Just speculation, but it could work I guess.

              • AGI replied to this.
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                  KM I can give you the md5sum

                  Wow, never heard of this. You guys really know a lot 👍️
                  However, on Wikipedia I read

                  The underlying MD5 algorithm is no longer deemed secure. Thus, while md5sum is well-suited for identifying known files in situations that are not security related, it should not be relied on if there is a chance that files have been purposefully and maliciously tampered.

                  What do you think?

                  If I am not too indiscrete, why did you move from the OxygenOS version that worked? Because you wanted to settle on something like PA which does not keep proposing updates? Did you try Oreo at all?

                  EDIT:

                  KM @degen said he had to downgrade his firmware before he could install Paranoid Android after trying the latest OxygenOS.

                  I see, makes sense. Cause even I am not an expert, I am not sure what I could do different to what I tried yesterday! Thanks for the heads up!

                  • KM replied to this.

                        AGI I think I tried to move because the old OxygenOS is still vulnerable to the KRACK Wi-Fi vulnerability. I wanted to make sure I could use Wi-Fi everywhere with no worries. It is patched in the final Paranoid Android ROM.

                        It would be hard to fake an md5sum and the data inside the zip to still make sense. But anyways, heres sha1sum and sha256sum, too:
                        SHA1: 455406c0babb23668540b493c24c9221c609a412
                        SHA256: 4f2e5549e31ef35b41f2977e167dc50217caf83c97ad35c4f5f262e97359e0db

                        Impossible to fake them all at once.

                        AGI Did you try Oreo at all?

                        Yes, Oreo gave me eye strain. And @degen recently tried Pie and it gave him eye strain.

                        • AGI likes this.

                            Another related anecdote...I have a Lineage 14.1 (highest it officially goes, haven't tried any XDA custom options) on a Moto G4 Play (no PWM) and in the few min at a time I ever use it it's ok. Not like a modern iPhone that can be triggering in seconds. But it's highly possible that extended use like browising etc could show it to be bad. I am not an intense phone user.

                            Honestly if security is your primary concern then you are not likely to find something that solves that AND eyestrain right now. iPhones are the only really secure out of the box devices, and Graphene OS (the evolution of Copperhead from it's creator) is the only android derivative I'd say is as safe, and it's Pixel only and those all have low freq PWM.

                            • AGI replied to this.

                              hpst Honestly if security is your primary concern then you are not likely to find something that solves that AND eyestrain right now. iPhones are the only really secure out of the box devices,

                              Great to read from you again!
                              What do you exactly mean with security? That on any Android OS, e.g., Pie, OxygenOS, Paranoid Android, someone could hack in and steal personal data, including bank and credit card details? Hence you do not consider any current Android phone safe for banking?

                              I will ask else on your post in the Usable Smartphones? thread.

                                  AGI

                                  Safe is a relative term. Banking should be GENERALLY safe on a current and updated device whether iOS or Android. Anything can be hacked, but your chances go up if you use older and unmaintained software.

                                  Most respected security experts generally seem to think that iPhones with their hardware and software security solutions are the best choice for most people. They have one narrow funnel of hardware and a single software solution so it's easier for them to control things. Android is a much more fragmented ecosystem and manufacturers use a wide variety of hardware, and implement the software in various ways...not all of those are equal.

                                  Most custom Android ROMS are actually LESS secure than a normal, updated Android installation due to the fact they are working with older bits and pieces in the software as the manfacturers are no longer updating the device's firmware and drivers. They can be more PRIVATE by giving you more feature control and removing Google's spyware etc...but they aren't more SECURE generally. An exception is Graphene OS, which is a custom Android ROM created specifically with security in mind and only works on Pixel phones that are still receiving manufacturer support.

                                  Thus my comment about eye safe and "as secure as possible" not being available in a phone right now. The secure phones seem to bother most of us. Personally I do banking on a computer and never on a phone. I probably wouldn't bank on a phone even if I had one of the above. I cannot say it's terribly dangerous to do it on a OP3 with Paranoid, you might never have a problem, only saying I don't feel comfortable with banking that way as it's added risk I don't see a reason to take.

                                  • JTL replied to this.
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                                      6 days later

                                      hpst I'm a security researcher/academic of sorts and I agree with the above.

                                        After the issues with Paranoid Android, I could not revert to the OS the device came with and I am now on OxygenOS 5.0.8, which I downloaded from the official OnePlus website. I have been observing weird and annoying bugs, e.g., in GoogleMaps the settings page can be partially seen on the left, trying to kick in without succeeding. Mostly in GoogleMaps at times the keyboard tends to write by itself. In a few occasions the app became unusable. The keyboard thing happened on another app as well. Once when I tried to call the WiFi setting page, the Bluetooth one kept opening. Sometimes, after pressing the bottom right button I am unable to close apps by dragging them left or right out of the display. When the device behaves in an irresponsive way or does things by itself, I have occasionally seen flashes along lines on the display.
                                        All these things do not happen all the time, and often a device reboot is not necessary to make problems (temporarily) disappear. It is kind of random. I checked and found several complaints from users on GoogleMaps and keyboard, but in none exactly my issues are reported.
                                        I wonder whether all these problems are caused by a non-clean flashing of the ROM after I messed around with PA.
                                        To be honest, I used the phone as it came only for minutes before attempting to flash PA, so I can't say how it worked as received.
                                        Today, without wanting, I got all the Google Apps updated, and the keyboard problem occurred once within 30 min usage.
                                        Any suggestion? Have other OxygenOS users observe similar things in the past, before moving to PA? Can it be a "bad" phone? I could upgrade to Pie, and see what happens (and how the eyestrain evolves).
                                        Sorry, I do not want to use this forum for purposes different from eyestrain. I consider it an appendix to the bad install of PA. Thanks in advance for any insight!

                                        • KM replied to this.

                                          AGI It almost sounds like a hardware issue, especially the flickering screen, but who knows. Never had such problems, and I did install and try quite a lot of ROMs. If I were you I'd downgrade to OxygenOS 4.0.3 (for the firmware) and then try to install Paranoid Android once again. Make sure the downloaded file isn't corrupt. Don't give up.

                                          • AGI replied to this.
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                                              KM Thanks. Not knowing exactly what I am doing - I just have a general understanding - I thought that erasing some files from the internal storage and then wiping it all may have caused the issue. However, I read online that it does not matter. If one has TWRP installed, and the zip file with the ROM to flash on USB-OTG, he should be able to do a clean install. How about following the flashing? What is the exact protocol? Do you wipe again everything but the internal storage before rebooting? Maybe that part of the process is what I did wrong.
                                              I forgot to mention I ran a few factory resets but the instability is still present. It does not happen all the time though, so it is difficult to ascertain in a short time whether there has been an improvement.
                                              Maybe I will send the phone back, and get a new one. It is the less "painful" I have tried since I started having problems an year ago.

                                                So. You get a ZIP, you boot into TWRP, you install the ZIP. TWRP should ask if you want to wipe things while you're installing. Go ahead and say yes to that. Don't do any extra wipes. Just install the ZIP, install the GAPPS, and then boot up normally. I know it seems intimidating but it's really completely straightforward.

                                                • AGI replied to this.
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                                                  Gurm Thanks! That is what I did. It appears other people have had issues installing PA from a recent OxygenOS version. I will do more experiments, but, since my phone is showing some weird issues even after re-flashing OxygenOS, I may pay for the return and send it back, and try with a fresher one.

                                                  EDIT: I upgraded to Pie and updated all apps to the latest versions. I could not reproduce the issues with Google Maps / keyboard / etc. etc.. So maybe it was a matter of obsolete OS and apps, and the phone is okay / did not get damaged by my bad install of PA. On Pie it also does not get as hot as on Oreo while using apps like Google Maps and Youtube.

                                                  • degen replied to this.
                                                  • KM likes this.

                                                      AGI I had issues with a fresh Paranoid install after wiping Pie (OOS 9). No problem flashing it through TWRP, but modem was not working. Tried a lot including originsk OOS for OP3 but nothing was working. Finally fix for me was clean flash OOS 8, booted and checked everything was working, then clean flashed Paranoid. Now everything is working again.

                                                          degen Finally fix for me was clean flash OOS 8,

                                                          Oh, I see...so you did not have to install an OxygenOS version based on Android 7.0, like 4.0.3...you started from Oreo.
                                                          Mmmm, that is what I did...
                                                          The phone came with OP3_O2_open_25 (no idea what it is) but it said Android 8.0.
                                                          After the failed install of PA, I flashed OxygenOS 5.0.8, but did not try to reinstall PA since.

                                                          You tried both Oreo and Pie. How did the eyestrain go? Differences between the two? Thanks!

                                                          @KM @degen What is the battery lifetime? I look at the phone stats and found a miserable 3 hours and something :-(

                                                              AGI When I just use Chrome for browsing via Wi-Fi, about 7 hours still. Used it multiple hours every day for 3 years now. I made sure to completely discharge and completely charge whenever possible.

                                                              • AGI likes this.

                                                                AGI Both Orea and Pie gave me equally bad eyestrain. It's obvious in the display too the rendering is different in Paranoid.

                                                                I must have flashed like 15 different roms trying to get it to work after that. Firmware only roms for the modem, everything. For a while I couldn't even access recovery. Lol. But this thing is pretty resilient so I say experiment away.

                                                                • hpst replied to this.
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                                                                    degen It's obvious in the display too the rendering is different in Paranoid.

                                                                    Has anyone contacted them and asked what they may or may not do graphically? I've never used it.

                                                                    • AGI replied to this.
                                                                        dev