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Looking for a secondary cheap phone for travel, any recommendations? (lemmus.org)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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Im going to be going on vacation and travel in November, and honestly, this is needed. I'm on the lookout for a secondary phone that i can degoogle real quick, put the neccessary apps that i need and just call it a day. I'm already prepping my family and stating that im not gonna bring my primary phone. I was wondering what do you guys use, if any of yall bring a secondary phone. (FYI: I am in the US and will be traveling internationally)

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[-] IDew@lemmy.zip 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

In quickest phones to degoogle is probably one of Google's Pixel a series using GrapheneOS. 6a is pretty affordable or just a normal 6 since they're pretty old by now. OnePlus 6 or 7 is also really easy to degoogle using custom ROMs like crDroid and LineageOS.

I've had the OnePlus 7 Pro for years and really enjoyed it. A lot of screen, decent cameras and no camera punch hole! They go for about €75 to €100 around here. The Pixel 6 series seem to be going for the same prices for the Pro, which has very good cameras.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 3 points 1 week ago

Sounds like the easy way to go is to get an older Pixel and install GrapheneOS or go to an electronic store and just by a phone do degoogle. Any of these other phones, it all comes down to finding the right model and configuration, and if you don't have the right specs, you cant download a ROM on them. Thats why for my main phone I just bought it preinstalled, because finding those types of phones are getting harder to find and they're not easy to find.

[-] myszka@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago

Which one would you recommend flashing, crDroid or Lineage? People say, crDroid is more feature-rich but also less stable, so I'm hesitant.

[-] IDew@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 week ago

I had a great experience with crDroid on the 1+ 7 Pro. Had Lineage too, it's just more bareboned

[-] myszka@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

What features in crdroid that are not present in Lineage did you find important?

[-] IDew@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 week ago

Probably the crDroid settings that lets you customize Android the way you want it

[-] myszka@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 days ago

Hmm, I should give it a try

[-] irotsoma@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 week ago

I miss my Pixel 6 Pro. Best camera I've ever had on a phone, especially for low light applications. Best concert photos I ever took were on that phone. It ran GrapheneOS pretty well, too.

[-] orochi02@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago

Are the new ones not so good?

[-] irotsoma@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 week ago

I had the 7 pro for a while and then the 10 now. The cameras on those are not good. Not sure if hardware or firmware tuning is the issue, but yeah, I haven't been happy with the quality regardless of whether I use the google camera app or others like OpenCamera. And yeah, especially concert photos which end up washed out and blurry way more that the 6 pro. And that's with and without GrapheneOS since I used each device for a short while before the GrapheneOS was stable enough for my tastes for a daily driver. So I don't think software or OS was the issue.

[-] gnufuu@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

There's plenty of older models to pick from https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices and throw LineageOS at.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 3 points 1 week ago

Yes, i know, but that's if i can find them. I tried that with an old Oneplus Nord N200. I immediately had to return it because it wasn't the right build number. Those phones are not easy to find unless you get something preinstalled.

[-] MostRegularPeople@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This depends on your definition of cheap, but you can get an unlocked pixel 7 on Backmarket for about $200 and slap Graphene on it. Depending the length of your vacation you might be able to reset the phone and return it after you're back.

[-] eremophila@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 week ago

I would assume taking a graphene phone through US customs would be considered to be a non-orange flag?

[-] MostRegularPeople@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

The last time I traveled internationally from the US was 2025 so I don't know how it is now, but how would CBP know what your operating system is?

You can request a physical boarding pass at check in, so TSA and the gate will never even have to see your phone.

[-] eremophila@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago

I assumed the concern was if they check your phone

International media has been reporting for the last year or so that the usa can now just take your phone and demand access to all of your social media etc.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 1 points 1 week ago

I get the seriousness of graphene but i really dont wanna have any issues if something comes up from it.

[-] MostRegularPeople@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Please take this question as coming from ignorance rather than a challenge: How would anyone know that you are using Graphene without you telling them? The Pixel line is still used to run stock Android, and the Graphene OS UI is similar enough that a casual inspection shouldn't raise any flags.

If you're concerned about scanning your phone, consider a physical boarding pass. When you land in the US, turn off your phone and put it in your backpack/ carry-on or whatever.

[-] eremophila@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 week ago

I'm not in the US, but I assume graphene is seen as communist witchcraft over there. Lineageos is probably much more lowkey. A googled phone would not raise any eyebrows at all.

I hate google, but if you are worried about it, a googled 2nd phone with a new sim/number and a new google account wouldn't be the end of the world, especially since that set up could be temporary, tons of phones can be lineageos (my 2023 motorola g84, and 2018 sony xperia xz2 for example)

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 1 points 1 week ago

Yeah, it is unfortunatly. Unless you are working a extremely risky job, your gonna be viewed as suspecious. And even if your a US citizen or not, you can be searched without a warrant.

[-] Souvenir@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This is probably not what you want, but I sometimes use a 2017 Nokia 3310, the one with 3G.

There are not really apps on that(IRC only twitter and facebook, and I don't know if those still work), but you can install/upgrade to the latest version of opera mini, which does offer access to (some) more apps.

To be clear this is on my to do list. In the past I just used it as a dumbphone.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 1 points 1 week ago

Unfortunatly, the older Nokia phones are completely unavailable to obtain in the US and 3G is being phased out everywhere, so that already isn't an option. Also, i would need to download specific apps that relate to taxi services and talking with my group that I'll be traveling with. Even though the Nokias are cool, it just isnt feasible.

[-] adespoton@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

It might have been useful to say up front that you live in the US. Are you planning to travel domestically or internationally? All these things change phone availability and strategy for what you should do.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 3 points 1 week ago

I`m traveling internationally.

[-] Souvenir@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

completely unavailable to obtain in the US

vinted/ebay

3G is being phased out everywhere

2G fallback.

specific apps that relate to taxi services and talking with my group

Yeah. That's a no.

I find it annoying that everything's an app now, when it could also still be a website.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 1 points 1 week ago

I no longer go on ebay because they started asking for age vertification.I tired buying a laptop there once, and immediately cancelled my account because of that. 2G basically dosen`t exist, everything now is turning into 4G/LTE, 5G or you use satellite. When signal is poor or not there, is gonna fall towards LTE or satellite. There are a couple of stores in the US you can go to find phones, but the most convenient options are not really convenient. Yeah, I hate that too. I would prefer to just book those ahead of time but that's not happening.

[-] phar@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Buy a Pixel 3/4/5 cheap off eBay and put e/os/ on it.

There's lots of others but pixels are just really easy to flash.

https://doc.e.foundation/devices/

[-] rekabis@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

Always be careful of the frequencies that the phone operates on with regards to what cellular ISPs provide in the host country.

You could easily get a phone that shares no frequencies with any ISP, and be left with an expensive paperweight that is useable only on WiFi.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 1 points 1 week ago

Wouldnt a VPN work in that case? Even on wifi, you gotta use a VPN or you can even carry one of those portable wifi/hotspot devices. (I was actually thinking of getting one of those to try it out)

[-] rekabis@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You are so wrong it’s incredible.

It’s like me saying, “you have to be careful what fuel you put in your vehicle, otherwise it won’t even start”, and then you start yammering on about the channels on the radio and how you need to set them up in a certain way for the car to work.

Bro, that kind of subject disconnect is epic.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 0 points 2 days ago

Where is the subject disconnect? You do realize that WiFi is not secure right? Even your home wifi is not secure. Its called ISP tracking, btw.

[-] rekabis@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Because I am not talking about WiFi at all. Wifi isn’t even in the picture. Wifi is 100% irrelevant to my original statement.

I am talking about the frequencies handed out to phone ISPs by each country’s telecommunications agency that determines how cell phones connect to cell phone towers in the first place.

Each country has a different mix of spectrums that they hand out, even if the same company operates on both sides of a shared border. So a phone with ISP X that works just fine in a person’s home country might be totally unable to find any kind of a signal to connect to on the other side of the border. No phone calls, no SMS, no mobile data, nothing.

This is because phones are manufactured to connect to a limited number of known domestic frequencies - so-called “international” phones are extremely expensive for this requirement of having all chips for all possible frequencies - so the phone that can work perfectly fine on one side of the border may be totally unable to connect to the frequencies that ISP X uses on the other side of the border - there is no overlap with the phone’s supplied hardware.

It pays to properly read the original comment.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 1 points 2 days ago

I did read your comment and i mention the vpn cause i thought you were talking about untrusted celluar signals, not due to being able to just having the ability to connect to them.

[-] rekabis@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

Where did I mention anything about them being untrusted?

I was talking about a hardware limitation of phones, not security.

[-] FjordDan@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 week ago

VPN only works once you're connected to a network (WiFi or cellular). If your phone doesn't support the frequencies used by the cellular network operators in the country you're visiting it can't connect to the phone network.

This used to be a much bigger problem 10 years ago, but depending on where you're going might still be worth looking into.

[-] crunchpaste@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 week ago

I recently bought an OnePlus 6T in almost pristine condition for about £40. I got it mostly for playing around with postmarketOS but it handles lineage perfectly fine. CPU is fairly snappy both under lineage and postmarket and for that price you can't buy just the OLED display, let alone anything else.

[-] myszka@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

What's your experience with postmarketos?

[-] crunchpaste@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 week ago

A bit rough around the edges in the ui/ux department. Otherwise if you don't expect much more than Firefox and calls its certainly usable for a daily.

Definitely worth a try on a cheap phone imo.

[-] myszka@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

That's actually already very good. On my oneplus 6 I didn't even monoge to get calls and camera fully working.

[-] crunchpaste@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 week ago

Camera was working sometimes and when it did it had a strong green hue. Calls were working well, but the secondary microphone for noise cancellation was not used so the sound on the other side was rather bad.

As I've said, it a bit rough but getting very close to useable for me at least.

[-] myszka@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago

Damn, should've bought 6t instead of my 6 😅

[-] TrollAccount69@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

It kinda depends on what your goal is. I tend to point people towards iphones in this situation because they don’t attract attention and can be easily secured. If you absolutely gotta have Android the best choice is a pixel with graphene. You gotta make sure the bootloader and carrier are both unlocked so you can install graphene though, so that’s something to navigate.

You said elsewhere that you don’t use eBay because of their age verification. It may be worthwhile, if you are underage, to think critically about what you’re trying to accomplish here.

[-] Ripley_Tripley@lemmus.org 2 points 1 week ago

My vacation is just personal travel; away from work, and stress, nothing to serious.

But,due to the extreme situation thats going on with ICE at the airports, mass deportations, and tensions from Americans traveling to other countires, i just dont want anything to happen to my personal phone; if something was to happen.

Apple may be secure, but they are not private, they're just better at hiding it. They use trackers everywhere on all their apps, and are pushing AI just like google. It dosent matter if you use a firewall VPN, blockers or anything, iOS can bypass all of that and still track you. Plus, you cant sideload anything, unless you jailbreak.

[-] TrollAccount69@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

If you want to have a different Android device then your only real choice for crossing a border is graphene, assuming you care about not being detained the maximum amount of time that is legal while they apply celebrite to your phone.

In this circumstance it’s not out of the range of possibilities for dhs to get a warrant (they don’t need it if the place is close enough to a land border or international airport) and search your home or business where you left your current personal phone. They will have the home address from your passport (it’s illegal to not update it!) and will likely have no problem locating your place of business.

The problem with graphene at border crossings is that it’s made the news a bunch lately and an agent could see simply having a phone with graphene as probable cause, especially if you act like a weirdo.

The above is the reason I suggested ios devices. They resist cellebrite and look normal.

If you literally just want an android phone that you can use on vacation instead of your usual one, I hope you find some good input and resolve your needs.

this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2026
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