Ive been using custom roms to greatly extend the lifespan of my phone (still using a xiaomi mi9t from 2019, running smoothly on A15, with lineageOS). Some apps, like banking apps, or gov apps sometimes require a stock android and locked bootloader. But, besides the stock spyware, stock roms become unusable in 2 to 3 years, forcing an upgrade.
Im thinking of getting a cheap 2nd phone to keep with stock android to use banking/gov apps and to leave at home. This way i could use my primary phone with a custom rom and have it working for way longer than 3 years, with less spyware, and wasting less money (depending on the price of that 2nd phone).
Does this seem like a decent strategy considering how android is moving?
Important question: If the cheap phone gets outdated, would it be safe to use it for banking considering i wouldnt install other apps or use a browser in that phone?
The brands available here (brazil) are mostly motorola, samsung, lg, xiaomi and realme (no pixels, nothings, fairphone, pinephones,…). What would be the best options for these two phones? The 2ndary phone should be cheap and reliable (gonna be used like once a week, but should last as long as possible) and 1ary phone should have unlockable bootloader and have good rom support for many years (i hope this niche wont die soon).
Banking on the browser is not an option anymore in my situation. I think it wont be around for long in the rest of the world too.
3 phones.
Whats the issue with taking (1) and/or (3) in international trips? Is it about those countries that want to search you phone at the airport?
Depends on where your going and your threat model, but basically every time you cross a boarder your phone is fair game to be searched and compromised.
Even if you have nothing to hide and your phone gets searched, now you can’t trust it, something may have been tampered or installed, so you have to reset it (at a minimum).
Travel phones might optimize different features (like sharing vpn over hotspot) vs high security (gos), may have different radios, or just less of a pain to replace.
When you travel you may have to install apps that are outside your comfort zone (wechat, velo chat, taxi apps, etc)
When you have a dedicated blanked phone for travel, you become very deliberate about what data you take with you, which is good for corporations and thoughtful individuals.
3 - Since its not getting security updates, should never leave your network or talk to the cell network, its just a conceit to good enough convenience.
🧐
Yup! Risk reward balance, but its not on the cellular network, its only on a desk in a protected network, it isn’t a daily driver, and it stays off unless I need to use it. So I’m not wasting a good phone on a stock os, and I have access to the annoying banking apps when needed (rarely)