Hey, I’ve had GrapheneOS installed for some time, but after a while, issues started popping up. com.android.systemui kept crashing, and I’d get a message saying it had stopped working. The only option was to force close com.android.systemui. I could also dismiss the notification, but that didn’t help because the message would just come back after a while. After closing it, the problem would return. So, I asked for help on the official GrapheneOS general chat… and got nothing. That’s why I decided to install stock Android (the factory version that comes with the device). It’s nice because it has a lot of cool features, like automatic Wi-Fi hotspot. But there’s also a lot of bloatware, and it drains the battery quickly.
So, I decided to make a pros and cons table for both stock Android and GrapheneOS, and I thought I’d share it here in case someone needs help deciding.
| GrapheneOS | Stock Android |
|---|---|
| Pros: | Pros: |
| No bloatware (due to minimal installation) | Automatic Wi-Fi hotspot |
| Longer battery life | Google Wallet works |
| Can charge the phone from any charging port (even in public places) | Technical support available |
| Sandboxing all apps | Automatic app installation from Play Store |
| Better backup options (can save to network drive or USB) | Easy remote lock and wipe |
| Native file explorer is visible (unlike stock Android, where the icon is hidden) | Adaptive vibrations and sound |
| Faster updates than stock Android | All apps work |
| No need for antivirus (patches are general, not for specific viruses) | |
| Easier backup process (just select location and data, the rest is automatic) | |
| No VPN leaks | |
| Random PIN digits (harder to guess or see) | |
| Can add an extra PIN with fingerprint (additional security) | |
| Google services are optional | |
| Default GrapheneOS apps respect privacy (e.g., camera removes metadata, PDF viewer runs in a sandbox) | |
| Still Android-based | |
| Google won’t block APK installations (GrapheneOS is based on AOSP) | |
| Cons: | Cons: |
| Cannot automatically install apps from Play Store | Shorter battery life |
| No Google Wallet contactless payments | Lots of spyware from Google |
| No automatic Wi-Fi hotspot (unless there’s a way I haven’t discovered yet) | Lots of bloatware |
| Rare technical support on official GrapheneOS chats | Hard to access native file explorer (icon is hidden) |
| At some airports, devices with GrapheneOS may be automatically flagged for inspection if someone notices a Google Pixel with GrapheneOS | Automatic backup only covers photos and some data, and only to Google Cloud |
| Not all apps are supported | VPN leaks |
| Phone is more vulnerable to attacks (due to bloatware) |
Orginal one is in polish and on Buy European matrix chat i was asked to post it here
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After using grapheneos for my actual phones for 5 years I’m disgusted every time I see any of those stock systems (which is often, I do occasional mobile dev gigs and repurpose used electronics).
Don’t forget the duress password feature. On graphene you can set up a second password that if entered, will immediately wipe and lock your phone.
I haven’t run into anything I can’t install with aurora store yet, and the apps on f-droid tend to be better than their play store counterparts when available anyway.
What’s an automatic wifi hotspot? You can certainly do a wifi hotspot “manually”
Yeah, i forgot to add it. Thanks for letting me know, i will update post
On stock from wifi you can connect to phone that has sim card and is logged into same google account without having to turn on wifi hotspot manually, it gets turned off also automatically
This is a great rundown. I’m considering Graphene for my Minimal phone which some kind soul has ported. Mostly because I want to try it, but also because the Minimal phone software sucks ass.
Graphene can only be installed on Google pixels, you cannot install it on any other phone brand
You’re right. I was mixing up Graphene and LineageOS.
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