Update: I wanna thank everyone for the advice, I’m shipping the bunk phone back for refund today and ive got my eye on a few from swappa and back market for when I get the money to buy.
I’ll probably try out graphene but after looking into crdroid I’m pretty stoked about it having all the customization I’ve been wanting for ages. Which ever feels cleaner to manage and easier for the family to pick up will probably be the go to.
So I fell for the classic blunder and ended up with a pixel that’s not OEM unlocked despite being advertised as such. After a few hours of searching it looks like the only way I’m getting an OEM unlocked pixel is full price from Google itself. I don’t have $400 for a new phone, I bought the one I have for $150 in 2019.
Are there any cheaper ways to get control of my phone?
There’s nothing anywhere close to the security and privacy Graphene provides. Find something like a used 8a somewhere. Check Backmarket, Swappa too not just Amazon and ebay.
I ended up finding one on backmarket, should be here soon. Hadn’t heard of them or swappa before this thread.
I’m not too invested in the security side of things, it’s just the nice fat cherry on being able to genuinely own my next phone.
Which model did you get?
Pixel 7. That was my original goal as it’s the newest that I can afford.