Re: Alternate OS for LG V20?

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

VanguardLH <V@nguard.lh> wrote:
>

After rooting my unlocked LG V20 (AT&T model H-910), I'd like to get
something newer than the Android 8.0.0 that is on it now.  I thought
about Lineage OS, but https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#lg does
not list the V20, just the V30, and up.  They have a clear warning
"Devices not listed are not supported."  Yet I read where someone
said they got LineageOS 21 on their LG V20 phone, but they didn't
mention which model, yet the following mentions LineageOS on the
H-910 model:
 
https://xdaforums.com/t/official-lineageos-20-for-the-lg-v20.4618097/
https://xdaforums.com/t/closed-official-lineageos-21-for-the-lg-v20.4649861/
 
However, both note some significant failures of these OS versions in
handling all the hardware or proprietary libs used on my phone.
 
With the old Android 8.0.0 now on my phone, too many apps have
severed their usability by upping the minimum Android version they
require either to get installed, or to operate correctly.  I'm
losing too many apps because they require a higher Android version,
and there are some apps I can't get at all because their manifest
mandates a higher minimum Android version.  I'm loathe to buying a
pricey phone just to satisfy the requirements of these apps which
sometimes to be due to non-critical changes in functionality or
simply a different UI.
 
What other Android replacements (maybe getting me to v15) could I put
on this phone?  Unlike some ardent anti-Google users, I don't need a
de-Googled OS.  Tis why I was uninterested in GrapheneOS, plus they
seem geared to only Pixel phones.

 
In general, for any phone, your best bet is to search XDA Forums and
see who has done a third party OS for your specific model number (and
I mean number, ie not just the marketing name Samsung Galaxy Note N,
but the number SM-GT1234). 

Why I mentioned it was the H910.  I don't remember why, but among the
unlocked models for the LG V20, I decided the AT&T model H910 was best.

In your case it's this subforum:
 
https://xdaforums.com/f/lg-v20-roms-kernels-recoveries-other-developm.5874/
 
Unless there is a build for your specific model there's no point
considering any OS because it won't run.

Of what I read of attempts to root and unlock the LG V20 H910, and
replace the OS, there were problems afterward.  Was hoping someone knew
of a best method and replacement OS that didn't end up bricking the
phone, or losing hardware support (i.e., end up with a retarded phone).

Many of those threads look like they're from 2019-21, even though
they might have more recent posts.  So that's probably the kind of
age of OSes that might be available.

Yeah, interest in rooting and OS replacement for the LG V20 faded back
around when LG dropped support in 2020.  The phone was introduced in Oct
2016, I got it sometime in 2019, managed to get 2 OS updates before LG
dropped it in 2020, and then LG left the smartphone market in July 2021
after 23 consecutive quarters of money loss in the mobile division.
There would never be any OS updates for this phone after they
discontinued support, and especially after they quit smartphones.  They
tried to sell off their mobile business, but no buyers.

Be prepared for things not to work.  Porting a newer OS to an old
device is comparatively easy, getting all the hardware to work
reliably is a long slog.  You may find some components don't work -
the threads should say this.
 

One of the problem I've read about with the LG V20 is some models
cannot be rooted.  There are several unlocked models which were
factory unlocked by the carrier, like Verizon.  I have the H910
model unlocked by AT&T. 

 
Carrier unlock is not the same as bootloader unlocking.  Carrier unlock
means you can use a different carrier's SIM card.  Bootloader unlock means
you can use a different OS.  Many phones sold in the US have locked
bootloaders, which means no OS replacement. Although if you have rooted then
maybe your bootloader isn't locked.

In one of those forums, and in online guide articles, one of the first
steps to check was Developer Options had "Enable OEM unlock".  It's
there in my phone.  It is an early step, if not the first, in prepping
to replace the OS.  I don't just want to root the phone since the old
Android 8.0.0 would still cause problems or loss with many newer apps.
Rooting was just a preliminary step, not the end-all step.  Need to
replace the OS with something newer to move forward with app
compatibility.

When I attempt to enable the unlock, I get a warning "Warning: Device
protection features will not work on this device while this setting is
turned on."  Okay, something else to research: just what is device
protection.  LG describes this:

https://www.lg.com/us/support/help-library/lg-android-device-protection--20150103626155

For now, and until I decide to make this a test phone, I cancelled the
proposed changed, so the unlock remains disabled (the default).  From
what I've read, so far, that its bootloader is unlockable does not mean
it is a simple or even straightforward task.  One mistake, and it's
toast.

I'll go digging in the XDA forums some more, but the more I read the
more I see mention of hardware loss (i.e., hardware not supported or not
completely supported by the replacement OS).  Prognosis is not good.
New phones are just ridiculously overpriced, especially when trying to
find those that have 6-7 update lifecycles.