Replicant on Galaxy S2
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My sister gave me her old Galaxy S2. I'd like to put Replicant on it. I downloaded the img files (list below) and installed Heimdall and its front-end.
boot.img
system.ext4.img
recovery.img
Replicant is not fully free on the Galaxy S2. Is it worth replacing Android? Replicant on S2 has the following problems.
1. Proprietary and likely signed bootloader
2. Modem, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC firmwares are non-free
3. Modem could access GPS
It's a Virgin Mobile phone if that makes a difference. My sister got it in Toronto.
I hope that this isn't too off topic. I'll understand if someone removes it. Replicant's forum doesn't seem active, so I thought I would ask here.
More free software is better than less. You probably use a proprietary BIOS or EFI and I am sure you still consider that Trisquel is better for your freedoms than Windows or Mac OS.
You may find this FSFE campaign interesting.
Yeah good point; the pre-installed Android has a lot of proprietary stuff in addition to those things that Replicant cannot avoid.
I booted into the phone's Download Mode, just to see what it's like. I have four lines of text, followed by large green Android logo, followed by two more lines of text:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GT-i9100M
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT BINARY: SAMSUNG OFFICIAL
*android logo*
Downloading...
Do not turn off target!!
I don't know what to do right now ... the instructions say this but I feel stuck:
Prepare the phone
1. Turn the phone off, disconnect any USB cable
2. Hold the key combination for Download mode (release only when in Download mode)
3. You should be in Download mode. If not, remove the battery and retry the steps above
4. You might need to confirm that you want to download a custom OS
5. Once the Download screen is waiting, plug the USB cable
http://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/HeimdallRecoveryInstallation
Oh -- never mind; I think that's how it's supposed to be. I just have to connect the USB and run Heimdall.
my recovery.img is here:
mtp://[usb:001,008]/65537/28/recovery.img
I'm not sure how to tell whether that's a kernel partition, or recovery partition, for Flashing step 1.
I tried both commands in the terminal, and the phone did not reboot. I'm stuck =/
As far as WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC are concerned, you don't need to worry about nonfree firmware in Replicant, because I'm pretty sure that firmware isn't included. I use Replicant on my phone tracking device, and it does not have working WiFi, Bluetooth or NFC.
I am a member!
Color me crazy, but if you're gonna use a phone you might as well flash a rom that at least actually works on the hardware.
Sure, should avoid Google Apps, but quite frankly, the modem is already a black box that that can do more or less whatever it wants with the hardware and take remote commands, so hardly think some wifi firmware is the worry here. Much like if you have UEFI, you're already screwed.
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