Background
Rooting disables OEM updates and makes your device unofficial, so you will probably still be able to sideload apps. Depending on how this shitstorm turns out though, and if there will ever be a need for it, I would love to help people root their smartphones.
Another idea is to collaborate on a wiki that aggregates and documents all rootable versus non rootable smartphones and the methods that work.
Rooting services
We could setup a chatroom on Signal or any other platform that enables voice and/or video chat. People would also be able to send their smartphones to another person that roots it. Or like street vendors, setup a pipe chair and table and do it on scene at festivals and other gatherings.
The wiki
I could host something fresh from my desktop or create a community on some fedi instance. The wiki would aggregate preexisting information but also be open for continuous updates by the community.
Edit: thank you @[email protected] for posting the repo Bootloader Unlock: Wall of Shame
Question
What does the community think of such an idea? I’m just spitballing here, trying to add something to the opposition.
I would love to read a wiki about degoogling phones. I am confused about rooting, changing the bootloader, custom ROMs, libre OS ontop of Android, etc.
Take one thing at a time and give it time. There is a lot to learn, depending on what level of understanding you want to achieve. How about starting here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooting_(Android)
Rooting: making yourself the true owner of your device from a software perspective. You already paid a butload of money to buy the physical device, but the manufacturer doesn’t allow you to install and/or remove apps (packages), customize or otherwise tweak the phone to the extent that the underlying operating system would allow.
Unlocking the bootloader: to remove the restrictions that otherwise prevents you from altering (tweaking or replacing entirely) the operating system as implemeyyou?d by the manufacturer.
Custom “ROM”: I don’t really have an answer for you here, since I don’t understand - and haven’t yet looked up - why people call it that. Anyway, people use it to mean “custom operating system”, such as Graphene OS or Lineage OS.
Edit: “custom ROM”, as I suspected, is a colloquial term and not technically accurate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custom_ROM
Am I allowed to say, I’m rooting for you?