Query: Available operating systems for device - Xperia Z5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I am relatively new to open source software and modding but have a reasonable understanding of the fundamentals and want to learn more.
I've been interested in privacy and open source software for a while now and hoping someone with a sound knowledge in this suggest some pointers. I have tried operating systems on my Linux phone such as Plasma, Ubuntu Touch and Mobian or Calyx for the Google Pixel. Mainly I would like to 'De-Google' my phone and try only non-proprietary software.
So, is it possible to remove the operating system that came with the Xperia or install an alternative operating system? If not, I would like a good starting point on rooting this phone, as well as my Xperia Z3 Compact. Please go easy on me, I am a noob to this.

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linux for smartphones

hello!
is there a linux distribution for any kind of smartphone?
ubuntu touch is only for a few devices and android apps (e.g. gnuroot, etc.) are not a complete operating system and are very limited
is there a complete generic linux distribution to install on any smartphone (no matter if other functions dont work like phone calls, send messages, etc.)
by now i have a motorola razr xt914 d1
thanks a lot
arturo a. said:
hello!
is there a linux distribution for any kind of smartphone?
ubuntu touch is only for a few devices and android apps (e.g. gnuroot, etc.) are not a complete operating system and are very limited
is there a complete generic linux distribution to install on any smartphone (no matter if other functions dont work like phone calls, send messages, etc.)
by now i have a motorola razr xt914 d1
thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a Linux installer app: which you can find if you search the Google Play store for: "Complete Linux Installer"
hi thanks for your answer!
unfortunately according to commentaries that app is not what i am looking for.
i believe many people wants a linux distribution on their smartphone (full installation or at least dual boot) the same way we can install our favorite distribution on any pc
i hope some day this will be possible
anyway thank you.
bye
GNUroot
Does anyone know what is required to use GNUroot and what it is capable of?
Do I need to install a terminal separately? There is no launch icon.
There is some more info on linux installer development here - http://linuxonandroid.org/ and here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1585009
arturo a. said:
hello!
is there a linux distribution for any kind of smartphone?
ubuntu touch is only for a few devices and android apps (e.g. gnuroot, etc.) are not a complete operating system and are very limited
is there a complete generic linux distribution to install on any smartphone (no matter if other functions dont work like phone calls, send messages, etc.)
by now i have a motorola razr xt914 d1
thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm... Not for ANY PHONES. Just few phones could run Ubuntu(Made from Linux) Touch. There is no Linux distribution for any SmartPhones. You should port Ubuntu touch to your phone.
TIP:Android is made of Linux. Linux-Based OS. Structure of Android kernel is very similar as Linux Kernel. If you want to run a Linux Command line, You should run terminal.(make, gcc, etc... )
Jason Hyunwoo said:
Umm... Not for ANY PHONES. Just few phones could run Ubuntu(Made from Linux) Touch. There is no Linux distribution for any SmartPhones. You should port Ubuntu touch to your phone.
TIP:Android is made of Linux. Linux-Based OS. Structure of Android kernel is very similar as Linux Kernel. If you want to run a Linux Command line, You should run terminal.(make, gcc, etc... )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want the exact same thing that the original poster wants: a smartphone that is running unrestricted Linux.
What I DO NOT want is a smartphone that is "Linux-based", where the "Linux" designation is essentially irrelevant because the interface that is presented to the end-user significantly obstructs access to Linux for average users. In other words:
Who cares if it is "running Linux" if the average user using the phone cannot get to Linux without playing tricks with rooting?
Furthermore, I am NOT looking for a phone where I can use tools to get root access. I already know how to do that.
What I want is to be able to direct my NON-TECHNICAL CUSTOMERS to a website where they can buy these phones, many of whom are doctors and have ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER of rooting their phones, to be able to install my native C++ applications on them. In other words, I want a smartphone that is running Linux, unrestricted, and if it is running anything else, that other thing does not interfere with installation of true native C++ applications that have fully access to the device. My customers will buy these phones, and install my custom native C++ application onto these (extra) phones via my web site.
I already know about Ubuntu Phone and Tizen. Both of those are not what they claim to be. They are not truly open platforms, as regular users cannot install regular Linux applications willy-nilly as they can on a PC. Jolla claims to be better, but their phones are not sold in the USA.
I want an unrestricted Linux smartphone that can be purchased online by medical professionals in the USA.
Please do not respond by telling me that there is no market for this, or that I can rewrite my application in Android/Java, or that I can give 3-hour training classes to each of my customers about the joys of rooting, etc. :silly:...

I want to integrate android into linux and run both on a smarthphone processor.

First things first, i'am a total noob so answer accordingly. I want to start a smartphone manufacturing company. I want to learn how to assemble parts of a smartphone and how to add new components like new sensors. I also want to develop an os which can run android apps on linux linux platform as if android apps were part of linux. No extra application. I want to integrate android into linux. Where can i learn these operations? Need a guide who can direct me accordingly. No negative answers please, i want only those which give me a solution not the ones who say that its impossible or finding a flaw.

install android like windows, linux or other OS

hello comunity,
thank you for taken me into your community.
my question might is weird but i was always wondering why android ROMS are always just made for specific devices.
As known from the Personal Computers you just get an installation media like DVD or USB Drive packed with the OS and all the driver the computer might have. the installation routine just figures out the the device needs and installs acordingly.
why this is not possible for the ARM-devices to install android OS like this? or is there already projects who invented? i think almost everybody (especially those who owns a not anymore supported device by the manufacturer) would appreciate if he/she could upgrade by using an autonomous installer.
I am not a hardware architecture nerd thats why i would appreciate and kindly ask for an easy to understand explanation

Creating a linux 'distro' for an android device?

Hi there, not sure if I'm on the right forum, but this seemed like the safest place to ask.
I have this project in my head that I would like to try, but I have no idea if it is even possible.
I'm currently doing a bachelors in computer science and as a way to learn, I would like to take on a big project.
As will soon become clear, I am a linux noob and know nothing about android development, but that's what I'm trying to change here.
Some time ago I bought a Chinese ereader (rebranded BOOX C67ML - using a rockchip rk3026 SoC, don't know how important that is -) and it's decent but it also kind of sucks. It runs android which overkill for a device like this if you ask me. When I look at the kindle or kobo ereaders, they have their proprietary os that is also Linux based, but much more streamlined without unnecessary features. This device doesn't even have wifi, so what am I going to do with full android on an e-ink screen? It only drains my battery more than it has to.
My question is, how feasible is it to create my own 'OS' for this device that is also Linux based and lightweight? I know that android devices can run gnu/linux in a sort of vm on top, but is it also possible to install this directly on the device? Wipe android and install a custom linux distro as you would a custom ROM.
Is this possible? Where do I begin? Any information on how the linux kernel underneath android functions and differs from a standard linux kernel would be great. I'm not asking for an easy solution served on a platter, I just want to know if it is possible and why or why not? Where do I go to learn about how to do this, point me in the right direction?
In searching around I came across postmarketOS, from what I understand they are trying to do something similar, only completely open source. No proprietary drivers for anything. For this project that is not a goal for me. If I can reuse parts of the android rom that it is running right now, I have no problem with that. Updating and keeping it up to date are not really a priority, I just need this to run a single application that works. Could also be that I completely don't understand what they are trying to do and I'm way off, but if so, please tell me what I don't understand and where I go to learn.
TLDR: Lightweight 'desktop' linux instead of android on an ereader, is it possible? Where do I start? Point me in the right direction please.
PS: If there is a better solution for this problem entirely, please do explain.
For anyone interested or with a similar idea, I'll just post what extra information I find here.
I stumbled upon Halium and Libhybris today. From what I understand, libhybris provides a compatibility layer between the android kernel and posix compatible applications. Halium uses libhybris and tries to create a common base that can be used to develop a non-android os for an android device. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

What behaviour in the mobile operating system market could be described as anticompetitive?

I am a retired programmer with too much time on my hands; as such, I wrote a complaint to a regulatory body about how I can't install the operating system I want on my device because it will render it unusable (if I can't call for help on a phone because of drivers, what good is it?). I received a response requesting an interview with an officer who specializes in anticompetition cases and I would like to make sure I have my eggs all in one basket.
The current mobile phone market I liken to the desktop OS market of the 90s, where you had companies like Xerox, Microsoft, IBM, and so on; in the 90s, there were antitrust lawsuits where a particular company was accused of intentionally creating barriers to customers seeking to install software by other companies on personal computers. Obviously, that was settled in the 2000s, but IMO it did appear to make a positive change even if we are still fighting against IE. This may not be relevant, but that's what my mind went to when I realized I couldn't uninstall the Play Store.
Nobody uses "cellular telephones" as telephones anymore; instead, they are mobile computers. Computers in the 80s/90s had plenty of OS options (you may recall using OS/2 or BSD), but you can't do that with mobile computers... is that a good thing?
In my retirement, I'd like to develop and build a mobile phone operating system that is not android (nor lineageOS); this would either be Linux or BSD-based with a simple package manager, but the user would have the option to compile their own software also. This would ideally *not* hinder the underlying function of the device (i.e. telephony), but I don't see how manufacturers could be compelled to provide binary drivers. The current mobile market makes it obviously a very high barrier to entry for any who want to develop new operating systems for mobile computers. Is this anticompetitive? Perhaps not, but I'd like to hear some opinions and if you would kindly point me towards some resources I would appreciate it.
IMO the OS is not the problem - a command line based OS can be written by any talented student nowadays - preferably in C++, yes there are enough templates on the Internet, it is the device drivers what have to fit the hardware that make the whole thing difficult. I know that some OEMs put their device drivers' source code to the public.
jwoegerbauer said:
IMO the OS is not the problem - a command line based OS can be written by any talented student nowadays - preferably in C++, yes there are enough templates on the Internet, it is the device drivers what have to fit the hardware that make the whole thing difficult. I know that some OEMs put their device drivers' source code to the public.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To install a new OS on a phone, the phone must first be booted into a bootloader such that the 'image' of the OS can be loaded. The image for the OS should be built with the drivers present such that when booting, the OS kernel can load the relevant drivers as it probes the hardware in the phone, and then the software installed on the user layer can access that hardware through the relevant system calls. How possible is it for the bootloader to load a custom OS in the general sense? The majority of instructions I find are on enthusiast/developer websites with the actual manufacturers giving basically no input (that is to say, I haven't seen on manufacturer's websites or instruction manuals where they give instructions for booting your choice of OS).
Would it be fair to say that mobile developers, like Google/Samsung/LG/Amazon/etc are restricting users from being able to install their own OS on their device? Is driver access a reasonable thing to ask for?
Again, I'm retired, so I have time on my hands, but I'm old and there's realistically not a lot of that time left. I don't want to try developing my own BSD-based mobile OS if there's no way for me to install it on my own devices; that effort could go into another project if it is otherwise wasted. I suppose it is worth asking whether I should bother returning the bureau's request for an interview.

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