{"slug": "e-os", "name": "/e/OS", "category": "os", "category_name": "Operating systems and desktop", "description": "De-Googled, open-source Android-based mobile operating system from the e Foundation and Murena.", "recommenders": 9, "commenters": 17, "warners": 4, "score": 5.209, "rising": -1.95, "first": "2025-12-04", "latest": "2026-10-28", "why": "Liked as a de-Googled Android daily driver, especially on Fairphones, where banking and everyday apps mostly work without a Google account.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 10, "neutral": 3, "compare": 1, "warn": 4}, "spark": [0, 1, 0, 0, 5, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": ["Stable daily driver", "Fairphone support"], "caveat": "Security patch lag", "short_quote": "The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp.", "icon": true, "domain": "e.foundation", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://e.foundation/e-os/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["/e/OS", "e/OS"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked as a de-Googled Android daily driver, especially on Fairphones,", "cites": [{"id": 770543456, "item_id": 48158966, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48158966", "by": "smeggysmeg", "date": "2026-05-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp.", "excerpt": "I moved to a Fairphone 6 with /e/OS a few weeks ago. I can do everything I need to, everything I want to, and with more control over my digital footprint and what data is being collected about me. I've completely moved off Google services. The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp. The hardware is fairly midrange, but midrange today is last year's top end, and unless you're some ex", "context": "Fairphone 6 user", "use_case": "phone operating system", "switched_from": "Google services", "story": "Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone"}, {"id": 755477472, "item_id": 47217342, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217342", "by": "odeckmyn", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It\u2019s a usable, stable daily driver.", "excerpt": "I wanted to add a perspective from actual daily use, because a lot of this thread sounds theoretical. I\u2019ve been using a Murena/Fairphone running /e/OS as my primary phone for a while now, and honestly the experience has been much smoother than I expected. My banking apps work, GPS/navigation works reliably, messaging and everyday apps behave normally \u2014 I\u2019m not constantly fighting the device or giving things up. After", "context": "daily user on Murena/Fairphone", "use_case": "primary phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755477344, "item_id": 47217334, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "by": "hl0dwig", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day.", "excerpt": "As an average user, I don't understand all the ins and outs of an Android system, but I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day. I don't have a Google account, but I can still use all the apps I need, including French banking apps (CMB, Endenred+). My only regret is that the simplified installation tool didn't work (my FP4 kept restarting), so I had to install it manually, which makes it inaccessible to", "context": "average user", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 794758960, "item_id": 49672435, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49672435", "by": "ntnsndr", "date": "2026-09-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use e/OS partly because I can run it on a Fairphone.", "excerpt": "Poster said huge overlap, not huge audience:) But I agree with the overlap. I use e/OS partly because I can run it on a Fairphone. I'd love to try Graphene.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "GrapheneOS' rewritten Messages app is released"}]}, {"text": " where banking and everyday apps mostly work without a Google account.", "cites": [{"id": 755477472, "item_id": 47217342, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217342", "by": "odeckmyn", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It\u2019s a usable, stable daily driver.", "excerpt": "I wanted to add a perspective from actual daily use, because a lot of this thread sounds theoretical. I\u2019ve been using a Murena/Fairphone running /e/OS as my primary phone for a while now, and honestly the experience has been much smoother than I expected. My banking apps work, GPS/navigation works reliably, messaging and everyday apps behave normally \u2014 I\u2019m not constantly fighting the device or giving things up. After", "context": "daily user on Murena/Fairphone", "use_case": "primary phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755477344, "item_id": 47217334, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "by": "hl0dwig", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day.", "excerpt": "As an average user, I don't understand all the ins and outs of an Android system, but I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day. I don't have a Google account, but I can still use all the apps I need, including French banking apps (CMB, Endenred+). My only regret is that the simplified installation tool didn't work (my FP4 kept restarting), so I had to install it manually, which makes it inaccessible to", "context": "average user", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755479392, "item_id": 47217462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217462", "by": "astrolx", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box", "excerpt": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box (bank apps, e-identity apps etc ..). The only issue I have is that the app I use to take contactless payment on the phone via NFC does not work (while it works using Android).", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaint is that security updates lag behind stock Android,", "cites": [{"id": 802709968, "item_id": 50169373, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50169373", "by": "grapheneos", "date": "2026-10-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "/e/ adds many privacy invasive services to the OS including tracking users with random identifiers for updates.", "excerpt": "The founder and leader of /e/ and Murena has repeatedly claimed highly private and secure devices primarily benefit criminals and pedophiles. He has also falsely claimed that GrapheneOS is mainly used by criminals. /e/ and Murena heavily mislead users about what they provide. In reality, they lag incredibly far behind on standard privacy/security patches and protections. They set a fake Android security patch level d", "context": "", "use_case": "privacy-focused Android OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "MicroG: Free-libre re-implementation of Google's proprietary Android user space"}, {"id": 789517153, "item_id": 49344822, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49344822", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-08-18", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The Stock Android updates were years ahead of the /e/OS ones for my phone", "excerpt": "I guess it may be different now, but I was pretty disappointed with the Fairphone 3+. Maybe I was naive, but from the marketing I thought that they wouldn't make a Fairphone 4 before years, and actually they released it 6 months later. So I just ended up with a 2.5 years-old phone, knowing that the Fairphone 3 was already pretty slow when it was released years before. I didn't have to change it because the hardware d", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Fairphone (Gen. 6)"}]}, {"text": " with contactless payments and difficult installs or upgrades also cited as pain points.", "cites": [{"id": 760305232, "item_id": 47519077, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47519077", "by": "CafeRacer", "date": "2026-03-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well.", "excerpt": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well. One thing that I can't do is use my phone to pay, e.g. Apple Pay. You can't install Google Wallet - it does not work, but also defeats degoogle mindset. There were curve company that people seem to have used in the past, but seems like the company was sold to someone and now it's dead. So I have to use physical card like a boomer. --- My story is similar, somehow my air ", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Just Lost Me"}, {"id": 755479392, "item_id": 47217462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217462", "by": "astrolx", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box", "excerpt": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box (bank apps, e-identity apps etc ..). The only issue I have is that the app I use to take contactless payment on the phone via NFC does not work (while it works using Android).", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755477344, "item_id": 47217334, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "by": "hl0dwig", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day.", "excerpt": "As an average user, I don't understand all the ins and outs of an Android system, but I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day. I don't have a Google account, but I can still use all the apps I need, including French banking apps (CMB, Endenred+). My only regret is that the simplified installation tool didn't work (my FP4 kept restarting), so I had to install it manually, which makes it inaccessible to", "context": "average user", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755463456, "item_id": 47216466, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47216466", "by": "raphinou", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "moved away when an upgrade to the next version required to manually wipe the device", "excerpt": "I have been using e/OS but moved away when an upgrade to the next version required to manually wipe the device. I could cope with the little inconveniences of a degoogled phone, but wiping the device myself following a unclear procedure was too much for me. My phone is not a hacking subject. It's a tool. Still, it worked reasonably well and I would have upgraded and kept using it if the upgrade had been easier.", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Stable daily driver", "summary": "Users describe it as a normal, stable smartphone experience for everyday use.", "quotes": [{"id": 755477472, "item_id": 47217342, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217342", "by": "odeckmyn", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It\u2019s a usable, stable daily driver.", "excerpt": "I wanted to add a perspective from actual daily use, because a lot of this thread sounds theoretical. I\u2019ve been using a Murena/Fairphone running /e/OS as my primary phone for a while now, and honestly the experience has been much smoother than I expected. My banking apps work, GPS/navigation works reliably, messaging and everyday apps behave normally \u2014 I\u2019m not constantly fighting the device or giving things up. After", "context": "daily user on Murena/Fairphone", "use_case": "primary phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 760305232, "item_id": 47519077, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47519077", "by": "CafeRacer", "date": "2026-03-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well.", "excerpt": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well. One thing that I can't do is use my phone to pay, e.g. Apple Pay. You can't install Google Wallet - it does not work, but also defeats degoogle mindset. There were curve company that people seem to have used in the past, but seems like the company was sold to someone and now it's dead. So I have to use physical card like a boomer. --- My story is similar, somehow my air ", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Just Lost Me"}, {"id": 776199776, "item_id": 48512486, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48512486", "by": "ntnsndr", "date": "2026-06-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking.", "excerpt": "I've been daily driving on Fairphones for a few years as a tester for Murena. It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking. My elderly mother uses it too. I really like the app store. No purchases, FDroid integrated. I don't use the Murena cloud stuff but it works well with my own nextcloud. I recommend it.", "context": "tester for Murena, daily drives Fairphones", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS 4.0 is here"}]}, {"label": "Fairphone support", "summary": "Commenters value running it on Fairphone hardware.", "quotes": [{"id": 794758960, "item_id": 49672435, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49672435", "by": "ntnsndr", "date": "2026-09-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use e/OS partly because I can run it on a Fairphone.", "excerpt": "Poster said huge overlap, not huge audience:) But I agree with the overlap. I use e/OS partly because I can run it on a Fairphone. I'd love to try Graphene.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "GrapheneOS' rewritten Messages app is released"}, {"id": 770543456, "item_id": 48158966, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48158966", "by": "smeggysmeg", "date": "2026-05-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp.", "excerpt": "I moved to a Fairphone 6 with /e/OS a few weeks ago. I can do everything I need to, everything I want to, and with more control over my digital footprint and what data is being collected about me. I've completely moved off Google services. The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp. The hardware is fairly midrange, but midrange today is last year's top end, and unless you're some ex", "context": "Fairphone 6 user", "use_case": "phone operating system", "switched_from": "Google services", "story": "Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone"}, {"id": 755477344, "item_id": 47217334, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "by": "hl0dwig", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day.", "excerpt": "As an average user, I don't understand all the ins and outs of an Android system, but I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day. I don't have a Google account, but I can still use all the apps I need, including French banking apps (CMB, Endenred+). My only regret is that the simplified installation tool didn't work (my FP4 kept restarting), so I had to install it manually, which makes it inaccessible to", "context": "average user", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}]}, {"label": "Apps still work", "summary": "Banking, e-identity and everyday apps reportedly work without a Google account.", "quotes": [{"id": 755477344, "item_id": 47217334, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "by": "hl0dwig", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day.", "excerpt": "As an average user, I don't understand all the ins and outs of an Android system, but I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day. I don't have a Google account, but I can still use all the apps I need, including French banking apps (CMB, Endenred+). My only regret is that the simplified installation tool didn't work (my FP4 kept restarting), so I had to install it manually, which makes it inaccessible to", "context": "average user", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755479392, "item_id": 47217462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217462", "by": "astrolx", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box", "excerpt": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box (bank apps, e-identity apps etc ..). The only issue I have is that the app I use to take contactless payment on the phone via NFC does not work (while it works using Android).", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755477472, "item_id": 47217342, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217342", "by": "odeckmyn", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It\u2019s a usable, stable daily driver.", "excerpt": "I wanted to add a perspective from actual daily use, because a lot of this thread sounds theoretical. I\u2019ve been using a Murena/Fairphone running /e/OS as my primary phone for a while now, and honestly the experience has been much smoother than I expected. My banking apps work, GPS/navigation works reliably, messaging and everyday apps behave normally \u2014 I\u2019m not constantly fighting the device or giving things up. After", "context": "daily user on Murena/Fairphone", "use_case": "primary phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}]}, {"label": "Less tracking", "summary": "Praised for reducing corporate tracking and data collection compared with Google's Android.", "quotes": [{"id": 776199776, "item_id": 48512486, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48512486", "by": "ntnsndr", "date": "2026-06-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking.", "excerpt": "I've been daily driving on Fairphones for a few years as a tester for Murena. It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking. My elderly mother uses it too. I really like the app store. No purchases, FDroid integrated. I don't use the Murena cloud stuff but it works well with my own nextcloud. I recommend it.", "context": "tester for Murena, daily drives Fairphones", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS 4.0 is here"}, {"id": 770543456, "item_id": 48158966, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48158966", "by": "smeggysmeg", "date": "2026-05-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp.", "excerpt": "I moved to a Fairphone 6 with /e/OS a few weeks ago. I can do everything I need to, everything I want to, and with more control over my digital footprint and what data is being collected about me. I've completely moved off Google services. The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp. The hardware is fairly midrange, but midrange today is last year's top end, and unless you're some ex", "context": "Fairphone 6 user", "use_case": "phone operating system", "switched_from": "Google services", "story": "Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone"}, {"id": 780357168, "item_id": 48772323, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48772323", "by": "benrutter", "date": "2026-07-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Murena's /e/os which is a de-googled spin of android", "excerpt": "There's so many comments on the lines of \"I would never buy a car without android auto/car play support\". I 100% used to be on this camp, \"A car without android auto, what am I, a caveman!?\". Anyway, separately to anything car related, I got fed up of some of google's treatment of android and switched to Murena's /e/os which is a de-googled spin of android. It doesn't support android auto, and that held me back from ", "context": "got fed up with Google's treatment of Android", "use_case": "de-googled phone OS", "switched_from": "Android", "story": "CarPlay Is Additive"}]}, {"label": "App store", "summary": "One tester likes the app store with integrated F-Droid and compatibility with self-hosted Nextcloud.", "quotes": [{"id": 776199776, "item_id": 48512486, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48512486", "by": "ntnsndr", "date": "2026-06-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking.", "excerpt": "I've been daily driving on Fairphones for a few years as a tester for Murena. It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking. My elderly mother uses it too. I really like the app store. No purchases, FDroid integrated. I don't use the Murena cloud stuff but it works well with my own nextcloud. I recommend it.", "context": "tester for Murena, daily drives Fairphones", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS 4.0 is here"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Security patch lag", "summary": "Critics say security patches and updates lag well behind stock Android.", "quotes": [{"id": 802709968, "item_id": 50169373, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50169373", "by": "grapheneos", "date": "2026-10-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "/e/ adds many privacy invasive services to the OS including tracking users with random identifiers for updates.", "excerpt": "The founder and leader of /e/ and Murena has repeatedly claimed highly private and secure devices primarily benefit criminals and pedophiles. He has also falsely claimed that GrapheneOS is mainly used by criminals. /e/ and Murena heavily mislead users about what they provide. In reality, they lag incredibly far behind on standard privacy/security patches and protections. They set a fake Android security patch level d", "context": "", "use_case": "privacy-focused Android OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "MicroG: Free-libre re-implementation of Google's proprietary Android user space"}, {"id": 789517153, "item_id": 49344822, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49344822", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-08-18", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The Stock Android updates were years ahead of the /e/OS ones for my phone", "excerpt": "I guess it may be different now, but I was pretty disappointed with the Fairphone 3+. Maybe I was naive, but from the marketing I thought that they wouldn't make a Fairphone 4 before years, and actually they released it 6 months later. So I just ended up with a 2.5 years-old phone, knowing that the Fairphone 3 was already pretty slow when it was released years before. I didn't have to change it because the hardware d", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Fairphone (Gen. 6)"}]}, {"label": "Privacy trust", "summary": "Some commenters question the project's privacy claims and leadership.", "quotes": [{"id": 802709968, "item_id": 50169373, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50169373", "by": "grapheneos", "date": "2026-10-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "/e/ adds many privacy invasive services to the OS including tracking users with random identifiers for updates.", "excerpt": "The founder and leader of /e/ and Murena has repeatedly claimed highly private and secure devices primarily benefit criminals and pedophiles. He has also falsely claimed that GrapheneOS is mainly used by criminals. /e/ and Murena heavily mislead users about what they provide. In reality, they lag incredibly far behind on standard privacy/security patches and protections. They set a fake Android security patch level d", "context": "", "use_case": "privacy-focused Android OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "MicroG: Free-libre re-implementation of Google's proprietary Android user space"}, {"id": 771510722, "item_id": 48219420, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48219420", "by": "microtonal", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Either they are incompetent or they are malicious.", "excerpt": "No, microG is definitely not talking to Google all the time, NetGuard would warn me if it did. https://www.kuketz-blog.de/e-datenschutzfreundlich-bedeutet-nicht-zwangslaeufig-sicher-custom-roms-teil6/ When I tested /e/OS a few months back, I found the same. (which is easily done, as opposed to stopping Google Services in GrapheneOS) This is incorrect. By default, GrapheneOS does not even have Google Play Services, it", "context": "", "use_case": "privacy-focused phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone"}]}, {"label": "Mobile payments", "summary": "Tap-to-pay and NFC payment apps do not work for some users.", "quotes": [{"id": 760305232, "item_id": 47519077, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47519077", "by": "CafeRacer", "date": "2026-03-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well.", "excerpt": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well. One thing that I can't do is use my phone to pay, e.g. Apple Pay. You can't install Google Wallet - it does not work, but also defeats degoogle mindset. There were curve company that people seem to have used in the past, but seems like the company was sold to someone and now it's dead. So I have to use physical card like a boomer. --- My story is similar, somehow my air ", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Just Lost Me"}, {"id": 755479392, "item_id": 47217462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217462", "by": "astrolx", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box", "excerpt": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box (bank apps, e-identity apps etc ..). The only issue I have is that the app I use to take contactless payment on the phone via NFC does not work (while it works using Android).", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}]}, {"label": "Install and upgrades", "summary": "The easy installer failed for one user, and another left after an upgrade required manually wiping the device.", "quotes": [{"id": 755477344, "item_id": 47217334, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "by": "hl0dwig", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day.", "excerpt": "As an average user, I don't understand all the ins and outs of an Android system, but I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day. I don't have a Google account, but I can still use all the apps I need, including French banking apps (CMB, Endenred+). My only regret is that the simplified installation tool didn't work (my FP4 kept restarting), so I had to install it manually, which makes it inaccessible to", "context": "average user", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755463456, "item_id": 47216466, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47216466", "by": "raphinou", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "moved away when an upgrade to the next version required to manually wipe the device", "excerpt": "I have been using e/OS but moved away when an upgrade to the next version required to manually wipe the device. I could cope with the little inconveniences of a degoogled phone, but wiping the device myself following a unclear procedure was too much for me. My phone is not a hacking subject. It's a tool. Still, it worked reasonably well and I would have upgraded and kept using it if the upgrade had been easier.", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}]}, {"label": "No Android Auto", "summary": "Android Auto is not supported, though the commenter did not miss it.", "quotes": [{"id": 780357168, "item_id": 48772323, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48772323", "by": "benrutter", "date": "2026-07-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Murena's /e/os which is a de-googled spin of android", "excerpt": "There's so many comments on the lines of \"I would never buy a car without android auto/car play support\". I 100% used to be on this camp, \"A car without android auto, what am I, a caveman!?\". Anyway, separately to anything car related, I got fed up of some of google's treatment of android and switched to Murena's /e/os which is a de-googled spin of android. It doesn't support android auto, and that held me back from ", "context": "got fed up with Google's treatment of Android", "use_case": "de-googled phone OS", "switched_from": "Android", "story": "CarPlay Is Additive"}]}, {"label": "Alternatives preferred", "summary": "Some users prefer LineageOS or moved on to GrapheneOS.", "quotes": [{"id": 747572193, "item_id": 46723262, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46723262", "by": "reify", "date": "2026-01-22", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I personaly prefer Lineage over E.OS.", "excerpt": "I dumped smart phone shite with CyanogenMod back in 2010. I still have an old Oneplus 5T running lineage with android 15 A samsung S4 with android 11 as my kitchen timer. My family have Motorola edge 20 and Motorola edge 20 pro both with android 16. https://doc.e.foundation/devices https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ I personaly prefer Lineage over E.OS. I use droid-ify app store, which saves messing about with addin", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What is your opinion on non-mainstream mobile OS options (e.g. /e/OS)?"}, {"id": 779506129, "item_id": 48719133, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719133", "by": "utopiah", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "deGoogle Android (relying on /e/OS)", "excerpt": "FWIW I was there few years ago then, as mentioned in a recent comment, moved away from iPhone to deGoogle Android (relying on /e/OS) then GrapeheneOS using nearly exclusively open-source software on it with nearly no dark patterns. It's far from perfect I feel a lot saner now. I don't necessarily advocate for smartphones but I still want to point out some smartphone tailored to your own usage can be less intrusive an", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Rebuilding the Computer Room"}, {"id": 752795313, "item_id": 47049707, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47049707", "by": "ElectronBadger", "date": "2026-02-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been using /e/OS for years.", "excerpt": "I've been using /e/OS for years. Since 2025 I'm on Pixel 9A and GOS. It's excellent. Everything I need works great. Updates are so frequent. Attention to details regarded to security is amazing. My favorite mobile OS.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "GrapheneOS \u2013 Break Free from Google and Apple"}]}], "who": [{"by": "dinga", "context": "long-time Apple user wanting to leave BigTech", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50281781", "date": "2026-10-28"}, {"by": "benrutter", "context": "got fed up with Google's treatment of Android", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48772323", "date": "2026-07-03"}, {"by": "ntnsndr", "context": "tester for Murena, daily drives Fairphones", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48512486", "date": "2026-06-12"}, {"by": "smeggysmeg", "context": "Fairphone 6 user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48158966", "date": "2026-05-16"}, {"by": "odeckmyn", "context": "daily user on Murena/Fairphone", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217342", "date": "2026-03-02"}, {"by": "hl0dwig", "context": "average user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "date": "2026-03-02"}], "tags": ["for Fairphone owners", "for de-Googling", "for non-technical users"], "use_cases": ["degoogled phone os", "phone os", "daily phone os", "phone operating system", "mobile os", "replacing apple ecosystem"], "compared": [{"slug": "grapheneos", "name": "GrapheneOS", "co": 8, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 2}, {"slug": "lineageos", "name": "LineageOS", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "android", "name": "Android", "co": 2, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "ios", "name": "iOS", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "sailfish-os", "name": "Sailfish OS", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "microg", "name": "microG", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47215489", "title": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48158130", "title": "Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50276940", "title": "MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50162177", "title": "MicroG: Free-libre re-implementation of Google's proprietary Android user space", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49663373", "title": "GrapheneOS' rewritten Messages app is released", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49344244", "title": "The Fairphone (Gen. 6)", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {"compare": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 5}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {"warn": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 804508496, "item_id": 50281781, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50281781", "by": "dinga", "date": "2026-10-28", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Now I hope the Framework and Fairphone (with eOS) have matured enough", "excerpt": "Apple is not what it used to be\u2026 We see it in the hardware AND the software. It used to be: think different It used to be: It just works\u2026 Now we got \u201capple intelligence\u201d and subscriptions all over the place and also the lock-in feels stronger over time. Don\u2019t even get me started that one can\u2019t easily replace the battery oneself. They gradually convinced us that reduced repairability is fine. I got my first MacBook Pr", "context": "long-time Apple user wanting to leave BigTech", "use_case": "replacing Apple ecosystem", "switched_from": "", "story": "MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch"}, {"id": 802709968, "item_id": 50169373, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50169373", "by": "grapheneos", "date": "2026-10-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "/e/ adds many privacy invasive services to the OS including tracking users with random identifiers for updates.", "excerpt": "The founder and leader of /e/ and Murena has repeatedly claimed highly private and secure devices primarily benefit criminals and pedophiles. He has also falsely claimed that GrapheneOS is mainly used by criminals. /e/ and Murena heavily mislead users about what they provide. In reality, they lag incredibly far behind on standard privacy/security patches and protections. They set a fake Android security patch level d", "context": "", "use_case": "privacy-focused Android OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "MicroG: Free-libre re-implementation of Google's proprietary Android user space"}, {"id": 794758960, "item_id": 49672435, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49672435", "by": "ntnsndr", "date": "2026-09-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use e/OS partly because I can run it on a Fairphone.", "excerpt": "Poster said huge overlap, not huge audience:) But I agree with the overlap. I use e/OS partly because I can run it on a Fairphone. I'd love to try Graphene.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "GrapheneOS' rewritten Messages app is released"}, {"id": 789517153, "item_id": 49344822, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49344822", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-08-18", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The Stock Android updates were years ahead of the /e/OS ones for my phone", "excerpt": "I guess it may be different now, but I was pretty disappointed with the Fairphone 3+. Maybe I was naive, but from the marketing I thought that they wouldn't make a Fairphone 4 before years, and actually they released it 6 months later. So I just ended up with a 2.5 years-old phone, knowing that the Fairphone 3 was already pretty slow when it was released years before. I didn't have to change it because the hardware d", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Fairphone (Gen. 6)"}, {"id": 780357168, "item_id": 48772323, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48772323", "by": "benrutter", "date": "2026-07-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Murena's /e/os which is a de-googled spin of android", "excerpt": "There's so many comments on the lines of \"I would never buy a car without android auto/car play support\". I 100% used to be on this camp, \"A car without android auto, what am I, a caveman!?\". Anyway, separately to anything car related, I got fed up of some of google's treatment of android and switched to Murena's /e/os which is a de-googled spin of android. It doesn't support android auto, and that held me back from ", "context": "got fed up with Google's treatment of Android", "use_case": "de-googled phone OS", "switched_from": "Android", "story": "CarPlay Is Additive"}, {"id": 779506129, "item_id": 48719133, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719133", "by": "utopiah", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "deGoogle Android (relying on /e/OS)", "excerpt": "FWIW I was there few years ago then, as mentioned in a recent comment, moved away from iPhone to deGoogle Android (relying on /e/OS) then GrapeheneOS using nearly exclusively open-source software on it with nearly no dark patterns. It's far from perfect I feel a lot saner now. I don't necessarily advocate for smartphones but I still want to point out some smartphone tailored to your own usage can be less intrusive an", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Rebuilding the Computer Room"}, {"id": 776199776, "item_id": 48512486, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48512486", "by": "ntnsndr", "date": "2026-06-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking.", "excerpt": "I've been daily driving on Fairphones for a few years as a tester for Murena. It's painless, and fits my threat model of trying to mitigate corporate tracking. My elderly mother uses it too. I really like the app store. No purchases, FDroid integrated. I don't use the Murena cloud stuff but it works well with my own nextcloud. I recommend it.", "context": "tester for Murena, daily drives Fairphones", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS 4.0 is here"}, {"id": 771510722, "item_id": 48219420, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48219420", "by": "microtonal", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Either they are incompetent or they are malicious.", "excerpt": "No, microG is definitely not talking to Google all the time, NetGuard would warn me if it did. https://www.kuketz-blog.de/e-datenschutzfreundlich-bedeutet-nicht-zwangslaeufig-sicher-custom-roms-teil6/ When I tested /e/OS a few months back, I found the same. (which is easily done, as opposed to stopping Google Services in GrapheneOS) This is incorrect. By default, GrapheneOS does not even have Google Play Services, it", "context": "", "use_case": "privacy-focused phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone"}, {"id": 770543456, "item_id": 48158966, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48158966", "by": "smeggysmeg", "date": "2026-05-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp.", "excerpt": "I moved to a Fairphone 6 with /e/OS a few weeks ago. I can do everything I need to, everything I want to, and with more control over my digital footprint and what data is being collected about me. I've completely moved off Google services. The OS experience is pretty impressive for not being made by an evil megacorp. The hardware is fairly midrange, but midrange today is last year's top end, and unless you're some ex", "context": "Fairphone 6 user", "use_case": "phone operating system", "switched_from": "Google services", "story": "Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone"}, {"id": 760305232, "item_id": 47519077, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47519077", "by": "CafeRacer", "date": "2026-03-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well.", "excerpt": "I have FP6 with eOS, it's fine and works well. One thing that I can't do is use my phone to pay, e.g. Apple Pay. You can't install Google Wallet - it does not work, but also defeats degoogle mindset. There were curve company that people seem to have used in the past, but seems like the company was sold to someone and now it's dead. So I have to use physical card like a boomer. --- My story is similar, somehow my air ", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Just Lost Me"}, {"id": 759372432, "item_id": 47460777, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460777", "by": "jqpabc123", "date": "2026-03-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've been using e-OS for years.", "excerpt": "I've been using e-OS for years. https://e.foundation/e-os/", "context": "", "use_case": "privacy-focused smartphone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Amazon plans smartphone comeback more than a decade after Fire Phone flop"}, {"id": 755479392, "item_id": 47217462, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217462", "by": "astrolx", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box", "excerpt": "My phone (Teracube) is running /e/OS now for 2 years. Nearly everything works out of the box (bank apps, e-identity apps etc ..). The only issue I have is that the app I use to take contactless payment on the phone via NFC does not work (while it works using Android).", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755477472, "item_id": 47217342, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217342", "by": "odeckmyn", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It\u2019s a usable, stable daily driver.", "excerpt": "I wanted to add a perspective from actual daily use, because a lot of this thread sounds theoretical. I\u2019ve been using a Murena/Fairphone running /e/OS as my primary phone for a while now, and honestly the experience has been much smoother than I expected. My banking apps work, GPS/navigation works reliably, messaging and everyday apps behave normally \u2014 I\u2019m not constantly fighting the device or giving things up. After", "context": "daily user on Murena/Fairphone", "use_case": "primary phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755477344, "item_id": 47217334, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217334", "by": "hl0dwig", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day.", "excerpt": "As an average user, I don't understand all the ins and outs of an Android system, but I'm very happy to use /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 every day. I don't have a Google account, but I can still use all the apps I need, including French banking apps (CMB, Endenred+). My only regret is that the simplified installation tool didn't work (my FP4 kept restarting), so I had to install it manually, which makes it inaccessible to", "context": "average user", "use_case": "daily phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 755463456, "item_id": 47216466, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47216466", "by": "raphinou", "date": "2026-03-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "moved away when an upgrade to the next version required to manually wipe the device", "excerpt": "I have been using e/OS but moved away when an upgrade to the next version required to manually wipe the device. I could cope with the little inconveniences of a degoogled phone, but wiping the device myself following a unclear procedure was too much for me. My phone is not a hacking subject. It's a tool. Still, it worked reasonably well and I would have upgraded and kept using it if the upgrade had been easier.", "context": "", "use_case": "degoogled phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "/e/OS is a complete \"deGoogled\", mobile ecosystem"}, {"id": 752795313, "item_id": 47049707, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47049707", "by": "ElectronBadger", "date": "2026-02-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been using /e/OS for years.", "excerpt": "I've been using /e/OS for years. Since 2025 I'm on Pixel 9A and GOS. It's excellent. Everything I need works great. Updates are so frequent. Attention to details regarded to security is amazing. My favorite mobile OS.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "GrapheneOS \u2013 Break Free from Google and Apple"}, {"id": 747572193, "item_id": 46723262, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46723262", "by": "reify", "date": "2026-01-22", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I personaly prefer Lineage over E.OS.", "excerpt": "I dumped smart phone shite with CyanogenMod back in 2010. I still have an old Oneplus 5T running lineage with android 15 A samsung S4 with android 11 as my kitchen timer. My family have Motorola edge 20 and Motorola edge 20 pro both with android 16. https://doc.e.foundation/devices https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ I personaly prefer Lineage over E.OS. I use droid-ify app store, which saves messing about with addin", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What is your opinion on non-mainstream mobile OS options (e.g. /e/OS)?"}, {"id": 738482576, "item_id": 46155161, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46155161", "by": "Pooge", "date": "2025-12-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have bought the e/OS/ version on release day and I'm very happy with it", "excerpt": "Those on the fence and wondering whether they should get one or not: I have bought the e/OS/ version on release day and I'm very happy with it. Moments switch doesn't work and is just a Mic/Camera on/off switch, though. I used a Galaxy S20 that a friend gave me for the last 2 years and I was so done with it. It feels nice to have a device that doesn't deplete its battery in 4 hours.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone operating system", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fairphone open-sources Fairphone 5 and 6 software, and Moments switch"}]}