postmarketOS
Alpine Linux-based distribution that runs mainline Linux on phones and other mobile devices.
Liked for bringing mainline Linux to older devices such as the OnePlus 6, Poco F1, N900 and some Kobo e-readers,1234 with development that commenters describe as rapid lately.5 The most common complaint is incomplete hardware support,678 so few commenters consider it ready to daily drive.91011
Why people recommend it
Old device revival · 3
Commenters recommend it for keeping older phones and devices running.
“For anything older than that, I guess I'd recommend looking into postmarketOS.”
Show 1 more
“some Kobos can run PostmarketOS”
Regular Linux apps · 2
Runs ordinary Linux software such as Firefox, Syncthing and KOReader.
“some Kobos can run PostmarketOS”
“There are also Mobian, PureOS, postmarketOS and more.”
Active development · 2
Commenters note rapid recent progress and devices moving from testing to community support.
“I highly recommend keeping an eye on postmarketOS blog.”
Caveats and dissent
Hardware support · 3
No device has every hardware feature working, even on phones over ten years old.
“Take a look at the PostmarketOS Device Wiki[1], you'll see that even phones released 10+ years ago (like Xiaomi Redmi 4) still do not have 100% functionality.”
Show 1 more
“A few months ago, people were reporting a hard time placing a call, taking a photo, etc.”
Daily driving · 3
Several commenters say it is not yet usable as a main phone OS.
“I tried (and gave up) to do the same on my trogdor with postmarket”
Show 1 more
“My main hope is that as PMOS become daily-driverable”
Speed and battery · 1
One commenter found it slow, buggy and heavy on battery even where it works.
“Even on devices where it "works", it tends to be slow, buggy, very heavy on battery”
Android apps · 1
Poor Magisk and Xposed support in Waydroid stopped one user from fully switching.
“I highly recommend keeping an eye on postmarketOS blog.”
Bootloader unlock · 1
Installing it requires a phone with an unlocked bootloader.
“You also need an unlocked bootloader to install postmarket os.”
Volunteer support · 1
Device support relies on volunteer reverse engineering without official OEM backing.
“this level of "support" is based on hacks = volunteer work”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Running Ubuntu on the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 2 mentions
- Fairphone 6 and PostmarketOS working main camera 2 mentions
- I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux 2 mentions
- PostmarketOS is rebranding as Nura 1 mention
- Xiaomi: New CPU matches Apple cores single threaded, much faster multithreaded 1 mention
- Kobo can run apps now 1 mention
Also written as postMarketOS. Data: postmarketos.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 16
“As someone who used PostmarketOS previously, and would be interested in returning...”
“I tried (and gave up) to do the same on my trogdor with postmarket”
“Unfortunately it looks like pmOS is against AI [4], so I'll likely switch away from pmOS and never contribute a single line in the future.”
“Take a look at the PostmarketOS Device Wiki[1], you'll see that even phones released 10+ years ago (like Xiaomi Redmi 4) still do not have 100% functionality.”
“some Kobos can run PostmarketOS”
“A few months ago, people were reporting a hard time placing a call, taking a photo, etc.”
“Even on devices where it "works", it tends to be slow, buggy, very heavy on battery”
“My main hope is that as PMOS become daily-driverable”
“postMarketOS (based on Alpine Linux)”
“You also need an unlocked bootloader to install postmarket os.”
“this level of "support" is based on hacks = volunteer work”
“I highly recommend keeping an eye on postmarketOS blog.”
“Long live PmOS!”
“For anything older than that, I guess I'd recommend looking into postmarketOS.”
“I love postmarketos”
“There are also Mobian, PureOS, postmarketOS and more.”