Issue #1985
openMake documentation (text, video, presentation, etc) on how to get a Replicant compatible device in a DIY way.
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Updated by Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli over 4 years ago
To run Replicant, users have to get devices capable of running it.
Several options exist for that:- It was?/is? possible to buy devices with Replicant preinstalled, as referenced by the Replicant website .
The advantage is that shops can take care of finding devices, and potentially testing them and making sure that they work and/or repairing them when necessary.
However, if the goal of the shop is to ship hardware that is known to work, with the age of the devices increasing (The Galaxy SIII was launched in 2012), finding devices in good enough condition can be challenging.
In that case repairing and testing phones can also take more and more time.
The consequence is that the prices can be way higher than in the typical second hand market.
If the shop wants to ship perfect-like-new condition devices, that effect increase even more. - When shops start having issues finding devices in good enough conditions, users with not enough money to dedicate to a Replicant compatible device or wanting to do that themselves will have a harder time.
Not only the amount of time spent to get a working device will increase, but the required knowledge as well:
users will require more knowledge to find, test and repair devices.
So it might also be a good idea to have some documentation on how to do it yourself for when devices become harder to find in good conditions.
As the time of writing, we don't have enough information to know if/when/where it is/will be the case.
Also note that the Galaxy SIII had more than 70 million unit sold, so it explains why it's still possible to find devices second hand after many years.
Also note that the Replicant project has a tendency to stop supporting devices if they have more freedom issues than the other devices supported by the current Replicant release.
If we find a way to run a fully free bootloader on the Galaxy SIII (Exynos4Bootrom) it will probably be supported for a very long time.
If not we don't have enough visibility in the future to have a good estimations about the amount of time it'll be supported, as newly made devices like the PinePhone and/or the Librem5 (if its DDR4 controller firmware is freed) might have less freedom issue. That could lead to stopping the support for the Galaxy SIII at some point.
Edit 1: clarification and formatting