How to be a Cheapo: Smartphones

Communities Blog
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This’ll be a blog until people have an actual interest.

So the stem of this post comes from my experimenting with my old LG Optimus G (LS970) and trying to make it suitable for daily use again. I have an iPhone 5S that has been giving me some problems recently and to be honest I don’t like it that much. The only real convenience it has is the Podcast app (and I have PocketCasts on my Play Store :3) and not much else. The Else is for another thread though. And I have been hearing to no end that smartphones are basically thrown aside and the differences between the thousands out there VIA the processors make it a pain in the ass for a unifying system to really be made.

So where I had left off my LS970 2 years ago was on Android 5. It was optimized terribly, killed the last bit of hope that my battery had, ran like shit, and half the time the camera didn’t work (software not hardware). So I went online and found that 7.1.2 has actually been ported to the LS970 and its subordinates. Here is a link if you want the rom (I recommend the GEEHRC image, the GEEB image is fucked).

So what did I find? Well, once I had figured out the images I found that my 4-5 year old phone runs modern android just as well as any modern phone. Why? Well aside from some small changes, its a Nexus phone. Some processor, same board over all, just some small mods from LG to make CDMA, 3GB Ram, and other assortments of phones. My model, the LS970 from Sprint, is an International 2GB version. Then I got an idea off of that!

These phones are 50 bucks a pop on ebay and I have seen them all over craigslist. For a few hours of work, 50 bucks, and some patience, you have a phone that is up to date, has 32 (26 available) GB of storage, and a 1080p screen. Theres not much more you could ask for with that.

So what do you need?

  1. The phone.
  2. ADB ( available in windows mac and linux)
    2a. To have the phone rooted (there are many guides online)
    2b. A bootmanager installed on the phone (a million guides, again)
  3. The Roms
  4. Clockwork mod. At least thats what I used. ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.rommanager&hl=en ) though you can use TWRP and other tools, CWM is just what I know and am comfy with.

Now really before you tackle much of any of this you should read about what you are doing to your phone. Going up in android versions like this strips features out and adds them in. I’m having a hell of a time finding all too much so if you’re doing what I am doing and jumping back to android this way be aware. You cannot kill the phone though. Theres no real bricking the phone, at least with a bootmanager in place. Its much like replacing the bios on a laptop with openboot.

Rooting the phone: https://www.andromods.com/root-unlock/how-to-rooting-att-lg-optimus-g-e970-step-by-step-guides.html
I believe this is the method that I used? Theres a bunch of ways to do it.

Bootloader/Manager Unlock: http://www.android.gs/unlock-bootloader-root-install-custom-recovery-lg-optimus-g-ls970/
Theres other bootloaders and managers you can install and with the LS970 I know you can multiboot OS images if you really want to.

I’m not listing out the whole process for one reason, given the resources, anyone curious enough can make what they want happen. A general path is helpful though :3 . You can’t kill the phone, really, so it should be easy enough for you to figure out. Also, you learn the steps if you don’t know them already or know what to look for.

So, by the end of it you spent 50 bucks, 4 hours, and now have a phone that takes 2 minutes to boot. Well worth it, however, as you also have a phone that screens cost nothing, digitizers cost nothing, batteries are available from Bel-Tron for 8.99 USD, and the phone can compete with any modern phone minus the camera (though I’m sure some smart minds have figured out how to replace the sensor with others).

Why would you do this? More specifically, why would I do this? Well, I was looking at getting an LG V20. Problem is I don’t have 700 bucks all the time and I could use that money for gas or food. Also, I already have a case and had done the rooting and CWM process to my phone already so if was that much more valuable to me. Now, maybe you can do a whole new phone? Cool! Go get a V20! Its probably the last phone available that will have a removeable back, comes in CDMA and GSM, has an SD slot, and has an amazing camera. Got 800+ dollars spare? Go get that and supe it up. Its totally worth the time. But… Maybe you don’t have a billion dollars for something that is likely to be out of date in 3 weeks. Maybe you don’t want to buy something that could replace your computer monitor! Welp, I thought I would share. And maybe no one will care too much here, but perhaps someone will use this later on.

Edit: I forgot to mention something in the first paragraph.

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Why can’t you just use it with android 5? Is there any problem with the new rom?
I wanna get a cheap smartphone, but a 5 year old seems too much.

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Theres no reason to /not/ use an older version of android. For my device it was just slow, but that can vary between Optimus models.

I just want to be up to date, and it runs the OS perfectly fine near as I can tell.

Edit: I will add, theres no reason to NOT use an older rom, just make sure that it is compatible with your device. I used an LS970 as an example because that is the phone that I have. You may want to stick to nexus devices if you’re wary of doing this.

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If you want to be real cheap and you never drop/break phones, get a nexus. I recently upgraded to a 6p but I’ve been using a Galaxy Nexus for years (since 2012). Never had a lack of choices when it comes to roms.

Newer versions of android are sometimes quicker and lighter than the older ones. The difference between a stock 4.4 and a slimmed down lollipop is quite noticeable on an old device.

Also I find TWRP much more useful than CWM, you might want to give it a go.

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Uhh yeah there is. Security. Patches.

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I meant OS version. Like pacman rom has been kept up to date on security on android 5 and 4.

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Great hack, and good detailed post, so thanks heaps man!

Being the negitive person I normally am though, I’ll suggest a hazard for the users who may follow it, and that being that most used phones will have well worn batteries. This may be fine if your a light user as it’ll likely still last between sleeps… if your a power user though, or make calls from poor signal areas, this will result in you running short or constantly needing power banks (which in my experience don’t last long themselves if you use them daily, certainly not the endurance of a typical phones battery in number of cycles).

I’m personally a light user with a Moto G3 and it suits me just fine… battery life is amazing in my normal use (like a week if I put it on lower power use mode like I did while traveling). On the other hand I have used it on work trips, and with browsing the web, email and some GPS navigation that tanked to just under a day. Thus the cheap old phone may be good for your needs, but both consider careful and make sure you have a power backup plan somewhere, else it can fail you.

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Thats thebgreatest thing about the ls970. It IS a nexus device. Same board same id’s same everything just different radios and case.

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I purchased 3 extra batteries and one “fat” battery for my SGNexus from a chinese store for less than US$ 30
I know they are not the “legit” samsung batteries, and I noticed they lasted a bit less than the originals, but damn I miss having spare batteries in my backpack! I know power banks are now common and cheap but nothing beats open a backpack pocket, pull a fresh battery, pop the lid off the phone and replace it.
Now I have to deal with a mess of cables, and worse, USB3 is not as common yet so if I forget my USB3 cable I’m screwed for the rest of the day

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I just bought a Nexus 6P for $175 USD, 128GB storage, and it works flawlessly so far. You can find great deals on Google phones, just search and they also age really well so that’s pretty awesome too!

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My “goto” site for saving money


While not related to the actual phone it did help me find a really cheap phone “plan”

BTW awesome thread! I have destroyed more phones at work and having a 50 buck replacement option is nice

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It can be any phone. You just need to look up the roms available. You can get an LG G2 for like 60 I think and that has lineage ported. I’m going to pester the lineage guys to do the optimus G though :stuck_out_tongue:

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