This project takes you through building a functional cellphone using off-the-shelf parts,

Any thoughts on building your own phone?

Recently I had the idea of building my own phone with a Raspberry Pi. I started searching and I found this article where someone had already done this. Unfortunately this article is from 2014 and I can’t find a newer article with a functional phone with SIM card. At some point this guy says he’s running Raspbian. Are there mobile desktops for Debian? Mobian doesn’t look very real.I don’t want Android although Lineage/etc might be acceptable… (Although now I’m thinking of putting Droidian on an old phone…)

Anyway does anybody have any info, thoughts, or advice on this? Am I a total idiot for wanting to attempt this?

  • Unusable 3151 ⁂@lemmy.ml
    2·
    5 days ago

    I think there are 3 reasonable options (that I’m pursuing currently):

    Linux on a phone designed for Android

    I’ve tried a few different models of phone. I’m currently running mobile nixos on a OnePlus 6, but waiting on Plasma Mobile to be fully functional. When I last played with it a couple months ago, the virtual keyboard was broken. Nothing else I’ve tried has had all features on the phone work.

    A small Linux laptop with a mobile network card

    I am trying to set up an MNT Pocket Reform as a phone replacement. The hardware is almost there. The software and firmware have a bit of a ways to go, but it has promise for a subset of people.

    A Linux-first phone-like device

    There are some phones that are set up with PostmarketOS or other mobile Linux distributions from the manufacturer, but they right now tend to be really pricey, under-performing, and don’t really have upstream support. The Mecha Comet seems to be another interesting option. I’ve pre-ordered one and I’m excited to see what it’s capable of.

  • bruce965@lemmy.ml
    1·
    5 days ago

    (Personal opinion not based on scientific evidence.)

    I would say that’s not possible for a hobbyist. The main issues with this kind of DIY phones are performance, compatibility with existing software, and most importantly battery life.

    The Raspberry Pi was never designed to be used with a small battery while still staying connected to the internet to receive notifications all the time, like a smartphone. If you want to build a usable smartphone you will need an efficient co-processor to do these tasks. This could get complicated fast unless you use a CPU designed for this job.

    There has been some interesting progress with desktop environments and small touch screens. Still nothing as good as Android, but nice UI is no longer the main issue imho.

    As for compatibility, good luck running Signal, Matrix and Thunderbird in the background without draining the battery.

    That being said, if you are just doing it as an excercise without expecting to build a device that will replace your main phone, you can definitely give it a try. Have fun and learn much!

  • non_burglar@lemmy.world
    0·
    5 days ago

    In the days of 3G, this was possible. However, LTE and 5G networks will not allow uncertified modems to connect. If you’ve ever been through getting a Mikrotik LTE router on a North American network, you’ll recognize that pain.

    Using Mobian (very real, BTW), or PostmarketOS are your best bets at the moment. Easier to reverse-engineer drivers than to go through the hoops of certification.