The problem with older hardware.....

MrT10001

After working with a lot of these devices, for those thinking of taking the plunge with one of the devices on the list for UT, here are some of my observations.

Battery Life

The older the device, the weaker the battery.

not quite, I have some Nexus 4 and Nexus 5's which have an excellent battery life considering the date on the battery is 2013 and it hasn't been removed or replaced.
some devices just have poor batteries, Google Pixel 2/3a for example, but see below.
unless you owned the device from new, you will not know the past battery history and how it has been treated.
-software can badly affect battery life - Google and Apple have spent vast sums optimising battery life which has not always worked and we know they do this because Apple throttles performance on older iOS devices to cheat battery life

Replacing the battery on some devices is nigh on impossible without replacing other parts, i.e the screen, seals and so on. It is not always for the less technically challenged. Tablet devices are a particular challenge.

Unlocking the Bootloader

Unlocking the bootloader is an absolute requirement to install Ubuntu Touch (or any other mobile OS). Some companies make it impossible (Huawei) or really difficult - Xiaomi, when there is no need to.

Unlocking the bootloader varies from vendor device to vendor device.

If you buy a device off eBay, check out the photographs. Some devices I get hold of look as though they have been run over by a truck, especially OnePlus One's (OPO). It is pot luck on the state of the device when you cannot buy it from a shop (most shops seem to sell only iPhones, Samsung phones and Huawei phones where I abide on the second user market). Do limit your budget as the device may have a limited lifespan due to battery failure and replacing it may cost more than the worth of the device - unless you enjoy tinkering and experimenting which I doff my hat to you and wish you good luck.

Spare Parts

Spare parts for older devices becomes a nightmare. I have many a Frankenstein phone, rebuilt from two or more other devices that are beyond repair. Unless you have a good contact on AliBaba, you may struggle to get screens and other bits for your device. I learnt and it is difficult to split smashed glass from the LED of screens. Not easy and has a really high failure rate. Gluing the glass back down without air bubbles is really difficult and getting it done right requires expensive equipment.

I am no professional at this and enjoy repairing stuff. If I think of any more tips, I will add to this thread.

ishvalanX

Loved reading this. And it goes without saying, I agree with every point you've made.

16.04 stable OP3

MrT10001

Software (ROM's and the ilk)

Installing ROMs and the like on devices is pretty straightforward - there are plenty of resources online. It is what to do when it doesn't work, this is one reason I have three active PC's, one on Windows 11, one on Linux (Ubuntu is my preference) and a Mac ( have more but they are not used at the moment). Sometimes changing to a different Operating system bears fruit when installing on a device, but reading resources online and asking for help, if you have the mindset you will get to the bottom of the issue.
I doff my hat to coders and black belts on the command line. I have knowledge , but it is very limited and I will ask for help if needed.

Phone operating systems are not PC operating systems. They have their limitations and can be broken quite easily if treated as a desktop PC OS.

I have found that a lot of devices of the same make and model react differently to software - there is always a possibility of manufacturers revising component layout and peripherals such as RAM chips, Camera Modules, eMMC chips and so on. This reflects supply and demand in the electronic component market. The S3 Neo+ is one example. The Lenovo TB-X605F/L is another. I have seen this a lot with larger items and sometimes had to add a manufacturers mod and score and date a modification table that was printed onto the circuit board.

My personal opinion here (flame if needed) - Ubuntu Touch is not Android, I don't see the point of trying to run Android apps on it (esp as a lot of Android and iOS apps scrape your data), trying to run it as some server and some of the other things that people enquire about, especially when the device is not fully functioning, i.e. no sound. However if that is your thing and you enjoy doing that side of things, I doff my hat to you.

Moem

@MrT10001 said in The problem with older hardware.....:

Ubuntu Touch is not Android, I don't see the point of trying to run Android apps on it

I see Waydroid as a crutch. It can be convenient to have a crutch if you need one. But it's much nicer not to need one.
I'm looking forward to the day when I can use Axolotl again, instead of having to use Waydroid to run Signal. It's not a thing I enjoy, but it does solve a problem for me.

developerbayman

@MrT10001 yeah xaiomi is a fun one I'm on the redmi note 9 pro took me like two weeks to unlock the bootloader