Back on to GrapheneOS and Pixel 7
In my last post I wrote about decluttering and using older devices. I was struggling with the two phone issue, whether I should do it or just drop the iPhone and use the Pixel 7 only.
I decided on the one phone, my Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS. I knew it meant installing sandboxed Google services for banking apps and the security camera/alarm apps. I accepted the fact that doing this meant only one phone to deal with but the bonus, I could cancel the other monthly phone plan and save even more money.
I started the process last night before going to bed very late. The big moment for me was moving my SIM from the iPhone to the Pixel 7. I had to turn off FaceTime and iMessage tied to that number. If you have been in this scenario, switching from iPhone to Android, this is very important if you want to receive future text messages.
Once I had the apps installed and logged in, it was time for bed. The only app that I couldn't get to work was my garage door opener. It's not that important but it would have told me if the door was open/closed and I could remotely perform the task. But in all the years I've owned it, receiving notifications were the only thing I did with that app. I never open/closed the door remotely. I kept getting a unique error of a Google Play API that it required. Tried the settings but no success. One of my banking apps didn't work until I changed a compatibility setting, I thought this was the same situation, but no it didn't work either.
I couldn't sleep any longer so, I woke up this morning and did a file backup of my old phone and started transferring files over to the Pixel 7 using that new app OpenMTP that I wrote about recently that I used with the Kindle Scribe. Now I just need to set the phone up in the car. I think I'll try the basic bluetooth setup and see if I can survive without Android Auto. The GrapheneOS team have improved it greatly, but my car needs to be wired all the time to use it. Only Apple Carplay was wireless which was so convenient. Even wired, I haven't tested it to see if it works as good as stock Google Android.
I haven't used my Apple Watch or Pixel Watch in a long time, so those will soon go on the for sale block. I have a couple of Casio watches to wear when the mood arises but most of the time I'm not wearing a watch or any wearable device. One device to charge is enough and a Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS will last me days before I charge. The bonus of not having Google ding their servers every minute killing the battery in a day.
Overall I'm very happy that I have more control over my device and data.