List of open-source mobile phones explained

This is a list of mobile phones with open-source operating systems.

Scope of the list

Cellular modem and other firmware

Some hardware components used in phones require drivers (or firmware) to run. For many components, only proprietary drivers are available (open source phones usually seek components with open drivers.) If firmware is not updatable and does not have control over any other part of the phone, it might be considered equivalent to part of the hardware. However, these conditions do not hold for cellular modems.

, all available mobile phones have a proprietary baseband chip (GSM module, cellular modem),[1] [2] [3] except for the Necuno, which has no such chip and communicates by peer-to-peer VOIP.[4] [5] The modem is usually integrated with the system-on-a-chip and the memory.[3] This presents security concerns; baseband attacks can read and alter data on the phone remotely.

The Librem 5 mobile segregates the modem from the system and memory, making it a separate module, a configuration rare in modern cellphones.[2] [3] There is an open-source baseband project, OsmocomBB.

Operating system: middleware and user interface

Generally, the phones included on this list contain copyleft software other than the Linux kernel, and minimal closed-source component drivers (see section above).

Note that it is often possible to install a wide variety of open-source operating systems on any open-source phone; the higher-level software is designed to be largely interchangeable and independent of the hardware.[16]

Devices with formal support

--can we default-sort on release date descending?-->
ModelOrganization Mobile operating systemOperating system supportDate released
(or cancelled)
Current stateList Price
Shiftphone ShiftOS (Android 14),[17] postmarketOS 2023[18] €699
FairphoneFairphone OS (Android, not open-source), CalyxOS, /e/OS (Murena), iodéOS, postmarketOShttps://forum.fairphone.com/t/operating-systems-for-fairphones/11425 2023[19] €699
Volla Phone X23 Hallo Welt Systeme UG Volla OS (based on Android Open Source Project), Ubuntu Touch, multiboot option[20] May 2023€564
Mudita PureMudita[21] MuditaOS (GPLv3, based on FreeRTOS)[22] 2022 https://store.mudita.com/all/outlet-mudita-pure-minimalist-phone-charcoal-black-1$370 ($310 used from manufacturer)
uConsole (mobile option)ClockworkPiDebian, Ubuntu, or Raspberry Pi OS;[23] Debian-based Clockwork OS]]https://www.tomshardware.com/news/clockwork-pi-uconsole, OS can be swapped by swapping an SD cardhttps://www.geeky-gadgets.com/linux-handheld-pc/ 2022 https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/update-uconsole-shipping-related/9774$139-$209 (1-6 CPU cores, 1-4 GB RAM), +$50 for mobile extensionhttps://www.hackster.io/news/clockwork-pi-s-uconsole-shrinks-the-devterm-targets-fantasy-console-developers-and-gamers-f3eded8f9741https://www.notebookcheck.net/Clockwork-uConsole-Fantasy-console-arrives-in-multiple-variants-with-optional-4G.664615.0.htmlhttps://www.notebookcheck.net/ClockworkPi-uConsole-handheld-computer-starts-shipping-with-company-taking-new-orders.739339.0.html
Volla Phone 22 Hallo Welt Systeme UG Volla OS (based on Android Open Source Project), Ubuntu Touch, Droidian[24] 2022[25] €452
PinePhone Pro[26] Pine64 Manjaro Linux with KDE's Plasma Mobile by default;[27] 2021-12[28] $399
F(x)tec Pro1 X[29] FX Technology Limited. Ubuntu Touch, Droidian, LineageOS or Android ? 2022-07">Web site: Pro1-X shipping has begun! . F(x)tec. 26 July 2022 . $899
Volla Phone X Hallo Welt Systeme UG Volla OS (based on Android Open Source Project), Ubuntu Touch[30] 2021[31]
Fairphone 4 Fairphone/e/OS, CalyxOS, DivestOS, IodéOS, LineageOS, postmarketOS, Ubuntu Touch2020 4Q€529
DragonBox Pyra Mobile Edition[32] OpenPandora GmbH [33] Debian 2020-12 (started shipping pre-orders) https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/should-i-have-received-my-final-order-email-already.99284/€600/€626 (2/4 GB RAM)
Volla Phone[34] Hallo Welt Systeme UG Volla OS (based on Android Open Source Project), Ubuntu Touch, Droidian or Sailfish OS 2020-11
Fairphone 3+ Fairphone/e/OS, DivestOS, LineageOS, Ubuntu Touch2020 3Q
Librem 5[35] PurismPureOS, a Debian derivative developed by Purism for their mobiles2019-11[36] [37] [38]
PinePhone[39] Pine64Beta "Braveheart" Edition had a choice of user-installed OS;[40] Later "Community Editions" sold from June 15, 2020 to February 2, 2021, each of which donated $10/phone to the developer community that wrote the OS it shipped with.[41] [42] Subsequently, Pinephones all shipped with Manjaro and Plasma Mobile. . Twenty-odd different operating systems[43] can be user-installed ; OS can be swapped by swapping out an SD card. 2019-11$199
Fairphone 3 Fairphone/e/OS, DivestOS, LineageOS, Ubuntu Touch2019 3Q
Gemini PDA Planet Computers Android, Debian, Sailfish OS 2018
GTA04 based motherboard, fitting inside the shell of a Nokia N900. Neo900QtMoko, Debian, SHR (Stable Hybrid Release), Replicant
Pop Mirage Cyanogen Alcatel MobileCyanogenMod[44] 01-11-2016
Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition MeizuUbuntu Touch2016-02
Zuk Z1 LenovoCyanogenMod[45] 2015
Andromax QSmartfenCyanogenMod[46] 2015
Fairphone 2 FairphoneFairphone Open OS, /e/OS, LineageOS, Ubuntu Touch2015 3Q
Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition MeizuUbuntu Touch2015-07
BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition BQUbuntu Touch 2015-06
BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition BQUbuntu Touch2015-02
BQ Aquaris X5 Cyanogen Edition BQCyanogenMod,[47] postmarketOS[48] 2015
Wileyfox Storm WileyfoxCyanogenMod[49] 2015
Wileyfox Swift WileyfoxCyanogenMod[50] postmarketOS[51] 2015
YU Yureka
YU Yureka Plus
YU Televentures (Micromax Informatics)CyanogenMod[52] 2015
YU Yuphoria YU Televentures (Micromax Informatics)CyanogenMod[53] 2015
OnePlus One OnePlusCyanogenMod[54] 2014
GeeksPhone Revolution GeeksPhoneFirefox OS2014
GeeksPhone Peak+ GeeksPhoneFirefox OS[55]
Alcatel One Touch Fire AlcatelFirefox OS2013-07
ZTE Open ZTEFirefox OS2013-07
GeeksPhone Keon GeeksPhoneFirefox OS2013-04-23
GeeksPhone Peak GeeksPhoneFirefox OS2013-04-23
GTA04 Golden DeliciousQtMoko, Debian, SHR (Stable Hybrid Release), Replicant2012-04
Developer phone Aava mobileMeeGo2011 (was available to developers only)[56]
N950 NokiaMeeGo 1.2 Harmattan 2011 (available to developers only)
N9 NokiaMeeGo 1.2 Harmattan2011
N900 NokiaMaemo 5 (Fremantle)
(some proprietary components until Maemo Leste)
2009-11-11
Neo FreeRunner (code name GTA02) OpenMokoOpenmoko/QTMoko Linux, Debian, SHR (Stable Hybrid Release), Gentoo (all Linux-based), Inferno2008-06-24
Neo 1973 (code name GTA01) OpenMokoOpenmoko Linux (Linux-based)2007-07-09
Eten G500[57] E-TENGPE Palmtop Environment2006
Greenphone[58] TrolltechQtopia2006

Devices with 3rd party support

--can we default-sort on release date descending?-->
ModelOrganization Mobile operating systemOperating system supportDate released
(or cancelled)
Current state
SHIFT6mq SHIFTShift-OS (Android), postmarketOS[59] 2021
XFone Mobile Pro
(re-launched Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro with Ubuntu Touch)
SageTea Ubuntu Touch2022-01-19 (originally 2019)
XFone Mobile
(re-launched Google Pixel 3a with Ubuntu Touch)
SageTea Ubuntu Touch 2021-06-19 (originally 2019)
OnePlus 6, OnePlus 6T multiple [60] [61] 2018-05-21, used market
Pocophone F1 multiple [62] 2018-08-22, used markets
Snapdragon 410/412 based phones multiple postmarketOS [63]

Distributions for existing phones

postmarketOS, Ubports, and KDE Neon are open-source distributions running on existing smartphones originally running Android. Maemo Leste is available for Nokia N900 and Motorola Droid 4.

There exists a database listing which older phones will run which open-source operating systems.[64] [65]

Custom-made phones

It is possible to home-build a phone from partially open hardware and software.[66] [67] The Arduinophone[67] (touchscreen) and the MIT DIY Cellphone (segmented display)[68] [69] both use the Arduino open-hardware single-board computer, with added components. Circuitmess Ringo (previously MakerPhone) is another DIY Arduino phone with open source firmware[70] and available schematics,[71] focusing on education. The PiPhone,[72] ZeroPhone[73] and OURphone[74] are similar, but based on the Raspberry Pi.

The main components to make an open mobile phone are:

Another notable mention would be Paxo Phone at paxo.fr

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: OsmocomBB Project Rationale. Harald. Welte. 5 February 2010. 2013-09-26. Every mobile device that is connected to a cellular network runs some kind of baseband processor with highly proprietary and closed-source firmware..
  2. News: Purism's Librem 5 phone starts shipping—a fully open GNU/Linux phone. Ron. Amadeo. 2019-09-26. 2019-10-08. Ars Technica. Purism actually couldn't find an open provider for the cellular modem, so the best it could do was isolate it from the rest of the system in an M.2 slot..
  3. Web site: FaerberCTO . Nicole . Progress update from the Librem 5 hardware department . Purism . 4 September 2018. The cellular modem is arguably the most complex part of a mobile phone. The modem is the component that has to implement all the familiar protocols you would associate with a phone (like 2G, 3G, 4G and the upcoming 5G). It does so by running its own proprietary black box operating system. The cellular modem is also covered by thousands of patents held by hundreds of patent owners. Now imagine this… This cellular modem sits right on the same RAM bus as the SoC! Non-free software not only has access to the data flowing to and from the SoC, but also has the ability to modify it. Because this modem operating system is a propreitary black box, we have no idea what this component does or what kind of vulnerabilities it has... The situation is further complicated by the fact that during our research into cellular modems, we realized that there are only a handful of silicon vendors in the world that make these chipsets and nearly all of them integrate their model with the SoC on the same bus. In addition, you historically need to acquire a license to run the proprietary firmware to power the modem on SoCs.. This left us with only one choice: to use ready-made modem “modules” and our own layout that isolates the modem from the SoC. There are a number of these modem modules available in different form factors with various available options in speed, bands, etc. By going the module route we can both provide supplier choice in modems that meet our strict standards, and also allow modem isolation from the RAM and host CPU.(text is CC-by-SA 4.0).
  4. News: Aufranc . Jean-Luc . Necuno Mobile Open Source Linux Smartphone is Powered by NXP i.MX 6 Processor . CNX Software - Embedded Systems News . 30 November 2018.
  5. Web site: Necunos - Redefining Mobile Security . Necuno Solutions . en.
  6. [Android (operating system)#Licensing]
  7. Web site: Is Android really free software? – Google's smartphone code is often described as 'open' or 'free' – but when examined by the Free Software Foundation, it starts to look like something different. The Guardian . Richard . Stallman . 19 September 2011. 2012-09-09. the software of Android versions 1 and 2 was mostly developed by Google; Google released it under the Apache 2.0 license, which is a lax free software license without copyleft. ... The version of Linux included in Android is not entirely free software, since it contains non-free "binary blobs"... Android is very different from the GNU/Linux operating system because it contains very little of GNU..
  8. Web site: Android and Users' Freedom – Support the Free Your Android campaign. Richard. Stallman . gnu.org . Even though the Android phones of today are considerably less bad than Apple or Windows smartphones, they cannot be said to respect your freedom. . 5 August 2012 . 2012-09-09.
  9. Web site: Yes, this is us.. lineageos.org.
  10. Web site: A fork in the road | CyanogenMod. https://web.archive.org/web/20161225144318/https://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/a-fork-in-the-road. dead. 25 December 2016. 25 December 2016.
  11. Web site: Linux on Android smartphones: Project Halium wants your handset to run Ubuntu, Sailfish . 2022-07-31 . ZDNet . en.
  12. Web site: 2020-06-20 . Mobian OS For PinePhone Aims To Bring Debian Linux To Mobile Devices . 2022-08-09 . Fossbytes . en-US.
  13. Web site: Prague . Liam Proven in . postmarketOS 22.06 aims to revive end-of-life smartphones . 2022-07-31 . www.theregister.com . en.
  14. Web site: 2020-08-31 . The Next PinePhone Community Edition Will Feature Manjaro Linux . 2022-08-09 . Fossbytes . en-US.
  15. Web site: Related projects — Halium documentation . 2022-08-09 . docs.halium.org.
  16. Web site: Braam . Martijn . Yet Another Librem 5 and PinePhone comparison . TuxPhones . en . 20 December 2019.
  17. CNX-Software, 8.5.2024,SHIFTphone 8 Preparing Mainline Linux Support Ahead Of Launch
  18. SHIFT, 2023-08-31, SHIFTphone 8 status page
  19. CNX-software, 2023-08-31, Fairphone 5 smartphone comes with 8-years of software updates with qualcomm qcm6490 industrial iot processor
  20. Web site: Volla Phone X23. Ubuntu Touch. en.
  21. Web site: Mudita. Mudita. en.
  22. Web site: Mudita OS. Github. en.
  23. CNX-software, 26-10-2022, uConsole is a modular Arm or RISC-V handheld computer with optional 4G connectivity
  24. Web site: Volla Phone 22 runs Ubuntu Touch or a Google-free Android OS (Crowdfunding). CNX-software. 20 April 2022 . en.
  25. postmarketOS, Volla Phone 22 (volla-mimameid)
  26. Web site: T. . Raffaele . PinePhone Pro released: specs, pricing and very first impressions . TuxPhones - Linux phones, tablets and portable devices . en . 15 October 2021.
  27. Web site: Pine64 komt met PinePhone Pro-Linux-smartphone met sterkere hardware . Tweakers . NL.
  28. https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/PinePhone_Pro_Developer_Edition PinePhone Pro Developer Edition
  29. Web site: Pro¹ X . F(x)tec.
  30. Web site: The Volla Phone X. Volla Phone. en.
  31. postmarketOS, Volla Phone X (volla-yggdrasilx)
  32. Web site: The Pyra . Official Pyra and Pandora Site . 13 August 2020. "The mobile edition adds mobile internet, and also has telephony services (making the Pyra a phone)".
  33. Web site: More Information . Official Pyra and Pandora Site.
  34. Web site: The Volla Phone. 2021-02-16. Volla Phone. en.
  35. https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/ Librem 5 – A Security and Privacy Focused Phone
  36. Web site: First Librem 5 Smartphones are Shipping . Purism . 24 September 2019.
  37. Web site: Weaver . Todd . Librem 5 Shipping Announcement . Purism . 29 August 2020 . 5 September 2019.
  38. Web site: Librem 5 store page . 2019–2020.
  39. https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/ PinePhone website
  40. Web site: PinePhones Start Shipping - All You Need To Know . PINE64 +. "As for software, the phone arrives preloaded with a factory test image rather than an end-user operating system. This preloaded factory test suite is running on Linux – postmarketOS to be precise – which allows you to test various features of the phone and run an automated test. ... I assume that everyone getting a Braveheart PinePhone understand that it’s up to them to find the operating system build they are interested in, flash it and take part in the community discussion and ongoing development. Most builds are available on the PinePhone Wiki" . January 15, 2020.
  41. Web site: Erecinski . Lukasz . June Update: postmarketOS CE PinePhone, Shipping & PINE64 Cluster . PINE64. 15 June 2020 .
  42. Web site: The end of Community Editions . PINE64. 2 February 2021 .
  43. Web site: PinePhone Software Releases . PINE64 . en.
  44. Phoneradara, 25-08-2015, Alcatel Pop Mirage Smartphone announced with Cyanogen 13.1 & 2500mAh Battery
  45. Talk Android, 25-08-2015, Lenovo Zuk Z1 launches in India with Cyanogen OS onboard
  46. Android Headlines, 09-06-2015, Smartfen Unveils Cyanogen OS-Powered Andromax Q Handset
  47. Zdnet, 04-01-2016, BQ Aquaris X5 Cyanogen Edition review: Affordable Android with extra security features
  48. postmarketOS, BQ Aquaris X5 (bq-paella)
  49. Android Authority, 25-08-2015, WileyFox launches Swift and Storm running Cyanogen OS
  50. Android Central, Wileyfox Swift review
  51. postmarketOS, Wileyfox Swift (wileyfox-crackling)
  52. GSM Arena, 02-11-2015, YU Yureka and Yureka Plus start getting Cyanogen OS 12.1 update
  53. Web site: 2015-05-12 . Micromax launches Yu Yuphoria with Cyanogen 12, targets Redmi 2 . 2024-04-24 . Android Authority . en.
  54. Android Authority, 25-09-2020, The evolution of OnePlus software: From Cyanogen to Oxygen, and beyond
  55. Web site: Peak+ cancellation . 28 November 2013 .
  56. Web site: Aava Mobile Oy. www.aavamobile.com. 17 June 2022 .
  57. https://linuxdevices.org/linux-hacked-onto-gps-enabled-pda-phone/ Linux Devices, 2006-01-08. Linux hacked onto GPS-enabled PDA/phone
  58. https://linuxdevices.org/user-modifiable-linux-phone-ships/ Linux Devices, 2006-09-12, User-modifiable Linux phone ships
  59. postmarketOS SHIFT SHIFT6mq (shift-axolotl)
  60. https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/OnePlus_6T_(oneplus-fajita) postmarketos.org: OnePlus 6T (oneplus-fajita)
  61. https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/OnePlus_6_(oneplus-enchilada) postmarketos.org: OnePlus 6 (oneplus-enchilada)
  62. https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Xiaomi_Poco_F1_(xiaomi-beryllium) postmarketos.org: Xiaomi Poco F1 (xiaomi-beryllium)
  63. https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Qualcomm_Snapdragon_410/412_(MSM8916) postmarketos.org:Qualcomm Snapdragon 410/412 (MSM8916)
  64. Web site: Mehta . Tushar . Here's a list of 200+ smartphones that can run Linux distributions . xda-developers . 12 November 2019.
  65. Web site: Gatti . Matteo . Linux: ecco una lista di oltre 200 smartphone compatibili con il pinguino . Linux Freedom . it-IT . 12 November 2019.
  66. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21729096.000-making-your-own-phone-is-easier-than-you-might-think Making your own phone is easier than you might think
  67. http://www.instructables.com/id/ArduinoPhone-20-an-Open-Source-Mobile-Phone-Based-/?ALLSTEPS Arduinophone
  68. http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/cellphone/ DIY Cellphone
  69. David A. Mellis & Leah Buechley. 2014. Do-It-Yourself Cellphones: An Investigation into the Possibilities and Limits of High-Tech DIY. In Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on Human factors in computing systems (CHI '14).
  70. Web site: Official Review: Circuitmess Ringo . GBAtemp . 13 February 2020 . 22 May 2021.
  71. Web site: CircuitMess-Ringo . GitHub . 22 May 2021.
  72. Web site: PiPhone – A Raspberry Pi based Smartphone. David. Hunt. 25 April 2014.
  73. http://wiki.zerophone.org ZeroPhone
  74. Web site: OURphone - DIY Open-Source Linux Smartphone. Evan. Robinson. . 7 May 2023.