Remote GrapheneOS Installation
We do it together, on a call. You end up with a working phone and you know how it works.
You buy the phone. I show you how to de-Google it, step by step, over a screen-share — and I stay with you until everything you need is working.
£110 · 90 minutes · one to one
How it works
Before the call
Tell me which apps and which bank you rely on, and I will check whether anything will be a problem — before you spend any money. I will also check any phone listing you are considering, so you do not end up with a carrier-locked handset that cannot be used.
On the call
We install GrapheneOS together, from the beginning. I explain what each step does as we go, rather than doing it silently while you watch.
Then we set up the apps you actually use, get your contacts and calendar working, and go through the settings that matter. If you want Google Play in a sandbox, we set that up too — there is no purity test here.
After the call
You get 30 days of email support for anything that comes up, and a copy of the Complete Guide so you can look things up yourself.
Which phone to buy
GrapheneOS only runs on Google Pixels, for a good reason — they are the only phones that let you install a different operating system and then lock the phone again, so it verifies its own software every time it starts. That is the feature the whole thing depends on.
My recommendation: the Pixel 9 Pro. It is the best hardware for the money at the moment now that the 10 series has arrived, and it has security updates guaranteed until August 2031.
On a budget: the Pixel 9a. Roughly half the price, the same security hardware, and supported until April 2032. Nothing about privacy or security is compromised — you give up camera quality and screen refresh rate.
If you want the longest life: the Pixel 10a, supported until March 2033.
One thing to avoid: do not buy a phone sold by a mobile network on a contract. Carrier versions often cannot be unlocked, which makes installation impossible. Buy an unlocked, carrier-free handset — new or used is fine. Ask me before you order if you are unsure, and I will check the listing for you.
What else you need
- A computer — Windows, Mac or Linux — with a USB-C cable.
- 90 minutes — where you will not be interrupted.
- No technical knowledge. — That is the entire point.
Why do it this way
You could pay me to do the whole thing and post you a finished phone. Some people do, and I am happy to quote for it.
But most people are better off this way. It costs less. You buy the phone yourself, so you know exactly what you paid and there is no markup. And — this is the part that matters — you understand your own phone at the end of it. When something changes in six months, you will know what to do, instead of emailing me.
The goal was never for you to depend on me.
Not ready for a call?
The Complete Guide walks through the same process in writing, at your own pace, for £39. Plenty of people do it that way and never need me at all. That is a good outcome.
£110 · 90 minutes