didn’t know that 6.x still receives updates, that’s cool. What kind of updates are those? Security updates? Feature updates?
The march update was both, feature and security(that is how I understand it) and from now till October security only and that will be it.
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Yes, as noted by @depgi there are still security updates being issued by LineageOS for the 22.x / iodé 6.x version. After LineageOS official support ends for the version, then I am asking what we would most accurately call new releases 
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Our lead developer clarified that even for older LineageOS versions that aren’t officially supported anymore, the LineageOS team still makes occasional security update releases. So new builds from iodé would include these as well as any “app and feature updates” from iodéOS itself.
Here something I read on Reddit. Is someone able to comment on this? Just technical interest and not politics.
A device that has been abandoned by a manufacturer of course will not receive any future firmware updates to patch any vulnerabilities related to their closed source “driver blobs”. I think this is somewhat obvious. So, each person needs to evaluate what this means for them: does that mean you fill the dumpster with the devices then? Thanks to LineageOS (and iodé) I say “no!”, but maybe others would feel differently (especially from the custom ROM you link to).
As noted, hardware-independent “system updates” keep coming thanks to the way LineageOS works. My Pixel 3a XL bonito, abandoned by Google with their last Android 12 version from 2022, waves hello with an Android 15-based security update from March 1, 2026 thanks to my iodé 7.4 build for it. Yes, a LineageOS update may be a month behind (or some months when new Android versions are released because of the breaking changes in the next version that need to be incorporated), but I think it is quite unfair to just say that anything LineageOS based is therefore not “secure”. I don’t want to discuss that further here, but let me just say there are key reasons I am not part of the community you linked even if they have a solid security foundation.
Back to “firmware blobs”, what about this if you don’t mind an analogy to laptops: many manufacturers NEVER release updated firmware for their laptops. Even more users never update their firmware even if the manufacturer updates it. Does this mean they should be binned even if they can run the latest Linux distro with all OS patches applied? Again the decision may be up to the user. Are you a target of the (deep) state? Then your decision would be different than if you are simply looking to be way more secure than using the Microsoft that came on the laptop with or without firmware updates having been applied
So again, without firmware updates there is a vector of theoretical attack, especially if the device is physically compromised in the hands of the state. I am yet to be convinced that I need to worry about these state level actors due to any such exploit. I personally am much more concerned about the embedded tracking / offloading of my data to marketing and advertising “Big Tech” giants, the loss of my privacy, etc.
But you will see not all custom ROM makers agree on this point, and there as some of them that will not accept a differing opinion on this point.
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Thanks @rik
I intend to agree with your analogy with the laptops and tend in direction of the iodéOS. The linked custom OS is no doubt of good quality though as a user I need to weigh up pros and cons and, not last, the economics of it.
I will continue trialing on my P4a(no 4G) and intend to change over the P6 to Iodé during the next few months
From what I know of GrapheneOS
- its main focus in on security, whereas iodéOS (and LineageOS for microG and /e/OS) are focussed on getting a good balance between privacy, security and usability
- its developers and some of the people who promote it seem to think that the way to promote it is to denigrate other custom ROMs, and their developers.
In technical terms, iodéOS (and LineageOS for microG and /e/OS) are less secure than GrapheneOS, but they are secure enough for most users, and significantly more secure (and more private) than outdated stock ROMs which no longer receive updates from their manufacturer.
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I like the analogy to linux on desktop: If in the linux realm we apply the same ultra-purist standards that some folks in the Android realm argue are necessary to for any sort of acceptable security, the ONLY acceptable hardware/software combination would be fedora asahi linux running on apple silicon and everything else should just go in the bin as horribly weak and vulnerable, lacking a secure element and a really trustworthy boot chain, etc. The odd thing is that these purists talk constantly about threat models while seemingly also only recognizing one: a well-funded nation-state actor (like the NSA? 8200? Russia? China?). And all the while fawning over iPhones/iOS and ignoring that apple is a US military contracter. On a side note, it’s quite funny to see Netanyahu using electrical tape on his iPhone selfie camera.
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Just to weigh in on another relevant point: devices that do not support 4G/VoLTE or 5G may well become defunct for a hardware related reason:
Many countries are turning off their 3G (and in some cases 2G) networks in order to free up more spectrum for 5G. So at that point these older devices will become useless (at least for cellular data and telephony related purposes) in those countries regardless of whether or not LineageOS/IodeOS still updates them.
Are there iodé devices with 3g/2g only?
Yes. Many of the supported Samsungs. And even more on the list of inofficial builds, I’d think.
Please be aware that “no VoLTE” does not mean that the device also cannot use Wifi on LTE/5G.
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Yes, the P4a we’ve got on the shelve is 3g and therefore my toy for trying iodéOS.
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which device is that? I thought it was pixel 4a, but it has 4g for sure.
There are two pixel 4a’s , the original 2G,3G and 4G LTE and a upgraded Pixel 4a 5G with 2G,3G 4HG LTE and 5G
Snapdragon 730G / Snapdragon 765G 5G