[Galaxy Note II Android Development] electricfield:
LineageOS (LOS, https://lineageos.org/) the successor to Cyanogenmod, is probably the most commonly used alternative Android operating system.

microG (https://microg.org/) is a free-as-in-freedom alternative to Google Play services. Unfortunately, Android ships in a state that allows only software from Google, Inc to provide play services. Users can override this by either including a signature spoofing patch when they compile their kernel or modifying their system after the fact (https://github.com/Lanchon/haystack & others).

Many users want microg installed in their kernel to avoid the hassle of modifying their system after installation. Unfortunately, the LOS team has decided not to allow the signature spoofing patch in mainline kernels. Thus, the microG team compiles its own kernels with microG and signature spoofing already installed. These are available at https://download.lineage.microg.org/.

Maintaining software is difficult and time consuming. The LineageOS team only supports devices for which someone has volunteered to be a maintainer. That is, someone has to volunteer to ensure that patches, security updates, and changes do not break the kernel. If the maintainer leaves (stops maintaining), the LOS team discontinues kernel builds for the device.

They also delete existing kernel builds from their website. Since microG follows the lead of LOS, they delete their "discontinued" builds too.

This has the effect that a user might not be able to access a ROM today that they could have downloaded last week.

I believe that people should be able to decide what ROM is best for them according to their own needs and at their own risk. Therefore, I am posting links to archived Samsung Galaxy Note II (t0lte) LineageOS for microG roms. These roms were archived by the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/).

Some disadvantages of these roms include that they are not updated and will likely receive no further updates (lack of security updates implies security vulnerabilities) and that there is no support for them.

On the other hand, they are cryptographically signed by the microG team and can be verified using the instructions on https://lineage.microg.org/. Some people want a plain ROM with minimal "extra features" and find that LineageOS provides this. Others disagree. You may decide that, on the whole, the security advantages of this ROM outweigh its disadvantages. Or not. As the user, its up to you.

All information and files — both in source and compiled form — are provided on an as is basis. No guarantees or warranties are given or implied. The user assumes all risks of any damages that may occur, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, or loss of business profits. Please use at your own risk. Note that unless explicitly allowed by the warranty covering your device, it should be assumed that any warranty accompanying your device will be voided if you tamper with either the system software or the hardware.

https://web.archive.org/web/20191215024949/https://download.lineage.microg.org/t0lte/lineage-14.1-20190303-microG-t0lte.zip

Wayback Machine

I am not a developer. I did not create, code, or compile this ROM. If you choose to use this ROM, you will need to figure out how to install it separately.