If you manage to unlock the bootloader, the Honor 9 has several stable community-developed options:
, its journey through third-party software has been defined by both the technical brilliance of Project Treble
| Feature | Stock EMUI 9.1 | LineageOS 20 | crDroid (A13) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Android Version | 9 (Pie) | 13 (Tiramisu) | 13/14 | | Security Patch | 2019 | Monthly (2024/2025) | Monthly | | Google Apps | Included | Optional (Flash separately) | Optional | | Camera Quality | Good (HiSilicon libs) | Medium (Open Camera) | Medium | | NFC/Huawei Pay | Yes | Yes (Google Pay needs Magisk) | Yes | | Fingerprint | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Performance | Lags on new apps | Smooth | Very Smooth |