[TynesideLUG] Replacing Android or Echo with linux?

[Miss Casey Marie Earnshaw]

Hi everyone


I have a couple of devices that I don't use anymore due to privacy
concerns. Those being a mobile phone called a Timmy M20 that I bought
from a chinese reseller on Amazon that has irremovable malware (you can
delete bits of it but it automatically goes online and just redownloads
it. Other bits you can disable but it also re-enables it, it's very
spooky!) The other device is an amazon echo dot.

Right now these two things are just powered down in a drawer but it does
seem a shame to have absolutely no use for them and I was wondering if
its even theoretically possible to put Linux on them instead?

My girlfriend would really love to use the echo dot as a security
camera/clock/whatever we can think of, the phone? Well I care a lot less
about that but the dot would be really interesting to try messing with!

I am aware that you can root some andriod devices although its something
I've never tried. If I managed to get root access to these 2 devices
would I be able to completely wipe off what is on there and put on
something else? Gnu/Linux or even just a fresh install of base android?
I'm feeling pretty confident with root access I probably could
completely wipe it but it's the second part of installing something
usable on it I'm more worried about!

Thanks for your time

Casey x