e/OS/ for FP5 with recent security patches?

/e/OS Devices Fairphone
14

The text coloured blue is a hyperlink, revealing the exact detail, but states 2024-04-05, so the two are the same.

Technically, as I understand it, this is not a downgrade. (But I can understand why some would wait a month to be sure !)

More fully explained in the “Detail” dropdown.

To check the security patch level on your phone with a locked bootloader, prior to installing /e/OS, open your phone Settings » About Phone » Android Version » Android Security Patch Level.Then compare it against the level of the security patch on the /e/OS build as visible in the Downloads for FP5 section below.

The following values control whether anti-rollback features are triggered on FP5:

  • Rollback protection errors trigger if you install an update whose version number is LESS than the rollback index’s value stored on device.
  • The value of rollback index is UPDATED to match ro.build.version.security_patch’s value of the currently installed version, but only if the bootloader is LOCKED.
  • The value of rollback index is NOT dependent on the currently installed ANDROID VERSION.
  • The value of rollback index can NEVER be DOWNGRADED.
  • Rollback protection errors are FATAL when the bootloader is LOCKED.
  • Rollback protection errors are IGNORED when the bootloader is UNLOCKED.

Here are some examples to help you understand how anti-rollback features work:

Example 1

  • Your FP5 with Google Android has a Security Patch Level saying June 5, 2022
  • The /e/OS build available says: /e/OS build : R stable (Security patch: 2022-05-05)
  • In this example, the /e/OS build has an older Security Patch level than the origin, so the anti-roll back protection will trigger, and you will brick your phone

Example 2

  • Your FP5 with Google Android has a Security Patch Level saying June 5, 2022.
  • The /e/OS build available says: /e/OS build : R stable (Security patch: 2022-06-05)
  • In this example, the /e/OS build has the same Security Patch level than the origin, so the anti-roll back protection will pass, and you will be able to install /e/OS with no issues.

Example 3

  • Your FP5 runs Google Android -R while /e/OS is now available based on AOSP -S.
  • Your FP5 with Google Android has a Security Patch Level saying 2022-10-03 or October 3rd, 2022.
  • The /e/OS build available says: /e/OS build : S stable (Security patch: 2022-06-05)
  • In this example, the /e/OS build has an older Security Patch level than the origin, so the anti-roll back protection will trigger, even if the /e/OS version runs on a more recent version of AOSP. In this example, you will brick your phone.
2 Likes