In the event of flash script starts but cannot complete.
Perhaps look at the whole USB chain. It has been reported that certain USB will not carry fastboot commands (or complex fastboot commands ??). You will need a good quality (full capacity) data cable, so not a thin, skinny cable. Avoid (untested in ADB) USB hubs including any USB hub that might be hidden in the PC / laptop; for the most predictable results check (if necessary with a manual) that you are connecting to a USB-2 port soldered to the motherboard.
Linux Hint regarding plugdev group and udev rules Post # 8.
Fairphone. Users must consider the possible impact of anti-rollback. There is the risk of bricking the phone on re-locking the bootloader if one installs /e/OS version older in Android Security Patch Level than the previous locked version. The hazard is explained on the manual install pages of affected phones. Mentioned Post #6 and more fully Post #11.
my thought is that the web-installer is expecting a custom recovery to flash from https://images.ecloud.global/official/<device_product_codename>/
but it is not provided for devices that benefits of the easy install-script method…
Suggest users share some points on which they would like to get clarifications when using the /e/OS installer. Add your suggestions in this thread.
One way of handling this would be to make it easier to use the /e/OS installer. Adding of more help texts or popups to guide you as to what each button on the screen does. May be easier than a reading a complete document about it.
Not only should the installer check that Fairphone users are aware of the anti-rollback hazard but also the Installer should ideally declare “You are about to install e-3.x-xxx-xxx-xxx which has Android SPL of xx-xx-2025. Are you sure you want to proceed”.
Ensure your computer has the correct drivers installed so that it can access your device’s bootloader menu.
On Windows systems, open Windows Update, run a check for updates, then select View optional updates. From here, install the driver for the Android bootloader interface.
On Linux systems, install the android-sdk-platform-tools-common package (Debian and Ubuntu) or the android-udev package (Arch Linux) using apt or its built-in official package manager, pacman.
The need for Windows Drivers information is already mentioned above.
For Linux a hint regarding plugdev group and that apt-get install android-sdk-platform-tools-common can provide a default set of udev rules would seem beneficial.
“no help is found” - that is true in a broad sense, but the webinstaller does have a help page, but no troubleshooting section. Doc repo is hard to contribute to imo atm. The page can’t be easily found from the doc main search (1). The app itself has a comprehensive contribute doc and is pretty straightforward in terms of adding another step (example).
Imo one could MR an anti-rollback warning step directly. At time of writing there’s no hit on the term in the json containing the steps. Adding it to a separate doc page helps too as steps cannot be easily scrolled through.
On the question of adding a help page, the team behind the code of the /e/OS installer has come back and said the interface would be improved to handle the likely error scenarios in each step. That way a user if stuck will get immediate assistance on the screen and would not have to go to refer a document.
That part can be misleading, v3.3 official is not out yet and it allready shows december patch. Users don’t check release notes. They don’t prepare, they only read the given information.
Yeah you draw attention to this week’s significant problem. So what is the advice to potential users?
Too true … or stronger … one really needs to plan an install with relock Bootloader with a full understanding of the current release cycle.
@Manoj I see the thread is approaching closure. Might this be extended for further user feedback? Alternatively might it be appropriate for the Web Installer to have its own eOSWiki > Documentation Suggestions page?
Suggestions from Mihi:
Warning about Rollback before start of installation
Information (how) to install drivers for adb, fastboot and recovery this mostly Windows
Do a page on which users can test if the smartphone is recognized by adb and fastboot to exclude issues with driver, cable, port, etc.
Using on Linux, if some permissions (UDEV) would be helpful or even if adb/fastboot needs to be installed
Being able to see logs why step x did not work
31.01.2026, a user had A16 on panther, web installer doesn’t inform which version is recommended
It is not just this week… I don’t mean to be too negative it is just the situation how it is.
True, only that they don’t know it and only see Web Install and carry on.
I would also like to add some suggestions what could be helpful. But I need to take some time to think about the past months. I am happy if at least the locking part could be improved, would be a great step in the right direction.
Users must consider the possible impact of anti-rollback. There is the risk of bricking the phone on re-locking the bootloader if one installs /e/OS version older in Android Security Patch Level than the previous locked version. The hazard is explained on the manual install pages of affected phones. Mentioned Post #6 and more fully Post #11.
to move on.