Warning : Do not attempt to downgrade your smartphone in case you are on Android Q / LOS 17.0 or Android Pie / LOS 16.x.
Downgrading a device from Q or Pie to Oreo or Nougat operating system can cause your device to brick and become unusable.
If you are on these OS versions Please stop at this point and continue using your current Operating System.
The only way you can use /e/OS is if a similar or higher /e/OS build is available for your device.
References to Andoid 7-Nougat and 8-Oreo are irrelevant for the FP 3, as the Fairphone 3 has only recently been delivered by the manufacturer with Android 9-Pie as standard.
Therefore, in my understanding, these four sections should be removed.
The internal search
Downgrading a device from Q or Pie to Oreo or Nougat operating
This is really great to see, thank you for working with Fairphone and bringing this to market.
@Manoj, I don’t know who looks after the e website but the page for the FP3 with /e/OS contains photos which are clearly not of the FP3, they look more like a Galaxy (very thin bezels is obviously not the FP3): https://e.foundation/product/e-os-fairphone-3/
@PNJ88_Beast and @Fairphoner, if we’re going to start taking credit for something which we clearly have no right to take credit for then I raise you:
Created a new thread for some installation/flashing questions I have and whether the /e/ builds still support Treble, why there are so many images to flash etc.:
Well done, folks!
If FP4 comes in a compact form factor, I’ll be sold and ditching my S9 before it’s EOL.
Out of curiosity, in this review of FP3 they say you can upgrade the camera on your own. How do I know which camera modules, say with OIS, could be used for that purpose?
I understand, from the Fairphone forum, that the install procedure does re-lock the bootloader after installation. On the other hand, not being an expert, I’d appreciate if the key received initially to unlock it remains valid after this…
@benn we plan to have updates at least once a month to include the security patches and bug fixes.
Fairphone with official stock Android might have other lifecyle.
At the moment there is just one camera module, so right now that is somewhat theoretical.
For the FP2 there was one new camera module. If you had bought your FP2 earlier, you could upgrade. All FP2 sold after the release of the new module automatically had it without extra cost.
Thank you everyone for your quick replies and explanations (and apologies @PNJ88_Beast, I will check out that thread as well). I understood it the same way as @mlh300. Great that the switch is possible and that you are collaborating, an open source OS really was the last piece of the puzzle for me when buying the FP3. Going install /e/ soon and will share my experience here.
@alexis Sorry for the @, but could you clarify on the bootloader situation? Does the FP3 with /e/OS come with a locked bootloader when I order it from you? Thanks in advance.
Also interested to know, as the procedure to get the unlock code from Fairphone seems a bit complex.
Ideally for me, the /e/-Fairphone would come locked but along with its unlock code somewhere in the package