Fairphone - FP3 - FP3+ Documentation Suggestions

[hirntot]

I get an error while flashing with fastboot:

fastboot: error: cannot load ‘/home/hirntot/Schreibtisch/modem.img’: No such file or directory

ERROR: Could not flash the modem_a partition on device

… but the modem.img is not included in the zip file I downloaded. (dev-2.7)

[piero]

Take an older one (more complete), then update to latest

[aibd]

An alternative script was proposed here Week 3, 2025: Development and Testing Updates - #2 by Manoj

[hirntot]

the only one available older one was also not containign that file, i tried before. anyway, @aibd’s link helped. thanks.

[AnotherElk]

@techminimalism

The instructions say this:

• The script will flash all required files and will wait for input at the last step.
• The last command will ask you to confirm on the device to lock the bootloader.
• Select LOCK THE BOOTLOADER with Volume + and validate with Power button.

(The bullet points were aligned under the Windows subsection but I assume they’re for both Windows/Linux as post #58 here also has the same steps.)

I did not get this. I just got the following at the end in my Terminal:

INFO: Done. The device will reboot now.
Rebooting                                          OKAY [  0.012s]
Finished. Total time: 0.062s

INFO: You can unplug the USB cable now.

Can anyone explain why I did not get the step to re-lock the bootloader? I do not want to use a phone with an unlocked bootloader.

I had a look at the flashing scripts in the /e/OS 2.8 releases for FP3, and I don’t see any command trying to lock the bootloader.
While that might be just me and my untrained eye, it is backed up by the issue description above.

@Manoj … Is there a documentation issue in this regard, or an issue with the current flashing scripts?

[Manoj]

@AnotherElk

Is there a documentation issue in this regard, or an issue with the current flashing scripts?

The instructions in the install guide mention this step

Are you not getting this message while running the script

[AnotherElk]

@Manoj

Are you not getting this message while running the script

@techminimalism apparently didn’t get this message …

@techminimalism

I did not get this. I just got the following at the end in my Terminal:

INFO: Done. The device will reboot now.
Rebooting                                          OKAY [  0.012s]
Finished. Total time: 0.062s

INFO: You can unplug the USB cable now.

Can anyone explain why I did not get the step to re-lock the bootloader?

@techminimalism

To get this finished, I’m going to lock the bootloader manually. But the script should still be fixed.

[Manoj]

Relocking bootloader is possible only on official builds. It does not work on community builds

[mihi]

Would it be possible to add such a disclaimer on the install instructions, people are not aware of that.

Would be also great to have it for other devices.

[techminimalism]

I was using the script of an Official build. Specifically, IMG-e-2.8-t-20250219470165-official-FP3.

[Manoj]

A disclaimer has been added on the install guides specifically mentioning that bootloader locking is not available for community builds.

[freechelmi]

Hi , Question from one of my client with FP3 ( which I don’t own )

Is there an official upgrade path from 1.20-S-stable to 2.X-T-official ?

If not , do some of you dirty flash it with success ?

[piero]

@freechelmi

Is there an official upgrade path from 1.20-S-stable to 2.X-T-official ?

• yes, use the install script of latest version (S,T,U) → it will erase user data on the phone.
• one can try to modify the script to not format data (CLEAN_FLASH=true to false).
  (i could share a modified one)

#!/usr/bin/env bash

Target device info

PRODUCT=“Fairphone 3”
PRODUCT_ID=“FP3”

Target Flashing Images info

FLASH_AB_FW_IMGS=“modem sbl1 rpm tz devcfg dsp aboot mdtp lksecapp cmnlib cmnlib64 keymaster”
FLASH_AB_IMGS=“boot dtbo system vbmeta vendor”
FLASH_A_IMGS=“userdata”

Target flash process behavior

CLEAN_FLASH=true
VIRTUAL_AB=true

source factory.common

Common flashing function

flash_factory

@freechelmi

do some of you dirty flash it with success ?

No update possible /e/ OS v.1.14

FP3 shows no OTA update since v1.13

Multiple Apps crash after update from v1.14 to v1.20

It worked, thanks a lot!

Dirty upgrade to /e/OS-T is possible ! (But not for all devices)

Several days after my last message: successfully updated my FP3+ from 1.9 to 2.7 today! The file was the key. Thanks piero! For information, I found this link to the different builds types. No data loss and App Lounge works again! Apart from the unexplained disappearance of the emoji shortcut on the keyboard (any explanation?), everything works.

FP3 - Version 1.5-202210312300909

Sideloading to 2.4.1 worked for me once I used the correct file Thank you for your help! Kaum macht man es richtig, schon funktioniert’s

[AnotherElk]

@freechelmi

Is there an official upgrade path from 1.20-S-stable to 2.X-T-official ?

1.20-s-stable is marked as upgradable on the OTA server, so upgrading should work via the updater.
The next available build from there would be 2.4.1-t-official, but newer builds are available, too.

[piero]

@AnotherElk

1.20-s-stable is marked as upgradable on the OTA server, so upgrading should work via the updater.

@freechelmi if not already did, try to clean the updater app cache

[freechelmi]

Well it seems this OTA upgrade is not possible :

due to the service outage that the service has faced, versions older than 2.2 were affected and that is why there is no option to update in settings > updates.

is there " local update " on 1.20-S ? I don’t think so …

[AnotherElk]

Where do you quote this from? This was true for a while after the outage.

But if you look at the dates of the last S, R and Q builds now, the /e/OS build system (re-)built them quite recently, and they are all marked as upgradable.
This wouldn’t make much sense if the goal would not be to restore the ability to update and upgrade old versions via the updater.

Of course the updater might still fail, there were updater hickups in the past, but I would at least first really try the updater.

Issues with the Updater and a solution

Dear all, Since version 1.14, a few users have reported a crash with the system Updater whenever they try to open it. In that case, they won’t get notified of the next OTA system update. To solve this problem users need to: go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > 3 dot menu > Show system > Updater > Storage & cache Tap on Clear storage and validate Go to Settings > Updater Tap on the refresh arrow And voila! 1.15 should appear among the available updates! Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the u…

[Mamalo]

Hello,

It is said in the Fairphone 3/3+ command line installation :

Warning: The bootloader is lockable in official builds only. The procedure to lock the bootloader will not work on community builds.

But, few month ago, I installed a community build (2.6.3-u if I remember) and I locked my bootloader without any issue and now it is still locked.

So my question is : Is it dangerous to lock the bootloader on a community build or is it just a mistake or an unnecessary warning in the documentation ?

[AnotherElk]

@Mamalo

Is it dangerous to lock the bootloader on a community build or is it just a mistake or an unnecessary warning in the documentation ?

Community builds aren’t relockable anymore, your old build still was. There was some change in the meantime, which is reflected in the current documentation.

[Mamalo]

Okay, thank you for this fast answer.

Now I upgraded my device with 3.0.1-u with regular OTA updates. Should I unlock the bootloader ? Will my device be bricked if I stay in this situation ?