Fairphone - FP5 - FP5 - Documentation Suggestions

eOSWiki Documentation Suggestions
2

Here are my suggestions for the install guide:

  1. „8. Reboot again into bootloader“: When the user completes point 7 his phone boots into a virgin Google Android with the OOBE wizard. In order to then get back into the bootloader via adb, which the user knows how to use by this point, he then has to complete the wizard and some of the steps taken before again (e.g. go to settings, become a dev, activate USB debugging etc.). Only later in the guide, in point 3 of section „Installing /e/OS“, the user learns that there is a much easier way to get into the bootloader: „Hold Power + Volume Down button combo simultaneously“

  2. „Hold Power + Volume Down button combo simultaneously“: It could be helpful to say that the buttons have to be held for quite a long time. For me it was something like 10 seconds (ideally until you actually see the bootloader). If we want to be super detailed, holding the volume button for that long will make the bootloader switch the colored writing on the upper part of the screen, which looks scary, but doesn’t need to concern the user since we control the bootloader via adb.

  3. Using GitBash: Do Windows versions starting from Win 10 (due to ended support we can disregard anything older, I guess) really not have in-house means to execute the shell script (.sh file)? And if so, is there possibly some other, more lightweight FOSS software for that? I don’t mean to criticize GitBash, but it’s a 50+ MB download and has a really long-winded installation procedure during which I sometimes was lost what to pick.

  4. „The script will flash all required files and will wait for input at the last step“: I remember when flashing my FP3 that the script did wait for input, but in case of the FP5 it didn’t wait, but immediately tried to boot into /e/OS. Because I didn’t want to go through the whole settings stuff (activate USB debugging etc.) a third time, I stopped it from doing that, which was possible due to the phone showing a helpful message that if you want to stop it from booting, you can press the power button. At that point I had learned how to get into bootloader via power and vol down, so I forced my way into it and did the first (fastboot flashing lock_critical) and then the same way the second bootloader locking step (fastboot flashing lock). Since these steps are done via adb, I first wanted to make sure that the phone is still properly connected to my PC, so I executed adb devices. This didn’t return a device, which I found frightening, but the locking commands worked anyway (which I find almost equally frightening).

I had some questions and shocks during the procedure, but ultimately I managed to get it done despite having the bare minimum IT knowledge to complete this task. So I’d like to express a massive thank you to @Manoj and the team for putting up the guide (and not to forget the stable version)!

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