Features for keeping old device using unofficial build

/e/OS Smartphone Operating System Features & Applications
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Hello !

I’m new to this forum so I hope this topic will be in the right section (if it’s not the case feel free to move it) and useful for other users.

I have been an open-source software user for many years, familiar with Linux and I also converted my wife and parents to switch to linux, so I am very enthusiastic to discover this community that promotes the use of open-source apps on mobile phones and makes it easier to switch to an OS without the Google ecosystem. I did a try years ago to flash CyanogenMod/lineage which resulted in a huge loss of time to finally brick my phone. So it’s great to have this kind of project like /e/ with an active community, clear tutorials, etc… to help more people engage with this

I’ve installed and configured the /e/OS 3.6 on my wife’s fairphone and she’s really happy with it, though we have the “Boursorama” compatibility problem (as mentionned on many posts on this forum). We will figure out if there is an acceptable solution (we just asked Boursorama to switch back to the SMS confirmation code rather than the app vor validating banking operations), otherwise we might just change bank.

My concern is that all banking apps could potentially have the same issue, one day or another ? I understand that these rely on google’s policy and on each banking app’s developpers to put more or less restrictions on which level of integrity they check, but still it’s a big inconvenient. One banking app compatible today can break in 2, 6, 12 months… and to me it’s the main drawback of using /e/os, even if it’s not your fault.

Also I am trying to expand the lifespan of an old Galaxy A20e and I successfully installed /e/ 3.4 unofficial from @ronnz98 (thanks for your big contribution building all these ROMs). The phone and OS is working well, syncs with my self hosted nextcloud for files/contacts/agenda.

I would just like to report 2 problems, hoping that we can find a solution :

  • Apploung seems to be an older version, with known and reported bugs on this forum, but I have read that from e 3.4 it should auto-update, which doesn’t seem to be the case on this device. I’ve been searching for a more recent apk but couldn’t find one. Many links point to e / os / App Lounge · GitLab but still there is no downlodable apk file. I’m using Aurora for the moment but I would prefer to have an up-to-date version of Applounge. What are the solutions ?

  • Banking apps : in addition to Boursorama not working, I also have Revolut not working on this device. maybe because it’s an “UNOFFICIAL” build, or because the bootloader is unlocked ?

I have read Ultimate how-to guide: Unofficial Builds using repo style for using lineage or other aosp sources that are not supported by /e/OS with the idea to make a custom build for my own device, including the newer apps and patches to see if it helps for banking apps compatibility, but to be honest I think this is far beyong my skills (I think ADB and TWRP are ok, but building a ROM seems way to difficult)

Anyway I’m open to any suggestions, to try new apps and settings if available. If I can help the community, maybe with some translation work, or by testing things (but definitely not coding…) also let me know.

What’s Your Story? How Did You Find /e/?
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  • should it auto-update? AL was supplied here in the past too, but the releases link is empty now. You can get it from the build-release artifacts zip, it should be signed
  • Revolut? either re-locking required or the basic playintegrity level attainable only via Google login. I’m not sure you’re even in a position to re-lock that Samsung. Not because of SPL date only but if the device allows for it
  • on Samsung Exynos device you lose the ability to do VoLTE calls outside the official rom
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Thanks @tcecyk for your advices. I already visited the App Lounge page, but as you mentionned there is no more apk in the gitlab release, unfortunately. I tried to extract the Applounge_release.apk from the build-release artifacts, moved it to my device internal storage and ran it, but it showed an error. I tried again with adb as root, rename it to Applounge.apk then

pm install -r /pm install -r /data/local/tmp/Applounge.apk

But it also resulted in error : Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Existing package foundation.e.apps signatures do not match newer version; ignoring!]

For Revolut it is not a big deal as I still have another phone for work (Crosscall Core X4) with revolut installed, so I will keep it for now.

By the way, even if this is a little off-topic, I wanted to share a strange discovery today. I already removed a lot of bloatware and google stuff from this Core X4 a few years ago, using ADB, but I took a deeper look into it today, to see if I could remove more of the bloatware, and I was intrigued by these packages : com.adups.fota, com.adups.fota.sysoper and com.adups.fota.overlay. A quick search on duckduckgo gave me this result : Le malware Adups FOTA aurait infecté 700 millions de Smartphones then I found this topic CROSSCALL CORE-X3 L750_02 OTA Update 8.1+ | XDA Forums on the XDA forum mentionning this FOTA as a malware from 2021, while I bought my Crosscall in 2023. I knew already that our smartphones are full of crappy programs that expose our personnal data to big-Tech, but I am extremely surprised that a phone sold two years after this security flaw was discovered was still coming with this app, as if nothing happened. Crosscall clearly doesn’t care, but they’re not the only ones to have used this software, even after the flaw was discovered. And this is not the only data-leak on Android devices.

Anyway this made me realize that smartphone manufacturers and banks use libraries and software they don’t fully understand, and yet it’s these same companies that lecture us, claiming that using an alternative OS makes us a security threat.

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.. likely if the pipeline user another key. If I have time I’ll check, the artifacts aren’t made for consumption.

For the crosscall, debloater packages collect appids so you do not need to research each:

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Great tool. It was able to remove around 30 remaining bloatwares in just a few minutes. I wish I knew it before ! Thank you @tcecyk

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Thank you for pointing that. I just read about the consequences of loosing voLTE : Should I buy a second mobile device to install /e/OS, or can I use my current device? - #10 by Taurus basically it means that the phone won’t work over 4G, so it relies on 3G, untill the operator decides to remove the “old” 3G antennas to make room for the newer 5G/6G… for now it seems to still be working in my area in France.
When it’ll start having problems connecting to 3G, I might go back to the “stock” ROM, debloating it, and using my own apps… if the phone is still alive at the moment :laughing:

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I have tried also with new version shown here : AppLounge/AppLounge_release.apk · main · e / os / android_prebuilts_prebuiltapks_lfs · GitLab but it shows the same message about inconsistent signatures

Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Existing package foundation.e.apps signatures do not match newer version; ignoring!]

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It is mentioned here that Applounge can also auto-update :

Also I was thinking about the key inconsistency that prevents a manual update of Applounge via apk on my A20e. Is it something to do with the ROM being unofficial build, so the keys of /e/os and therefore the pre-packaged apps are the ones of the builder, not the official /e/os keys ?

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“AppLounge” as former “/e/ Apps” is a system app that only can be updated along the system.

you won’t be able to update it on dropped devices or dropped Android versions.

for still maintained devices and still maintained Android versions

  • you depend on build release (official, community, unofficial)
  • if you want to build yourself, you need at minimum a 32Gb RAM machine …

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Why not simply use “F-droid” + “AuroraStore” instead ?
as AppLounge is basically an addition of both…

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@piero this is what I do as a “mitigation”, but I wouldn’t say “simply” about this solution…
I like the idea of 1 Applounge delivering all apps (commercial and open source), and also I find a bit odd (if not disappointing) having to install 3 “app stores” just because the first one (which is supposed to meet every needs) is not working, and stuck in v 2.14 with no possible update on e3.4 unofficial.

This is definitely something I can live with (or without), but I think it can break trust to some users, and might discourage the less motivated or hesitating ones.

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yes, that’s it. Forgot the context: unofficial build.

(and as to keys signed with / integrity check: in contrast to the thread where you write about the FP6, the Samsungs - as far as I’ve read - do not support relocking with a avb_custom_key - Supported devices · Issue #299 · chenxiaolong/avbroot · GitHub)

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I have switched to /e/OS for a little more than 1 month now (2 weeks on fairphone, then gave it to my wife and installed /e/ on my Galaxy A20e). In our daily use, we measure (and treasure) that /e/OS is a huge improvement in privacy and heathy use of our phones (my wife is fully satisfied with her Fairphone by the way).
For me, using this old device, with UNOFFICIAL build, I have a more mixed feeling. Here is a synthesis of what I learned, and where I am at the moment

Pros of /e/OS :

  • Significantly increase battery life and reduces data usage (telemetry)
  • Comes natively with the tools I use : Nextcloud/DAVx5/etar
  • Runs on a more recent Android version (A14) with updates (even though the update process is not straightforward)
  • I like the advanced privacy module, the fake location and the fine parameters of MicroG
  • Clean and minimalist interface, helps having only the “essentials” not hundreds of “gadget” apps

Cons of /e/OS :

Definitely /e/OS is great for official devices, where you can relock the bootloader, and I think my next device will be a fairphone. For now my goal is to keep the old A20e for as long as possible, with a small set of open-source apps (calendar, browser, …) + a few closed-source apps : signal, whatsapp, banking apps, identité numérique, just the minimum for daily use, no dozens of useless apps.

At the moment I am wondering : should I keep going with /e/ because it’s based on A14 but breaks a lot of features, or return to stock Android, which is older (A11) but has everything working, debloat it as far as I can, block trackers with Blokada, etc…
If I can remove let’s say 95% of telemetry and fingerprinting on the stock Android, while having a locked bootloader and encryption I think I would consider it a good option, even if it doesn’t go as far as what /e/ does.

I am currently stuck in the middle, because we can’t have best of the 2 worlds and I know. Also flashing, restoring data, configuring system takes time (and sometimes you lose data along the way) so I keep thinking about what is the best option, and prefer to be sure of my choice, and not going back and forth. But even considering the pros and cons it’s very hard to make a decision, so I wanted to share my thoughts here.