February 2023 install instructions for new GS290

ektoman · February 15, 2023, 9:16am

Hello to all helpful forum contributors,

I recently purchased a new gigaset gs290 with the intention of installing e os over the android os. I have not set up the phone with android os yet and have only run the phone in developer mode, connecting it via USB to a windows 10 pc (in order to install android developer bridge) and have installed snap and easy installer on my linux mint pc.

Before I go ahead with attempting to install e os on this gigaset phone I thought it wise to double check with more experienced users in light of many forum contributors who have posted errors during the installation process.

I have experience installing os’s on PC but not on smartphones. This will be my first time doing so.

Do you have any advice as to first steps before attempting this?

I am OK with using terminal on linux but have read strong recommendations to use windows to run the install on a gigaset gs290.

I have downloaded the fastboot drivers from the doc.e.foundation page in case “solution 1” does not work. I have also downloaded a stock rom for the gs290 which was kindly posted on the forums here and then helpfully re-shared. I assume if all goes wrong I will be able to re-install the system with this?

Lastly I have read users suggesting updating android before attempting to install e os is recommended. This doesn’t make much sense to me so I thought I would ask about this.

Thanks for your time and assistance,

Ektoman

Toretto · February 20, 2023, 7:26am

Hello,
I have installed /e/ on a gs290.
But why would you not use the easy installer?
It is indeed very easy, step by step.
And you already have the fastboot drivers installed.

You need to update first because /e/ is also android. There was a time where wifi would not work if you updated beyond the ‘may 2021’ update.
I did this and had the same error wifi not working.

Reinstalled latest stock rom (without problem, via instructions) and installed /e/ again. This time all was fine.
So yes, update to latest version android first, than have at it with the easy installer.

Enjoy your privacy phone

ektoman · February 20, 2023, 7:49am

Thank you Toretto for a very clear explanation.

So for any persons wishing to do this a stock rom like the ones located here should do the trick https://community.e.foundation/t/stock-gs290-rom-anyone/33736/21

I will give the easy installer a go on my linux pc after this.

Thanks again.

ektoman · February 25, 2023, 2:31pm

I wanted to post this reply to this thread I created as I have spent some time researching and therefore this information might benefit the wider community. Also, should any others have any other information that comes to light which refutes my conclusions so far, I would be interested in hearing them. Again, to the wider community’s benefit.

Firstly, I have come to the conclusion that (for the average user) GIGASET GS290 is only able to be have stock ROM updated via Windows. This is due to the Mediatek (MTK) drivers being unpublished through the Linux platforms. MediaTek have only made this functionality officially available for Windows.

There may be some who are more experienced and can navigate past this but it seems beyond the scope of a basic computer user.

SP Tools is also not official through linux repositories (although it is possible to download an image from the SP tools developers which can be executed locally in Linux OS’es).

I have tried to find alternative MTK software to run natively in Linux and there is a developer on Github who is refining a published program. As stated, this is not official and is still going through testing. For those more nerdy than I, this may be worth trying but for my purposes I will avoid this as I do not code.

Similarly, running the MTK USB tools and SP tools in a virtual machine (i.e. WINE) would need its code altering in order to make USB functional. I’m not too keen to do this and am put off by the decrease in both efficiency and reliability from running a virtual sandbox.

For the reasons stated above, I have come to the conclusion that the GIGASET GS290 Stock Rom update operations are a strictly Windows-only affair.

This is compounded by the lack of Team WIN (TWRP) support on this device.

It seems that after flashing stock ROM on Windows it will be possible to run easy-installer on Linux for the GIGASET GS290. I will update this thread should I reach this stage and I find I have any issues.

I hope the attached information (if correct) might save other users some time should they encounter similar line of questioning install on this device.

For those that can correct any incorrect assumptions I have made, I welcome your input and feedback.

Cheers,

ektoman

aibd · February 25, 2023, 3:38pm

Nice documentation @ektoman !

In order to give others further insight into the “May 2021 SPL issue”. It might be a nice addition to check out and record the SPL levels showing on your phone at the time you start the /e/OS install. This is found

Settings > About phone > Android version … then

Android security patch level
Vendor security patch level.

ektoman · February 27, 2023, 10:26am

Thanks aibd.

I attempted to connect via adb without installing stock rom or setting up android in order to get the build information. I was unable to get a secure handshake and not being au fait with code I decided to set up android on this device in order to determine what android version this phone is running from the factory and enable USB debugging.

According to this build it is running android 9. The security patch level is august 5 2019. The kernel is 4.4.146. The build number is 9.0_v07_20190828.

For those attempting usb debugging it can be enabled by going to ‘about device’ then scroll down to ‘build number’ and tap away at this to enable usb debugging.

Before I attempt the arduous task of installing stock rom, would it be acceptable to install e on this build or would you or members of the community advise against this?

Thanks

aibd · February 27, 2023, 12:59pm

I have been in touch with the Gigaset Service Portal in the past – they have been helpful and timely.

I think that you should upgrade to Android 10.

Gigaset should be able to tell you reliably if their servers are alive and whether the device itself will offer an upgrade in time. I assume the device would need to be online and with SIM card, but you would not have to add a Google account.

If contacting Gigaset it would be good to know the date of the very last Software Revision. This will amount to the date of the latest

Vendor Security Patch Level.

Please, anyone with current direct experience of Gigaset 290 jump in if you have better knowledge !

ektoman · March 9, 2023, 12:45pm

Thank you again for your help aibd and apologies for taking a while to get back. Have been busy.

I had a look at android 10 vs android 9 (I am already familiar with android 9) and it does seem like the upgrade is worth it from a performance point of view.

I contacted gigaset who responded 3 days later confirming what you have said despite support ending for this device in August 2022.

I have not yet been able to upgrade to android 10 using this method so am currently troubleshooting this. Will return here once I know more about why this is not working. Gigaset are aware of this.

As there is currently difficulty ensuring that android can upgrade, it might be wise to resolve myself to the idea that e os will run on this particular build of android 9.

Regarding the vendor patch level, there does not appear to be this information displayed. Instead I am greeted by the following:

Android version
Android security patch level
Baseband version
Kernel version
Build number

Lastly, should android upgrade to 10, I am still unclear how I am able to specify a particular security patch level through the system update. I asked gigaset this information as I asked to upgrade to a specific version of android 10 (before may 2021, as other users have mentioned wifi issues with updates beyond this) Gigaset have not mentioned anything about applying specific security patch updates and I know from experience with my other android devices, “update” usually automatically updates to the latest update on their server. There is sometimes a confirmation before continuing but this is about the only customisation I have been able to make.

Should the upgrade to android 10 go to the end of support version (august 2022) it could render my wifi intermittent or faulty and would add my documentation of this fact to this forum. Perhaps it will be fine. It is a bit unclear.

Again, this points to a potential outcome whereby my current android 9 is a better option. Should I encounter further difficulties I will consider sticking with android 9 for the sake of my sanity and of those in the forum helping me out (such as yourself!)

Thanks again for your assistance with installing e os on this particular advice. I appreciate your time and recommendations.

Cheers,

Ektoman

Toretto · March 9, 2023, 2:00pm

So you are trying to get info from Gigaset regarding to which patch level ugrades from 9 to 10?
It’s all a bit unclear to me.
Also, I stated that, even though I updated to may 2021 I had the wifi/bluetooth fault.
And by installing stock rom (latest version online) and reinstalling (easy-installer) /e/ all was well.
So why are you refraining from moving forward with this install?

Are you just trying to make a clear instruction for getting it right the first time?
It would be very welcome, as I need to re-install /e/ on another device, and have no windows available.

Thank god for the MacOS compatibility on the updated easy-installer.
But reverting to stock rom would be problematic

ektoman · March 9, 2023, 3:24pm

Hi toretto,

Not quite; I am requesting Gigaset assist me upgrading android 9 to android 10 via the settings/about device/system update within the android 9 GUI. Aibd mentioned that this was one way to upgrade the android version without installing stock rom in his reply to me further up the thread. Gigaset says that this should work but it currently does not. The device says that it is up to date using android 9 august 2019 build. I told gigaset this information and am waiting to hear back. Perhaps the servers have stopped utilizing updates for this device. We shall see.

I have refrained from continuing with this install for the following reasons

I cannot do stock rom install on Linux (MTK program is Windows only)
If the system runs android 9 well, can’t I just use this?
If the android 9 system upgrades to android 10 via system update in the GUI, will this update past may 2021, making wifi unusable? (My gut feeling as to this particular question is: yes)
I am very, very busy at work, at home and in life in general. I like to learn new things but must keep up with demands made of me. Due to this, upgrading a phone to a new OS is very far down in my list of priorities.

Flashing stock rom on this particular phone is a challenge for basic computer users using a Linux system as noted further up in the thread. I do not use Mac and prefer not to use Windows. I am a Linux user for most of my computing these days and like to stick with Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian, Mate etc. They are all good in my book and hopefully E OS along with sailfish, lineage, Ubuntu touch and plasma mobile will all circulate amongst the ecosystem to offer users alternatives to Google and Apple.

Simply put, for individuals who are not coders and who do not have ample time available to run seperate processes/applications on different computers in order to flash roms to phones, installing the stock rom is likely too much work for the gigaset gs290.

Samsung phones requires the specific bootloader software “Odin” (for Windows) and “Hemidall” (for Linux) By comparison, gigaset bootloaders have “MTK” (only for Windows) . I have also read about a few different phone manufacturers and have seen TWRP being used alongside as a general bootloader application for other manufactured phones. Sadly TWRP does not run on this particular gigaset device.

At this point I am asking the following question: using the earlier version of android 9 that comes pre-installed on the gigaset gs290 phone, will I be able to install e os using the easy installer? This is following sucessful update of the fastboot drivers.

Or: is the only option to flash stock rom using windows (in other words, android 9 directly from the factory does not allow e os to be installed. It is necessary to flash stock rom via Windows to run easy installer to install E OS)

As for easy instructions, each manufacturer has different drivers so the instructions will always be device specific. Sadly, it involves meticulous documentation for each device plus testing. Thats why computers can be such a pain!

Regards,

Ektoman

Toretto · March 10, 2023, 6:48am

So as mentioned I flashed a GS290 from a macbook yesterday.
I downloaded the update for the phone.
It would update to xx/11/2022.
Instead of instaling update I decided to wing it and just install using easy installer.

And pronto, I’m typing this on that new phone, no errors.

Mac is sooo much better for this install.
No messing with drivers etc…
All my previous installs were on windows, both times I needed to revert to stock rom and start over.

Thank you to everyone part of this project. It’s epic!

ektoman · March 15, 2023, 3:13pm

I have heard back from gigaset and they informed me that the installation should work with a google account linked or a memory card in case there is not adequate storage. I just tried again without sim, memory card or google account linked and am currently updating. At last.

It appears the updates are chronological so I can install upto the update before May 2021 and attempt Easy Installer following this. Thank you Aibd and toretto for your help with this. It is very much appreciated.

ektoman · March 15, 2023, 6:14pm

I seem to have concluded this thread that I started having just installed e os on the gigaset gs290, updated to android 10 thanks to both toretto and aibd’s help and recommendations. Gigaset did respond in a timely manner and eventually I was able to upgrade the Android OS to a july 5th 2020 build. Sadly the next update available was a november 2022 upgrade and being aware of potential wifi issues I stuck with the july 2020 android 10 patch.

Considering how out-of-date I was intending to run it initially, I’d say that this is a good compromise. Hat tip to aibd for suggesting I upgrade to android 10 at least. It should offer a bit more security and performance with the gs290 until I get more experience and can install stock rom and jump up to current android releases with a newer phone.

Next up was the easy installer by e foundation. My goodness…I am impressed. Thanks for the step-by-step e foundation, it was a walk in the park - entirely done via the GUI (I was expecting to type various commands thru terminal and access endless bootloader screens - was not so) I did the entire install via Linux. Works beautifully.

Thank you to all involved in this very nice android OS and the community assisting adopters to it. I will play around with it the coming weeks and months to know how it performs but initially I am really happy with the feel and function of E/OS. Well done gnu crew - Hats off!