I’m finally ditching Google android as I chose to install /e/os on my FP6.
I’ve read official documentation about the anti-rollback feature and how it works. I have therefore understood the concept, the mechanism and the risks, but there are a few things I am not sure about and I would like to clarify them before I install.
Does /e/ systematically provides builds that are based on the latest android security patch? Because on a few examples I have read, the date was different of a few days. Why it would be so if the is a risk of bricking the phone?
If I install an /e/os build based on an android security patch that is different from the one Google android is bases on, I will not directly relock my bootloader, but when will I be able to do so? After an update? But then it would be based on a security patch even more recent so I still would not be able to relock the bootloader, right?
If I brick my phone, can I easily restore the stock android? I know there is a page in FP documentation, but my question is about the possibility to interact with my phone: is a bricked phone forever stuck in a bootloop, or can I with adb and a firmware image reinstall the stock firmware?
Finally, I know how to check the date of the security patch in android settings before installing /e/, but where can I find the date of the security patch an /e/os build is based on, before installing it? I was unable to find that information…
One has to read carefully some recent Security bulletins but some jaded readers might conclude that Google wishes to be a little less helpful to AOSP users.
If I brick my phone, can I easily restore the
Use of “brick” implies non user restorable. Fairphone’s recently quoted price to reimage was 52€. This would likely occur in the case of an anti-rollback error on locking.
A simple failure, say, to run an install script successfully to completion would likely leave the phone non usable but with working Fastboot mode from which one can recover to /e/OS or to stock Android as per the guide you saw.
So, just to be sure, here are too examples. If I install:
An /e/os version based on an older security patch, and don’t lock directly the bootloader but wait for an update for the /e/ that will be based on a more recent security patch and then lock the bootloader
An /e/os version based on a more recent security patch and then directly lock the bootloader
In both cases it is safe to lock the bootloader and won’t cause an issue because of the anti-rollback feature, right?
Sorry if my question is redundant, but the official examples say nothing about the compatibility between a more recent security patch and relocking the bootloader (only if the date exactly match).
And since the security patch of the stock android of my FP is 2025-08-01 and the security patch of the last official /e/ version for it it 2025-09-01, I want to be sure I can relock the bootloader without issue.
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