Google - Pixel 4a - sunfish - Documentation Suggestions

Hello friends, let me first start out by saying this is not a step by step installation guide but rather a roadmap to some of the interesting things I found installing 0.18 R onto a used and freshly factory reset Google Pixel 4a (“sunfish”) with Android 11 already installed.

First of all, in my case the bootloader would not unlock from the device- the option was greyed out completely in Developer Options. And so, I had to use the command line as outlined here.

Success looks like this:
Bootloader Unlock Successful2

At some point I lost the USB debugging “authorization” between the PC and device as shown below:
PC Unauthorized
If you see it, there’s no cause for alarm- just “reauthorize” the computer connecting to the device.

A general tip for those new to the Android Platform Tools (ADB, etc.) is to put the /e/ recovery and /e/OS image from here in the same directory as the platform tools so that the processes don’t fail since they’re “right next to each other”…

I got the same error as @lefou did in this thread shown below:

– Wiping data…
Formatting /Data…
Formatting /metadata…
Wiping Titan M
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
E:can’t send spi message: Try again
Data wipe complete

Since the wipe said it was “complete” I just went forward. Sometimes fortune favors the foolish!

Sideloading the OS for the first time is always for me the time I hold my breath. This time was no different. I followed these instructions:

It quickly got to 47% and then stopped. I waited 4 long minutes for this message:
I didn't get this message

But I didn’t get it.

Instead, I got this:

Oh no.

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. At this point, there was no other option that I could think of but to reboot the device and see where I was at.

Surprise! It booted into /e/OS. I’m not exactly sure why!

Hope this post helps anyone else who’s grappling with installing /e/ on a Google Pixel 4a- I will be following up in the thread some thoughts as I use the device over the next few days. There’s already one issue I’ve come across that’s kinda funny and one that’s a bit of annoyance, but this can wait.

Good luck with your install- follow the instructions and remember what I’ve posted here and you should do fine!

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