[GSI] Q-GSI - Custom Build from 28.11.2020

I would like to report that Bluetooth Audio is not working. SD card issue is solved.

New files from 16.01. are uploaded, incl. security updates from 05.01.2021.

This statement cannot have general validity because the microSD card is not supported in the same way with this GSI ROM on every device.

When I format a microSD card as ‘Portable Storage’ with my GSI A3 2017, it is also accepted by the system and works.

However, when the microSDXC card is to be formatted as ‘Internal Storage’ with the GSI A3 2017, the formatting process aborts with the display 20% and the system then shuts down and reboots in bootloop. Only when the card is removed does the A3 2017 boot normally into the /e/ OS.

After the procedure, the SDXC card is no longer recognised by every smartphone and computer system, sometimes called a bad card.

In a Samsung S9 with non-GSI-LOS 17.1, this bad SDXC card is immediately recognised and formatted as ‘Portable Storage’. The option to format the SDXC card as ‘Internal Storage’ is not offered at all.

Note: This is not a criticism of the ROM Builder @anon26953564, because the problem also existed in the early days with @harvery186’s GSI ROM creation.

Thank you for building, @anon26953564. It’s great that you do this every month.

That’s not a problem, I don’t change anything, I just have the image assembled from the sources of Lineage or /e/ Android.
I myself have no idea about it :slight_smile:

Running the a/b version on Xperia XA2 pioneer as daily driver for a while, thanks for this.

Anyone else having problems with phone app keep crashing? I’m using Simple Dialer as a functioning replacement at the moment.

Click on this link https://android.l1nux.org/index.php/s/tNyG9ZcrjGBPrdH you don’t need Login.

Thank you!
I have booted G970U1 but had very bad service, people were calling me but could not reach, i had to go back to stock. Any Ideas?
Thanks

Try another vendor.img file

@anon26953564’s GSI ROM eOS-Q-20210116-x runs on my treblezied Galaxy S7 ‘herolte’. The 4G LTE reception is slightly variable, but good. It always depends on the network quality of the provider.

eOS-Q-20210116-UNOF-POCO-treble_arm64_avS_on_herolte

To get a comparison, I installed LeOS-Q-20210117-full-x. The 4G LTE network quality is as good, slightly fluctuating in the range as stated above and is not surprising because the same Vendor.img was used.

I hear the term vendor image or sometimes just vendor quite a lot on the forums (here, xda etc) but I’m not sure exactly to what it is referring. Could you help me understand a little more @SuzieQ? Is it the stock image for the device which is then flashed over with the GSI?

As a rule, yes. First everything is deleted, then the new GSI ROM is flashed, followed by the stock ROM vendor.img or an alternative vendor.img.


Every device that officially supports GSI Treble has a partition called /vendor where the vendor.img file is stored.

The Galaxy S7 ‘herolte’ I use is not officially a Treble device because it was released in 2016 with Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and upgraded to Android 8.0 (Oreo) via Android 7 Nougat, but did not receive a separate /vendor partition and vendor.img file from the manufacturer Samsung.

It is different with the Galaxy S9 ‘starlte’, for example. The S9 has been upgraded by Samsung over the years to an official Treble device.

Clever minds have built an S7-compatible vendor.img file and a tool with which the S7 can be trebled. This means that a tool is first used to create the non-existent /vendor partition into which the vendor.img file is then installed. Often there is not only one vendor.img file, but several different ones.

I assume that there are also alternative vendor.img files for many devices with an original vendor.img file. They only have to be found on the WWW. The best source is still the website XDAdeveloper. Nevertheless, an original vendor.img should be the best version, as it contains all device-specific data.

Was I able to express myself clearly?

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Yes, but I had not expressed my question clearly! I was thinking: ‘is the vendor simply the stock image’?
Well, you have answered that (and more) so many thanks, but I still struggle to grasp it.

Device in question for me is Xperia XA2, official treble support; but flash gsi of equivalent android version to the stock version for successful first gsi flash. After that it’s good for some 10 and 11 gsi’s.

Following your prompt I looked on web for XA2 vendor image and found myself on a Sony update page that I had visited a week or so ago.

Sony call these images “software binaries”, but I discovered from another quick search and a result on the Jolla forum that vendor and software binary are the same thing.

And the funny thing is that I had tried flashing one of these updates when I had flaky wifi on an android 11 gsi. I think it improved things, not sure, I messed the OS up soon after and had to do something else! :upside_down_face:

Thanks for your guidance @SuzieQ

GSI is an advanced tool in theory. In practice, however, it opens up many sources of failure. That is why I prefer a device-specific ROM to a GSI ROM.

For me, GSI Treble ROMs are only test and learning objects. So I always prefer a permanently maintained unofficial LineageOS 17.1 or 18.1 to a GSI ROM. Both custom ROM releases can be configured to be more privacy-friendly than they are released as standard. And the NextCloud-compatible integrated SeedVault backup is a useful Feature.

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Hi,
I’m currently running LineageOS 17.1 on my S7 herolte but I wanted to run /e/ instead as I’m trying to tear out google’s tentacles from my devices. I just came across this post of yours and now it has me wondering how to proceed. Another post you recently did indicated that /e/ won’t be supporting the S7 for much longer, which is very disappointing to me as I had the battery replaced recently and plan to continue using it for several more years.
My inclination would be to go with /e/ for as long as the phone is supported, as I’m already using the email and cloud services with an S5 that I also have.
Any suggestions or pointers for some reading?
Thanks

Hi @Crankey. Yes,the former Pr/e/mium ePhone S7 has been sidelined by /e/.

I like the S7 too, as well as the S7 Edge. Since these phones are not daily drivers for me but only test phones, it’s easy for me to change OS frequently. The one I like the most is /e/OS. However, it should at least run eOS 9-Pie for the sake of security features and also receive the monthly Android security patches. Since a migration to higher /e/ OS versions is no longer planned, I will no longer recommend /e/OS for the S/ / S7 Edge to anyone.

The GSI ROM tested above on the S7 is an experiment. Whether it works in all important respects would have to be tested extensively. Even the ROM builder will not say for how long a monthly update will be released, because he is only building it out of interest and as a hobby.

If I wanted to use the S7 / S7E as a daily driver, I would install LOS 17.1 for microG, which has been maintained by the developer for years, signed by himself and supplied with monthly OTA updates.

A big thank you to @anon26953564

Quietly (and secretly), our @anon26953564 built two new /e/ OS ‘Q’ GSI ROMs on January 24, 2021. As in the past, the ROM booted without a hitch. For me, this time on a Samsung Galaxy S9+ (star2lte).

e013qstar2ltegsi

Except for the installation of the /e/ OS ‘Q’ GSI ROM, my first impressions mirror those of the device-specific upgrade /e/ OS e-0.13-q-20210120*.

sorry, what is the different between the GSI and the e.0.13?

Hello, the GSI is 0.16.
What is the difference… It is possible to install /e/ Android even on newer phones, thanks to GSI halt.
Otherwise there are no differences to my knowledge. It accesses the same sources as the image files that are built specifically for cell phones, as far as I know.
It can be that some things do not work properly or not at all, e.g. fingerprint scanner.
Or with me in the car no reception strength is displayed, but the phone works without problems and I can also make calls.

so means that I can use it in my google pixel 3a?

From this list, yes, the arm64 a/b Image Device support (Project Treble)

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