[HOWTO] Install /e/ on OnePlus 6 running Android 10

@archje by heavy tests I mean daily use as an iphone replacement without any deep android knowledge, so my output would be “it is working”, “it is not working” or “it is bricked”

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Yes @Hawk , please do so. It’s and remains exciting how the device will behave now during an OTA update and more …

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I’ve made an OTA update to latest /e/ rom. Phone rebooted and got stuck in locked bootloader. It was possible to switch to recovery and use adb and fastboot. I had to flash TWRP again (I did use pie 9 version now) and I had to flash /e/ again. So locking the bootloader the way I did wasn’t good idea. At least if you wanna do OTA update.

You’re great, @Hawk. I thank you for your courage and your joy of experimentation.

Okay, a working OTA update is a fine thing, but not important for everyone. Will you continue to use the device with the bootloader locked?

Hello @Hawk, I am happy my guide has been useful for you, thanks a lot for reporting back your experience and confirming the same set of commands works fine under Linux.

It is interesting that you did not install TWRP and re-locked the bootloader and OTA still does not work, it’s a scenario to add to the OnePlus 6 (enchilada): over-the-air (OTA) upgrade not working for me topic.

I am curious to hear if with the stock recovery (Lineage OS recovery) and unlocked bootloader OTA works or not.

So far, OTA not working is the only relevant issue I have found while running /e/ on my phone. I use it daily for work and personal purposes since 2.5 months and all is smooth.

@hawk, out of curiosity: since you re-locked the bootloader, what happens to the startup message that warns that your device is at risk, you should not store any sensitive data on it etc.?

AFAIU depending on the device, the message could be substituted by another warning (about the OS being signed but not being the original OS provided by the vendor) or could disappear completely, accepting /e/ as a legit replacement of the stock OS.

Do you have a picture or a video of how the boot sequence looks like when you re-lock the bootloader?

@OnePlus6user hey, I tried to perform next OTA update with Lineage recovery and unlocked bootloader and it didn’t work too, I had to flash TWRP and do the update manualy (with zip file), then it booted correctly without loosing any data.

I’m not sure about the startup message with locket bootloader, I don’t remember to be honest :slight_smile:
I can still try to lock bootloader and check it, I could re-unlock again afterwards.

Hi @Hawk, this confirms OTA is totally broken.

That would be great to know, even if we know without a working OTA the locked bootloader is unfortunately not a long term option.

Hi @OnePlus6user,

Actually not. A user said it works for him.
I installed /e/ two days ago by following exactly the same steps as he did so I just need to wait for the next update and see if the OTA update works for me.

Hope it helps,

Hello there,

After reading this all and spending lots of time trying to install TWRP, Lineageos and /e/ on my Oneplus 6 I’m rather confused and not successfully. :sweat:
After buying this phone I was successfully with installing Lineage on it. After trying to install /e/ on the device was in fastboot loop so I had to send it to the service department of Oneplus. It is functional now again but I don’t like the whole google stuff.
It seems to me that there is changed a lot what makes that it does not work for me now. I was successfully with my FairPhone3, this device runs well on /e/.
But Oneplus is to difficult for me I think.
Is there maybe the possibility to send my phone to somewhere/someone for installing /e/ on it?
Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Jan

@OnePlus6user @Lance Hi,
I wondered, do you still have your oneplus 6?
Have you flashed the 1.5 version of /e/?
I have planned to do it during holidays. Do you have any tips to give me? Everything went well for you?
Thanks a lot!
Martin

Hello Martin, sorry for the late reply,
I’m not using OnePlus anymore so I cant help you.

Good luck and regards, Jan

Hello Martin,
I am successfully running /e/OS 1.6 S on my OnePlus 6. I followed the instructions at Install /e/OS on a OnePlus 6 - “enchilada” .
My suggestions:

  • Make sure that your OnePlus 6 runs Android 11, preferably the latest version.
  • After having installed the recovery, I had to manually reboot into recovery as specified in the instructions.

Hello @Tentos
Thanks for your help.
So you mean I should install Oxygen OS back into the oneplus 6 then upgrade it before flashing /e/ OS 1.6.

Will I be able to upgrade to the latest Android version of I don’t have a Google account?

Can’t I just load back the original Oxygen os which was Android 9 I guess and then flash v1.6?

Thanks a lot for your insights. I’m not an expert so try to do it the right way on the first time :wink:

Regards,

Thanks @rex ,
For my curiosity, what phone have you chosen to run /e/ OS?

Hi Martin,
I purchased OnePlus because FairPhone 3 was delayed and my old Note3 had hardware problems. A few weeks after purchasing Oneplus 6 FP3 came on the market. So I changed to it.

Yes, this is the way to go.

Yes, this is possible: The OnePlus update app does not need a Google account. You may skip the login to a Google account after the OxygenOS installation.

You should definitely upgrade to the newest Android version for your phone. You may flash Android 9 and then use the built-in OTA app by OnePlus to upgrade to Android 11, this should be possible.
On my last clean install, I reinstalled Android 10 and used the OTA app to install OxygenOS 11. Afterwards, I installed /e/OS R (= Android 11) on the OnePlus 6.

Important: Which Android version is currently installed on your OnePlus 6? If you reinstall OxygenOS, you should first flash an OxygenOS version that is based on the same Android version as your current one. Afterwards, you can upgrade as described above.

Ok, good to know! It’s running Android 9 so I’m going to look for a version of oxygen based on Android 9, then do the upgrade. Thanks a lot @Tentos !

By the way, @Tentos , do you think I can flash an Android 11 version using msmdownload tool? I thought of this shortcut because it works for bricked phones so it should work for phones running a different version of Android, right?

I honestly don’t know, but it sounds reasonable that the MSMDownloadTool can be used to directly install Android 11. Still, do it at your own risk.