I bought a refurbished Samsun A52 5G SM-A52B/DS. It is connected to the internet, but I haven’t logged in with a google account yet, nor accepted the google-services.
Should I first start using the phone in the “google-way”, or can I install e/OS right from the beginning?
kind regards,
Irene
Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services
You just need to test call and network (data and wifi)
You must remove any Account and PIN
I hope you mean “Samsung A52s 5G SM-A528B/DS (a52sxq)”
| Retail Branding | Marketing Name | Device | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 | a52q | SM-A525F |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 | a52q | SM-A525M |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 5G | SC-53B | SC-53B |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 5G | a52xq | SM-A5260 |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 5G | a52xq | SM-A526B |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 5G | a52xq | SM-A526N |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 5G | a52xq | SM-A526U |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 5G | a52xq | SM-A526U1 |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52 5G | a52xq | SM-A526W |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52s 5G | a52sxq | SM-A528B |
| Samsung | Galaxy A52s 5G | a52sxq | SM-A528N |
“I hope you mean SM-A528B/DS (a52sxq)”
I try to follow [HOWTO] Install /e/ on a Samsung smartphone with Windows easily) and when i look in Settings> System >Model number (as in I see only SM-A528B/DS.
" and adb shell = supplies the devices codename" : do i need to intall first adb on my laptop to find out if I have the right model?
And if I’ve got the wrong one, I don’t think the refurbished phone suppliers can make this distinction.
that is good
even a bit outdated, it should works for this device
as vbmeta.img seems not needed contrary to what is said in official instructions :
Install /e/OS on a Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G - “a52sxq”
and contrary to most others recent Samsung devices
on this topic, you can read :
Samsung - Galaxy A52s 5G - a52sxq - Documentation Suggestions
if you prefer the recovery-e, you can use it instead of TWRP
thanks, it is a bit of a study to find all the information needed, but I take my time. I’m planning to do the ‘operation’ this friday 
Do you think it is nececarry to carry out ( at step 1):
“you may want or need to flash first an appropriate Stock Vendor Firmware to your device as a sane base” if I have a ‘çlean’ refurbished phone (bought at Rebuy.com)?
A528BXXSAGYA2 (2025-01-01 SPL) Samsung Firmware could be too recent for installing e-2.8-a14 (2025-01-01 SPL), you would prefer A528BXXUAGXK8 (2024-11-01 SPL)
@Irene41 were you able to install /e/OS on A52? I am unable to install the recovery image.
Yes, but with professional help. Installing worked but restarting the phone was a bit of a tric. Firts time it didn’t worked and second time, it seemed ok, but I couldn’t install apps via the playstore. So I send my phone back to my helpstation. I thought it was nice to try it myself to understand what is happening. But better to pay 60 euros to somebody who did it more often.
(cc @manoj)
hello @gogolplex, Welcome to the /e/ users forum.
there is incohérence between Official /e/OS instructions
generally a solution is to follow LineageOS instructions using their vbmeta.img file (https://mirrorbits.lineageos.org/full/a52sxq/20250716/vbmeta.img)
prior to /e/ recovery-e.img and e-3.xx-a15.zip files …
what OS can you run on your PC ?
I managed to install using the LineageOS instructions, but I am having the same problem of not being able to install apps from the playstore. I will try to find a solution myself.
as a workaround, use “aurora store” from “f-droid” (“App Lounge” is basicly an addition of both)
Linux and windows. For this I used a PC with windows 10. As I replied to Irene41 I was able to, a few hours ago, install using the LineageOS instructions and TWRP recovery software. Until now I detected two problems:
Aurora store appears to allow me to install the apps that I need. Thanks for the suggestion.
