I just bought a used Sony Xperia XA2 that has been updated to Android 9. From what I read here the OS should be at Android 8 for the official builds here. I have no idea if it’s recommended to downgrade the phone to Android 8 since it is already at 9, but I did find a page here for test versions:
So who here has installed this test version and what does NOT work with it?
Marty
Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online services
Last year I unlocked the bootloader on another Sony phone-an Xperia XZ. There weren’t any ROMs for /e/ but I was able to get Lineage on it. I started having camera and bluetooth problems that I’m wondering if those are problems that also would effect this Sony Xperia XA2 phone. The camera problems I had were two fold: the front camera stopped working and my rear camera lost capability to record video. The bluetooth audio would only pair with certain bluetooth speakers.
It would also randomly reboot till I put Lineage on it so I think that problem had to do with unlocking the bootloader.
So have any of these problems shown up in these ROMs on /e/ with the Xperia XA2?
Marty
Hi Marty, I’ve been running pie test build most of the time since last August, currently on 0.10-p- of 14 Aug. I was just posting to another user about what works with it; see here.
What I forgot to mention in the other post is that the test build has not had any updates since August. There will be an official Q version out anytime now anyway.
I’ve not had the camera or random reboot problems you describe. Bluetooth I don’t use but just tested it sending files to another phone and it worked OK. Bluetooth is notoriously random with what pairings work or don’t anyway.
Hi,
I do not know the status with recent ROMs, but I am running /e/OS 0.7 since 2019 on Sony XA2 H4113, and I have not experienced any issues with bluetooth, as far as I can remember.
I cannot comment on the camera (I guess I have taken no more than 10 photos since I have the device …).
After being able to install /e/OS properly (more on other posts in the forum), I have not had any issues preventing me from using it as my daily.
Thanks for your detailed review! I’ve flashed plenty of ROMs in the past and don’t anticipate many issues. I should get my XA2 next week and then I’ll flash. I already have done a lot of reading on this specific phone and downloaded the needed /e/ files.
Do u know if the /e/ software enables VoLTE on this phone? I think the kernel that Lineage bases this on gets VoLTE working as it does work on my Xperia XZ because it has Lineage on it. My cell phone provider uses this now to provide voice calls and started this in January of this year.
Marty
Not sure, but I’ve never seen a setting for it with pie and I tried an unofficial Q build a while back; don’t remember seeing it with that either.
Lots of discussion on this topic recently, for example here and here.
Edit: I was confusing VoLTE with VoWiFi, did some research, and I’m still confused! 
How would you know if VoLTE was active on the phone? In the mobile settings mine is set to LTE preferred.In the status bar just the signal strength indicator is present.
My cell phone provider is Ting. They started sending me emails last May that by January 2021 they would only provide 5G and if your phone doesn’t have 5G then u would need a phone the provided VoLTE (Voice over LTE). They also said that my current Sony Xperia XZ does not provide VoLTE. I searched around and did find a couple people posting that the XZ does have VoLTE but they were not in America like me. I decided it was a software issue if the hardware is in my phone and that perhaps Sony had just not enabled that feature in American software.
I had put many different ROMs on my previous phones and had /e/ working before on a Moto G4. I liked the OS and since then have had Google issues that made me want to de-Google like /e/ offers. Unfortunately /e/ doesn’t have software for the Sony Xperia XZ and I went with a ROM called crDroid 5.12 that is based on LineageOS.
I put that on my phone back in October till now in February and my voice calls are fine. There were a lot more mobile network types to choose from. VoLTE is not in there and I searched what these names mean and it seems like these are all pre 5G networks.
Here are 3 screenshots on the XZ showing which mobile networks are offered:
There’s also a test I ran that says VoLTE is now provisioned
There are Sony phone codes that may work on the XA2 as well. Dial this in the phone app:
* # * # 4636 # * # *
select Phone Information
This is a screenshot that I see on the XZ
I have had some problems with this ROM on my XZ, though. My front selfie camera doesn’t work. My rear video camera does not work (still shots do work out the back of the phone).
I’m thinking that since the XA2 is 2 years newer than the XZ that it has better hardware and VoLTE can be similarly activated with LineageOS and it seems like I’ll have my video camera to use again!
Marty
Result of that dial-in phone info.
XA2 Mobile Settings > Preferred Networks options (eOS pie testbuild)
Thanks for that. I was wondering if the XA2 is already VoLTE ready and it looks like it is with /e/ installed!
Marty
Hi,
I might have missed this post, but I have tested the codes from @LinuxHippy (which work 
) and the feedback was the same as @chrisrg : no Wi-Fi Calling provisioned 
Any hopes that it will work one day on the XA2?
Remembering what @alexis said:
“1. The phone must be compatible and must integrate the necessary software which is often proprietary.
2. The OS must support the functionality.
3. The carrier must support VoLTE and VoWIFI.
4. The carrier must whitelist VoLTE/VoWIFI usage on the actual phone (this is done via the device IMEI).”,
I do not know where the XA2 is stuck …
Hi @sonyxa2 , I think WiFi calling started working on the xa2 under eOS Q, quite some time ago!
My xa2 is now on R, WiFi calling still working.
I’ll add some additional info about VoLTE:
If the OEM has certified the device for VoLTE with a given carrier, then the setting to enable it will appear in the Mobile Network menu when you insert that carrier’s SIM card.
If you insert a SIM card for a different carrier, and the OEM has not done the certification for that carrier, then the VoLTE setting will not appear in the menu.
In some cases, an OEM may have done the certification process for one region, e.g. Europe, but not for another region, e.g. North America. In fact, I had to flash a different firmware for my international-version XZ1 Compact in order to get VoLTE-capability (and the menu setting) for T-mobile USA. That was a few months before I installed /e/.
Some carriers do maintain strict lists of allowed devices, and some just confirm via the IMEI whether the device is known to be VoLTE-capable or not.
Edit: At least that’s how it has worked in my experience.
Thank you very much @Taurus , it is interesting to know
Hi @chrisrg ,
Do you mean that your XA2 with /e/OS has VoWIFI that works 
? I am clearly behind … by a great extent…
If so, I must update … that would be a killer feature, which may persuade me to update … any drawbacks on the battery life?
Could you please also help me with the versions… they are not my cup of tea … R / Q … which number of /e/OS versions are they? My phone is proposing /e/OS 0.18 from 05 Oct 2021 … and how the OTA update process works? Shall I install all the updates before this 0.18 (I do not dare to tell you how many are still there …). Will I lose any of the settings / customisations / personal data?
Thank you very much in advance
Yes, since installing eOS q see here.. Previously I had flashed stock Android 9, booted it and used it with my SIM inserted, noted that wifi calling was working and taken screenshots of the APN details. Sim is from 3 UK.
My XA2 is now on e-0.18-r-20211005139260-dev-pioneer. I no longer use it as daily, just testing, and I feel that battery life has not changed and is still good for me.
As for the versions; there are numbers and letters.
Letters are the main android OS version such as n, o, p, q and r , upper or lower case no different. Sometimes referred to as oreo, pie and I don’t know what else!
The number is the e release number that can apply to any of the versions. If you see a reference to eOS 0.18 that only tells you it is fairly recent release but it does not tell you to what android version it is intended. eOS-q tells you it is android q/android10.
What are you running on your device at the moment? Is it the pie test build?
OTA updates on XA2 are only possible for the same android version as that which you have installed.
OS upgrades, to Q or R have to be manually flashed. Clean install is usually best so you would have to back up what you can and start again. Now is a good time to move to R as it is new for e.
Also the phone should have been on stock android 9 at some stage before flashing.
thank you very much @chrisrg, I have clearly missed your post …
As network coverage is not always at the best level with my operator where I go, VoWIFI is a great feature to me.
I will need a whole weekend to go through your post and understand it 
…
I will see what I have to do to update, actually what I wanted to avoid was to restart from scratch (as I am not familiar with flashing procedures and so on, my first installation was a little painful … not as smooth as I hoped, therefore I would not like to repeat it, and set up the device again from scratch …)
I guess I will write a private message instead of posting … I am afraid the admins will kick me out when they discover since when I have not updated …
Thank you very much again for your priceless contribution
I’m afraid I dropped my XA2 months ago and for the first time ever it landed face down and cracked the screen…I had it in an open face cover. I bought an XZ1 and did the same thing. Now I have an XZ3 that I unlocked the bootloader on and put another de-Googled LOS on called iode’. The XZ1 did not support VoLTE for me but the XZ3 does running Android 10 & 11. I also have this one in a nice shock proof case that covers the front…it’s by Love Mei. It doesn’t seem that Otterbox makes a shockproof one for any Sony phones I’ve bought.
I did find on the XZ1 that when VoLTE is not detected that my phone service drops when I drive to work and then when I get to work I need to go into settings for the mobile data and change it to the slowest setting (2G that doesn’t exist now in America) and once it connects there then change it back to the fastest setting and then it will not drop the phone signal till I get back in my car. I guess VoLTE does this automatically so you never lose service?
Marty
2G still exists on T-mobile’s network, but not AT&T’s.
I too have an XZ1 (still running regular Android, unfortunately), but I switched to the XZ1 Compact and installed /e/.
With /e/ on the XZ1C, I have to toggle the network from LTE to 3G or 2G and back, usually when rebooting.
ok. I guess the newest Sony phones come with 5G instead of doing the VoLTE workaround?
Marty
