You could use the 16.0 lineage.microg ROM here https://download.lineage.microg.org/a5xelte/ its the next best thing until its supported by /e/. 
I read some bad reviews when it comes to Lineage. Plus, I’m really not that tech wise and would like to flash my A5 just that once when /e/ for it becomes available.
Since there is now LineageOS support for A5 (2016), the only thing needed is a large enough number of people asking for /e/ support for devs to prioritize its development. But how do we get the number of supporters? Are topic views counted, or people actually have to write here that they have an A5 (2016). Or is it something else?
I installed LineageOS onto it. Looks great, far better than standard Android on this model. I don’t know if this is due LineageOS itself or LineageOS 16 being based on Android 9 (A5 2016 is usually upgradeable only to Android 7), but it has more user controlled features, greater battery life and greater customizability. One feature I like the best is Privacy Guard which controls app permisions and their ability to “phone home”. However, installing it completely without Google apps (Open Gapps) leaves many other apps unusable. I started experimenting from the bottom of the list, with Gapps containing the least amount of Google footprint, called pico Gapps. Unfortunately, I had to switch up to nano for the apps I use. Seems to work OK for now.
Man, I can’t wait for /e/ OS on A5 2016 to get rid of Google completely!
I tested it. I must say I like eelo’s design better than LineageOS.
Why does it still have Google Play services and Google Play Store, and Google Services & preferences in settings? It asked for my Google account right from the boot. Even the “foundation.e.browser” seems to be derived from Google’s Chromium.
MicroG doesn’t work. It’s there, in the settings, but I can’t access it. Every time I click on it, it throws me out of the settings.
The rest of the apps work well.
This is how I installed unofficial /e/OS and official LineageOS on my Samsung A5 (2016). Couldn’t get it to work with heimdall on Linux, contrary to instructions on both Lineage and eelo websites.
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The following instructions are for Windows only. Please don’t use a virtual machine as these can cause problems communicating with the device. Download Odin:
https://build.nethunter.com/samsung-tools/Odin_3.12.3.zip -
Extract the “Odin_3.12.3.zip” file. You should now have a folder called “Odin_3.12.3”. Treat this as your working directory and download all other files to this folder. Download Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP):
https://dl.twrp.me/herolte/twrp-3.2.1-1-herolte.img.tar.html -
Make sure to click “Download twrp-3.2.1-1-herolte.img.tar” to download the actual file. They also offer an md5 checksum, which you can use to check if the TWRP file is corrupt or not, but this isn’t needed. Download the Android platform tools:
https://dl.google.com/android/repository/platform-tools-latest-windows.zip -
Extract the “platform-tools-latest-windows.zip” file and there should be a “platform-tools” folder. Open this folder and move its contents into the “Odin_3.12.3” folder from before. Now to download OS itself:
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1899786940962606687 -
If you would like to have root access you will need to download the optional root add-on:
https://mirrorbits.lineageos.org/su/20190304/addonsu-16.0-arm-signed.zip -
Now to prepare the device to be flashed with TWRP. Go into settings and look for “Developer Options” or something along those lines. If it isn’t there, go into “About phone” and tap “Build number” 7 times. Then go back up into settings. They should be there now. Enable “Developer Options” (if it has a toggle) then enable “USB Debugging”. Also enable “OEM Unlock” if it’s there, this would allow us to flash unsigned images to the device however not all builds have this setting so you may not need to enable it. Also go back into security settings and disable reactivation lock if you can. Because sometimes it can cause issues. Shutdown your device.
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Then hold the Volume Down, Home, and Power keys. This should put the device into download mode. Accept any warnings by pressing Volume Up, then plug the device in. Open “Odin.exe” from the " Odin_3.12.3" folder. In the log, it should say Added!, meaning it detected your device. If it didn’t detect it, then you probably have a driver issue. Click the “Option” tab and make sure “F. Reset Time” is enabled. Disable “Auto Reboot”. Also check the checkbox next to the “AP” button and then click the button. Select the “twrp-3.2.1-1-herolte.img.tar” file. Click “Start” in Odin. Once Odin says “RESET” or “PASS” near the top and says it successfully flashed in the log, turn of the device by pressing Volume Down and Power. You can then just hold the Volume Up and Power keys to boot into recovery mode. You will see the Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) splash screen.
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It’s going to ask you if you want to modify the system, you can just allow it to do this by swiping the slider. It may also ask you anytime during the process if you want to root or install its app, don’t let it do this. Now click “Wipe” and swipe the slider to factory reset. This won’t actually factory reset your device but it just clears the partition that user data is stored in, along with the caches. Once that finishes you can click the home button. Now click “Advanced” and click “ADB Sideload”. Swipe the slider, you don’t need to wait for it to start as it will start once it gets the command from your computer. Open a command prompt window in to the " Odin_3.12.3" folder (in Windows 7, by typing CMD in folder’s adress bar and pressing enter) and run adb devices. After the message about starting the daemon you should see something like SERIAL NUMBER sideload. If you don’t, then there is probably a driver issue. Now just run adb sideload e-0.7-p-20191012-UNOFFICIAL-a5xelte.zip to flash it. The percentage is inaccurate so don’t worry if it goes over 100%. TWRP will say once it finishes. Don’t reboot yet though, if you want root. Click the home button and go back to the ADB Sideload menu. Swipe the slider and this time run the same command but for the root add-on, adb sideload addonsu-16.0-arm-signed.zip
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Now you can “Reboot System” to reboot into /e/OS. You should now see the /e/OS boot animation. The first boot may take up to 15 minutes. but you should soon be seeing the setup wizard where you can continue like you normally would. If you flashed the root add-on don’t forget to enable it in developer settings.
I tested official build from 16th of October. LineageOS without any Gapps is still better than /e/ when it comes to Google footprint, and their latest build seems to be fully functional without any Google apps whatsoever. Signal, Whatsapp, Instagram… all up and running, without Gapps or MicroG. /e/ still asks for Google account and has Google services.
One other thing that bothers me in /e/ is Magic Earth app for maps and navigation. Although OpenStreetMap (on which ME is based) is open source, the app itself is proprietary.
Note
The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is available in versions (variants) with different specifications.
Only the SM-A510F (Europe, Single-Sim) version is supported by /e/ OS.
…
Not supported
Galaxy A5 2016 SM-A510F/DS
Galaxy A5 2016 SM-A510M
Galaxy A5 2016 SM-A510M/DS
Galaxy A5 2016 SM-A510K / S / L
Galaxy A5 2016 A5-6
Doesn’t a5xelte theoretically work for all?
No! “a5xelte” is the code name only for the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016), Model SM-A510F.
For other examples, see the links below:
Mine is Galaxy A5 2016,
SM-A510M
The rom seems to be working perfectly well… Damn, I was so happy when you guys have released a version for my phone, then it happens 
@alexwander, after my WWW searches there is in the forum. xda-developers .com a (unofficial?) build from 2018-11-10 : AOKP 8.0 OREO for Samsung A5 2016 “All Variants” → A510F/FD/M/Y [Exynos7580] with the “feature” : Full AOKP Rom Control.
I deliberately do not link directly, because it is not /e/ OS, but maybe better than stockROM 7.0. I didn’t test it - so: Flash on your own RISK.
In front of me is a Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) SM-A510F “a5xelte” with StockROM Android 7.0 Nougat incl. June 2019 Security update and perfectly working FM Radio RDS.
https://ecloud.global/s/WJc5H4NpmjLAYB7
While checking the technical data I noticed that the Device Information of neither /e/ nor LOS listed the feature FM Radio RDS under Peripherals. → GSMarena lists the feature under COMMS > Radio > FM radio.
https://ecloud.global/s/2dszJ7MHHNSBBsq
»The build script for all devices is the same so there is no reason the FM radio should be missing on a particular device.« also means @_manoj. With 2 GB RAM / internal Storage16 GB, should there really be a lack of space for the FMRadio.apk? I can only imagine it with great difficulty.
Switching to /e/ OS ROM e-0.7-p-2020012238465-dev-a5xelte (pie) was uncomplicated, because the /data partition isn’t yet encrypted at the factory. As tools I only used [Win°dows] Odin3 and TeamWin - TWRP twrp-3.3.0-0 for a5xelte and a microSD card.
Android 9-pie is a very good basis for /e/ OS ROMs. 19.05.2019 says gael: »The /e/OS development is accelerating! […] We are industrializing all this so we should be ready to move quicker on porting to the upcoming Android Q!«
WebView v78.0.3904.108 has unfortunately still not been updated to v79.0.3945.116.I will stimulate both points on Gitlab for improvement.
Bug has been resolved in the build which is currently under testing. Screenshot from the test build is attached here.
Build should be available for all devices by next week.
I have brought a Samsung A5 2016 (A510F) specifically to install /e/ as it was listed on the supported devices. However after problems with installation I have researched further and see that there are many variants of this model including one labelled Galaxy A5 2016 A5-6.
My phone is an A510F but I note that on boot to android it says Galaxy A5-6, does anybody know about this variant and can a build be created for it?
I am going to be very annoyed if I have brought an unsupported phone - The device list should be clearer as to the variants supported.
Samsung alone is responsible for the variety of models and model names. The following models of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) A510F are available:
A510F
A510F/DS
A510M
A510M/DS
A510FD
A510Y/DS
A5100
The /e/ documentation makes a clear statement:
Models Supported Models:
SM-A510F
Other models are not supported
PS. I have read your three postings here and here and here and am somewhat surprised by your observations and assessments.
The list is now as followed:
- SM-A510F
- SM-A510M
- SM-A510Y
- SM-A510K
- SM-A510L
- SM-A510S
- SM-A5108
Other models are not supported
I installed E on SM-A510FD and it boots fine. Maybe nobody tested this?
Weird enough after installation in settings it shows SM-A510F now instead of SM-A510FD.
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