All are included and flashed by the main /e/ .zip
Hi there,
I have the same problem as lukap, but in addition my phone seems now bricked. I am looking for some help… @lukap did you find a solution ?
BRICKED PHONE, here’s what I did :
- get this vbmeta file from lineage support (LineageOS Downloads), and transfer it via Odin 3.13 as suggested, then reboot.
- the phone gets stuck on download mode giving those lines :
partition vbmeta
Reason avb_slot_verify.c:741: ERROR: vbmeta: Public key used to sign data rejected
avb_slot_verify.c:741: ERROR: vbmeta: Public key used to sign data rejected
CUSTOM vbmeta
VBMETA : no sign info
- I tried to restore it to previous state using Odin and the stock ROM, but the operation FAILS.
- After flashing again this vbmeta file i got from lineageOS support, the boot message was different :
<!>
partition vbmeta
Reason avb_vbmeta_image?c:206 ERROR: Hash does not match!
avb_slot_verify.c:638 ERROR: vbmeta: Error verifying vbmeta image: HASH_MISMATCH
CUSTOM vbmeta
VBMETA A528BXXU1DWA4, 61148404R
- After that I can’t boot nor restore stock ROM using Odin.
PLEASE HELP
In my attempt there was no vbmeta involved. The only two things that were necessary was
- flashing recovery with
recovery-e-2.7-u-20250109460550-community-a52sxq.img, and - sideloading e/OS with a provided zip (something like
e-2.7-u-....community-a52sxq.zip
everything else was preparing the phone, unlocking the bootloader, etc…
this phone, as far as i know, does not have a ‘regular’ fastboot mode.
i don’t thing vbmeta is needed in that way as instructed on some other places.
regarding bricked phone, i really don’t have any experience with this, i’m sorry. i hope someone can help you or you find information how to completely factory reset the phone.
Ok, I could finally install /e/ with some more operations. Here’s what I did, if it can help someone else :
- install TWRP following the link given here : https://www.reddit.com/r/LineageOS/comments/1iw778k/help_infinite_loop_on_my_samsung_galaxy_a52s_5g/
=> I used tar version and odin software
=> install goes on without any authentication error - Then I tried to stock rom, but installation failed.
- I tried to boot “normally” : no normal boot, the only available boot would be to launch automatically recovery mode
- from TWRP I could follow usual steps before install : data wipe then dalvik & cache wipe, which were successful.
- I plugged the device on my favorite Linux PC, put TWRP on “sideload” mode, then adb sideloaded my /e/OS .zip file
- sideload was successful. System reboot on /e/
I don’t understand what happened in the end, I can just see that it finally worked. Device seems to give two very shortlasting red messages at boot, then warn user about oem unlock, then boot on my tiny new OS.
Hope I won’t have problems with updates !
Btw, thank you @lukap for answering.
However I can insist on some points :
- it was impossible to flash /e/ recovery using odin, as I said the process would fail because of some vbmeta error. This is why I used TWRP, which I know better because of previous install on other devices.
- I’m not sure, like you, that it is necessary to replace this vbmeta file as a pre-install operation as suggested in the /e/ install webpage. At least, this vbmeta problem does not seem to prevent from installaling TWRP recovery… Maybe it would be worth trying to skip this install step in the given procedure.
- hope my experience can help other users. I think some things could be improved on the installation procedure : giving a better procedure on how to get this “vbmeta” change before install, if this step is really necessary ; or invite people to skip this step, which can prevent from bricking the phone…
Thank you folks
Thanks for this list, that’s very helpful!
I got an issue with setting up my Samsung A52 SM-A525F/DS as I’m not able to turn on the OEM unlocking. The button in the developers settings is gray and I can’t active it.
As I’ve heard, that could be now a problem with all the Samsung phones, as Samsung removed the bootloader unlocking with One UI 8 (https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1mabuht/samsung_removes_bootloader_unlocking_with_one_ui_8/).
Does that mean, no Samsung is anymore available for e/os or did I misunderstand that?
Is there a way how I can still unlock my bootloader?
Thank you!
Do you have this One UI 8 ?
If no … there is plenty of good advice in this thread.
i believe that it will be down to following the Pre install instructions in an obsessively exact way. Note the internet connection, I think Wi-Fi is recommended as OK but maybe mobile data connection is better (Personal view even though this would alert your SIM with Samsung and Google).
Is there any news about the vbmeta.img?
Will e/OS/ be correctly installed if i skip these steps and go on to Installing a custom recovery using Odin?
Hello Lukap
Thank you so much. With your instructions I was able to get the job done.
Because I was not familiar with cmake and installing items on linux it took me quite a while. Maybe others can benefit from my notes.
Samsung A52s and Ubuntu 24.04
adb
download the set platform-tools-latest-linux.zip
No need for install, just create a directory for example SDK and unpack.
Later on when adb is needed, from then cmdline IN that directory use ./adb
cmake
To be able to use heimdall you need the software -cmake- to compile heimdall
Cmake needs other components too.
On the cmdline
sudo apt install cmake
sudo apt-get install g++
sudo apt-get install pk-config
sudo apt-get install qt6-base-dev
sudo apt-get install zlib1g-dev
sudo apt-get install --reinstall pkg-config cmake-data
sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev
heimdall
on that site choose the tab “refs”
click on tar.gz
the latest set wil be downloaded.
Create a directory, for example …/A52/Heimdall and Upzip and upack this set in this folder
From the cmdline IN that folder use cmake to configure this set
…/A52/Heimdall>cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release001
When succes :
– Build files have been written to: /…A52/Heimdall
It took me several hours to find out that the next step must be taken from one folder deeper!
Step one folder back, so type cd ..
And then in that folder execute cmake again with buildprameter
…/A52>cmake --build Heimdall
When succes
[ 93%] Building CXX object heimdall/CMakeFiles/heimdall.dir/source/VersionAction.cpp.o
[100%] Linking CXX executable ../bin/heimdall
[100%] Built target heimdall
Now you will find the executable heimdall in the …/Bin directory
You can start the flash from …/A52/Heimdall/Bin>./heimdall flash --RECOVERY recovery-…-a52sxq.img --no-reboot
And sideload … /TOOLS/SDK>./adb sideload e-3.2-a15-20251024540112-community-a52sxq.zip
1 Like
Hi,
I’m almost happy with my setup to test /e/ on an old mobile, Samsung A52s 5G (or SM-A528B/DS).
Just WiFi is not working yet (known bug: Issues · e · GitLab ), but my fingerprints (2 fingers) are working.
The following instructions have worked on an Apple MacBook Pro with a M1 Pro chip form 2021, running macOS 15.6. They are focused on for a user who is comfortable with the Unix shell.
It took ca. 2h with some errors and taking notes.
Create ourself a baseline where to hold all the stuff
cd ~; mkdir DeGoogle; cd DeGoogle
Dependency for Android debugger
sudo port install android-platform-tools
Install dependencies for Heimdall
Build dependencies - note pkgconfig has been added in 2.2.2 to allow Homebrew to interact with cmake
sudo port install cmake pkgconfig
Run dependencies
sudo port install libusb qt6-qtbase
Download Heimdall and follow the instructions on https://git.sr.ht/\~grimler/Heimdall - with 1 path adoption
git clone https://git.sr.ht/\~grimler/Heimdall
cd Heimdall
mkdir build && cd build
Modified cmake statement to hint where the Qt6Widgets cmake file is
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -D CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/local/libexec/qt6/lib/cmake/Qt6Widgets ..
make
Download the relevant files from the community build page /e/OS community a52sxq download :
cd ~/DeGoogle; mkdir eos && cd eos
curl https://images.ecloud.global/community/a52sxq/recovery-IMG-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.zip
curl https://images.ecloud.global/community/a52sxq/e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.zip
Check if the files match the provided checksums at the same webpage:
sha256 recovery-IMG-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.zip
sha256 e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.zip
Unpack the recovery zip file, as we only need parts of it:
unzip recovery-IMG-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.zip -t recovery-IMG-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq
Let’s baseline ourselves for outstanding work and summarize the preparations:
cd ~/DeGoogle
Now we have all 4 items that we need:
- Heimdall in
./Heimdall/build/bin/heimdall adbavailable on the command line- recovery image in
./eos/recovery-IMG-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq/recovery-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.img - the full /e/ image at ./eos/e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.zip
Until here, these are the preparation steps and easy to undestand/follow.
Now we start to press buttons on the Android phone, magically connect cables - and I can’t full predict what is happening due to a lack of knowledge.
Unlock the boot loader - just follow the steps mentioned
Flash the recovery - just follow the steps mentioned; command is in my case ./Heimdall/build/bin/heimdall flash --RECOVERY ./eos/recovery-IMG-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq/recovery-e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.img --no-reboot
Note: don’t be shy to shutdown via VolumeDwn + Power
Boot to recovery and side load system - just follow the steps mentioned; command is in my case adb ./eos/e-3.3-a14-20251214557451-community-a52sxq.zip
I have no clue how long to press to really reach the /e/ recovery setup - it only worked in the 3rd or 4th attempt for me. Be patient. Especially with yourself.
Reboot - enjoy /e/!
Personally, I will have to activate the test SIM tomorrow - and fix 2 bugs: No WiFi + Permanent bottom menu. I have seen proposals for both - just currently failing to boot into /e/ recovery mode to sideload the WiFi FW blobs.
Thanks for the halfway decent documentation,
sumirati