Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G - model name SM-G781B/DS

/e/OS Devices Samsung
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Hi all,

I did a practice run on my old S9 last night and having played around with it today, I really want to make the switch on my main device.

Looking at the compatible device list, I see that S20 FE is supported, but the specific model in the title above is not one of those listed.

Would it be possible/risky to switch to e/OS on this device? I’ve got enough nous to understand how to load e/ and to overcome a few hurdles, but I’m not confident enough to forge ahead without proper instruction and guidance.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services

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phone427×374 173 KB

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according to Supported devices - Google Play Help - Google Support

Retail Branding Marketing Name Device Model
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G781B

so (r8q) is your device codename

you can confirm by

adb shell getprop ro.product.device

Info about Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Snapdragon) - r8q

Install /e/OS on a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Snapdragon) - “r8q”

/e/OS community r8q download

The main unclear trick is to unlocking the bootloader :
after allowing OEM unlock in Developer Options,

Power off the device, and boot it into download mode:

  • hold Volume Down + Volume Up and connect the USB cable to PC.
  • Now, click the button that the onscreen instructions correlate to “Device unlock mode” and/or “Unlock Bootloader”.

understand long press Volume Up Button

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Salut piero, merci bien.

That list of compatible devices is from where ?
I just see this one:

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But it’s only for G780 devices? I’m almost definitely not understanding something here. Is it just that “r8q” that’s important?

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Retail Branding Marketing Name Device Model
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE r8s SM-G780F
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE r8q SM-G780G
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G7810
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G781B
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G781N
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G781U
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G781U1
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G781V
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G r8q SM-G781W
Yes.
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Checking the Lineage page for the device Info about r8q variants | LineageOS Wiki will give some insight to G780 vs G781

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be aware that voLTE won’t works on any Samsung running any alternative OS..

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Excuse my ignorance, but why is Lineage OS important if I’m looking to switch to e/ ?

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Well /e/OS is a fork of Lineage, so /e/ is built upon Lineage foundations.

My suggestion was about insight about the variants G780 vs G781 which you specifically mentioned as not covered in /e/ documentation.

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So I’m clear, voLTE is the ability of the phone to make emergency calls on 2G & 3G if/when 4G & 5G are not available ?

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no, voLTE is the ability to make calls, when the 2G/3G network is dropped by the carrier.

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Ah, that’s quite bad then, considering that 2/3G is going to essentially be killed off this year. Guess I’ll just have to wait ‘til this phone finally dies before fully degoogling.

Thanks for the help

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other solution could be to resell the Samsung, and buy a FP3… or a pixel or a Motorola…

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Are those devices you specifically recommend?

I’d actually rather do without a smartphone entirely but it’s impractical. I’d be happy with a handset a good few years old that will last well into the future on e/os

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