2 days ago I found, that a lot of snapdragon 800 / 801 devices are back https://download.lineage.microg.org/ hlte, d855, castor, castor-windy, sirius, z3, klte, FP2 and a lot of others..
“The LineageOS project (LOS) make regular builds of the two branches that correspond to the two latest supported Android versions. For example, in September 2025 LOS are making regular builds of their lineage-21.1 (Android 14) and lineage-22.2 (Android 15). Once regular builds of the lineage-23.0 (Android 16) branch start being made, the builds of the lineage-21.1 branch will stop, so that any devices that are ‘stuck’ on that branch will no longer receive updates. Until recently
However many of the fixes in these branches are ‘back-ported’ to earlier branches: for example the lineage-20.0 (Android 13) and lineage-18.1(Android 11) branches have both had several fixes merged since the last official LOS builds.”
I understand, that it is again save to use these devices - so I ask the experts here - is this correct???
And than I found today, that ronnz98 did tons of unofficial /e/ builds of dropped /e/ phones and of course, it would be better to to use /e/ instead of Linage - so my question to ronnz86 is, are you planning to do regular updates of this devices?
Because I would be very happy, to get my two Galaxy Note 3 (hlte) and my Sony Xperia z2 tablet (castor) back to work….
only when device specific sources can be upgraded :
(/device, /kernel and /vendor repo)
for exemple, if a device kernel was compatible with older android versions but not with the newer android version,
when /e/OS OS developement for those older android versions stop, build new versions is no more possible,
devices up to a7 compatibles are stuck on e-0.21-n version
devices up to a8 compatibles are stuck on e-0.23-o version
devices up to a9 compatibles are stuck on e-0.23-p version
devices up to a10 compatibles are stuck on e-1.17-q version
devices up to a11 compatibles are stuck on e-2.23-r version
devices up to a12 compatibles will be soon stuck on e-3.X-s version
devices up to a13 compatibles will be soon stuck on e-3.X-t version
.
also system partition size can be a limitation
android versions are growing, and also /e/ versions are growing…
At least not in the sense of devices still in current security update support, those should still be safer to use. “Many of the fixes” and “several fixes” are not all of the necessary fixes.
But for the older devices this is something, not nothing, so it’s the best shot these devices have at getting any kind of current security patches at all.
@piero please can you add the add the android versions like what is e-2.23r - I forgot - the new versions nubers of /e/ are now much better - I dont find informations about that in the forum
Thanks aibd & another elk - @piero I disagree that updating is not possible - there are quite a lot of devices, that show, that upgrading is possible.
Like I have a
Samsung S III - just 1 GB of RAM - excellent working with LinageOS 20 / Android 13 it exists also Linage 21
Samsung Note 3 is running perfectly on LinageOS 21 with 3 GB no problem
But somebody has to do updates - without updates, this Roms are gimmicks to show what would be possible, if EU just would tell, that phones have to get 10 Years of update - this is not for daily use.
I mean now with car entertainment it will be possible- like VW promises 15 Years of updates for their Android devices. Or the new Nex Phone with Dragonwing QCM6490 based on Snapdragon 778 G, which will be supported until 2036 - in a lot of phones - so the futur should be quite like heaven - but I still doubt…..
Updating to newer versions of Android is a lot of work - I spoke quite a lot with html6405 maybe its the easier way to just put the updates to the old versions. There is something similar in Linux Kernel - the CIP-Maintainership
I think we should try to contact MicroG and find out more about this…..
EDIT: I never looked at the relationship between support end of an Android version and LTS kernel - but maybe this Cip-Maintainership is connected to this….
Question - what means “However many of the fixes in these branches are ‘back-ported’ to earlier branches” - “Many” - does it mean, that lineage-18.1(Android 11) phones are save to be used?
Question - how/why it is decided, which phone is getting which Linage version - like the Xiaomi Note 8 is on LinageOS on 23 and on LineageOS for microG on 18.1 - quite a difference…. I tried out the microG version on the Note 8 and this was the reason, why I discovered that there are Isos for all the Snapdragon 800/801 devices.
Any chance to change the browser in the 18.1 branch to Cromite?
I am very happy, that this project exists - its a big step against electronic waste!!!
Some specifics for the Samsung N9005 Note 3 - hlte: The latest patch level I found (also on higher Android versions from html6405, (although not quite sure if this is still the case) was on DivestOS v18.1 / A11 from Tad/Tavi SkewedZeppelin (Thank you, you did a great job! AFAIK) from 5. December 2024. Anyway, make sure you update Baseband firmware to the latest available version!
Also take this deep dive information into account if you are interested in some background:
The post that @Doppel-D linked gives a good answer. ‘Safety’ is a relative concept, and phones running recent 18.1 builds will be considerably safer (i.e. less at risk from exploitation of recently discovered vulnerabilities than older builds, or may newer devices running stock ROMs that have not received manufacturer updates.
That decision is made by LineageOS. The list of official build targets is documented in this file, which changes as devices are added or removed from support. Old devices stay supported if the LineageOS maintainer is prepared to do the necessary work to update it for new Android versions. The 18.1 builds for Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 ginkgo were a mistake on my part: ginkgo is still in my st of devices stuck on 18.1. I will remove it, and I have already removed the 18.1 builds - use the 23,0 builds instead.
No. We build whatever is in the upstream LineageOS sources: if you want that change, you would need to persuade the LineageOS project to change it. Good luck with that!
thanks @petefoth & @Doppel-D for this Austrian study - for me this opens further questions—custom ROMs are based on the manufacturers’ (latest) Android versions. To what extent do these security risks persist? - Fairphone performs worst in this list - Fairphone Phones are 1 listend in the Iode shop??
Have the researchers’ suggestions been implemented in the custom ROMs? Unfortunately, custom ROMs are not included in the study…
It became clear to me that “Third Life” only will be with real Linux on the phones - this sorry “bullshit” of closed source is an electronics waste production machine of enormous proportions – the average lifespan of an Android phone is estimated at 2.5 years.
I still use my Portege R100 from 2004 to run the lights for my theater-dance shows - I use Alpine-Linux to get out data for back-up the files…. and for the rest of my work I use the Portege X30 from 2019, which I upgraded to 32 GB Ram with AV-Linux and this will be I think until the end of my life - I am 66….
I immediately took the plunge and bought my second new device in my life, that wasn’t a single-board computer.
1.) 2002 A Sony Viao PCG-SRX51P/A – at half of the list price (€2,000 instead of €4,000 - for traveling laptops must be ~ 1 kg)
2.) Yesterday, a new Fairphone 4 on ebay for 200.-€
The Fairphone 4 has dual boot and I will start with Iode & Ubuntu touch - as soon as the sound in Postmarket OS is done/repaired, I will switch it - Ubuntu is not my favorite Linux distribution…..
I use the Nexus 7 from 2012 with postmarket OS and it still works great….
Good day,
I’m brand new and inexperienced here. Also, I am not proficient in English and use internet translation, so it may not be completely understandable.
Maybe you can help me. I have hlte (Glxy Note 3 SM-N9005) with currently e/OS 2.2-r-20240719.… and I am looking for the possibility of updating it to the latest version with e/os.
My questions are:
Which ROM is the latest for my device, and where can I download it?
How can you upgrade or reinstall it while keeping the settings without having to set them up again?
Are there clear, simple and understandable instructions for this?
I came across the following sites and don’t know whether these ROMs are also compatible with my device (HLTE) and whether they run stably. Maybe someone has an idea?
That build was made on 13th January this year (20260113 in the name is a clue ) and finished at 04:33:45 UST. So it will contain any fixes that were merged to the lineage-18.1 branch of LineageOS sources on or before 12th January. You can see the changes that have been merged to that branch at https://review.lineageos.org/q/branch:+lineage-18.1+status:+merged .
That build will probably receive OTA updates in future: as the LineageOS for microG project website and wiki states
The frequency of these builds will vary depending on available capacity on the project’s build servers, and the number of changes made in a branch since the last build.
Thanks, I would like to stay with e/os. This one, it looks like, is pure LineageOS.
Nevertheless, if there are no updates for e/OS in the foreseeable future, it might be an alternative after all. It would then surely be dangerous to stay without updates for so long? Can I also make an update as described above by Piero or do I have to install a completely new one?
) and finished at 04:33:45 UST. So it will contain any fixes that were merged to the