Hello everyone,
I’m trying to reinstall Fairphone OS on my Fairphone 4, which currently has /e/OS installed, but I can’t do it because my Mac doesn’t recognize the Fairphone when it’s in bootloader mode — the terminal tells me it’s looking for the phone.When I run adb devices in the terminal, my Mac recognizes the Fairphone 4, but when it’s in bootloader mode, it’s no longer detected.
I read on the forum that this could be a cable issue, so I tested the same cable with my old Fairphone 3, and the Mac recognized it even in bootloader mode. Therefore, I can rule out the cable as the problem.
Has anyone experienced this or knows what might be going wrong?
One additional detail that could be useful: when I installed /e/OS on my Fairphone, I used Easy Installer, but after the installation was complete, the bootloader remained unlocked. I haven’t been able to lock it again since then. This could possibly be part of the problem.
I can’t provide any useful info with the Mac side, as i’m using linux (a ubuntu flavor), but about 6 weeks ago I flashed my FP4 to another OS. I then followed the e/os document for flashing e/os back to the FP4, and it worked step by step.
I got my ADB files from the AOSP website, and I was using linux (PopOS). It was the e/os 2.5 I recall. Anyway, I can vouch that the procedure for the FP4 (linux) was accurate and worked perfectly. So Maybe go back and just ensure each step you use the correct command, and maybe just compare to the Linux instructions (they are similar, from a step functionality, I think). Maybe try a different cable anyway, as a precautionary step.
Hi aibd and xancudo. Thank you so much for your help. I’ve already done everything as you told me, I enabled USB debugging and developer options. I wasn’t very precise regarding the adb devices command. When I run adb devices, it recognizes the phone in normal mode, but when the phone is in bootloader mode and I enter fastboot devices in the terminal, it’s not recognized. As a result, when I try to start the installation for Fairphone OS, it doesn’t work because the phone isn’t detected in fastboot mode.
I seem to remember a comment that executables just_don’t_work from certain locations like Downloads/ and other (??). I have done an online search and found the following … there seem to be several ways to get platform-tools going correctly, I hope you can find one that sounds workable for you.
Thank you for your suggestion. However, it seems to me that platform-tools are working correctly. In fact, in normal mode, platform-tools are functional — for example, when I run adb devices or adb reboot bootloader, everything works as expected and the phone responds. Additionally, when I connect my old Fairphone 3, it works fine even in bootloader mode, so I don’t think the issue is with the setup of platform-tools on my Mac, right?
The problem I’m experiencing is that platform-tools does not recognize the Fairphone 4 in bootloader mode. For instance, when I execute the commands fastboot flashing unlock and fastboot flashing unlock_critical, the terminal says no phone is connected to the Mac.
I also discovered that the bootloader on the Fairphone 4 was already unlocked — I believe it has stayed unlocked since I previously installed /e/OS. Could this be the case?
In any case, I’m unable to install Fairphone OS, even though the bootloader is already unlocked, and the terminal keeps saying no phone is connected.
Hi Piero, thanks for the suggestion! I’ve already tried it on several computers, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work. I haven’t checked yet, but I don’t have my phone with me at the moment. As soon as I get it, I’ll follow the code and let you know. Thanks again!
