Week 13, 2023: Development and Testing Updates

/e/OS Smartphone Operating System Development Updates
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Release Information

v1.9

Status : :green_circle: Released

  • Fixes and update in v1.9

  • Share your feedback on v1.9

  • We had some issues with the release as in the FP3 and avicii OS OTA upgrade builds were not visible to users initially. This issue was resolved by Friday last week. User should be able to view the downloads in the updater as well as download them manually from the site.
     

Release Notes

Previous 5 releases & user feedback
 

/e/OS T and Bliss Launcher updates

Status : :green_circle: Development and testing

ETA: No firm dates available. May take 1-2 months

  • /e/OS T or Android 13
  • Bliss Launcher with multiple fixes and optimized

 

Testers required

:point_right: Are you on the verizon network in the US? Interested in testing some new devices which we plan to release in the US? Do let us know. You might be able to help us test the devices better.
 

Murena cloud update / upgrade

  • Nextcloud 24.0.10 upgrade and a bunch of other fixes have been implemented
  • Check out the details of what has been updated or upgraded here

 

Self-hosted eCloud upgrade

 

GSI

v1.9

Status: :green_circle: Released

  • Download here
    • Sources available here
    • version is /e/OS Q (A10)
    • S (A12) and R (A11) version of GSI yet to be planned. Awaiting developer availability

 

OS OTA upgrades

Status: :green_circle: Complete

Completed

  • Oneplus nord aviccii >> A12(stable)
  • FP4 >> R ( A11) to S (A12)stable
  • FP3 >> R (A11) to S (A12) stable
  • FP3 >> Q (A10) to R (A11) stable
  • OnePlus Nord >> Q ( A10) to R (A11) (stable build)
  • Samsung s7 / s7+ >> Nougat (A7) to Q (A10)
  • Samsung s9 / s9+ >> Oreo (A8) to Q (A10)
  • Samsung s8 /s8+ >> Pie (A9) to R (A11) OTA upgrade

Under development

  • Galaxy S9/S9+ Q (A10)→ Android 11 (R)
  • GS290 Q (A10)→ Android 11 (R) :new: Testing to start

 

Important information : Plans to drop support for multiple OS versions on the same device

:warning: Users are informed that we plan to drop support for multiple operating systems on the same device. To explain further, let us take an example. If a device has Pie or Android 9, Q ( A10) and R (A11) /e/OS versions showing up for download, we will be building and supporting the latest version only - in this case R (A11).

:point_right: Users are advised to upgrade to the latest version of the OS for their device to avoid being stuck on unmaintained OS versions. In most cases, this would be a manual upgrade which would require you to take a backup.

:nerd_face: Supporting multiple OS versions can causes issues of compatibility with applications as most only work correctly on the latest OS. Multiple OS builds also require storage space and consumes time and resources for maintenance.

:calendar: As yet we do not have a date for this activity and will update once we have a plan in place.

 

Check realtime availability of /e/OS and related services websites

eCloud related websites

/e/OS related

OS upgrade info specific to the FP3 The FP3 OTA OS update from Pie to Q/R is not possible as encryption method changed on FP3 between Pie and Q/R. It is not possible to change the method while updating. The team spent a great deal of time on this, but has not been able to resolve this problem. For now, the manual process is the only way to upgrade the FP3 from pie to other OS versions.
What we mean by OS OTA upgrade - Click to expand or close

:nerd_face: OTA OS upgrade means the upgrade to a higher OS level. Updates will be delivered Over the Air (OTA). The OTA upgrades are available on official builds only. Users who have unofficial or custom-builds will not get the notification to install the upgrade build. They will have to manually download and flash the Q builds once they are released, which may result in data loss.

  • Difference between /e/OS build types
  • Unofficial ROM build refer the section ROM Builders - Unofficial and Custom
Recent Documentation updates
ROM Builders - Unofficial and Custom
  • Pleas update your Docker image to tne latest image we released
  • Those building using traditional repo sync method refer android_prebuilts_prebuiltapks_lfs
  • You will have to install git-lfs (sudo apt-get install git-lfs)
  • After completing a repo sync, you will have to run repo forall -c ‘git lfs pull’

:nerd_face: Reason behind these changes:

Due to the large size of the android_prebuilts_prebuiltapks we have switched to using LFS, and now you will need to refer to android_prebuilts_prebuiltapks_lfs

End of official support for Nougat, Oreo and Pie 😞 For Pie, Oreo and Nougat the official /e/OS support draws to a close.

Reasons for dropping official support are:

  • newly released applications like App Lounge, Advanced privacy code has not been customized for these OS versions.
  • lack of dedicated ROM Maintainers
  • no support upstream (Lineage dropped support for Pie sometime back)
  • device trees will continue to exist in the Gitlab and users with build skills can create custom ROMs on these builds
  • Security patches and vendor patches for the Pie, Oreo and Nougat code will be updated based on availability.

:nerd_face: Google stops security patches for OS after some time. Similarly, Vendors drop support for older models when they release newer models in the market. Then it depends on developers from various communities to backport the patches.

Device and Vendor specific Announcements

:loudspeaker: Gigaset GS290

  • We have stopped the sales of the Gigaset GS290 on the eSolutionsShop as the vendor has stopped production of the device. We will continue support for existing users.

:loudspeaker: Message being shared on the request of our vendor partners

  • Vendors whose phones we sell on our eSolutions Store do not directly sell /e/OS flashed devices.
  • The vendors only sell their devices with their own stock ROM.
  • To get pre flashed /e/OS phones, you have to purchase them from the eSolutions Shop.

:loudspeaker: /e/OS Pre flashed device sales

  • We sell directly in EU, US, Canada.
  • Find details of what devices are available in which countries here eSolutions Shop.
  • In Australia we do not sell directly. You can purchase preflashed /e/OS devices from this site

:loudspeaker: Murena One released
A phone from Murena with /e/OS installed has been launched and is available for purchase. Check the device specs here

Expect more device releases from Murena in future :grinning:

:nerd_face: Murena is the brand name and /e/OS is the operating system.

/e/OS Links

Support

  • Facing issues with devices you purchased from us ? Send a mail with details to helpdesk@e.email

Websites

Telegram Channel

Social Media

Newsletters

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online servicesphone

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online servicesphone

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