Week 20 2024: Development and Testing Updates

Summary of weekly development and testing activities by /e/OS developers and volunteers. Updated content has the :new: emoji.

Release

v2.0 :fire: :new:

Status :green_circle: Initiated

What is in v2.0

  • Bliss Launcher v3 on A12 or /e/OS S and A13 or /e/OS T
  • MicroG update to v0.3.1.240913
  • Issues and fixes
  • Shift6mq axolotl - script based installation - lockable bootloader- dedicated maintainer

Staggered release : 14 May to 16 May
Release Notes

As this is an important release we have a small welcome party set up. Find the details here to get ready for v2.0

What is not in v2.0

  • Fairphone: FP4 : S (A12) β†’ T (A13) OS OTA upgrade build

  • Motorola Moto G5 β€˜cedric’

    • Wifi and bluettoth not available issue in gitlab
    • No ETA available for now.

Upcoming milestones information

Ongoing development tasks
  • A tablet with /e/OS T. Tablet name will be shared once we have the go ahead from build team. The release is tied with the launch of the updated Bliss launcher. Tablet launch planned early 2024 :crossed_fingers:
  • Easy Installer to be updated to flash /e/OS T builds. ETA to be planned

Murena 2 specific information

  • We have ordered 3D printed cases with a different vendor and have received the covers from them. The team is working on sending them to the users. We apologize for the delay.
  • The issues related to the camera focus not working on some of the devices is attributed to the camera specific hardware. There is an issue around this in gitlab where you can track progress. If you are facing this issue on the Murena 2, Pl send a mail to helpdesk@e.email with the purchase details. The team will get back to you with the resolution.

-The first set of the 3D backcover protectors will be going out to the crowdfunding backers. We will have it added to the website as well to make it easy for other customers of the Murena 2 to purchase it.

Previous 5 releases & user feedback

Links to the last 5 releases click here

Documentation

Recent updates
  • A guide on how users can bypass spam filtering on Murena Cloud. This is a workaround as we have received a few complaints from users that their regular emails were being marked as spam.

    • Following the instructions from this guide the user can bypass the Murena webmail spam filters
    • The guide is accessible from:
  • The Supported devices table now displays the Safetynet and Rootbeer status for all devices in the list. For devices which show a :question: we would request users to run a test and share the feedback with us. The forum post on this is here.

  • Stable builds are now referred to as Official and dev builds are Community. This change will be visible in our Supported device list.

  • Official / Stable support dropped for these devices

    • Easy Installer will flash the community or previously known as dev build for these devices
      • Google Pixel 4a sunfish
      • Google Pixel 4a 5G bramble
      • Google Pixel 4 XL coral
      • Google Pixel 4 flame
      • OnePlus 7 Pro guacamole
      • OnePlus 7T hotdogb
      • OnePlus 8 instantnoodle
      • OnePlus 8 Pro instantnoodlep
  • Transfer data from iPhone and iCloud to /e/OS and Murena Cloud guide

  • How to backup and restore and /e/OS device

  • Users may have noticed a difference in the internal storage size on fresh installations. We have created a guide to explain this.

  • Upgrade guides have been removed from the Documentation site. The recommended method to install is first flash the stock ROM (where required as per the guides) and then a clean install of /e/OS. This process will format the device and will include data loss. Users are advised to take a backup before proceeding with the format.

 

:warning: Posting information on test builds

  • Please do not post information or links to /e/OS test builds on the forum.
  • These builds are as yet untested and under development and may in some cases cause user devices to soft brick.
  • Such information can confuse other users who do not see these builds in the updater.
  • Remember not all users who come to this forum are experts in installing and formatting custom ROMs and can end up seriously damaging their devices by trying out these test builds
  • If you are genuinely interested in helping with the testing activities and also understand how to fix and do some minor level of testing on custom ROMS, you are welcome to join the testing team
  • As part of the testing team you can share your comments on the dedicated testing telegram channel.

 

Murena Cloud and Self hosting

Murena cloud NextCloud version upgraded :fire:

Murena cloud current version

:point_right: Murena cloud Next Cloud 27.1.8.3

Self Hosting current version

:point_right: Self hosting Murena cloud v 26.0.8

 

How to check the NextCloud version click here πŸ€“ You can find the complete documentation and current NC version under https://murena.io/settings/help >> NextCloud xx user documentation. The xx should show the latest version. - Another way to check the current version is to check the [NextCloud scan link](https://scan.nextcloud.com) and input https://murena.io this should display the current version number as well as the security level. > Please note if MurenaCloud patch number is not the same as the NC patch number, the rating would show up as bad 😐 This is not exactly a problem. We do not immediately jump to the next NC patch as soon as it is released. We first test it and then set out with the deployment.

GSI

Current GSI version click here

v1.17

 

OS OTA Related information :new:

Completed
  • Gigaset: GS290 : Q (A10)β†’ Android 11 (R)

  • Oneplus: avicii : A12

  • OnePlus : avicii : Q ( A10) β†’ R (A11)

  • Fairphone: FP4 : R ( A11) β†’ S (A12)

  • Fairphone:FP3 : R (A11) β†’ S (A12)

  • Fairphone:FP3 : Q (A10) β†’ R (A11)

  • Samsung: s7 / s7+ : Nougat (A7) β†’ Q (A10)

  • Samsung: s9 / s9+ : Oreo (A8) β†’ Q (A10)

  • Samsung: Galaxy S9/9+ : Q (A10)β†’ R(A11)

  • Samsung: s8 / s8+ : Pie (A9) β†’ R (A11)

  • Teracube: 2e / zirconia: Q (A10) to R (A11)

  • Teracube: emerald & zirconia : R (A11) to S (A12)

  • Samsung: S7 β€˜herolte’ β€˜hero2lte’: Q ( A10) β†’ R (A11)

  • Google Pixel β€˜redfin’: S(A12) β†’ T(A13)

  • Gigaset: GS290: R(A11) β†’ S (A12)

  • Fairphone: FP3 : S (A12) β†’ T (A13)

    • All OTA OS upgrades are on stable builds
Testing
  • Fairphone: FP4 : S (A12) β†’ T (A13)
    • ETA v2.1
To Plan
  • Samsung: S9/9+ : R(A11) β†’ S(A12)

  • Samsung: S8/8+ : R(A11) β†’ S(A12)

    • ETA - probably with v2.1 :crossed_fingers:
Our definition of an OS OTA upgrade

Usually for /e/OS ROMs to upgrade the OS you have to do the following

  • If available download the correct OS build from the supported device list
  • For some devices you also need to download the stock ROM from the vendor site.
  • Take a back up of your data
  • First install the Stock ROM
  • Next install the /e/OS ROM. Here you can take help of the install guides available on our documentation site.
  • If required apply the backups you downloaded before starting the whole process

An alternate to this tedious process is where we offer the user the option to upgrade the OS OTA. This option is available for stable device builds only.
This process is easy for the user but requires a lot of development and testing effort.

Different /e/OS build types

 

Support dropped for

Support dropped for
  • Moto E5 Plus ahannah - out of space - issue resolved with MINIMAL_APPS build

  • Moto E5 Plus hannah - out of space - issue resolved with MINIMAL_APPS build

  • Moto E5 Plus rhannah - out of space - issue resolved with MINIMAL_APPS build

  • Moto G5 cedric - out of space - issue resolved with MINIMAL_APPS build

  • Moto G5S montana out of space - issue resolved with MINIMAL_APPS build

  • Galaxy M20 m20lte - To be dropped. No dedicated maintainer upstream or with /e/OS

  • Nothing Phone(1) Spacewar

    • Multiple bugs in the last build. No dedicated maintainer on /e/OS or LOS side.
  • Motorola Motorola Moto G7 Play channel

    • Partition space issues
  • Google Pixel XL marlin

    • Partition space issues
  • Google Pixel sailfish

    • Partition space issues
  • Google Nexus 7 2013 flox

    • Partition space issues
  • LG V30 (T-Mobile) β€˜h932’

    • Build issues
  • LG v30 β€˜joan’

    • Build issues
  • Galaxy M20 m20lte

    • Build issues. No dedicated maintainers available.
  • All Nokia devices

    • We have been unable to build builds for the device post v1.17 which was on /e/OS T.
    • Users with ROM building skills will be able to create customized builds of the channel if they so desire as the device trees will be available on our servers.
  • Nokia Devices

    • No dedicated maintainers
  • Huawei

    • Unable to unlock bootloader
  • ASUS

    • unlocking tool not working for last couple of months.

:nerd_face: As you may be aware the bootloader needs to be unlocked to flash a custom ROM like /e/OS.

:point_right: We have added a warning on the install pages for these devices to warn our users before they try to attempt to flash /e/OS.

What MINIMAL_APPS flag means

Minimal build is a setting in /e/OS build which removes the following default applications (LibreOffice viewer, PDFViewer, Maps and Weather)from the source code and builds a smaller version of the ROM. In the case of certain devices we are unable to build with even the minimal /e/OS build.

No more multiple OS versions
  • Support for /e/OS Q is being dropped for most of the devices.
  • Support of multiple OS versions on the same device has been stopped.
  • If you see multiple OS version builds on the download page, switch to the latest /e/OS version.
  • In most devices it would require a manual download and installation. Take a backup before proceeding.
  • We will add a text on the images server mentioning that older OS versions are no longer supported.
  • No longer supported will mean that build would not be made in the older OS.
  • It is always advised to switch to the newer OS versions as some of applications may not work correctly on older OS as application developer stop supporting older OS.

 

Misc information

Roadmap for 2024

Read Gael 's roadmap for 2024

Where to buy the Murena Two and Murena One from?

A phone from Murena with /e/OS installed has been launched and is available for purchase. Check here. Select a country and check availablility and device specs

Expect more device releases from Murena in future :grinning:

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

Check real time availability of /e/OS and related services websites
End of official support for Nougat, Oreo and Pie 😞 Pie, Oreo and Nougat the official /e/OS support has ended.

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 and Australia
  • Find details of what devices are available in which countries here Murena Shop.
/e/OS website and social media Links and Support

Support

  • Facing issues with devices you purchased from us ? For issues you would want support on from the /e/OS support team, send in the details using the contact form

Websites

Telegram Channel

Social Media

Newsletters

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

19 Likes

That section confuses me with regards to the statement on S7, maybe I am reading this wrong?
From what I understand:

  • the S7-upgrade to R is not new anymore as it is done since 1.20.
  • the S7-upgrade to R is not an exception to the dropped Q-support as Q ended with 1.17.1 for. S7.
  • the S7-upgrade to R happens (or can happen if prerequisites are met) OTA und thus is an exception to the stated manual installation required for most devices.
1 Like

:slight_smile: Removed the s7 as it is no longer relevant in that section. The point that was to be conveyed was there will be no more support for multiple OS for any device.

1 Like

Thank god the release comes a day after our local Fairphone meetup – so I cannot commit a major stupidity before :smiley:

Seriously, looking really forward to this! :slight_smile: :+1:

1 Like

Great job :clap: new icons look like very nice :wink:

2 Likes

After careful consideration and contemplation, I opted to be stupid after all. :crazy_face: Escaped deserved punishment.

3 Likes

I just implemented a rule that bypassed all filtering and it works, thank you!

@Manoj Does the

  • ETA - probably with v2.1 :crossed_fingers:

apply to just the OTA update for S8/S8+ or does it also apply to the s9/9+ one ? I’m asking because there aren’t any S dev builds for the S9/9+ on the dev download page. There are R builds and T builds but no S dev builds yet.

https://images.ecloud.global/dev/starlte/

This is the link to the youtube live stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ib4WTuvoVM

1 Like

I would hope that the upgrade is directly to Android 13, otherwise we are in the same situation of having an unsupported system in ten months - especially since the dev-builds are on Android 13 and they have already once skipped an Android version (8 ->10).

1 Like

Yeah understandble, I think it is a broad decision to switch every device step by step. I have the impression they are getting faster with every OS Upgrade.