Week 33, Development and Testing Updates

Manoj · August 9, 2026, 10:14pm

/e/OS Weekly Development and Testing Activities

Summary of weekly development and testing activities by /e/OS developers and volunteers.
Updated content is marked with the emoji.

Releases

Upcoming

v4.2
List of fixes coming as part of v4.2
- This is a tentative list and issue can be added or removed from it based on the QA clearing them
ETA : Last week of August

Current

Previous Releases and User Feedback

Milestones

Releases planned in the future are marked as milestones in gitlab
- Future Releases

Murena Account Recovery Email

Ensure your Murena Workspace account (e.email or murena.io ) has a recovery email.
New Accounts and existing accounts without a recovery email will face reduced functionality for 30 days and post that will be marked for deletion.

To check if your Murena account has a recovery email click here

Link will require you to log in to your Murena workspace.
In case your account is disabled, you can contact me - @Manoj on this forum and I can assist with getting the account re enabled.

Password Reset

We get multiple requests for password reset.
Please note, users can reset their own Murena Workspace password by using the ‘Forgot Password’ link.
In case user is not able to reset the password on their own, requests to the support team to get your account password reset will not be entertained if user is not able to confirm ownership of the device or account.
- To prove ownership you would be required to share the recovery ID or any other details as may be asked for by the infra team.
- You can contact me @Manoj for assistance .

Documentation

Tips for using the Gitlab or Forum

Use the search feature first before raising fresh bugs or creating new posts.
- If others have already raised similar issues please add your issue details to it.
As a rule, when creating new issues on gitlab or creating new posts on the forum
- share details of your device like its model , build and any additional details that could help others debug the issue.
Never share personal details like your email ID when raising issues or creating posts either on the forum or on non confidential issues in Gitlab.

Now anyone with a /e/OS Gitlab account can edit the Documentation site.
The process to be able to edit the /e/OS Documentation site is as under:

Share your /e/OS gitlab ID with me @Manoj and I shall pass it to the team member who will get you the necessary access to the documentation project
Once access is granted your changes will be created as a Merge Request
This MR next has to be reviewed
The MR can be reject or approved. If rejected reasons will be shared.
If approved it will get published and show up on the documentation site

Check out the new features that came along with v4.0 release. Some of the features are

Murena Passwords
Murena Sign
- Currently compliant with SES only. We are working on AES.
Murena Meet
Murena Vault
Backup
Google data migration

Please note some of these features are in the beta phase. Additional development, detailed testing and improvement are in progress. We look forward to your comments and feedback on these features.

A guide to understand what Bootloader relocking means.

Report an issue in /e/OS.

Create the bug in Gitlab.
If you are facing an issue in creating the ID, create or use your Murena workspace ID as suggested here.

Security Patch Release Process explained here

We will be sharing a detailed document about our security policy.

Murena Cloud and Self-Hosting

Murena Cloud

Current Version: 32.0.6.11

Resources:

[Release Notes]( v32.0.6.11 · e / infra / ecloud / nextcloud · GitLab)

Self-Hosting

Current Version: v26.0.8.23

Resources:

Release Notes

Upgrade Guide

Status:

Self-hosting guide update pending

🔍 How to Check NextCloud Version

Method 1: Murena Settings

Go to Murena Settings

Look for “NextCloud xx user documentation”

Method 2: NextCloud Scan

Visit NextCloud scan link

Input https://murena.io

Note: If MurenaCloud patch number differs from NC patch number, the rating may appear as bad. This is normal - patches are tested before deployment.

GSI (Generic System Image)

Current Version: /e/OS A10 v1.17

Resources:

Download

Sources

Next Version: /e/OS T (A13) - skipping A11 and A12

Release dates to be announced

OS OTA Information

Note: OTA upgrades are for official or stable builds only

All official builds are candidates for upgrade to A16 or the next OS for which build is possible.

A device with an official build name if not mentioned in this list does not mean the device has been abandoned. We continue efforts to build for all official devices we ever sold on the Murena Store. Dates of release of these builds will be shared when available.

📢 Completed

FP6 - FP6 - A15 → A16
FP3 - FP3 - A13 → A15
OnePlus - Nord - avicii - A12 → A16
Teracube -2e - zirconia - A12 → A15
FP5 - Fairphone: A13 → A15
FP5 - Fairphone: A14 → A15
FP4 - Fairphone : A12 → A13
S9/9+ - Samsung : A11 → A12
GS290 - Gigaset : A11 → A12
GS290 - Gigaset : A10 → A11
FP3 - Fairphone : A12 → A13
S7/7+ - Samsung : A11 → A12
FP4 - Fairphone : A13 → A14
S8/8+ - Samsung : A11 → A12

🧪 Under Development and Testing

FP4 - FP4 - A14 → A16
FP5 - FP5 - A15 → A16
OnePlus - nord - avicii - A14 - A16
Galaxy S9* - A12 → A15 :crossed_finger
GS290* - A12 → A15 (v4.1.1) :crossed_fingers
Teracube - emerald - A15 → A16
Teracube - sapphire - A14 → A16
Teracube - zirconia - A15 → A16
Murena One - A12 → A16

📋 To Be Planned

This is the consolidated list of all devices which have an official build. The plan is to upgrade all to the latest build possible. This may not work for all devices as some are too old have already hit EOL from vendor and may not work on latest OS versions. Devices with ‘No Update’ come in this category.

Vendor	Name	CodeName	Current OS	Upgrade OS
Fairphone	FP6	FP6	A16	Already on A16
Fairphone	FP4	FP4	A14	A14 to A16
Fairphone	FP3/3+	FP3/3+	A15	A15 to A16
Fairphone	FP5	FP5	A15	A15 to A16
Gigaset	GS6/Pro	GS6_venus	A16	Already on A16
Gigaset	GS290	GS290	A12	A12 to A16
Google	Pixel 5	redfin	A13	A13 to A16
Google	Pixel 7	panther	A15	A15 to A16
Google	Pixel 8	shiba	A15	A15 to A16
Google	Pixel Tablet	tangorpro	A14	A14 to A16
Murena	One	One	A12	A15 or A16
Murena	Two	Two	A13	A13 to A16
Nothing	CMF Phone 1	tetris	A14	A14 to A16
OnePlus	Nord	avicii	A16	A12 to A16
Samsung	S9	starlte	A15	A12 to A16
Samsung	S9+	star2lte	A15	A12 to A16
Samsung	S7 *	herolte	A12	No updates
Samsung	S7+ *	hero2lte	A12	No updates
Samsung	S8 *	dreamlte	A12	No updates
Samsung	S8+ *	dream2lte	A12	No updates
SHIFT	SHIFTPhone 8	otter	A14	A14 to A16
Teracube	2e	zirconia	A15	A14 to A16
Teracube	2e	emerald	A15	A14 to A16
Teracube	2e	sapphire	A14	A14 to A16
Volla	volla tablet	mimir	A14	A14 to A16

(Devices marked with an ‘*’ have an issue with FDE encryption which requires format before the OS can be upgraded. This essential means there would be data loss. If we are able to build a A15 build for these devices, the user will have to manual install it and that would require first taking a backup of all data.)

Check the section titled A16 Updates below

📖 What is OS OTA Upgrade?

Traditional Process:

Download correct OS build from supported device list

Download stock ROM from vendor site (for some devices)

Back up your data

Install stock ROM, then /e/OS ROM

Restore backups if needed

OTA Benefits:

Simplifies the entire process

Requires significant development and testing

A17 or A16 Updates

We plan to update all devices currently on A12, A13, A14 and A15 to A16 or A17 once it is made /e/OS compatible
In case any device is not able of handling the A16 or A17 builds we will share that information.
The team expects that A16 would not be buildable or installable on some of the older gen devices like the Samsung S7 or S8. There could be more.
- For such devices we we will work on getting them to the highest OS version possible.
As you may be aware A12 does not receive security patches anymore. This will next impact A13 and so on. This is a standard Google policy to end of life (EOL) older Android versions.
All devices we sell in our shop, with official builds are priority candidates for OTA OS upgrade to A16.
- Official builds get OTA OS upgrades.
- Community devices require manual upgrade.
(Ideally in all cases, take backups while upgrading the OS of your device)

Miscellaneous Information

Real-Time Service Status

eCloud Real-Time Status

/e/OS Real-Time Status

New Gitlab account creation

If you are trying to create a new /e/OS Gitlab ID and facing issues with the email ID, you can try and create a Murena Workspace ID and use it to log into Gitlab. Check the updated documentation here

🎫 Helpdesk Services

For Paying Murena Customers

Murena device purchasers

Paid Murena cloud account holders

Active donors from the past year

Response Time

2-3 day response wait period due to high volume of requests.

Contact

Murena Helpdesk Contact Form

For Free Users

Forum

GitLab Issues

Telegram Channels

Warning: Old helpdesk email IDs are no longer monitored.

📱 Device and Vendor Announcements

Gigaset GS290

Sales stopped (vendor ceased production)

Support continues for existing users

Murena One

Sales stopped

Support continues for existing users

Murena Two

Sales stopped

Support continues for existing users

Pre-Flashed Devices

Available in EU, US, Canada, and Australia. Check the complete list on the Murena shop

Purchase via Murena Shop

🌐 /e/OS Website and Social Media Links

Official Websites

Telegram Channels

Social Media

Newsletters

To send in your Donations : Use the email ID donation@murena.io

Important Notice

Do Not Post Test Build Information on the Forum

Why this is important:

Test builds are untested and may cause device issues

These builds can potentially soft brick user devices

Such information can confuse other users who don’t see these builds in the updater

Not all forum users are experts in custom ROM installation

For Interested Testers:

If you understand custom ROMs and can perform basic testing

Join the testing team

Share feedback on the dedicated Telegram channel

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

Chris8 · August 11, 2026, 1:03pm

v4.2
List of fixes coming as part of v4.2

Whenever I follow the link above, it gets me to the milestone page, not the list of coming fixes.

Do I need to do something else instead ?

Manoj · August 11, 2026, 1:19pm

The milestones page with the filter set to v4.2 is what has the information of what fixes comes as part of each release. Click on any one of the urls and it will show you the list of issues category wise that are a part of each build. Some will get resolved others will fail during QA. The ones that fail are assigned back to the respective developers and will be moved to a subsequent release cycle.

Chris8 · August 11, 2026, 2:41pm

Thanks, tried that before but it didn’t show anything, but now some of them did !

postal8555 · August 11, 2026, 7:06pm

Any news about bringing back Seedvault and the freedom for users to backup on their own infrastructure instead of someone else’s servers?

Manoj · August 12, 2026, 5:10am

The development is at present focused on Murena Backup. You can check the code here. As mentioned earlier we are working on adding more backup options to this code.
The team would look at adding seedvault code back by V4.3

kilou · August 12, 2026, 7:05am

I would be grateful if you could pass the message to the team that this is not a correct way to proceed. Removing a perfectly working backup tool to replace it with a beta that is tied to a paid proprietary cloud is something that we expect from Google and Co, not Murena. Especially since there have been no prior information to users that Seedvault would be removed. Now we have to wait for v4.3 (crossing fingers…) to get back a major feature back without proper and viable backup solution in-between (besides paying $$$ to Murena to get a larger cloud storage). Sounds pretty unfair to me. Maybe it is time to consider alternatives.

fiebertraum · August 12, 2026, 2:09pm

I really appreciate your work!

But the loss of the seedvault function really shocked me. I couldn’t lock my bootloader, because of that.

I made my new account only to point out, how important this function is for me.

Manoj · August 12, 2026, 10:28pm

Seedvault should be back by v4.3. The team would be adding it as one of the options in the Backup screen. The ability to add other backup options on the same screen is also being considered.

kilou · August 13, 2026, 7:40am

So no ability to backup before v4.3 which is probably 2 months from now… Sorry but this is not acceptable for me on the official release. Considering moving to IodéOS at the moment. Thanks for your efforts on this forum, it’s great someone like you is present for the users but unfortunately last decisions from Murena are really incomprehensible to me. There is a test channel to develop new features, that should not be done on the official chanel leaving users with no option but to wait for a feature as critical as a backup tool.

AnotherElk · August 13, 2026, 10:50am

I know it’s convenient to have a working backup tool, and I don’t necessarily understand why Murena handled this now the way they did (unless they like to face a good shitstorm now and then), but there was a time before Seedvault, and users still had to do backups. It was possible, even if not convenient, and it is possible now, too.

This state of affairs now is not good, but it’s not as much the end of the world as it’s made out to be.

I tried Seedvault for a backup and restore not too long ago, and in the end it messed the restore up so bad I had to reinstall the OS again and just restored everything the hard way (which I was prepared for additionally because I’m paranoid, and rightfully so).

I hope everybody using Seedvault for backups tried a restore once successfully to have some confidence in it as the backup solution of choice .

kilou · August 13, 2026, 12:25pm

Indeed, it’s not the end of the world. It’s just time for me to consider another ROM as I don’t like such kind of abrupt changes without notice on an official release. For me, this is an attempt to trap users into paying for a Murena cloud account, nothing else. It’s great to develop Murena Backup, no question about that. But you cannot push an update on the official channel and not mention in the release notes of 4.1.1 that Seedvault was actually removed completely and that the Murena backup tool is completely unusable without buying additional storage for Murena! Although Seedvault is not perfect, it did work for me. The core issue is not really technical. It is more about trust in Murena and how decisions are made. On one hand @Manoj is doing a great job to keep us informed on this forum about future evolutions of e/OS but on the other hand the team is omitting major information from the release notes of an official update. Sorry, that is a bit too much for my taste. I got an FP6 to have the freedom to change ROM and not be trapped into decisions like that so will consider using that freedom now.

AnotherElk · August 13, 2026, 12:32pm

It’s certainly good to have this freedom.
I wouldn’t want to miss this either.

GabrielT · August 13, 2026, 9:53pm

Could not agree more.

To the different persons complaining about the loss of seedvault, I have two questions for you:

Did you ever succeed to restore a useful backup using seedvault ?
And was the content of the backup of any practical use ?

I have tried the original seedvault implementation countless times, using a. USB-stick, b. the SD-card or c. even the internal storage of the phone and then copying the files to a PC.
In the first two cases a. & b., the backup simply failed most of the time, so nothing was saved.

In the last case c. of saving in local storage then moving the files to a PC, the saving process did succeed partially but not reliably: some apps were not saved at all during the first backups, but would be saved during another try. For the apps that were luckily saved, most of the time, only the installation file of the app was saved because of the Android specification limit that allows an app developer to block the saving of the app-data. Needless to say that ending up only with apps installation files is nearly entirely useless. Most important apps had to be re-configured (login) manually as the backup restoration.

But more importantly, did seedvault save anything useful ?

For the very few apps that allow the saving of app-data, yes, we were able to recover the app config and data, but in practise most apps do not allow it and we will still have to go through time consuming re-configuration of the web browser for example.
But what about all the other more important data that a user wants to be saved in a backup ? Did it save the content of the internal storage ? No at all ! Did it save all the settings of the system that take so much time to configure ? No. Did it save the icon layout of the main screen, or the background picture ? No. Did it save the words entered in the personal dictionary ? No. Did it save contacts ? NO. Did it save Agenda ? No. Did it save SMS messages ? No

If seedvault users agree with those observations, then what are we complaining about ? we should rejoice that seedvault was removed and happy that Murena is trying to developp something better, more comprehensive (contacts+agenda) and automated and more reliable even if it based in part on seedvault.

Let’s look at the past when TWRP was able to make a perfect mirror image of the phone, I used to love it because even my bank passkey was copied and restored from the backup ! But now that phone encryption has evolved, TWRP perfect backup does not work anymore. I am not complaining about the new recovery missing that feature, I acknowledge that the improved encryption is a good evolution even though we have had for years to manually reset all the system configuration parameters each time we re-install the system on a telephone, which is a big time loss.

Temporarily, my backup is smaller than 1Go so it fits in the free cloud of Murena and I can copy it somewhere else, and soon /e/OS will allow to save that backup in any nextcloud server.

And as @AnotherElk said, you can use today the recommended PackageManager app that does a much better job than the implementation of seedvault we had so far … Just follow this guide, as said, it is not the end of the world, it actually works better.

How to Backup and Restore your /e/OS phone

So anyone will be able soon to be independent of Murena even using /e/OS backup solution. Freedom of choice is always good for competition and is even enforced by the law on competition. Iodé is good because regulated competition fosters progress, feel free to try the competition and remind Murena that they also have to follow the law on system openness (on their finished product, not betas), like Microsoft being forced to allow the installation of competitors’ web-browsers or cloud-file synchronisation systems (by making an open API), but let’s not say that we miss seedvault .

Do you know why the support page on backing-up /e/ OS does not mention seedvault at all ? Because they tried it and observed it is barely working and does not save anything useful. One of the admin even said in this forum that they started working on a new backup solution because of how unsatisfying seedvault was. Thanks @tcecyk for pointing that part of Murena-backup solution is a seedvault fork with the ability to save system apps, most importantly the settings app but also local contacts, accounts, local agenda, SMS, etc. That alone makes a huge difference compared to the previously useless seedvault implementation.

I am very happy that Murena is trying to improve seedvault by implementing a full solution even if they had to break or remove seedvautl just to release sooner their work. And in the future when the backup feature will not be in beta anymore, they said they will offer the possibility not to use their servers.

tcecyk · August 14, 2026, 1:32am

foundation.e.backup is a forked seedvault as cited in the gitlab project byline. Diff upstream android16 or android17 branch to see what has changed.

The advantage is adding foundation.e.backup to the backup allowlist of the core/system apps if you check their repos android manifest.

(Edit: I think productized forks are fine - offering upstream seedvault too should be a good compromise, will cost ~17MB image size)

Manoj · August 14, 2026, 3:14am

The decision to switch to an alternative to SeedVault was triggered in part by the number of complaints we received from users about it not working as expected. It was also not fully implemented in /e/OS.

Murena Backup is expected to address these concerns and will be the default backup solution in upcoming builds.
We will also provide users with the option to link other backup applications of their choice. The limitation is that only one backup solution can be active on a device at a time, which means multiple backup solutions cannot run simultaneously on the same device.

We expect the option to use SeedVault to return in /e/OS with v4.3.

The concern raised by users about the sudden removal of SeedVault without prior notice has been conveyed to the team.

kilou · August 14, 2026, 4:34am

I don’t think they had to, they just chose to but that is only my opinion. And if seedvault were that bad, what would be the point to get it back in v4.3 then? If some users (incl myself) complain, it is not because seedvault was perfect but because replacing a backup solution (which worked for me for what is was meant too) with a limited beta software without prior notice should never happen on the stable channel. There is the test channel to make those changes! As said, the problem is trust mostly: who knows what they are going to push without notice to the stable channel now? Release notes are there for a reason…

But thanks to @Manoj for having passed the message to the team.

SCOT1 · August 14, 2026, 3:10pm

Any new devices soon be sold with /e/OS , especially Pixels ?

Manoj · August 15, 2026, 5:10am

We are testing a couple of devices. For now, not sharing the names as at times some of these devices do not qualify for /e/OS integration and are dropped. Will post the names once the team is ready and also when QA gives us the green light to go ahead with a launch.

SCOT1 · August 15, 2026, 7:33am

@Manoj

OK , thx !! Hope during some months is possible !!