Week 45, 2022: Development and Testing Updates

/e/OS Smartphone Operating System Development Updates
1

Builds and Releases

v1.5

Status : :green_circle: Released

Release notes

Feedback on v1.5

  • Share your feedback and vote on v1.5

Missed out in v1.5

  • The microG v0.2.25.223616 update could not make it into v1.5 as the testing started before the release :disappointed:
  • We will announce when this version can be released.

/e/OS ‘S’ builds

Status : :green_circle: Released :new:

/e/OS version : v1.5

Devices getting /e/OS ‘S’

  • /e/OS ‘S’ will be a manual update for users. The documentation has been updated to include the links for manual download. It would require users to sideload. Take a backup of your data before proceeding.

ETA : Released :new:

GSI

v1.5

Status: :green_circle: Released

  • Download here
    • Sources available here
  • S and R version of GSI to be planned based on availability of a developer

OS OTA upgrades

Status: :green_circle: Ongoing

Completed

  • FP3 Q to R :new:
  • OnePlus Nord Q to R (stable build)
  • Samsung s7/ s7+
  • Samsung s9 / s9+

Upcoming

  • Samsung s8 /s8+
    • Pie to S OTA upgrade
    • 2 critical issues were detected with the build. There is an issue around this but it marked internal by the team. Unless resolved we will not be able to release this build. For now the team is working on resolving these issues in the upgrade build.
    • ETA : To be announced :crossed_fingers:

FP3 OS OTA Upgrade - Q to R :new:

The FP3 Q to R OTA OS upgrade builds have been released with v1.5.

On the FP3 Pie to Q / R we will upgrade the Easy Installer to help with this update. The only difference would be this would be a manual effort, unlike an OTA upgrade. Also, the users will have to take a backup of their data as the upgrade will wipe all data before updating.

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.

/e/OS S

Status: :green_circle: Testing started

  • 80+ devices planned for /e/OS S or Android 12 upgrade. List updated :new:

  • Release will be in monthly batches of 20 devices.

  • For device details, check this list for the device names

  • More devices will be added for upgrade

  • /e/OS S code is now accessible to all

  • ETA : With v1.5

Unofficial ROM build refer the section ROM Builders - Unofficial and Custom

Bug clean up !!!

Status: :green_circle: In Progress

Till end of this year, the development team will be focusing on closing out some of the critical bugs in Gitlab. The builds post v1.5 will be coming out early 2023.

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

11 Likes
2

Does that means we will receive weekly minor updates like 1.5.1, 1.5.2 ans so on ?

3

Am I getting this right? Every Pie user (includes me) waited for months and beyond the EOL of Android 9 on FP3 for an OTA Upgrade to not lose any data while upgrading and now the way to go is to reinstall the OS completely anyway? Which was the inconvenient way to go from months ago.

Did those Pie users wait for nothing at all? :zipper_mouth_face:

Will the backup/restore process work as seamless as an OTA upgrade would do? I’m a little baffled here.

9 Likes
4

No :smile: The next build would be v1.6 when it comes in. Which should have the cleaned up code + other fixes and patches

3 Likes
5

This is not satisfying. Why is that? My phone finally received the update from Q to R with 1.5, why the same process can’t be used for S?
Besides Samsung S8 benefit from an over the air update; why is it only for this specific model?

2 Likes
6

Does ALL the devices in the list will get the S build this week?

7

“Release will be in monthly batches of 20 devices.”

1 Like
8

Hello @Canard. The OS upgrade needs to be implemented for each and every device and for every version. So everytime it is an individual effort to get from Pie to Q or R to S on device xyz. There is know-how build up but the work still needs to be done. That is what I understand from following every weekly update.

2 Likes
9

Hello @mihi I understand that there is an effort to make things work. What I do not understand is why this will be done only for Samsung S8. This is an effort that needs to be done to a much larger number of phones. If Samsung S8 is the first one; why not? but the same work has to be done right after for other phones.
This work was done for Q to R and needs to be done for R to S, etc.
On a side note I am fully in line with @Libre comment even if I am not in this situation.

2 Likes
10

It isn’t only done for the S8, and the S8 is not the first phone being worked on in this regard. Just have a look at the first post, section OS OTA upgrades.

Basic OS version upgrades in-place via updater trying to leave everything user-related intact are always tricky, not only in the Android world, because you simply can’t reliably foresee every possible state an OS installation might be in on any random device. You can test extensively, of course, but you have no chance to cover every possibility.

In the Android world at least the work additionally has to be done per device and per OS upgrade step. It’s complicated and needs a lot of work, and this lot of work has to be done by somebody somewhen, you can’t just wave a magic wand.
Do you have funds available to pay more developers, by any chance :wink: ?

If you want to be independent of such efforts in general, you as a user can make sure that you have a working backup strategy, so that installing a new OS version from scratch including a data wipe is always a valid option for you.
Apart from needing an OS upgrade, your phone can break or otherwise fail you at any time.

OTA upgrades via updater are a very commendable effort, but try to see them more as a nice bonus for convenience. They might not work out trouble-free for 100% of the users trying them anyway, they are tricky to do for reasons.

3 Likes
11

Android S is now out for my Oneplus 5. Many thanks for that! I am always happy when the lifetime of my smartphone increases. :slight_smile:

From the custom rom scene I know that for major upgrades it is rather advised to do a clean reinstall. Would you recommend trying the upgrade (via sideload) or would you advise against it and instead delete all partitions directly and reinstall?

1 Like
12

Thanks for the info, I just checked and Android S is there for the FP3 as well. Might have a plan for the weekend now. :slight_smile:

4 Likes
13

It is not written in this section that there will be any other OTA S upgrade than for the Samsung S8.

I’m not sure where this kind of comment can lead the discussion to. Every bug to solve obviously costs money. Every new feature asked for in this forum also costs money to implement. This is not a reason why I should refrain from giving my opinion regarding what is important to me. The team regularly asks for feedback and it is a very good thing to do; I do not expect them to start sending quotes when they receive comments.

I am not convinced. I stay on my opinion that it is a must have and not nice to have.

1 Like
14

For FP4 users, no TWRP available at the moment, so no possible full backup, so no possible manual S installation I guess :slightly_frowning_face:

15

Hi ! Thanks for the quick upgrade ! Are the current FP3 install guides up to date ? I’m having trouble understanding the contents of the newest archive file.
Has anyone tried to upgrade its FP3 ?

1 Like
16

Hi!
I’ll wait for the easy installer update:

“On the FP3 Pie to Q / R we will upgrade the Easy Installer to help with this update. The only difference would be this would be a manual effort, unlike an OTA upgrade. Also, the users will have to take a backup of their data as the upgrade will wipe all data before updating.”

17

Great for FP3 users, so for my mom :metal:

18

I’m very curious how a backup should work without root. As you I was waiting since months for the OTA upgrade since I don’t know any way how to backup my app data without root (pictures, SMS, etc. are easy).

So if there is no big surprise people who bought the FP3 in the murena shop will lose all their data or stick forever with Pie…

For me, the lack of na OTA upgrade makes me really considering switching from murena to LOS (or others).

3 Likes
19

If you want to wipe all the data of your mom’s phone.

20

Why ? I dont understand.