That counts if your mom is on Pie. If she is on Q, you’re lucky.
Oh okay. Idk but she doesn’t have data on their FP3, everything is on their Drive.
Just installed Android S in a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (gta4xlwifi) using sideload. Seems to be working well.
https://images.ecloud.global/dev/gta4xlwifi/
[e-1.5.1-s-20221103231515-dev-gta4xlwifi.zip]
You can keep install files to always be able to install a certain OS version again.
You can use tools like MyPhoneExplorer to easily backup and restore most of the user stuff including SMS, contacts and the whole so-called Internal Storage.
You can easily copy the Internal Storage via USB without additional tools.
You can install individual Apps again (even if this can be tedious if you use many Apps).
What you can’t cover this way is OS settings as well as Apps data and settings.
This stuff resides in the data partition, but not in Internal Storage, which is only a subdirectory on the data partition. Unless the phone is rooted, the user can’t access this part of the data partition.
TWRP is a way to get this stuff (by backing up the data partition), but in case of Fairphone 3/3+ needs keeping the bootloader unlocked to be able to boot TWRP when needed.
A rooted ADB shell is a way to get this stuff (doesn’t need a rooted phone, but the OS must implement Rooted Debugging, stable /e/OS builds might not do this, dev builds do) … a backup solution using this was explored here … [HOWTO] Backup and Restore Data on Android Devices - #36 by petefoth.
Otherwise you would have to explore data export/import options for individual Apps as well as set up the settings of the OS and your Apps again manually. Not nice, but having taken care of the other stuff is not nothing.
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Unfortunately OS settings and App data is what I’m looking for. All the registration, account setting are tedious work. 
And with a locked bootloader I’m dependent on a OS upgrade.
With a stable build it would seem this way, yes.
I wonder if the following would be possible for someone with an FP3 on Pie stable. It’s only speculation on my part, so it would need to be confirmed by someone in the know.
- Flash the Pie dev build without wiping data
- Enable adb root debugging in developer settings
- Boot TWRP without installing it on the device
- Do the backup. Instructions needed here.
- Do the upgrade to Q or higher with Easy Installer or manually.
- Restore backup. How?
You might wanna test Neo Backup from f-droid (needs izzyondroid repo) or github. I haven’t used it, but heard some good feedback about it.
Edit. Just noticed that it requires root, but I still leave this here.
After checking my xz2c for ‘S’ via install doc, I have just read that I can sideload it and therefore upgrade from R to S…(I would create backup even though it does not state it 
) I was wondering why and a post before it was mentioned, unlocked bootloader. Confusingly in the FP3 install doc the same procedure is stated, although the bootloader can be locked. Shouldn’t this be changed?
Hi
What instructions did u use?
I thought about upgrading my Murena S9 which is still on Android 10 to the dev build. It seems that there will be no more OTA upgrades for sold devices after they got one. If this is not possible I’m definitely be disapointed.
It’s a shame that now the older S8 gets Android 12 and the newer S9 is stuck on Android 10. Gettings OS upgrades OTA was the key for deciding to buy a Murena phone.
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Hi! I wouldn’t have done this in a daily driver phone. I believe that /e/ will find a better solution for Murena phones like yours (and my FP4), at least using Easy Installer if OTA upgrade is not viable.
Having said that, just for curiosity, I followed the following steps:
- Download the file with the update/upgrade and rename it to something easy to remember like
update.zip - Enable USB Debugging on your phone
- Make sure battery is charged
- Plug your phone to your computer making sure to use a good usb cable for data transfer
- Open Terminal
- Type
adb reboot recovery - After reboot choose
apply update from adb - Then
adb sideload update.zip - After installation restart your device
Once again, personally, I wouldn’t try sideload update in a daily driver phone.
S8 users will very much appreciate this level of empathy towards them, I suppose. Well done.
/e/OS on the S8 is currently still based on Android 9 (Pie), with /e/OS update support dropped several months ago, with security update support for the Android 9 base dropped by Google even longer.
On the S9 /e/OS is currently based on Android 10 (Q), getting updates, still with some time of security update support left.
The S8 is getting an upgrade at all (if developers succeed) with some recent Android. Good thing it’s 12 then, which should have this device covered for a while, giving some more time to developers to consider the situation on other devices.
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I still hope to see the S9 move to android 12 in OTA. That’s the strategy I chose when I switched to /e/OS, see what phone was on their store to get the same model to be pretty sure I had maximum convenience.
It remains to be seen if this strategy is good.
The sentence below gives me good hope:
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Thanks to the whole team for /e/OS S for FP4 
My bad, /e/OS S isn’t available yet but the tuto yes : /e/OS Version Upgrade
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FP4 OTA upgrade to S is now starting to test in the dev gruop.
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My FP3 has a locked bootloader and was able to boot TWRP fine via fastboot.
Pics or didn’t happen .
Does the screen in fastboot mode really say “DEVICE STATE - locked”, or do you refer to the OEM unlock toggle in the Android Settings … which doesn’t lock or unlock the bootloader, only toggles whether the unlocking procedure would be allowed or not.
Please check this. Possibly having an unlocked bootloader assuming it would be locked is more unsecure than leaving it unlocked deliberately.
If it indeed is as you say I would consider something seriously broken, a locked bootloader should prevent booting anything other than what is installed.
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Yeah I was too exited when i saw the tuto to upgrade on /e/OS S but it’s not available yet so just wainting 
What??
I know it’s a significant dev/test effort to implement OTA updates, but announcing an OTA and canceling it many months later is really not cool.
Especially for phones that were bought preinstalled with /e/, from the /e/ shop (I bought a FP3 there in October 2020 for a relative, based on Android 9 at that time).
We’re stuck on /e/ OS 0.23 since April 2022. It already caused technical issues, like some apps not working on it (“Instax Mini Link” requires version 1.5 of /e/ OS, probably because of its updated microG), or Signal not being updated because of lack of AppLounge: https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/backlog/-/issues/5791 where @Manoj said (on August 3):
Hi @mossroy the OTA OS upgrade for the FP3 is planned but as, yet we do not have an ETA for it. Which means we are working on it, but are not able to predict as to when we will be done with it. You need not manually flash the OS. We will inform all users on the forum and channels about the upgrade as and when it would be available.
Not everybody is able to use the EasyInstaller, so you’ll leave some customers with this outdated /e/ 0.23.
I’m able to use it, and can do the upgrade for my relatives and I. But please do the necessary to transfer all the data (apps and their data/settings etc), or a relevant procedure for that. It’s usually a real problem for a regular user to loose that (especially when it’s on a single device: no way to compare before/after or use a built-in transfer tool of some apps)
I’m a Patreon monthly donator, because I want to support this great platform. Even if I know it does not give me any special “rights” or “privileges”
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