Week 5, 2023: Development and Testing Updates

Releases

v1.7

Status : :green_circle: Released

Release Notes

Device build(s) that failed

  • zuk z2_plus
  • Team working on a resolution. Expect build to be released with v1.8

Share your feedback and vote on v1.7

Previous releases & user feedback

SafetyNet - Keep it or Remove it

Last week Gaël created a post on the forum seeking users comments and votes on how to proceed with SafetyNet

Self-hosted eCloud upgrade

Self hosted Ecloud has been upgraded to NextCloud 23.
Check this guide for help with the upgrade

Upcoming Releases

  • v1.8

    • ETA mid Feb :crossed_fingers:
  • Milestones

    • The list may have multiple entries for a build
    • Check for the RC (release candidate) build for that version
    • The tentative ETA for the public release of a build would be usually a week after the final rc build

GSI

v1.7

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: Ongoing

Completed

  • FP4 >> R ( A11) to S (A12)
  • 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 ::new:

Upcoming / under development

  • FP3 → Android 12(S)
  • OnePlus Nord → Android 12 (S)
  • Galaxy S9/S9+ Q (A10)→ Android 11 (R)

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.


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

10 Likes

Hi Manoj,

My S8 is still on 0.23. No upgrade available :frowning_face:

Edit: finally, my S8 has received 1.7 this morning! All is ok! Many thanks to Murena team :clap:

1 Like

That’s great news, thank you! :slight_smile:

5 Likes

Hi Manoj, recently I asked about stable S builds.

From this list I see only the FP4 has stable S:

Is there an ETA for the other devices? (Except FP3 and One Plus Nord)

That is definitely the plan. We will upgrade the builds to S stable where possible. Will share the ETAs once I have some more inputs on this.

4 Likes

What is the link to that list please.

The list is here: Smartphone Selector

1 Like

So great! S8 upgrade to R stable! Works gently! Big ThX to murena team

Is the S8+ Upgrade fully released? Still no upgrade available for me…

If you are on a stable build, then try to refresh more times.

If you are on dev, then you can sideload it.

If you don’t know if stable or dev, then check this Wiki:

2 Likes

ohh now I understand. Danke dir viel Mal!

If Android 12 is available for a phone, will only Android 12 be getting future updates?

Since we would be releasing only one build per device the latest version would be getting the updates.

1 Like

So good to see that S9 is getting OTA upgrade to A11. Is there an explanation why not A12 as the other OTA do, @Manoj ?

We will release OS upgrades where ever possible. Especially for the devices we sell.

The upgrades to A12 or A13, and further, come with their own complications. As detailed in the initial post, the Pie to Q/R upgrades for the FP3 did not work out as there were changes in the encryption process on the device.

For now it is an upgrade to A11 for the FP3. Will share details as to when we plan to upgrade to A12 and also if it is not possible.

3 Likes

Nice that there is finally an update for the Samsung Galaxy S8. Is very much appreciated and thanks everyone who has worked on this. That said: Are there also people who suffer that outlook no longer works? I tried to reinstall outlook with my data, but I keep getting stuck. I have a business account that is linked to my calendar. I now have another mail client, but I can no longer sync my calendar anywhere.