LineageOS, Current status : 16.0 Test Builds

[tdm 2,322]

I am pleased to announce test builds for LineageOS 16.0.

 

Please note this thread is for test builds.  These builds are not necessarily stable or suitable for daily use.

 

You can find the build(s) and detailed installation instructions here:

 

Lineage on FxTec Pro1 Test Builds

 

Please report any issues here and I will do my best to fix them.

 

Thanks!

 

[phix 14]

Any trouble? The link only contains this error message: "The service is not available. Please try again later."

[tdm 2,322]

15 minutes ago, phix said:

Any trouble? The link only contains this error message: "The service is not available. Please try again later."

It works for me.  Is anyone else having issues?

files.nwwn.com should have address 144.91.102.195.  I switched servers in the last few days but DNS should have been updated some time ago.

 

EDIT: reproduced the issue, investigating.

EDIT: the issue seems to be IPv6.

EDIT: fixed, new IPv6 address should propagate within an hour.

 

Edited November 29, 2019 by tdm

[SteffenWi 139]

Just FYI because it took me > 2 minutest  to find anything on this: The A/B issue with gapps is described here -> https://lineageos.org/Changelog-19/

[tdm 2,322]

2 hours ago, SteffenWi said:

Just FYI because it took me > 2 minutest  to find anything on this: The A/B issue with gapps is described here -> https://lineageos.org/Changelog-19/

I am surprised the A/B issue with gapps issue has gone on for so long.  The Pro1 is my second A/B device (the first being 1+6t) and I'm getting rather irritated with the situation.  Hopefully someone can do something to fix this soon.  For my part, I think I'm going to start doing my personal builds with bundled gapps.

 

Another thought is to just re-pave the Pro1 without A/B support.  And switch from FDE to FBE while I'm at it.  This would solve several issues:

 * No more A/B compatibility headaches.

 * Gain an extra ~4gb or so for data.

 * Allow system boot without stopping at the PIN entry screen.

 

Of course, this would require a full EDL flash to switch from stock <-> lineage.  But you only do that on very rare occasion.

 

Does anyone have any strong thoughts on this idea?

 

[Benni 183]

I quite like the seamless updates ... and coming from a device where I needed to reflash the partition information (Oppo find7) I can tell that the forums are full of people who either bricked their device or failed to switch.

[silversolver 849]

44 minutes ago, tdm said:

I am surprised the A/B issue with gapps issue has gone on for so long.  The Pro1 is my second A/B device (the first being 1+6t) and I'm getting rather irritated with the situation.  Hopefully someone can do something to fix this soon.  For my part, I think I'm going to start doing my personal builds with bundled gapps.

 

Another thought is to just re-pave the Pro1 without A/B support.  And switch from FDE to FBE while I'm at it.  This would solve several issues:

 * No more A/B compatibility headaches.

 * Gain an extra ~4gb or so for data.

 * Allow system boot without stopping at the PIN entry screen.

 

Of course, this would require a full EDL flash to switch from stock <-> lineage.  But you only do that on very rare occasion.

 

Does anyone have any strong thoughts on this idea?

 

Don't use GspyApps? :) That's my strongest thought.

[tdm 2,322]

31 minutes ago, kontakt said:

I quite like the seamless updates ... and coming from a device where I needed to reflash the partition information (Oppo find7) I can tell that the forums are full of people who either bricked their device or failed to switch.

Seamless updates are pretty much the one and only reason for A/B to exist. There is a tradeoff with data though -- you lose about 4gb of data storage. That's not insignificant.

 

As for the find7, people tried to provide hacked up partitioning solutions. There were bound to be bricked devices. I used a find7 and loved it back in 2014, but unfortunately I never got the time to do a proper partition flash tool.

 

I have all the tools that I need to completely rebuild and reflash the Pro1 just like the factory does. It's literally impossible to fully brick when you have these tools.

 

I know some people would be nervous about doing a full EDL flash. So perhaps the best idea might be to make two device variants, like some devs did with the find7/find7u.

 

Any more thoughts?

 

[silversolver 849]

Just now, tdm said:

Seamless updates are pretty much the one and only reason for A/B to exist. There is a tradeoff with data though -- you lose about 4gb of data storage. That's not insignificant.

 

As for the find7, people tried to provide hacked up partitioning solutions. There were bound to be bricked devices. I used a find7 and loved it back in 2014, but unfortunately I never got the time to do a proper partition flash tool.

 

I have all the tools that I need to completely rebuild and reflash the Pro1 just like the factory does. It's literally impossible to fully brick when you have these tools.

 

I know some people would be nervous about doing a full EDL flash. So perhaps the best idea might be to make two device variants, like some devs did with the find7/find7u.

 

Any more thoughts?

 

I'd LOVE to know what all those tools are! Are we discussing something beyond fastboot + USB? It seems like that would be all that's needed.

[tdm 2,322]

4 minutes ago, silversolver said:

I'd LOVE to know what all those tools are! Are we discussing something beyond fastboot + USB? It seems like that would be all that's needed.

It's called EDL, also sometimes called "deep flash". This is a protocol baked into the device boot ROM (real ROM -- read only memory). The factory uses this to flash the device from scratch. I have access to it.

 

[Benni 183]

18 minutes ago, tdm said:

Seamless updates are pretty much the one and only reason for A/B to exist. There is a tradeoff with data though -- you lose about 4gb of data storage. That's not insignificant.

 

As for the find7, people tried to provide hacked up partitioning solutions. There were bound to be bricked devices. I used a find7 and loved it back in 2014, but unfortunately I never got the time to do a proper partition flash tool.

 

I have all the tools that I need to completely rebuild and reflash the Pro1 just like the factory does. It's literally impossible to fully brick when you have these tools.

 

I know some people would be nervous about doing a full EDL flash. So perhaps the best idea might be to make two device variants, like some devs did with the find7/find7u.

 

Any more thoughts?

 

I'm actually back to using the find7, as my moto z died waiting for the pro1.

As far as I know, you could also not really brick the find7. The big issue is people not knowing what they are doing.

Are 4gb worth it on a 128gb device?

[silversolver 849]

6 hours ago, tdm said:

It's called EDL, also sometimes called "deep flash". This is a protocol baked into the device boot ROM (real ROM -- read only memory). The factory uses this to flash the device from scratch. I have access to it.

 

Is this access costly to acquire, or can one gain such power with common household tools and esoteric but financially accessible software?

[Craig 1,435]

I think you need to buy/make a cable too...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EDL-2-IN-1-CABLE-USB-MICRO-TYPE-C-DEEP-FLASH-MODE-Z3X-INFINITY-FALCON-NCK/223514622704

[Polaris 423]

8 hours ago, tdm said:

Another thought is to just re-pave the Pro1 without A/B support.  And switch from FDE to FBE while I'm at it.  This would solve several issues:

 * No more A/B compatibility headaches.

 * Gain an extra ~4gb or so for data.

 * Allow system boot without stopping at the PIN entry screen.

 

Of course, this would require a full EDL flash to switch from stock <-> lineage.  But you only do that on very rare occasion.

 

Does anyone have any strong thoughts on this idea?

 

Now we are talking!  I'm all for it!  The EDL flash doesn't scare me one bit.

[Polaris 423]

7 hours ago, silversolver said:

Don't use GspyApps? :) That's my strongest thought.

Amen!  A good thought at that!  As much as I like the idea of axing the A/B configuration, it's DEFINITELY not because I would want to install GcrApps/GspyApps.  Amazing how many people claim they are so concerned about security and privacy then let big tech into just about every minute of their lives.  To each their own, but don't count me in that (mislead) bunch.

[Polaris 423]

By the way, and I should have posted this first... Thank you tdm for all your hard work in getting LOS to work on the Pro1.  I'm interested in a Pro1, but will only use it when a custom ROM is available.  Thus, I have been patiently waiting for this to come to fruition.  Might very well be time to place an order as it appears I'll get it by Christmas (-JUST KIDDING! On the Christmas part, not kidding on placing an order).

[silversolver 849]

1 minute ago, Polaris said:

By the way, and I should have posted this first... Thank you tdm for all your hard work in getting LOS to work on the Pro1.  I'm interested in a Pro1, but will only use it when a custom ROM is available.  Thus, I have been patiently waiting for this to come to fruition.  Might very well be time to place an order as it appears I'll get it by Christmas (-JUST KIDDING! On the Christmas part, not kidding on placing an order).

Hey, it's like the old Irish joke: "Two Irishman walk out of a Dublin pub."

It COULD happen! 😛

[tdm 2,322]

53 minutes ago, silversolver said:

Is this access costly to acquire, or can one gain such power with common household tools and esoteric but financially accessible software?

Well it depends what you mean. The protocols are qcom proprietary. I have the specs because I worked on this stuff at cyngn. The factory package for the Pro1 has been shared to developers by FxTec.

 

As for EDL cables, they should not be needed unless something goes very wrong. The Pro1 boot loader enters EDL if you hold both volume keys when you power it on. And in a pinch you can McGuyver it with a small strand of copper wire and a steady hand.

 

[Polaris 423]

6 minutes ago, silversolver said:

It COULD happen! 😛

Having not yet placed an order and having an order number at 30xxx (or whatever), I'm not planning on holding my breath!  I still use a Droid4 (yes, I can already hear all the gasps) so as long as it's available with a reasonably stable custom ROM by Jan 2021 (when we'll be screwed into using, errr... I mean transitioned over to, VoLTE) I've got a whole year. Heh! [Feet up as I enjoy typing this on my ancient, but still very usable, tactile QWERTY keyboard]

[Polaris 423]

2 minutes ago, tdm said:

And in a pinch you can McGuyver it with a small strand of copper wire and a steady hand.

Very cool!  I have millions of strands of copper wire over here and very steady hands. 😀👍

[silversolver 849]

10 hours ago, Polaris said:

Having not yet placed an order and having an order number at 30xxx (or whatever), I'm not planning on holding my breath!  I still use a Droid4 (yes, I can already hear all the gasps) so as long as it's available with a reasonably stable custom ROM by Jan 2021 (when we'll be screwed into using, errr... I mean transitioned over to, VoLTE) I've got a whole year. Heh! [Feet up as I enjoy typing this on my ancient, but still very usable, tactile QWERTY keyboard]

Ditto! Replying on it now, as usual. :) LOS 14?

[silversolver 849]

11 hours ago, tdm said:

Well it depends what you mean. The protocols are qcom proprietary. I have the specs because I worked on this stuff at cyngn. The factory package for the Pro1 has been shared to developers by FxTec.

 

As for EDL cables, they should not be needed unless something goes very wrong. The Pro1 boot loader enters EDL if you hold both volume keys when you power it on. And in a pinch you can McGuyver it with a small strand of copper wire and a steady hand.

 

So in other words, the hardware is common, but to get the software I'd need.....a connection. :)

[SteffenWi 139]

Uhm, so I really would feel uncomfortable with fiddling around with a copper wire on a device that cost >600€. Could we maybe not do that? Also I like the idea of A/B partitioning.

And @Polaris

And if you are aware on how Google is spying on you, maybe use SailfishOS? I want LineageOS because I can install GApps and use the Playstore while at the same time not having to worry about the vendor being responsible for security updates and similiar things and being able to use the pico version of Gapps, just because I don't need or want the majority of Google applications, not because I am somehow afraid of a corporation 'spying' on me.

Edited December 1, 2019 by SteffenWi

[SteffenWi 139]

@tdm as for flashing, I'm stuck at

fastboot flash boot_a ~/Downloads/lineage-16.0-pro1-test1-boot.img 

it gets stuck there with

Sending 'boot_a' (65536 KB)

and just hangs there. I repeated two times by restarting the bootloader without success. I waited for ~10 minutes for it to do anything but no success.

fastboot devices

does output the Pro1.

I made sure to be connected via USB2 and I tried differen USB cables.

Edited December 1, 2019 by SteffenWi

[tdm 2,322]

24 minutes ago, SteffenWi said:

@tdm as for flashing, I'm stuck at

fastboot flash boot_a ~/Downloads/lineage-16.0-pro1-test1-boot.img 

it gets stuck there with

Sending 'boot_a' (65536 KB)

and just hangs there. I repeated two times by restarting the bootloader without success. I waited for ~10 minutes for it to do anything but no success.

fastboot devices

does output the Pro1.

I made sure to be connected via USB2 and I tried differen USB cables.

 

I have never seen that before.  But there is no need to wait for 10 minutes.  The actual flashing process should take less than 5 seconds for the boot image.

 

You can try different USB ports on your computer.  Sometimes some ports do not work for unknown reasons.  It looks like you are running Linux, so try flashing as root to ensure there are no permission issues.  If nothing works, you can contact me privately and we can try to figure it out.