Hi there! This is a follow up post to the issues I ran into and expressed in this topic here: Trapped in fastboot mode with locked bootloader and corrupted /e/ OS
I decided to post my step-by-step, “type the process as I go” notes in this separate topic if by chance there would be of any use of it to the people of the forum thread above. It’s kind of lengthy, but I wanted to make sure that it’s a one-to-one thing of exactly everything I did with the phone as it came through the mail to me.
A thing to note for the people that haven’t followed along on my particular journey: This phone JUST came back from the repair shop. The phone was previously bricked because the system being “corrupted” and the get_unlock_ability flag set to 0 when trying to revert back to the official Fairphone OS. I don’t claim to be knowledgeable at all in flashing ROMs as this is my first successful attempt I’ve ever made, and all I’ve done is to follow the instructions as given here: Install /e/ on a Fairphone FP4
With all that said, here’s by lengthy list, enjoy!
Phone just received from repair, it’s unbricked and running what I’m assuming is factory settings:
Android version
11
Android security update
5 April 2022
Google Play system update
1 October 2021
Baseband version
MPSS.HI.2.0.1.c6-00447-BITRA_GEN_PACK-1,MPSS.HI.2.0.1.c6-00447-BITRA_GEN_PACK-1
Kernel version
4.19.157-perf+
#1 Thu Apr 14 02:28:28 CST 2022
Build number
FP4.FP3v.A.116.20220414
Being prompted that there’s a new update, I will ignore it this time and NOT update the system.
Wants to update to: Fairphone 4 (FP3W.A.0128)
Developer settings set:
-
OEM unlocking
-
USB debugging
/e/ image ROM downloaded:
IMG-e-1.0-r-20220526188860-stable-FP4.zip (SHA256: a72ba99e6ab2a20239972e224ccf4a13797e94c3a1084b04511fbea90beee794)
Using Windows 11 with Windows Powershell 7
Hash is correct (checked using shell):
> Get-FileHash .\IMG-e-1.0-r-20220526188860-stable-FP4.zip
Algorithm Hash Path
--------- ---- ----
SHA256 A72BA99E6AB2A20239972E224CCF4A13797E94C3A1084B04511FBEA90BEEE794
Assuming that “…20220526…” in the zip name is the security patch date, meaning 26th of May 2022. The documentation is out of date stating to pick security patch 2022-04-05 (which is not present in the list of downloadable stable ROMs?)
As stated on https://doc.e.foundation/devices/FP4/install:
Caution: Ensure that you flash an image with a security patch level greater than the level of the existing security patch. Failure to do so will prevent you from locking your bootloader.
26th of May 2022 is greater than my phone’s current security patch of 5th of April 2022.
Phone is currently at 63% battery before pluging it into the computer. Will be using a USB-C → USB-C cable, compatible data cable.
Reboots onto fastboot by running adb reboot bootloader directly in powershell
Doublechecking my unlock ability:
fastboot flashing get_unlock_ability
(bootloader) get_unlock_ability: 1
Phone screen (bootloader mode) states at this time “DEVICE STATE - locked”
Asking for unlock with fastboot flashing unlock
After automatic reboot, I power it off at the “first-setup” screen, hold down Volume Down and inserts the USB-C cable again to get into bootloader mode. It now states “DEVICE STATE - unlocked”. The flag “get_unlock_ability” still remains 1.
Asking for unlocking critical with fastboot flashing unlock_critical
Same reboot into bootloader mode procedure as previous step. Exact same statements and flags.
I copy the commands stated in the documentation into a file called “install.ps1” that I save in the same folder as the unzipped ROM folder:
fastboot flash bluetooth_b bluetooth.img
fastboot flash devcfg_a devcfg.img
fastboot flash devcfg_b devcfg.img
fastboot flash dsp_a dsp.img
fastboot flash dsp_b dsp.img
fastboot flash modem_a modem.img
fastboot flash modem_b modem.img
fastboot flash xbl_a xbl.img
fastboot flash xbl_b xbl.img
fastboot flash tz_a tz.img
fastboot flash tz_b tz.img
fastboot flash hyp_a hyp.img
fastboot flash hyp_b hyp.img
fastboot flash keymaster_a keymaster.img
fastboot flash keymaster_b keymaster.img
fastboot flash abl_a abl.img
fastboot flash abl_b abl.img
fastboot flash boot_a boot.img
fastboot flash boot_b boot.img
fastboot flash recovery_a recovery.img
fastboot flash recovery_b recovery.img
fastboot flash dtbo_a dtbo.img
fastboot flash dtbo_b dtbo.img
fastboot flash vbmeta_system_a vbmeta_system.img
fastboot flash vbmeta_system_b vbmeta_system.img
fastboot flash vbmeta_a vbmeta.img
fastboot flash vbmeta_b vbmeta.img
fastboot flash super super.img
fastboot flash aop_a aop.img
fastboot flash aop_b aop.img
fastboot flash featenabler_a featenabler.img
fastboot flash featenabler_b featenabler.img
fastboot flash imagefv_a imagefv.img
fastboot flash imagefv_b imagefv.img
fastboot flash multiimgoem_a multiimgoem.img
fastboot flash multiimgoem_b multiimgoem.img
fastboot flash qupfw_a qupfw.img
fastboot flash qupfw_b qupfw.img
fastboot flash uefisecapp_a uefisecapp.img
fastboot flash uefisecapp_b uefisecapp.img
fastboot flash xbl_config_a xbl_config.img
fastboot flash xbl_config_b xbl_config.img
fastboot flash core_nhlos_a core_nhlos.img
fastboot flash core_nhlos_b core_nhlos.img
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot erase metadata
fastboot --set-active=a
I initiate the script with .\install.ps1
Sending 'bluetooth_a' (940 KB) OKAY [ 0.028s]
Writing 'bluetooth_a' OKAY [ 0.005s]
Finished. Total time: 0.073s
Sending 'bluetooth_b' (940 KB) OKAY [ 0.029s]
Writing 'bluetooth_b' OKAY [ 0.005s]
Finished. Total time: 0.043s
Sending 'devcfg_a' (42 KB) OKAY [ 0.003s]
Writing 'devcfg_a' OKAY [ 0.002s]
Finished. Total time: 0.021s
Sending 'devcfg_b' (42 KB) OKAY [ 0.013s]
Writing 'devcfg_b' OKAY [ 0.002s]
Finished. Total time: 0.024s
Sending 'dsp_a' (65536 KB) OKAY [ 1.501s]
Writing 'dsp_a' OKAY [ 0.181s]
Finished. Total time: 1.704s
Sending 'dsp_b' (65536 KB) OKAY [ 1.501s]
Writing 'dsp_b' OKAY [ 0.146s]
Finished. Total time: 1.656s
Sending 'modem_a' (146252 KB) OKAY [ 3.380s]
Writing 'modem_a' OKAY [ 0.356s]
Finished. Total time: 3.748s
Sending 'modem_b' (146252 KB) OKAY [ 3.379s]
Writing 'modem_b' OKAY [ 0.325s]
Finished. Total time: 3.713s
Sending 'xbl_a' (3298 KB) OKAY [ 0.078s]
Writing 'xbl_a' OKAY [ 0.011s]
Finished. Total time: 0.102s
Sending 'xbl_b' (3298 KB) OKAY [ 0.083s]
Writing 'xbl_b' OKAY [ 0.010s]
Finished. Total time: 0.104s
Sending 'tz_a' (2940 KB) OKAY [ 0.071s]
Writing 'tz_a' OKAY [ 0.010s]
Finished. Total time: 0.112s
Sending 'tz_b' (2940 KB) OKAY [ 0.075s]
Writing 'tz_b' OKAY [ 0.011s]
Finished. Total time: 0.094s
Sending 'hyp_a' (395 KB) OKAY [ 0.020s]
Writing 'hyp_a' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.037s
Sending 'hyp_b' (395 KB) OKAY [ 0.018s]
Writing 'hyp_b' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.033s
Sending 'keymaster_a' (237 KB) OKAY [ 0.016s]
Writing 'keymaster_a' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.032s
Sending 'keymaster_b' (237 KB) OKAY [ 0.008s]
Writing 'keymaster_b' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.024s
Sending 'abl_a' (148 KB) OKAY [ 0.006s]
Writing 'abl_a' OKAY [ 0.002s]
Finished. Total time: 0.022s
Sending 'abl_b' (148 KB) OKAY [ 0.012s]
Writing 'abl_b' OKAY [ 0.003s]
Finished. Total time: 0.024s
Sending 'boot_a' (98304 KB) OKAY [ 2.257s]
Writing 'boot_a' OKAY [ 0.227s]
Finished. Total time: 2.500s
Sending 'boot_b' (98304 KB) OKAY [ 2.257s]
Writing 'boot_b' OKAY [ 0.262s]
Finished. Total time: 2.531s
Sending 'recovery_a' (98304 KB) OKAY [ 2.262s]
Writing 'recovery_a' OKAY [ 0.213s]
Finished. Total time: 2.489s
Sending 'recovery_b' (98304 KB) OKAY [ 2.264s]
Writing 'recovery_b' OKAY [ 0.221s]
Finished. Total time: 2.497s
Sending 'dtbo_a' (24576 KB) OKAY [ 0.562s]
Writing 'dtbo_a' OKAY [ 0.056s]
Finished. Total time: 0.631s
Sending 'dtbo_b' (24576 KB) OKAY [ 0.567s]
Writing 'dtbo_b' OKAY [ 0.059s]
Finished. Total time: 0.637s
Sending 'vbmeta_system_a' (4 KB) OKAY [ 0.008s]
Writing 'vbmeta_system_a' OKAY [ 0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.022s
Sending 'vbmeta_system_b' (4 KB) OKAY [ 0.003s]
Writing 'vbmeta_system_b' OKAY [ 0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.014s
Sending 'vbmeta_a' (8 KB) OKAY [ 0.009s]
Writing 'vbmeta_a' OKAY [ 0.002s]
Finished. Total time: 0.023s
Sending 'vbmeta_b' (8 KB) OKAY [ 0.010s]
Writing 'vbmeta_b' OKAY [ 0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.022s
Sending sparse 'super' 1/4 (768921 KB) OKAY [ 17.798s]
Writing 'super' OKAY [ 0.000s]
Sending sparse 'super' 2/4 (732017 KB) OKAY [ 28.289s]
Writing 'super' OKAY [ 0.001s]
Sending sparse 'super' 3/4 (740578 KB) OKAY [ 17.608s]
Writing 'super' OKAY [ 0.001s]
Sending sparse 'super' 4/4 (584331 KB) OKAY [ 20.839s]
Writing 'super' OKAY [ 0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 84.752s
Sending 'aop_a' (173 KB) OKAY [ 0.005s]
Writing 'aop_a' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 27.490s
Sending 'aop_b' (173 KB) OKAY [ 0.010s]
Writing 'aop_b' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.022s
Sending 'featenabler_a' (84 KB) OKAY [ 0.007s]
Writing 'featenabler_a' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.024s
Sending 'featenabler_b' (84 KB) OKAY [ 0.008s]
Writing 'featenabler_b' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.022s
Sending 'imagefv_a' (524 KB) OKAY [ 0.017s]
Writing 'imagefv_a' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.034s
Sending 'imagefv_b' (524 KB) OKAY [ 0.019s]
Writing 'imagefv_b' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.034s
Sending 'multiimgoem_a' (13 KB) OKAY [ 0.004s]
Writing 'multiimgoem_a' OKAY [ 0.002s]
Finished. Total time: 0.019s
Sending 'multiimgoem_b' (13 KB) OKAY [ 0.010s]
Writing 'multiimgoem_b' OKAY [ 0.002s]
Finished. Total time: 0.021s
Sending 'qupfw_a' (53 KB) OKAY [ 0.007s]
Writing 'qupfw_a' OKAY [ 0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.022s
Sending 'qupfw_b' (53 KB) OKAY [ 0.011s]
Writing 'qupfw_b' OKAY [ 0.006s]
Finished. Total time: 0.026s
Sending 'uefisecapp_a' (121 KB) OKAY [ 0.005s]
Writing 'uefisecapp_a' OKAY [ 0.004s]
Finished. Total time: 0.023s
Sending 'uefisecapp_b' (121 KB) OKAY [ 0.008s]
Writing 'uefisecapp_b' OKAY [ 0.003s]
Finished. Total time: 0.023s
Sending 'xbl_config_a' (94 KB) OKAY [ 0.011s]
Writing 'xbl_config_a' OKAY [ 0.003s]
Finished. Total time: 0.033s
Sending 'xbl_config_b' (94 KB) OKAY [ 0.011s]
Writing 'xbl_config_b' OKAY [ 0.003s]
Finished. Total time: 0.024s
Sending 'core_nhlos_a' (108412 KB) OKAY [ 2.507s]
Writing 'core_nhlos_a' OKAY [ 0.242s]
Finished. Total time: 2.764s
Sending 'core_nhlos_b' (108412 KB) OKAY [ 2.505s]
Writing 'core_nhlos_b' OKAY [ 0.242s]
Finished. Total time: 2.758s
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this ext4 partition?
Erasing 'userdata' OKAY [ 0.684s]
Finished. Total time: 0.691s
Erasing 'metadata' OKAY [ 0.017s]
Finished. Total time: 0.023s
Setting current slot to 'a' OKAY [ 0.008s]
Finished. Total time: 0.010s
get_unlock_ability flag is still 1 at this point. Decide to boot into the OS before doing ANY further step (locking the bootloader) by pressing “START” on the bootloader screen.
e logo with a bouncing dot is showing as a splash screen. “First-time setup” screen for e is displaying. I go through the setup process as minimally as possible. I take screenshots of the important phone information on the settings pages just in case.
OEM unlocking in developer options are still unlocked. USB debugging is turned off, turning it back on again.
Now for the scariest part… trying to lock the bootloader…
Powering off the phone and starts it up in bootloader mode. It states “DEVICE STATE - unlocked” and get_unlock_ability is set to 1. I’m running ´´´fastboot flashing lock_critical´´´.
It reboots, e splash logo showing, “first-time setup” screen shows. I go through it again to verify no bootloader settings have been changed. Screenshots I took previously matches with this. OEM unlocking is still on, USB debugging once again defaulted to off, I’m switching it on again.
I boot the phone back into bootloader. “DEVICE STATE - unlocked”, get_unlock_ability is 1. I cross my fingers and runs fastboot flashing lock
SUCCESS! It boots like normal!
OEM unlocking is still on, and at this point I think it should be okay to turn it off… But I’ll wait for someone else’s input on it first before I move on with that.
(EDIT: A lot of markdown errors displaying things wrong, my apologies)
Although I’ve been thorough here with my notes I don’t want to take responsibility in case it won’t work for you or anyone else (Your phone might have some setting or update mine didn’t have etc.).
