Android 14 on Fairphone 4

[askaaron]

@Android 14 is here. Here's what's changed - FP5.UT20.B.041.20240624

Hi all, UPDATE: Unfortunately, we won’t be able to roll out the Android 14 update for Fairphone 4 users just yet. There are some issues we have run into for which we will need Qualcomm’s support on. This is taking a little longer than we anticipated. As it stands, we don’t see the update rolling through in 2024. Hopefully, we should know more by early next year. We’re really sorry about this unexpected development, and we’re working round the clock to get it out as soon as possible. Thanks aga…

Well - as I said, it’s futile to try to offer a sustainable product with long support if the hardware manufacturers don’t help you with that. Of course Qualcomm does not care if any of their customers want to have support for more than 5 years if it is just a small company like Fairphone. They sell millions of chips to bigger companies and just don’t need Fairphone at all.

For me this means: it’s pointless to use a Fairphone if you require the latest Android versions. Google also offers many years of updates now (at least 7 years for the newer models) and they even collaborate with iFixIt to help user to repair their devices if needed. No vendor lock in for the parts like Apple and you get many replacement parts like displays, camera modules or batteries for Pixel 4 up to the latest Pixel 9.

But nevertheless we have to be grateful that Fairphone exists! Without this, the “right to repair” movement wouldn’t be where it is today. Big manufacturers see now, that easy repairability is not just a buzzword but something people really want.

[heli]

Thanks for the explanation.

[k3dAR]

@askaaron

But since an unlocked bootloader […] you don’t get SafetyNet anyway

[askaaron]

This only confirms, what I explained. Without “hacks” using Magisk this won’t work.

And with Magisk it is often a never ending challenge - been there, done that. It is not a practical solution, if apps just stop working one day and you really need these apps like banking or NFC payment.

Edit: and in addition this is only BASIC evaluation. There are apps which require hardware backed attestation, which is just impossible with Magisk since Magisk can not “emulate” this.

This is how it looks like on a Pixel 6a:

Also see this article at XDA: SafetyNet’s hardware attestation feature is here to stay

Quote:

If Google continues enforcing hardware-backed attestation, this might mean the end of the days where power users could run Google Pay and other SafetyNet-based apps in conjunction with root access by employing masking techniques. Since the situation is still developing, things might be more complex than what they appear on the surface. We will keep our readers posted if there are new developments on the matter.

[Zenith]

Posting the obligatory “new month, any news?” post.

Any update or news regarding Android 14 on FP4?
Or is it still “early 2025” ?

[loseyourself]

They haven’t even officially announced this delay to us beta testers so nope, no news on the A14 update.

Currently we’re on the August security update with no new software updates or news as to what’s happening for 3 months.

[Lars_Hennig]

So the beta updates are behind the productive ones? My A13 is on November 2024 update level.

[loseyourself]

You got it right! A14 is still on the August security update with no indication as to why, how, when, where, etc.

I’ve largely stopped using my Fairphone 4. I signed up to be a beta tester, not to be ignored for 4 months

If they’ve stopped working on A14 while waiting for Qualcomm they could at least have told us so.

[Meaghan]

That’s really sad to hear.
I did not consider becoming a beta tester for many reasons but I would imagine they should be given the priority in terms of care, attention and recognition.