Android KitKat (4.4.4) for FP1

Didn’t think I’d still need this, but now I did … and the instructions were still helpful (and working to the dot :+1: ) when I just needed them to prepare an old FP1 for equipping an upcoming local climate camp with it. Signal launches, Telegram launches!
Mmmmh … the memories. :angel:

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Dear fairphone community,

thanks a lot for the guide, I just set up my fairphone and everything still works smoothly, even most of the client apps I would like to use. Thanks for the in-depth instructions as well!

I have two questions:

  1. I see the last security updates are from 2019. Is it still safe to use a fairphone 1 as my main phone, maybe even including mailing and so on? Or are there major security risks if I do so?
  2. I would really love to learn about how to create these instructions, images and adding security updates to the google-free operating system of the fairphone 1. Is there anybody who would be up for a meeting and tell me how you do so, if there still is a way? :slight_smile:

Warm greetings,
Adrian

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Welcome to the community Adrian, are you really still using an FP1 ~ that’s impressive.

I suppose it depends upon what other apps you use, like banking, which I don’t use. I don’t have a google account and have very little personal information on my phone. Media etc I store on a portable SD.

So if I get a security problem my idea is that I would just do a factory reset and treat it like a new phone.

All the best

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Hi amoun,

thanks for the reply and the warm welcome! :slight_smile:

Thank you a especially for your perspective on the threats and also on how you deal with them. I am aware of cell phones being less secure than computers and that mobile banking and mailing via the phone exposes my data to a certain risks. What I am not sure about and would like to know more about are the specific risks of using the Android 4.4.4 for the Fairphone 1. Concretely:

  • Are there known security lacks of this Android version that hackers or viruses could use easily, maybe even with openly available instructions?
  • And also: Are the persons that made Android 4.4.4 available for the Fairphone 1 still working on updates or is this a not-anymore-updated version? If there are still persons working on it, I would love to contribute and offer my skills but would probably need some instructions. :slight_smile:

If anybody knows about these questions I would be very happy to hear about that! :slight_smile:

Greetings,
Adrian

PS: Yes, it’s still working fine for me to use the Fairphone 1. Althourgh I am just starting to use it again and meanwhile also using the Fairphone 2 which I am thinking about to give up again for the Fairphone 1. So far, I am succesfully using these services on the Fairphone 1:

  • mailing (Librem Mail)
  • SMS, encrypted (Silence)
  • navigation, offline (OSMand)
  • messanging (XMPP, matrix, signal, telegram)
    … and I am still working on streaming. Qobuz has an app for Android 4.4 but the download function does not yet work perfectly and the streaming is not fast enough. This is because the Fairphone 1 does only support 3G and the infrastructure for that is not available anymore in the places I am around. :slight_smile:

Yes, more or less. Google publishes security bulletins with the vulnerabilities found, and if they’re not updated with the fixes, well hackers can use them. And as KitKat has not been updated for years…

I think it’s abandoned now, don’t expect any updates. Do you have some developing knowledge to carry on the updates? You could ask directly the dev by DM.

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Hello Alex,
thank you very much for your answer!
I do have some developing knowledge and would like to see if I can carry on the updates. If I understand this chat correctly, the last developer was z3ntu and I will contact z3ntu via direct message. If I am mistaken there and you referred to contact other persons, please give me another hint! :slight_smile:
Well, greetings from Kiel,
Adrian

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Exactly right. In fact, z3ntu was even hired by Fairphone recently as regular employee :slight_smile: :+1:

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Hi urs_lesse,
thanks a lot for the quick answer - and the great news! :slight_smile:
In this case I’ll just wait for the reply and hope that I can keep working on the operating system for the FP1. :slight_smile:
Greetings,
Adrian

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Hey there,
quick update from my side: I contacted z3ntu and after exchanging some messages, I keep using the FP1 with the existing google-free Android 4.4.4 and see what I can do to contribute to Lineage FP2 development and how I can start there. It is amazing to me how open, friendly and helpful z3ntu and everybody here provided guidance and support to me. Thank you very much, hope to be able to find my spot in this community. :slight_smile:
Greetings,
Adrian

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Welcome then, and enjoy your new developer badge :wink:

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I recently updated my 7½ year old FP1 using Urs’ instructions and it worked out quite well.
But I needed to wipe all the data and even though I did a backup with the preinstalled backup app and Titanium some apps couldn’t be reinstalled. I think these were some that were actually outdated before or got in incompatible update but kept running somehow as there were already on the phone. However, most things are running fine! (Still, it might finally be time for a phone with a modern OS :disappointed_relieved: )

Still, thanks a lot for the effort of developing this and extending the lifetime of some FP1s!

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