/e/ for FP3 (Google free OS)

Hi, I have running /e/ on FP3 since a week and I’m really satisfied with the system. Google Service are replaced by MicroG Services, AppStore have many Apps - everything I need additional to F-Droid. Only PayPal is not running, PAYBACK payment is not possible. But ok, payments cloud be done in other ways :-). /e/ development status is just mentioned on the Fairphone page. efoundation has already a link for buying FP3 with /e/. I’m using /e/ productive - can’t see any issues of an dev status - I’m sure it is final. Last update was delivered yesterday. It is a great advantage of FP3 to open the bootloader for other OS - thanks for this … Best greetings Biz

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Update: all went well! /e/ is up and running. So far so good. Very happy to be free from Google. :relaxed:

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/e/ works great for me, I like it!

There are many things that I see critically about the organization. There are more and more devices to be supported (prio for /e/) and the browser and mail program is half a year old (no prio for /e/). They can’t even get a name right for two years.

I hope they don’t overdo it, and will still exist in five years.

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I agree that /e/ works great. But I also have a bad feeling concerning used software.
They use also software from cleanapk.org, but nobody knows something about these downloads respect. who is behind this.
There is a report - only German- from an expert. He judged only from documents but promised that tests will follow later.

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I would like to get it clear in my mind what is happening here:
1] Are the slots (inactive and inactive) the same as the partitions A/B?
2] As I understand the text, before the update, the boot image and Magisk are both installed in the active partition, after this procedure they are both installed in the (original) inactive partition. Presumably this now becomes the active partition and the old active partition now becomes the inactive one. Is this correct?

Might be a truism to the experts, but just in case anyone’s interested: I just succeeded in switching from Fairphone OS Android 10 on the FP3 (down) to /e/OS Android 9 using the same instructions I used when I previously switched from Fairphone OS Android 9 to /e/OS Android 9. No prior downgrading of Fairphone OS Android 10 to Fairphone OS Android 9 necessary.

Bear in mind what I just described is a downgrade (lower Android version), so data loss is not a risk, it is guaranteed. So if you want to keep personal data from Fairphone OS Android 10 and downgrade to /e/OS Android 9, you must make a backup.

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Although /e/ market themselve as privacy-focused, I share your concerns regarding the software included and in particular regarding cleanapk.org. Maybe this article also provides you some insights:
https://infosec-handbook.eu/blog/e-foundation-final-look/

I can understand the concerns regarding cleanapk.org (although I assume everyone can check if apps are unchanged). But I don’t exactly understand the Although here. I think it’s because /e/ is privacy-focused they need an alternative for offering apps for the common users than through the monopoly app store of Google.
Or do you have better ideas for providing main stream apps via a privacy-focused way?

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Do you check every time you update something if the checksum is the same as it is in the upstream- the google play store?

Presenting itself for the less technical advanced user it offers them a appstore with questionable practice and all gates open to every form of tracking.

This is hard for me to answer because main stream apps and privacy-focused don’t go well together.
There are facebook, twitter and youtube apps on f-droid, but main stream as in “most downloaded” apps, you would have to install something similar to cleanapk.
There are others, its not unique to offer apks from the google store.
I don’t use them but they are there

The claim to be privacy for the not tech-savvy and then have the box of Pandora on the homescreen would prevent me to recommend it to the target audience.
exaggerated:
“Noo, its privacy focused, nothing could harm me- download all the apps!”

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No, but that’s not what I wanted to say. It’s possible to check (I assume) and no one has proofed up to now a tampered version. I also don’t check if OS system I use is really created from according sources - or even if F-Droid apps are actually created from the related public sources. Imho everyone has to decide for himself what (or who) to trust and what not.

I fully agree. Nevertheless I am glad that someone dares to take the stony path that seems almost impossible. So there may be a choice for those being interested.

That’s ok for me. Don’t recommend something to others that you don’t trust yourself.

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For cleanapk it is this what you trust:

All the content of CleanAPK.org is either submitted by users, or available in various places on the Internet and supposed to be freely downloable and redistributable.

There is no “who” because the owners of cleanapk stay in the shadows.
If you download twitter or spotify you are back to you phone calling google, no gain but you had to trust some apk sharing site where nobody is accountable on the way.
In a sense the google store is more trustworthy.
If you are aware of that and navigate that minefield carefully its all good,
but I have a feeling that a good percentage are not, just based on the description of the target audience for slash e slash.

how does cleanAPK compare to apk-dl.com, or apkturbo.com. is it better than apkmirror.com or apk4fun.com? is it safer than apkbucket.net or apkpure.com, more trustworthy than akpdlmod.com and android-apk.org? faster with updates than appcake.net and apkmpb.com
This is meant rhetorical but if someone has a answer and a ranking based on facts it would maybe stop some skepticism about the usage of apkpure.

Edit: Volker :arrow_down: is right on the source of the quote and that I should have included that is official statement, the link and that emphasis was done by me. Its no excuse but I was in a rush.

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I suppose you got this line from
https://info.cleanapk.org/

I think it is better to indicate the source of the quote, so that everyone can get an idea of the whole information (and not just one sentence).

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… and besides the few information shared on that source of the quote, the only information about the people or organisations behind cleanapk.org, which I find is their registrar via whois as any impressum or similar is unfortunately missing …

Parsed domain name: cleanapk.org
Domain name extension: .org
Estimated domain age: 604 day(s)
Contact email: abuse@support.gandi.net
Registrar name: Gandi SAS
Registar Internet Assigned Numbers Authority ID: 81
Record update dates
Created date: Thu, 01 Oct 2020 11:17:29 GMT
Updated date: Thu, 01 Oct 2020 11:17:29 GMT
Registry data
Created date: Mon, 04 Feb 2019 16:59:26 GMT
Updated date: Sat, 07 Dec 2019 15:43:59 GMT
Expires date: Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:59:26 GMT
Domain’s registrant
State: 11
Country: FRANCE
Country code: FR
Parsed domain name: cleanapk.org
Name servers
Host names
ns-212-a.gandi.net
ns-73-c.gandi.net
ns-175-b.gandi.net
Domain EPP status codes by ICANN list: clientTransferProhibited
Record update dates
Created date: Thu, 01 Oct 2020 11:17:29 GMT
Updated date: Thu, 01 Oct 2020 11:17:29 GMT
Custom field name 1: RegistrarContactEmail
Custom field value 1: abuse@support.gandi.net
Registrar name: Gandi SAS
Registar Internet Assigned Numbers Authority ID: 81
Custom field name 2: RegistrarContactPhone
Custom field name 3: RegistrarURL
Custom field value 2: +33.170377661
Custom field value 3: http://www.gandi.net
WHOIS server: whois.gandi.net

Whereby /e/ does not quite tell the truth about program sources in the documentation. MagicEarth comes from pureapk.

Some year(s) ago cleanapk also had a writing “repository for /e/” or something like that. It cannot be completely unknown there.

Edit: https://community.e.foundation/t/where-do-apps-come-from/5287/31

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Thanks, this worked much more smoothly than I had expected!

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Well, everyone has to decide himself what level of trust he grants to any OS or app.
/e/ works very well but my decision was very clear when I read the answers in the /e/forum and especially from Gael /e/support:

https://community.e.foundation/t/article-on-e-in-a-german-it-security-blog-e-eine-datenschutzfreundliche-android-alternative/19093/14

“…no other realistic choices at the moment…”

If it is not realistic to create an OS with the really admirable easy useage of /e/ but with unclear origin of the basis I stopped using /e/ and will come back if /e/ uses only F-Droid and Aurora, if necessary. Everyone who needs Aurora can install it himself.

Don’t unserstand me wrong. /e/ did a good job and it run on my phone better than Lineage but they have to clarify the .apk item.

A mixture of /e/ with installer, easy handling and Lineage privacy would be ideal.

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So I understand right that it’s more a priciple decision for you? As you’re free to not use “Apps” but only F-Droid and Aurora when using /e/…

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You may not have noticed yet, but I managed to make use of Andy Yan’s LineageOS 17.1 GSI work to provide builds for the FP3, which include microG, F-Droid and AuroraServices for easy installing of Aurora: [ROM][UNOFFICIAL] LineageOS-GSI 17.1 for FP3 . I plan to upload OTA updates once a month.
For me and my FP3 this solution is fine, however, as you say “everyone has to decide himself what level of trust he grants to any OS or app.” - an official Lineage or Fairphone build would be much better, but unfortunately it’s not really on the horizon yet.

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I have updated mine twice using the instructions here: https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/ota.html#devices-with-ab-partitions. My problem is that I don’t seem able to lock the bootloader without corrupting the phone.

You can have root on your phone or a closed bootloader, not both.
Maybe in the future, if another distro which allow root by default start support fp3.

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