When i originally tried to follow the original instructions i after running device-flasher i just got Android back as a factory reset like when i first bought it.
So i tried to do something else and found this article. Thank you for the response i really hope for some guidance on how to solve the specific problem im facing right now. It used to be able to go to fastboot menu but my computer doesnt even recognize the device anymore after running the command /flash_all.sh. on step 8. it only lasts turned on for a few seconds (im attaching a picture from using a friends phone) but then restarts over and over again. I dont know what to do. Living in the American continent getting this phone was not easy. id appreciate help i cant find anyone around that has experience with this.
i can only add one picture at a time so ill try to reply twice
Unplug the USB cable, turn the phone off, hold Vol. Down while plugging it back in. That should get you into fastboot.
Check if your laptop can see it with fastboot devices, if it doesn’t, try different USB-cables / -ports until it shows up.
Next step, stop using flash_all.sh, use
Make sure there are no spaces in the path you’re running the device-flasher from, it doesn’t like that
I installed Calyx OS on the FP4 back when this guide was still the way to go and you couldn’t lock the bootloader. Two questions:
Does the new device-flasher way allow to lock the bootloader now?
Can I use it on my FP4 with Calyx OS already installed to properly set it up with a locked bootloader, do I need to first install the stock image again first or what is the best course of action now?
It does, and it includes checks to not lock it if there’s a problem. Whatever you do, don’t lock it manually, especially not after you have booted into Android.
The best course of action would be to just use the device flasher to reinstall Calyx, no need to flash stock images beforehand.
Hi! Thank you all for responding!
So, I have tried to unlock the phone with an usbc to usb adapter (and the fairphone cable then from usb to usbc. It looked as funny and stupid as it sounds; BUT IT WORKED! the bootloader is unlocked!
But now I have another struggle. (tell me if i have to open a new question)
I want to install CalyxOS and they tell me to:
Step 1. Connect the USB cable between the computer and the Android device.
Step 2. Run device-flasher
Open a terminal, change to the directory with the firmware image, and run:
Which i find rather confusing. I Put my device in bootloader, then opened terminal on my mac and typed "cd <location of the file with .darwin and the .zip> and then just typed “chmod +x device-flasher.darwin
./device-flasher.darwin” but then it says again “no such file or directory” and when I type
./chmod +x device-flasher.darwin
./device-flasher.darwin
It says “command not found”
Also for adding:
sudo cd <location of file with the .darwin and the .zip>
(giving my password and then)
sudo chmod +x device-flasher.darwin
./device-flasher.darwin
It keeps saying the same.
I also tried to do it on linux on the same computer runned on parallels desktop (Linux was so much less of a hussle! Great!) There CalyxOS advices a different method. So I followed. It runned:
“sudo apt update
sudo apt install android-sdk-platform-tools-common”
But I got stuck at:
“sudo dnf install android-tools”
Because it said “no such file or directory”.
Anyway I was not able to install CalyxOS, nor /e/OS with the easy installer.
Can’t help you with the Mac part, but lets see if we get the Linux route working for you
Sounds like you are following the instructions a bit too closely, the second command is for a different distro. If the first one ran without errors you are probably on a Ubuntu/Debian system.
Try running sudo fastboot devices in that terminal to see if your phone gets picked up.
A couple of month ago I tried to install CalyxOS on my FP4 but I bricked it in the process. I got it repaired by Fairphone but haven’t used it since. I still like to use the FP4 without Google. But as I have some very busy month behind me and I am more or less happy with the old Pixel with Graphene OS that I got as replacement phone, I haven’t tried again to install CalyxOS. Now, I would like to do that but before bricking it again, I would like to double check a few things and I would highly appreciate your comments/help.
I think the issue that I had was that I just installed the new Fairphone OS before I tried to install CalyxOS.
Question 1a:
Am I correct that installing CalyxOS from a Fairphone OS Version that is not included in the CalyxOS Image results in bricking the phone? If so, it would be great to mention this in the installation guide for CalyxOS.
Question 1b:
If I will try now to install CalyxOS version 4.15.0, my FP4 can have the Fairphone OS version C.073 but not C.079. Is that correct? Does it matter if I have the C.073 version or anything older that is Android 12 based?
If I remember correctly, also had some problems unlocking the bootloader. I guess my timing for unplugging the cable was not perfect. I also had a somewhat short USB-cable and I think I lost once connection where it was not intended.
Question 2:
Could these problems with unlocking the bootloader result in serious problems (bricking the phone)? If so, is there any reason that I cannot simply unlock the bootloader before by using Android Studio and start the installation of CalyxOS when the bootloader is already unlocked?
No, if you use the CalyxOS installer and don’t lock it manually it’s generally very brick safe.
The installer checks for get_unlock_ability and refuses to lock if it isn’t 1, so even with the wrong version on your phone you could just unlock it again.
Yes, and I personally would just wait for the next release in that case. It’s A14 based and should be right around the corner.
No.
You can just start the phone in fastboot mode with the bootloader already unlocked, but the installer will do that for you as well.
Just make sure you have a good cable and try different USB ports if you have issues, fastboot is notorious for being a bit picky. Other than that there’s not a lot that can go wrong, just don’t lock the bootloader manually, and don’t ever boot into Calyx and lock it afterwards!
It is really simple with the CalyxOS device flasher.
I just did it like that:
It also downloads and uses the correct Android tools (v33.0.3) for you, so no need to have a full Android Studio installation (In general if you just want to flash custom roms you just need adb and fastboot afaik).
Thank you for the quick and detailed answer, it is highly appreciated and I will be definitely more eased when trying again!
Waiting for the new release is a good suggestion, but I will probably use the unbusy time between Christmas and New Year to tried it again.
Thank you for your reply. Android Studio is already installed from my last attempt when I was running into problems and tried to solve them.
But I will try to just follow the instructions on https://calyxos.org/install/devices/FP4/windows/.
Hello,
I have installed CalyxOS a few days ago, it worked flawlessly. In step 5 after unlocking the bootloader, I had to try a few times to disconnect the cable when the device boots and power it off (5a) and hold volume down and enter the cable to enter fastboot mode (5b). But at after turning the phone off for three times or so, the installation proceeded. I am very happy with the OS, and even apps where I had a few minor problems with GrapheneOS (banking etc.), seem to run perfectly. Thanks again for the help!
For everyone considering to install CalyxOS: Don’t get scared because of my comment that I bricked the phone in the process of installing CalyxOS. Although I am still not 100% sure what happened, that comment was not fully accurate. Probably because my Fairphone OS was too new, I was stuck in the fastboot mode after the installation, but the phone wasn’t bricked at that point! Here, I should have asked for help, but I tried on my own. Somehow, I got out (I don’t remember how), and I think, I bricked it at some point when I tried to go back to Fairphone OS and at a time when it would have been wiser to just go to bed
