Latest news [11-07-2017] and FAQ - Fairphone 1 KitKat 4.4.4 update

[tYYGH]

@sampumon

@tYYGH

I’ve read that an unofficial FP1 4.4 OS does already exist, and is working well, bluetooth included.

It’s working about as well as Fairphone’s build. I don’t recall if bluetooth worked fine, though.

That’s unfortunate, as it is quite the whole point!

@sampumon

@tYYGH

Or is Fairphone just too perfectionist and insisting on shipping some new feature that is hell to get right?

Sure, as otherwise it would work worse than the last official Fairphone OS (1.8.7)!

I’m not so sure… Note the word “new” in “new feature”, in my message.

@sampumon

¹ well, at least battery level drops, as it’s just the algorithm showing battery level, not actual battery life.

Wow! That’s big news. Such an important distinction should definitely be more public. While I understand how imperfect reporting can be unnerving to some users, some users won’t care; I wouldn’t.
There’s still the unreliable bluetooth, though…

[YtvwlD]

@tYYGH

There’s still the unreliable bluetooth, though…

According to my experience Bluetooth is unreliable and does work worse than it should.
But it is better than 1.8.7. I wouldn’t consider this a reason to halt the upgrade. (But solving it afterwards would be nice.)

I’m currently using the alpha. But if one thing were to prevent me from upgrading it would be the battery level bug.
Yes, the phone lasts as long as usual but you can’t trust the percentage. If I didn’t carry an external battery pack all day this would be a big issue for me.

[YtvwlD]

@tYYGH

So where is the catch with this unofficial 4.4 OS?

The unofficial 4.4 OS is weird. Yes, it works.
But we don’t know where the parts came from. @chrmhoffmann is unlikely to have access to all of the source code.
This ROM is a normal Android 4.4.4 (with all bugfixes applied) and a combination of various binary blobs found on the internet.

Is there some blurred licensing issue conveniently pushed under the carpet? Is there some magic non-opensource blob included, that Fairphone can not use?

I would say yes. (But I’m not a lawyer.)

But there’s another problem:
If you read @jftr’s posts you know that one of the big problems in porting Android to the FP1 is the Mediatek code intertwined with the normal Android code.
@chrmhoffmann doesn’t have access to this code.
So even though the security fixes have been applied to the Android code,
the Mediatek specific things are old (some even from older Android versions). We don’t know what bugs and holes are in them.

Or maybe some features from the original FP1 had to be disabled to achieve a stable OS? Some other thing?

I don’t think so.

Or is Fairphone just too perfectionist and insisting on shipping some new feature that is hell to get right?

I would say yes. I would release the pre3 as-is to all customers and solve the remaining problems in future updates. But that’s just me. I’m glad not to have make this decision.

[Stefan]

@YtvwlD

I would say yes. I would release the pre3 as-is to all customers and solve the remaining problems in future updates. But that’s just me. I’m glad not to have make this decision.

As said above, at the moment there is no new build that even boots. You can however download the latest alpha here. It’s been made public for everyone a while back.

[YtvwlD]

That doesn’t contradict what I said?

[tYYGH]

Thank you @YtvwlD for those explanations. You helped me decide that next bootable update, be it alpha, beta, or final (one can always hope), should make it to the FP1 at home
The unofficial version, however, won’t ever do it for me.
Cheers,

[Stefan]

@YtvwlD

@Stefan

@YtvwlD

@tYYGH

Or is Fairphone just too perfectionist and insisting on shipping some new feature that is hell to get right?

I would say yes. I would release the pre3 as-is to all customers and solve the remaining problems in future updates. But that’s just me. I’m glad not to have make this decision.

As said above, at the moment there is no new build that even boots. You can however download the latest alpha here. It’s been made public for everyone a while back.

That doesn’t contradict what I said?

I overread that you where talking about pre3. Still, Fairphone isn’t too perfectionist. At the moment @jftr is simply working on making 4.4.4 bootable. So there is no fancy new feature involved.

Also, pre3 is released to all customers, it is just not available through the FP updater.

[Grabo]

Hello, in the opening of this thread I read about the two issues with 4.4.4. (Bluetooth does not work reliably with all the devices, and the battery level also keeps dropping unexpectedly.)

That’s really funny, I don’t need Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat for these issues. They´re accompanying me since 3 years. In the meantime, I’ve got the impression that’s quite normal.
My second impression also is a bit strange. I received a mail from Fairphone that says my Fairphone is almost at the end of its life cycle. After three years - that’s extremely fair! It contradicts the company philosophy. On the other hand the update for the FP1 lasts and lasts. It seems as if the first customers (the useful idiots) are forced to buy the FP2.

[Gerry]

FYI, referring to your second impression:

Fairphone 1 end of life options (newsletter)

FP1 users got a mail today, and to be honest it upset me a little, to me it read like: …we know that your phone may be nearing the end of its lifespan, so why don’t you buy the Fairphone 2? I’m not going to give up on my FP1 so quickly. Using a phone as long as you can is more sustainable than anything else and hardware-wise my FP1 is in good shape. Since I’m not sure if this update will ever happen - does anyone know of a rooted Android 4.4 and a good instruction on how to install it…?

[sampumon]

@YtvwlD

So even though the security fixes have been applied to the Android code,the Mediatek specific things are old (some even from older Android versions). We don’t know what bugs and holes are in them.

Yes, and behind Mediatek Android code, there’s modem baseband firmware, which nobody has access to and probably contains security holes.

Android Devices That Contain Foxconn Firmware May Have a Secret Backdoor

https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/replicant-developers-find-and-close-samsung-galaxy-backdoor

If you want to be safe, use

[HansTux]

So what is the last working KitKat Version for FP1 and where can I download it?

[YtvwlD]

pre3 is the last release.

[alquimista]

Is it possible for Fairphone to add FP1 to LineageOS for LOS 14.1 (Android 7.1.2)? I’m referring to that other phones with proprietary blobs from pretty much every manufacturers are made available without any support from neither the manufacturer nor proprietary hardware manufacturers like MediaTek or Qualcomm. I’m guessing there is a group of handy programmers owning FP1 who’d like to see a newer version of Android than KitKat 4.4.4?

[Stefan]

The chipset vendor alone is not relevant. What is much more relevant in this regard is thee specific chipset, in FP1’s case MT6589. As far as I know there is no other phone with that chipset that has received LineageOS.

Apart from that the FP1 developer community is practically non-existent.

Edit: You could of course try this xda porting guide for cm 11: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/guide-port-cyanogenmod-10-2-11-mt6589-t2814498

[HansTux]

Thank you. Do you by the way know, if theres a Fairphone updater apk available somewere for thes build. I lost mine somehow.

[juancoob]

Hi douwe,

@Douwe

We have a source tree with Android 4.4.4 for Fairphone 1

Where could I see it? I would like to help.

Thanks

[Stefan]

They are not allowed to make FP1 software open source…

[juancoob]

Thank you Stefan,

I don’t get it. Why?

All the best