Do you also propose an Android 7 release candidate for Fairphone Open OS?
1 Like
Is it possible to go from the release candidate to the official update, when you release it? I’m interested in trying it out, but don’t want to be a beta tester in the future and don’t want to wipe my phone/data to transfer to the official build 
Don’t you fear releasing the current beta / RC to the public might cause quite a bit of frustration and support requests? I’m thinking of people who won’t be able to turn their phone off or on any more or whose battery will be flat after watching a short video.
Beta testers are aware that they will face some issues, but delaying the public release until the top voted bugs are fixed might be a good idea. Just my two cents. 
3 Likes
Is there also a new baseband version included?
1 Like
Getting Android 7 out now with some known bugs, hoping they would manage afterwards to quickly fix the bugs which have no known workaround at least …
Or tending to security updates for Android 6 again, delaying Android 7 to who knows when …
There would probably be some flak to take either way, so … it seems they simply made a decision.
3 Likes
The same version 18.09.1 is also available for Fairphone Open. However, we do not call it a release candidate, because it is missing features unique to Fairphone Open. Most and foremost, it is missing superuser which we still need to get to work nicely.
Yes, that is totally possible. It will not be necessary to wipe data to go from Android 7 beta to Android 7 stable. In the best case, this release candidate will be the official update in a few weeks.
Opting out of the beta is always possible by disabling beta mode in the updater.
Good point. I added a disclaimer to the post above linking to the known issues.
No, we use the same baseband version we used on Android 6.
2 Likes
I think it’s a very good idea to publish the call for testing outside the beta forum group. It’s still a limit group of people who are reading this, the warning and downsides are clear and the application process makes sure nobody installs this version by accident.
Getting feedback before the real public release for everyone through the updater can help to make a real stable first release of Android 7 on Fairphone. 
4 Likes
So will there be a Sibon RC when superuser is implemented correctly?
Yes, we plan to have a release candidate for Sibon as well.
2 Likes
Open Gapps on your Fairphone Open (or as it is called now Fairphone Sibon) don’t try the beta, because you will get into serious problems because of the already installed OpenGapps.
Nice, then I’d like to try out the release candidate.
See first post for instructions:
1 Like
From todays newsletter:
Working hard for a longer-lasting phone
Bugs. There’s nothing that annoys us more. And as luck would have it, we found one that delayed the launch of Android 7 on the Fairphone 2. But stay strong! The good news is we found it before the public release - some extra work for us is better than a bad upgrade experience for you, so we’re taking it as a blessing in disguise (but if you’re interested in getting to know more about our beta program, you can read the latest in our forum). After all, we owe this to you, and the amazing things you continue to achieve as a community; from crowdfunding a fairer future to being Fairphone Angels to sparking conversation about a better world just by taking out your phone. Thank you, one and all.
So what’s that bug? 
2 Likes
As currently there is no “Critical” bug listed in the bugtracker, take your pick from the existing ones with severity “Important” …
… 6 are listed, 2 of which are closed, and 3 of which are for Fairphone Open OS (“Sibon”, due later after the release of the Nougat Fairphone OS) … leaving the Mail App being absent under circumstances, which might be pretty inconvenient.
… Or the culprit isn’t listed yet, or has a lower severity which wasn’t increased yet.
1 Like
I’m also guessing it’s not the “cannot reboot out of charging mode” or “cannot turn device off” with the new camera module as these issues have been known long enough.
5 Likes
How are we on the H.264 acceleration front? I’d consider that quite a bad regression, and one that should be relatively easy to fix considering it’s most likely just a missing firmware file or (user-space) module.
2 Likes
The missing legacy Email app would be my guess, too. It’s been reported just four days ago, has “High” priority and could be really annoying if you still use that app in Android 6.
To be honest, I’ve been on Android 7 since the first beta, reported quite a few bugs but never noticed that. I switched to the Gmail app and disabled the Email app a long time ago so this wasn’t on my radar. Wondering how many people still use it?
Full ACK.
3 Likes
I don’t use a GMail account, and have a sneaking suspicion that the GMail apps will route my e-mail through Googles servers one way or another for all the fancy search features (… and the tailored ads). No proofs on this practice, but I’m less suspicious about the simpler E-mail app.
That being said, the e-mail app hasn’t seen any updates in a while, so I’m a little concerned about the security of this app…
1 Like
I’ve never had a Gmail account. The Gmail app communicates directly with the mail servers (an Exchange server in my case). People often seem to confuse the Gmail app (which is just an email client for all kinds of protocols, including POP3 / IMAP / SMTP / EAS / Gmail) and the Gmail service hosted by Google (which gives you a “free” email account in exchange for your personal data which is used for targeted advertising).
Exactly. I don’t think it’s a good idea to use an unmaintained app. So I’m curious how Fairphone will deal with this issue.
As far as I know the stock email app is part of AOSP and therefore maintained with the rest of Android regarding security. If a flaw is found it will be fixed with a future monthly security update.
If you don’t want to rely on that though, K-9 Mail may be a privacy compatible alternative for you.
2 Likes