Questions from a very novice ROM flasher before I buy fp4

Help Fairphone 4
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If I buy this phone, it’ll mostly be for the ability to run Ubuntu Touch and maybe PostmarketOS. This phone has one of the better ratings of the latter.
If it turns out to give me problems that I can’t work around, I want to be sure I’m not screwing myself. I live in the US, so my stock ROM is /e/, I guess. Nothing wrong with /e/, it’s probably my go-to behind a Linux ROM (or at least good enough behind LOS).

I found the following line on another forum that concerned me.

Caution: Ensure that you flash an image with a security patch level greater than the level of the existing security patch, Failure to do so will brick your device.

I’m currently running Oneplus 8. Basically unbrickable, thanks to an EDL MSM tool. As I understand, this tool doesn’t exist for Fairphone. How will security patches play a role in ROM hopping? What happens if my ROM dies for whatever reason, but it’s the newest available? Do I just have to wait for an even newer one before I flash? There’s no way to fall back?

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Has hundreds of known security issues and phones home to Google out of the box as I document here: https://divestos.org/misc/e.txt

Next update even adds persistent, unique, non-resettable ID: https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/android_packages_apps_Updater/uploads/bb0e5656df992b3717d4df9c71ebf39e/Screenshot_20230713_121140.png

Ubuntu Touch

Doesn’t support encryption: Support disk encryption · Issue #178 · ubports/ubuntu-touch · GitHub
and still uses the Android blobs under the hood and a severely outdated kernel from November 2020: Makefile · halium-11.0 · UBports / Porting / Reference Device Ports / Halium 11 / Fairphone 4 / kernel-fairphone-sm7225 · GitLab

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This only applies if you lock the bootloader. So just keep the bootloader unlocked to be safe to not brick it. On the other hand keeping it unlocked brings potential security issues with it.

/e/OS has been successfully tested with T-Mobile US. Don’t know if Ubuntu Touch or even PostmarketOS work well with US providers.

Maybe you have a look at Topics tagged ubuntu when considering to run the FP4 with that.

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Than k you very for responding.

So I can downgrade and jump around as long as I don’t relock? I’ll relock once I find somewhere I like.

Thanks for the heads up, I’ll double check carrier support. I thought since the move to 4g, compatibility was a lot less important? There’s a reseller of T Mobile in the US that is very similar to my current carrier, so I’m open regardless.

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This can still be a challenge…

Compatibility seems to be important for VoLTE and WoWifi.

Anyway you also should have a look at

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