Should I wait for Android 7 before buying FP2?

Dear all,

I’m planning to buy the FP2 (my FP1 is slowly running out of life!) but wondered whether I should wait until Android 7 has been installed.

I’d prefer to buy the ‘very latest’ rather than get everything up and running and then have to install something new. Or is this now how it works? As you can tell, I’m not particularly tech-savvy!

Thanks,
Jane

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When Android 7 comes out it’ll probably still take a while until all new orders will ship with it, while if you already have an FP2 by then it’ll take you a few taps on the phone and maybe a quarter hour of waiting until you have it installed.

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By the way, be prepared that Fairphone will not just provide the upgrade to Android 7, but (roughly) monthly security updates as well. So don’t be afraid of upgrades and updates, they are necessary and come at regular intervals.

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Thanks to you both. Basically, there’s no need to delay buying the FP2?
Jane

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Yes, updating at regular intervals cannot be avoided either way. :wink: If you want the least hassle, you can just let the FP2 rest on your shelves until the bigger upgrade to Android 7 is ready (it is expected some time this month), so you can get upgrade and setup both behind you in one go.

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I might be wrong but I think that you will have to update Android 6 to 7 by yourself using Fastboot as detailed here (not through the updater) : https://code.fairphone.com/projects/fp-osos/user/fairphone-open-source-os-installation-instructions.html

If you’re not an IT/Geeky person you might find it touchy.

Can anyone confirm ?

That applies to Fairphone Open OS (soon to be renamed) only, i.e. the Fairphone OS without Google.

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If you’re planning to use the “standard” Fairphone OS (android with google) like myself, there is no reason to wait. Your settings, pictures and apps will still be there after the upgrade. At least this was the case with the last upgrade and I’d be very suprised if it were different this time.

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Otherwise you can have lineage OS 15.1 equivalent to Android Oreo 8.1 right now :slight_smile:
https://download.lineageos.org/FP2

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No, I don’t recommend delaying for this reason.

I guess that your launcher (the user interface / “start screen”) may have to be rearranged in case you have done it by placing apps on it, but basically that’s it.

In contrary to the update of the OS from Android 6 to Android 7 the monthly security updates and fixes as mentioned by @urs_lesse don’t change configuration of the launcher.

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What is this “monthly upgrades” about? I just use my FP2 from month to month! Maybe it upgrades itself? :thinking:

Well, the last of the “monthly” updates has occured a few months ago, as FP has focused on bringing Android 7 to the FP2.
Otherwise - depending on your settings - the updater app will check for updates regularly (in my case, when using WiFi only) and you get a logo at the top of the screen, showing that there’s an update available. Pull down the menu, tap on the update entry and the rest should be self explanatory.
But don’t expect any monthly security update before Android 7.

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Hello, I was waiting for the launching of FP2 with Android 7 before buying it, and I can see in your comments that it’s not necessary. I however wonder why the new version is still not launched as it was supposed to be last month. Do you have any launching date?

but (roughly) monthly security updates as well.

Well, let’s hope they will reintroduce that. I bought my FP2 in summer, haven’t seen one single update since then. Everything is on hold for Android Nougat (7), whereas Pie (9) is current…

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If you really require Android 7 or 8, you can install Android 8.1 with LineageOS indeed (with or without GApps, with or without microG). Otherwise, if you don’t want to install LineageOS then I’d buy the FP2 and stick with Android 6.

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In Linz Fairphone’s Tina-Marie said that it would launch end of this month (October 2018).

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That’s exaggerating a bit, isn’t it?
Pie (9) is current for the top phones only. Most phones are still sold with Oreo (8). :wink:

Everything is on hold for an Android version well supported by Google, whereas a newer Android version well supported by Google is current :wink:

Feel free to install LineageOS currently based on Android 8.1 … this forum even has a tag for it … lineageos.

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Thanks Stefan for your reply. Have a nice day.

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