Install successful but missing features
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I bought a refurb Pixel 3a, flashed Android 9 then used the installer. Everything seemed to go well but...
The screen does not rotate ( it's not locked in settings )
Notification LED does not work
No email notifications until I open Dekko
Fingerprint does not work
Calling, incoming and outgoing, hangs up after a few seconds
The SensorStatus App has no readings for any categoryI stupidly never checked if any of these things worked on android. Can I flash android again to check or have I missed a step in the installation? I noticed on other devices people are advised to format and wipe before installing?
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@irnbru Pixel 3a XL here:
- screen DOES rotate
- notification LED: not sure
- email notification: not sure no email on phone: buy maybe it is Dekko not working with content hub, that MAY be a known issue?
- Fingerprint: works, but at least 1 time per day I also have to enter my passcode
- Calling is fine (but no in-call volume adjustment: only at max but has been fine for me and the other end)
- SensorStatus App: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, GPS, Light, some others work
I did like you, flashed the advised Android 9 version then used the installer. I was on "stable" and that was all working, and now am on "devel" and it still is working as before. Not sure what to advise you, but maybe re-doing the installation may be warranted?
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@rik Fixed ( not really )
I flashed android 9 again, no sensors. 2 different sensor test apps reported "Device has no sensors" ! I then let it update to android 11 and all sensors are working. Flashed 9 again, all sensors gone.
After a bit of searching i found out there was a sensor bug that only affected a small set of pixels. When updating from 9 to 10 all sensors stopped working. Seems persist.img was corrupted. There may be a way to fix this, but much more research needed! I'm still a noob at this stuff.
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@irnbru whoa, keep us updated. It would be very good to document what variation of devices would give such a problem, sorry to hear about your headaches!
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@rik
I don't think anyone here in Ubuntu Touch land needs to worry about this sensor bug. The first fix for affected phones was to roll back to android 9, then all sensors would return. So anybody flashing android 9 should be okay... except me who is back at square 1.For what it's worth, MOST of the affected phones previously had custom rom's. The main issue being twrp log files corrupting the persist partition. ( twrp no longer uses this partition )
Does anybody know why we have to flash android 9, would installing Ubuntu Touch while on android 11 be a bad idea ?
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The reason flashing google factory android 9 is necessary is because sensors and partitioning changes with custom ROMs and between versions of android. It is possible things stayed the same between android versions, but it cannot be guaranteed.
So, If radios, sensors, or other things aren't working, go back and flash stock android 9. Then procede to troubleshoot from there.
Also good to test eveything while in android to make sure your device is functioning properly from the start.
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@rocket2nfinity
Thanks for the explanation. I took your advice and found that the February 2021 update fixes my sensor problems. The release notes contain "Fix for issue preventing certain sensor detection on startup".I guess UT will never run on this phone but at least it's fully working on android.
Thanks @rik and @rocket2nfinity for your help.
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@irnbru I wouldn't give up hope. Other ports started off in worse shape and are now stable. I suspect the same will be true for the 3a. Just needs a little tinkering to figure out what's going on.
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Just an update, I could not find any info on android 9 breaking the sensors anywhere. Whatever the issue is, it must only affect a small number of phones.
Got another pixel 3a, flashed 9, sensors work! Installed Ubuntu Touch and sensors work! UT looks amazing on this phone and I have not had to charge it in 24 hours! Still have to test everything out such as MMS.
As for the original phone, as it works on 11, I gave it to a family member who needed a new android phone.
Man, Ubuntu Touch is getting expensive