2G/Edge on Ubuntu Touch and Android 11, 5G on 13+ and Lineage OS

TheTrench

I'm able to get 5G on the stock Android 13 and Android 15 from Fairphone without an issue, but if I install the stock Android 11 from Fairphone, I lose 5G and I'm stuck on Edge service (at best).

Installing Android 15 to check if this is a version issue, I'm guessing with the modem firmware, I find that 5G works just fine, and installing the Android 13 stock firmware works fine, as does LineageOS.

Is there any way to identify the exact cause, and resolve it, potentially by using the firmware .bin file from a newer Android OS version, (or however exactly it works)?

MrT10001

@TheTrench You need to delve deeper into 5G and what 5G is, plus what Android version supports 5G on that device. 5G falls into two categories - 5G Non Stand Alone (NSA) and 5G (SA). 5G NSA piggybacks of the 4G LTE infrastructure end to end in simple terms. 5G SA is full 5G end to end. This can be affected by available networks, service providers, Android versions and vendor BLOBs and device hardware.

You cannot expect newer firmware files to work on an older version of Android without issues or just not working.

I bought a 5G device when 5G was in its infancy and always got 4G LTE indicated and 4G speeds. 5G has a better infrastructure now and it still shows 4G LTE in a lot of cases. My new device is 5G and always shows 5G and is a bit quicker, but not in all cases.

TheTrench

@MrT10001 So, it's not fixable at all, and I need to give up and throw away the phone, or I can fix it and there's a way to do it?

gpatel-fr

@TheTrench said in 2G/Edge on Ubuntu Touch and Android 11, 5G on 13+ and Lineage OS:

throw away the phone

if there is no better answer, in your place I'd try to install Android 13 and setup UT over that.
It's recommended to use Android 11 yes, but as in this time being stuck on 2G/Edge is not really satisfying as it is shut down more and more frequently, so it's worth the try IMO. The worst that can happen is that UT will not work correctly at all.

It could work because manufacturers can install a newer version of Android without updating the interface on which UT relies. As it is a possibility, not an obligation, it's not a sure thing that it will. But if manufacturers have the ability to take a shortcut to upgrade Android on their supported hardware with less work on their part, they may very well use it.