UT installation on Google Pixel 3a (step-by-step)

[PhAndersson]

The present post does not contain any question. When I flashed my first phone with UT four years ago, I struggled a bit to gather all relevant information, so I'm offering the below procedure to the community in the hope that it may ease the journey of first-time users.

Disclaimer: this is a description of what worked for me. Use at your own risk. Flashing is performed from a PC installed with openSUSE Leap 15.6 -- some commands may need to be adapted if you use a different distro.

Important: if flashing the phone with either Android Flash Tool or the flash-all.sh script hangs / fails to detect the phone, DO try from a different PC if you can (I have a Lenovo laptop and a custom-built PC both installed with openSUSE Leap 15.6: I was never able to flash from the laptop, while the PC worked like a charm). It may also be worth trying different USB cables / USB ports.

Note: in the steps below, '#' denote commands that are executed as root, '$' denote commands that are executed as a regular user.

Android initial setup

• unbox and fully charge phone (do not turn on yet)

• insert SIM, turn phone on

  • select language (English UK)

  • click Get Started

  • connect to WiFi (provide credentials)
    -> "getting your phone ready..."

  • "Copy apps & data" -> select "Don't copy"

  • Google account sign-in -> login

  • Accept conditions

  • set a PIN

  • Continue setup or get reminder -> get reminder

  • Unselect all optional apps

  • Settings -> System -> Updates
    (Android 12, build SP2A.220505.008)

  • Settings -> About Phone
    tap "Build number" 7 times, enter PIN to confirm
    -> "you are now a developer"

  • Settings -> System -> Developer Options:

    • enable USB debugging
    • allow OEM unlocking, enter PIN to confirm

• turn phone off

Dev. env. installation on linux PC

• unzip 'platform-tools' archive below ~/platform-tools/

• edit ~/.bashrc to add ${HOME}/platform-tools to your PATH

• install (update) 'android-udev-rules' package from build service

  # zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/hardware/15.6/hardware.repo
  # zypper refresh
  # zypper install android-udev-rules-20250314-lp156.51.1.noarch
  

  (this also installs adb and fastboot by way of dependencies)

• add your own user account to 'adbusers' group:

  # usermod -aG adbusers <userID>
  

  (logout/login)

  # grep adb /etc/group
  adbusers:x:453:<userID>
  

Unlock bootloader

• turn phone on (regular mode). Unlock it

• plug phone into PC

• ADB connection detected by phone. Check box to always allow connection from PC (allow PC's RSA key fingerprint on device):

  $ adb devices -l
  List of devices attached
  XXXXXXXXXX             device usb:1-6 product:sargo model:Pixel_3a device:sargo transport_id:1
  

• turn phone off

• boot into Fastboot Mode
  (volume down + power -- hold for 5")

  Fastboot menu appears

  $ fastboot devices -l
  XXXXXXXXXX             fastboot usb:1-6
  

• unlock bootloader

  $ fastboot flashing unlock
  OKAY [  0.133s]
  Finished. Total time: 0.133s
  

• phone screen prompts: do not unlock / unlock
  (use volume keys to select, power button to confirm)
  -> bootloader confirmed unlocked

• turn phone off (use volume button to select option, power button to confirm)

Return phone to latest Android 9

(the steps below refer to the Android Flash Tool -- using the flash-all.sh script also works fine but starts with the phone booted into the bootloader)

• check that 'adb' is not running
  (otherwise, stop it with 'adb kill-server')

• turn phone on the usual way

• redo basic setup, as bootloader unlock returned it to factory default (see above)

• reconnect to phone using 'adb devices' to get prompt to authorized PC and allow it

• visit following URL in Chrome (authorise pop-ups in browser):
  https://flash.android.com/

• select device

• select target build (PQ3B.190801.002)

• DO NOT select to relock bootloader

• click Install Build (confirm, accept license)

  • DO NOT interact with device during flashing
  • it reboots to fastboot
  • reselect device in Chrome

• flash successful -- power cycle device

• reboot to Android 9, redo initial setup, enable dev. mode, USB debug, connect and allow PC, turn phone off

Flash phone with UbuntuTouch

• install 'snapd' daemon

  # zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/system:/snappy/openSUSE_Leap_15.6/ Snappy
  # zypper refresh
  
  # zypper in snapd
  
  # systemctl enable snapd.apparmor.service
  # systemctl start snapd.apparmor.service
  # systemctl enable snapd.service
  # systemctl start snapd.service
  

• reboot

• install UBports installer

  # snap install ubports-installer
  
  $ which ubports-installer
  /snap/bin/ubports-installer
  
  $ snap info ubports-installer
  name:      ubports-installer
  summary:   The easy way to install Ubuntu Touch on UBports devices.
  publisher: UBports
  store-url: https://snapcraft.io/ubports-installer
  contact:   https://github.com/ubports/ubports-installer/issues/new
  license:   GPL-3.0
  description: |
   A friendly cross-platform Installer for Ubuntu Touch. Just connect a
   supported device to your PC, follow the on-screen instructions and watch
   this awesome tool do all the rest.
  commands:
   - ubports-installer
  snap-id:      mq0sTMV7a8744UTRBwQHimStAqsGzbjj
  tracking:     latest/stable
  refresh-date: 2022-09-11
  channels:
   latest/stable:    0.9.7-beta 2022-09-11 (435)  97MB -
   latest/candidate: ?                                 
   latest/beta:      0.9.8-beta 2022-11-02 (445) 102MB -
   latest/edge:      0.10.0     2023-04-23 (462) 103MB -
  installed:          0.9.7-beta            (435)  97MB -
  

• switch ubports-installer to "edge" channel

  $ snap refresh ubports-installer --edge
  ubports-installer (edge) 0.10.0 from UBports refreshed
  
  $ snap info ubports-installer
  name:      ubports-installer
  summary:   The easy way to install Ubuntu Touch on UBports devices.
  publisher: UBports
  store-url: https://snapcraft.io/ubports-installer
  contact:   https://github.com/ubports/ubports-installer/issues/new
  license:   GPL-3.0
  description: |
   A friendly cross-platform Installer for Ubuntu Touch. Just connect a
   supported device to your PC, follow the on-screen instructions and watch
   this awesome tool do all the rest.
  commands:
   - ubports-installer
  snap-id:      mq0sTMV7a8744UTRBwQHimStAqsGzbjj
  tracking:     latest/edge
  refresh-date: today at 13:47 CET
  channels:
   latest/stable:    0.9.7-beta 2022-09-11 (435)  97MB -
   latest/candidate: ?                                 
   latest/beta:      0.9.8-beta 2022-11-02 (445) 102MB -
   latest/edge:      0.10.0     2023-04-23 (462) 103MB -
  installed:          0.10.0                (462) 103MB -
  

• start ubports-installer

  $ ubports-installer 
  Gtk-Message: 19:40:25.179: Failed to load module "window-decorations-gtk-module"
  Gtk-Message: 19:40:25.179: Failed to load module "colorreload-gtk-module"
  info: Welcome to the UBports Installer version 0.10.0!
  

  • connect phone (off) via USB

  • click select device manually
    -> Google Pixel 3a:3a XL

  • click "My device is unlocked"

  • select OS
    -> Ubuntu Touch

  • click Install

  • Installation options:

    • select channel
      -> 20.04/stable
    • check "wipe personal data"
    • check "Flash system partitions using fastboot" (default)
    • click OK

  info: device selected: sargo
  info: Installing Ubuntu Touch on your Google Pixel 3a/3a XL (sargo)
  info: configuring...
  info: settings: {"bootstrap":true,"wipe":true,"channel":"20.04/arm64/android9plus/stable"}
  info: Downloading 3 files
  info: Downloaded file 1 of 3
  info: Downloaded file 2 of 3
  info: Downloaded file 3 of 3
  

  • boot phone to bootloader, click Continue

    (flashing firmware)

  • boot to recovery, click Continue

    (if button fails, try adb reboot recovery)
    => shows 3-circles recovery logo and menu

  info: Downloading 12 files
  info: Downloaded file 1 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 2 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 3 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 4 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 5 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 6 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 7 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 8 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 9 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 10 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 11 of 12
  info: Downloaded file 12 of 12
  info: All done! Your device will now reboot and complete the installation. Enjoy exploring Ubuntu Touch!
  

  (pushing files to phone)

  • phone reboots at the end
    => goes to longish 3-circles recovery logo animation while installing (may last a few minutes -- have patience)

  • phone reboots again
    => this time it boots to UT and asks you to perform the initial setup