Living on the edge (how to install Ubuntu Touch from the edge channel)

UniSuperBox

The edge channel is our moniker for a separate build of Ubuntu Touch from the xenial_-_edge repository. It is a place for us to test large migrations of software before releasing them to the normal devel->rc->stable cycle. This lets us get user feedback on these large migrations without interrupting an OTA, for example.

Testers with a second device or who don't use their Ubuntu Touch device day-to-day may wish to install the edge channel to get a taste of what will come to UT in the future. Developers who are interested in contributing to a large migration may also be interested in running the edge channel to maintain a good overview of the migration's status.

Do not run software from the edge channel on your day-to-day device. We give the same recommendation for the devel channel. It is possible that some changes go awry when working with a system as interdependent as Ubuntu Touch. Even small changes may cause unforeseen consequences leading your device to fail to boot or function normally. Please only perform these steps on a device which you don't rely on every day. Be prepared to use the UBports Installer to reinstall your device when things go wrong.

Switching to the edge channel

Switching to the edge channel can be done on any device which is already running Ubuntu Touch. It cannot be done from the system UI or using the UBports Installer due to the expected instability of the channel.

Enable adb access and connect to a shell on your device.
Run the following command on your device over adb: sudo system-image-cli --switch ubports-touch/16.04/edge --progress=dots

Switching from the edge channel

Switching from the edge channel is a very similar process.

Enable adb access and connect to a shell on your device.
Run the following command on your device over adb: sudo system-image-cli --switch ubports-touch/16.04/devel --progress=dots

This command switches to the devel channel. You may replace devel with rc or stable to switch to either of those channels.

What to do next

Now that you have software from the edge channel on your device, join us at #ubports_qa_team:matrix.org or @ubports_qa_team on Telegram to discuss things you might find! We've also added the edge tag on github.com/ubports/ubuntu-touch to make it obvious which reports are only for the edge channel.

Please message me directly here or on Telegram for corrections to this post. I'll keep it locked to ensure that discussion about changes in the edge channel are made in different threads.