Install UT on Google Pixel 3a XL
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Hello Kind People,
So here I am begging for help again. The Google Pixel 3a XL has arrived. It's new. Haven't switched it on. I am following these instructions: https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/device/sargo/
Apparently the first step is to revert to factory image. I have located the relevant file here: https://developers.google.com/android/images#bonito
Should I flash it to the phone using the Android flash tool? Isn't the phone already in a factory state?
Any help appreciated. Doing this takes my mind off the impending nuclear holocaust.
Best Wishes
Matt
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Hi @matt73
Pixel phones are easy to flash.
You can either boot android and check the image installed or you can choose to flash the correct image (I would recommend it).If the phone is brand new or if it's a second hand there are chances android got updated past the required version for Ubuntu Touch.
It is frightening the first time but I'm sure it will go well if you take it slow and you read carefully all instructions beforehand.
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As AppLee said, Pixel phones are easy to flash:
Go to here which is your link and use Chrome browser, I do this in Windows and am yet to try in Ubuntu.
With the link opened in Chrome, click on the correct image , PQ3B.190801.002, and choose the Flash option. This really makes it easy. It will ask you to install Android Flash Tool if you haven't already done so - Install this and follow the on screen instructions.
Tick the following boxes:
Force flash all partitions - ticked
Disable verification - ticked
Disable verity - tickedThis will set it up nicely for UT to install. Do not lock the bootloader, there is a tick box for that, leave it unchecked.
Once installed to stock, go back through setting it up as you would do, I skip all the bumph about setting up my Google account. When all is done, go to settings, make sure the bootloader unlock button (or OEM unlock button) is correctly set and make sure USB debugging is turned on. Reboot to the bootloader, fire up the UT installer and follow the instructions for the device - I ticked the wipe data checkbox.
If it sticks at the Google logo on reboot, re run the installer again with the wipe data checkbox ticked, it should go through fine.
If all doesn't go to plan, reinstall the stock ROM and try again. I haven't bricked a phone yet installing UT, if it doesn't work, reverting to stock ROM's and trying again has always worked for me.
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Ok, thanks guys. I will give it a go.
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@mrt10001 Hello. Thanks for the advice. When you say 'fire up the UT installer', do you mean using balena etcher to flash it to emmc like I did with the pine phone?
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@matt73 said in Install UT on Google Pixel 3a XL:
When you say 'fire up the UT installer', do you mean using balena etcher to flash it to emmc like I did with the pine phone?
Fire up the UT installer means:
- installing the UBports installer on your laptop or PC
- starting that installer
No flashing to emmc is involved.
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Hello,
So I downloaded Chrome, followed the preparatory steps in the instructions on the phone, but I am getting an error message saying it can't connect. The advice is to unplug and reconnect but it doesn't work. It sees the phone but won't connect to it despite me having succesfully followed the steps in the preparation phase. Any advice appreciated.
Best
Matt
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Hi @matt73
A common issue is to have a bad cable...
You should try to swap cables and be sure to use USB-2.0 port on your desktop.Hopefully it's not a physical issue with the USB port of your phone.
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@applee Hello. I tried a different cable with USB ending but it didn't work. I have made sure the phone is correctly prepared according to the instructions. I am getting the error message in the attached screenshot. Any advice appreciated.
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@matt73 Hi,
could it be that windows plug&play is trying to access the phone?
Or has it already accessed and is now blocking the USB slot, in which case you should close the automatically opened windows, especially if an antivirus program is trying to scan the device.I haven't worked with Windows for years, that is except, unfortunately still, in business.
Best regards
Mario -
Check in device manager the phone is being picked up, it could be called google pixel or ADB device. Make sure developer options are enabled and within developer options, USB debugging is enabled and OEM unlocking is enabled. You should unlock the bootloader as well, but make sure you uncheck the "lock bootloader" box when you flash android.
There are plenty of tutorials in using the flash tool.
Is your phone SIM unlocked, i.e. it is locked to an provider like EE/T-Mobile etc?
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@mario-ch I'n not using Windows. I've got Linux on my laptop. Thanks for chipping in anyway
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@mrt10001 I'm not using Windows. Should I? I have enable the USB debugging and made sure OEM is unlocked on the phone. I'll try using my gf's macbook to see if it works with that and I'll read the flash link you sent as well. Thanks
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@matt73 My bad, on my Linux PC or virtual machines, I install Android Developer tools as it has the latest ADB drivers and fastboot drivers. I then flash the ROM through fastboot command line, or side-load it using ADB and recovery.
I just found that the Android flash tool in Google Chrome made it so much easier and a whole lot quicker. -
Hey Guys,
So, I used my gf's mac to do it instead of my laptop with Linux and it's working now. The main reason I am doing this is that I want a system that respects privacy more and doesn't constantly eavesdrop like my gf's iphone does. I hope UT offers more privacy. I mean, it's a bit different to the pine phone because you have these 'blobs' which is like firmware right? Anyway, that's the ultimate goal here...A phone that you can genuinely opt out of being listened into constantly.
I'm not there yet though I'll let you know how it goes.
Best
Matt
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@matt73 Yep, no Google snooping, however bear in mind your phone connects to a cell system so if the authorities wish to monitor you they can do it through that.
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@mrt10001 Well yeah, but I just don't want to be listened to constantly in my home by the device. I found that I would mention subjects I hadn't talked about in years and then go into my room and go on YouTube and see a video in the recommended section about this obscure thing I hadn't mentioned in years. It happened too often to be a coincidence. Even if I went into the settings on the iphone and turned off mic access, it still happened and a local guy that specialises in fixing apple devices reckons that the devices still listen even if you have unchecked mic access. Scandalous behaviour really on the part of these companies.
Anyway, I've done it! I've got UT running on this Google Pixel device like lightning. If only I had known, I wouldn't have bought the pine phone which is super sluggish by comparison. When I turn the phone on, I briefly get the bootloader screen, then the Google logo before it goes into UT. That's normal right? Do I need to do anything in the settings of UT to re-lock the bootloader or something like that?
Thanks everyone for your help. All I can do in return is generally be nice and preach the gospel of alt-tech.
Best
Matt
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@matt73 DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT relock the bootloader. If you do that UT won't load, but some phones (Pixels are maybe OK) will be bricked if you do this. I nearly had this issue on an Xiaomi phone, but managed to get it back - teach me for not seeing a tick box. Just watch the battery life, the 3a XL should be ok, but UT doesn't have all the optimizations that Android builds in the preserve battery life, oh the joys of spending billions of dollars on R&D
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What you are seeing on boot up is exactly what it should be doing.
I tend to install stuff such as the VPN editor tool, the Onion Browser, Dekko, Maps, Unav, Tagger, UT tweak tool, Document Viewer as the basics.
Good luck with your UT degoogled phone. If it goes wrong, just use the installer to reinstall UT and untick the wipe data box. -
@mrt10001 Ok, thanks for the info. I will enjoy exploring the OS and check out those apps. Sorry to go on about this but just to be sure: When I turn the phone on, I get a warning that the bootloader is unlocked and that software integrity cannot be guaranteed and that any data may be vulnerable to attackers...then it displays the Google logo (not massively pleased about that because as you might expect I am not a big fan of Google) and then it goes into UT. This is how it is supposed to be right? I don't need to change anything? Sorry to repeat the same question but I get a bit OCD about these things and have been wondering whether the phone should go straight into UT without the bootloader screen and Google logo (which doesn't happen with the Pine Phone but I imagine that's because the hardware is designed to run Linux out of the box without the workaround needed to get UT to run on an Android device right?)
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@matt73 said in Install UT on Google Pixel 3a XL:
When I turn the phone on, I get a warning that the bootloader is unlocked and that software integrity cannot be guaranteed and that any data may be vulnerable to attackers...then it displays the Google logo (not massively pleased about that because as you might expect I am not a big fan of Google) and then it goes into UT. This is how it is supposed to be right?
Yes. The warning screen can't be avoided, and the Google logo is just a cosmetic thing, it's literally just an image. For some phones this 'splash screen' has been replaced by something with a UBports logo; nice, for sure, but it doesn't change anything fundamental.
