@JayH @mr_growl

I also found this UBPorts video from 6 years ago. It shows how to build a port. Some things probably have changed a bit since then, but it should assist in providing a visual for the Porting Documentation.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nShXVDXM50A

@zakafx

From the QA call, he said we would need to finish the port to get VoLTE running and that he would not be involved in this as his phone could not be used. I'm not sure if he is still working on and supporting the non-VoLTE ports or not. However, I can confrim that for the VoLTE "branch", he is not involved. I'm not sure what any of his future plans are for the Pixel 3a. However, I can say the work he has done is very valuable, and we are very appreciative of his work.

@AppLee
Hello all. I'm new here and love all the work you all are doing on Ubuntu Touch. In the United States, the Google Pixel 3a is cheap and readily available. Some of the other phones I've been looking at to run Ubuntu Touch are quite expensive to get in the United States, especially the Fairphone 5. I'd imagine the prices of any phone requiring imports could continue to increase.

Currently, I have been testing with the Google Pixel 3a. Alfred's work on this has been amazing. I'm sure all users of this device will agree! The only thing preventing me from using it as a daily driver is the lack of VoLTE. I'm able to get data over 4G, but I can't get phone calls. Phone calls only occur on 2G. On 4G mode, I can call out, but people can't call in. On 2G mode, I can call out and people can call in. For data priority, I have to switch it to 4G mode. For phone call priority, I have to switch it to 2G mode. 2G is important because I can only receive calls in this mode. The 2G/3G/4G mode won't swap the call down to 2G for me to receive it. I doubt swapping down to 2G is possible, but I could be wrong.

I may need to be pointed in the right direction on how to test. I'm not sure where the project left off and who all may be interested in continuing the development further. However, I want to show my appreciation for all the work done so far and see if this could potentially be taken further by a small group. I know Alfred is incredibly busy and can't dedicate as much time for it. However, for people in the US, the Google Pixel 3a presents a low bar of entry and great accessibility into the world of Ubuntu Touch for those who may want to try it out, learn more, etc.

If any notes can be left and a maybe a direction of where to go with incorporating VoLTE, that would be helpful! I don't know how I can help other than potential testing. I don't know anything about scripting for VoLTE, etc. However, maybe with some notes and research, a group can gather to learn more and help out!

In the worst case scenario that VoLTE won't come to the Google Pixel 3a, another phone recommendation may be needed for users in the US. If there is a phone recommendation that can run VoLTE, 5G, MMS, and Ubuntu Touch 24.04 that is in US, please let me know. I'd like to continue trying to see if I can make Ubuntu Touch a daily driver for me. Again, thanks for all you do!

@AetheralMeowstic

We have confirmed VoLTE is possible with Ubuntu Touch for the Google Pixel 3a. The VoLTE patch is included in this port. We just need to finish this port to get everything up an running. Currently, we need to get the device info file built.

The Ubuntu Touch community does see the need to get VoLTE up and running for those in the US and elsewhere. A number of phones are already running VoLTE. However, a number of these may be hard to get in the US or expensive. For example, the Fairphone 5 can run VoLTE in the US. Trying to find one in the US may be difficult or expensive. That is part of the reason why we are trying to get this port up and running. This could also help our European friends and others if their carrier has not dropped the Google Pixel 3a or does not include VoLTE Roaming.

Unfortunately, the original developer's carrier dropped the Google Pixel 3a, and this is the main reason why this port is unfinished. We already have confirmed that some carriers in the US still support the Google Pixel 3a and VoLTE Roaming. Therefore, we can continue this project for the original developer. We are always looking for people to help test and contribute!

@wally

Thanks! Yes, that is the main reason why I created this post. I wanted to assist anyone in the United States who may be interested in Ubuntu Touch as a potential daily driver and wanted to test VoLTE capability.

There's some great information in your post. I've been searching for some phones in case we can't get VoLTE working on it, it gets dropped by the carrier, etc. I'd definitely like a workable backup, but finding one that I know has official support has been a bit difficult.

I will keep looking and see what I can find out. If I come across anything, I will post here too!

I got a runner and tried to run it, but the build failed. I may need some assistance with Gitlab as I haven't used it before. I'm more used to building on a local machine. It will take me a while to read up on it, and I don't want to slow anyone down.

Here are the changes I made to deviceinfo if someone wants to fork and try it on their own:

deviceinfo_kernel_cmdline="console=ttyMSM0,115200n8 androidboot.console=ttyMSM0 printk.devkmsg=on msm_rtb.filter=0x237 ehci-hcd.park=3 service_locator.enable=1 firmware_class.path=/vendor/firmware cgroup.memory=nokmem lpm_levels.sleep_disabled=1 loop.max_part=7 androidboot.boot_devices=soc/7c4000.sdhci androidboot.super_partition=system buildvariant=user"

deviceinfo_bootimg_header_version="2"
deviceinfo_bootimg_os_version="12.0.0"
deviceinfo_bootimg_os_patch_level="2022-05"

This was taken from sargo-sp2a.220505.008-factory-071e368a which is the September 2022 build -
12.1.0 (SP2A.220505.008, Sep 2022).

@mr_growl

Good to know! It is a Mac for whatever that's worth. At the time, I wanted to try something different, and now, I'm missing Linux every time. Hahaha

@mr_growl

That's a huge time difference! I likewise feel like something is missing. Perhaps looking back at the original Pixel 3a/3aXL Ubuntu Touch 20.04 port could shed some light too. I'm assuming that these should have relatively the same file "structures." A vendor blob should be in there somewhere I'd imagine.

@mr_growl

I did find this in the forum as a Port QA Checklist. Still looking into the vendor blobs.

https://gitlab.com/ubports/community-ports/general/-/blob/master/DeviceChecklist.md

Is this on 20.04 or 24.04?

@OtaDr

Thanks for the specific post and the confirmation! I'm hoping a resolution can be found soon!

@mr_growl

Hahaha It definitely feels like the 90s! I better get some techno or grunge playing while I'm working on this. Hahaha

Yes, when comparing different alternative OS builds, I noticed the same thing. I got stuck on where exactly these should go as I didn't notice anything similar in the Ubuntu Touch documentation. That led me back to trying to trace the original port and other ports to see what happens where and where these vendor blobs should go. Also, I don't know the last time the documentation has been reviewed and updated. For example, I still see the Nexus being referenced and that is from 16.04. I'm not sure how much has changed since then on the porting side. Also, there may be some things that could be left out either by accident or "like, of course, you should know you have to do XYZ, why do I need to write that?" which may confuse the new or average user. This is not a problem limited to just Ubuntu Touch. Other systems have similar omissions in their documentation sometimes. Overall, the documentation so far is great, but I do notice there are some places where I'm having questions, and it sounds like it is not just me. Maybe reading additional material is confusing me? I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll see what I can find out, and if I notice anything, I'll post it here.

@VoidItsWarranty

Thanks for the information! We will look at that when the VoLTE port is finished. The current 24.04 port and the VoLTE port have different Halium backends. This may make a difference on what issues are present, etc.

@zakafx

From the QA call, he said we would need to finish the port to get VoLTE running and that he would not be involved in this as his phone could not be used. I'm not sure if he is still working on and supporting the non-VoLTE ports or not. However, I can confrim that for the VoLTE "branch", he is not involved. I'm not sure what any of his future plans are for the Pixel 3a. However, I can say the work he has done is very valuable, and we are very appreciative of his work.

@OtaDr

Thanks for this info! I haven't been able to test that, so thanks for sharing!

@mr_growl

Looks like I got something running in a virtual machine, but it is very, very slow probably due to the instruction translations to the ARM processor among other factors. Needless to say, it can run, but it will take forever under these specs if it doesn't crash. I've been eyeing a desktop PC for a while. I might have to take the plunge when the means become available. If I can't get this to work on my hardware, I will let you know.