I have made a few comments on posts about the issues that people are expecting with the news about Google and Huawei, basically suggesting the people look into using UBports Ubuntu Touch instead.

Just wondering if this is a good opportunity to promote UBports as people may be getting disillusioned by both Google and Chinese manufacturers OS for their devices?

@3arn0wl Re-Stellarium look at Réaltaí
Personally I would like the opposite, not what is above you but what is below you like https://rockd.org/

I am having issues with my trusty old Meizu Pro 5 and decided to get something that supports halium and waydroid so I chose a Google Pixel 3a XL.
I managed to get a good deal on one from Amazon UK with a 20% off offer they have at the moment, to be delivered by NextDayMobiles in the next couple of days (so much for their name ).

I will probably be on the forum a lot more trying to get this one set up so, thanks in advance for the help that I am sure to get here.

So, I eventually got around to replacing that headphone jack. I had been putting it off as the issue did not happen very frequently, but just recently it has been switching to headphone mode without a reboot. Also as replacing the headphone jack required removing the motherboard I was somewhat trepidatious about it.
No difference though, it still boots up in headphone mode until I cool it down for a period of time.
I will see if it lasts in speaker mode for longer over next few weeks.

In the meantime I have bought another pro5 advertised on amazon as a UK 32GB version. I will concentrate on re-partitioning and putting 16.04 on it.

I just got a notification from DHL that my PineTab has shipped.

At this point in time what should we expect of the functionality of the PineTab?

Looking at https://gitlab.com/ubports/community-ports/pinephone and https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PineTab I can't see much general info on how to start using it...

Do we have to boot from SD card?

Is this the best place to get builds?
https://ci.ubports.com/job/rootfs/job/rootfs-pinetab/

@arubislander Thanks, I tried my old Microsoft cable and it connected great.
Time to set up Libertine now...

Wow, thanks for this Stefano. I have just obtained another Pro5 and want to install 16.04.
Would I still need to go through the procedure to re-partition as per you post here - You need to decrease the size of partition 42 ( sda 42 )(custom) before using this backup?

Got it, typing this from the PineTab... :beaming_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Installer done, now on OTA-4. Had some issues and thought I broke it as the UBports Recovery screen disappeared after the first attempt but that might be normal? New UBports Recovery screen installed the next time.

@stefano That was really straightforward, the phone that was delivered was an unlocked flyme international version and I could immediately get into fastboot and flash TWRP. The restore of the backup went smoothly. The flash of the recovery-turbo.img finished this off. once in UBports Ubuntu Touch it asked for an update so I selected update rebooted and now I am on 16.04 (2018-W34/3)
Is there any advantage in changing the channel from stable?

OK, so it looks like I will be keeping the SIM in the Pixel 3a XL which is still on android.

@Ian Can you still call 333 and get through to get a voice call of your balance, I can on my old Meizu pro 5. I can't even get a signal on my Pixel 3a XL.

@Enrico13011978 from a website about 2G 3G switch off in the UK
Vodafone completed its switch-off in early 2024.
EE completed its switch-off in early 2024..
Three expects to switch-off by the end of 2024.
O2 is planning to switch-off in 2025.

But I thought that to get and make calls having a 4G phone was sufficient.

Ironically Three sent a text to say that they have sorted the issue and of course I could not get it on my UBPorts Pixel 3a XL if it was not fixed.
I did get the text on my old Meizu pro 5 because I had the SIM in that one.
My UBPorts Pixel 3a XL is still not getting a signal. When I try and get a carrier in mobile settings it is not able to, it just keeps coming up with none.

Just had an issue with my mobile connection on my Pixel 3a XL. The signal had been a bit flaky the last few days, dropping off intermittently. I had a chat with my supplier Three UK and they concluded that I needed a VoLTE calling feature compatible phone now.
The thing is that I swapped the SIM into my old Meizu pro 5 and it worked fine.
I also have a spare Pixel 3a XL to use as a backup but have not installed UBPorts on it and the sim works fine in Android.

Do you think that it is a hardware issue with the Pixel 3a XL with UBports on it, or something else.
I was thinking of getting a Vodafone UK SIM and testing that to see if it is an issue with the provider, is that worth trying?

Installer done, now on OTA-4. Had some issues and thought I broke it as the UBports Recovery screen disappeared after the first attempt but that might be normal? New UBports Recovery screen installed the next time.

@MrT10001 Thanks, I will try the installer.

Hi, I just upgraded my Google Pixel 3a XL to whatever was available to be upgraded today (I am sure that I was in the stable channel). The UBports Recovery screen came up after rebooting and I selected Reboot but I just got the google screen and could not get any further. The UBports Recovery screen shows Halium 9 and Slot b at the bottom.
I see an option for Factory reset but would rather not do that unless that would be necessary.
I see the device being recognised in Kubuntu when I plug it in.
Should I try the UBports installer?

@arubislander Thanks, I tried my old Microsoft cable and it connected great.
Time to set up Libertine now...

OK, I am thinking about convergence now. I was using a specific usb to hdmi cable on my Nexus 4 and a Microsoft WiFi monitor cable on my Meizu Pro 5.
What options do I have on the Pixel 3a XL?

channel 20.04 stable.
Seems to be working OK.
I don't use the phone much but I can make and receive calls on my pay as you go Three UK sim fine.
One of the reasons for doing this was to be able to hear incoming calls better, it could just be me, or maybe the caller that I could hardly make out, but it seems loud enough in testing.

And I got my custom ringtones and notification audio clips installed without faffing about with copying files which I had to do originally, so that is better now.