Another quick update.
I'm really pleased to announce that I got the SharePlugin part of the app working as well. I successfully pushed a file from my Pixel 3a to my (Linux) laptop over BT, but even more importantly for me, I was able to push selected contacts to my car kit 
The user interface is still too rough for the app to be published as is (at this stage, you have to select the target device based on its MAC address, which is far from convenient), but I'm working on it.
Final status update: the app has passed the code review and v0.1.1 is now available on the OpenStore.
You will find it under the name "Ratatoskr (Bluetooth file transfer)", in the "Utilities" category.
If you install it, may I suggest that you check the README here: https://github.com/petroniusniger/ratatoskr/tree/main for a brief description of how to use it most effectively?
Also, should you discover any bug, please report them here: https://github.com/petroniusniger/ratatoskr/issues
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.
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:
turn phone off
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>
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)
(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)
flash successful -- power cycle device
reboot to Android 9, redo initial setup, enable dev. mode, USB debug, connect and allow PC, turn phone off
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:
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
@gpatel-fr said in Trying to revive 'ubtd' (Bluetooth file transfer):
how about setting up a public directory of what you have (if you have cleared the license question) ? It'll allow me to test it under Noble and possibly send a MR to gitlab once I'm sure that it works.
Done. I've created the GitHub project, pushed my repo and tagged it v0.1.0. You can get the code here:
https://github.com/petroniusniger/ratatoskr
The README file contains instructions on how to build (build.sh is a wrapper around clickable that I needed in order to get version strings based on git tags).
I'll now start submitting the app on the OpenStore and create GitHub issues with the open items in my roadmap.
Status update:
'ratatoskr' source code has just been reviewed by @bhdouglass (OpenStore team), and two issues have been identified that should be resolved before allowing publication of the .click packages:
I'll work on resolving those 2 issues and release a v0.1.1 of the code before re-submitting it for publication.
Status update:
As it happens, I took the opportunity of having the phone on the dev channel to re-test an application that typically froze the GUI (the app called "Steps" -- I already opened a bug report on that specific issue). Turns out the behaviour was the same on v763, so I wanted to force a power cycle by rebooting the phone on the recovery image (Power + Vol+).
But instead of the recovery menu, I was greeted by the spiralling animation: the phone was clearly installing something. When it finished rebooting, I was back on OTA-20, and both SIMs were still active!
Following @DPITTI suggestion, I also removed v763 from the upgrade history.
I'll now mark this post as "resolved". Many thanks to all those who contributed.
@lduboeuf said in Trying to revive 'ubtd' (Bluetooth file transfer):
Congrats, So some changes are needed on UT to make it work ?
If your question is: did I need to hack my phone to make the app work in its current state, then the answer is no. As suggested by @gpatel-fr, I just gave it an "unconfined" AA profile (which I understand would prevent me from publishing it on the OpenStore).
So eventually an updated bluetooth AppArmor Policy Group would be needed, I guess (or a extra one dedicated to OBEX).
@gpatel-fr said in Trying to revive 'ubtd' (Bluetooth file transfer):
how about setting up a public directory of what you have (if you have cleared the license question) ? It'll allow me to test it under Noble and possibly send a MR to gitlab once I'm sure that it works. Don't want to harass you of course, it's up to you to decide.
Yes, the licensing issue has been cleared up. Michael Zanetti agreed with me using the GPL v3.
What I'm working on right now is getting the code in a state where I could submit it on the OpenStore (with the understanding that it would need a full review as it still uses an unconfined profile). Of course, in the process, I will also push the code to a public Github repository.
Can you clarify what the Gitlab merge request you mentioned would be about? I'm afraid I missed a step here.
@alter Thinking back about the whole sequence, I'm a bit concerned that my first failed attempt at flashing UT (before adapting the udev rules) may have left the phone in an "unexpected" state, which in turn caused the 2nd flashing attempt to fail with these ominous error messages.
It is perhaps best at this point that use TWRP again to put Android9 back on the phone (in both slots), make sure the phone is bootable again, and retry the whole 'ubports-installer' process again.
@stanwood Thanks a lot for the advice.
I just went through 'journal' events (phone is now on 24.04-2.0 beta/RC) and found the following errors/warnings related to bluetooth:
Jun 23 23:29:47 ubuntu-phablet bluebinder_post.sh[2815]: Failed to get bluetooth address!
Jun 23 23:29:47 ubuntu-phablet bluetoothd[2861]: src/adapter.c:reset_adv_monitors_complete() Failed to reset Adv Monitors: Unknown Command (0x01)
[...]
Jun 23 23:29:50 ubuntu-phablet systemd[2767]: bluez-mpris-proxy.service - BlueZ MPRIS proxy was skipped because of an unmet condition check (ConditionPathExists=!/usr/lib/systemd/user/mpris-proxy.service).
It's unclear to me whether any of those can explain the BT connection issue with the laptop, but here they are.
PhAndersson said:
I can also confirm that the RTC issue is still present on the Quintus. Just created the following issue about it: [Bug] Volla Quintus: RTC problem: correct time/date not preserved across power cycles.
That particular problem is fixed by disabling the Timekeeper service, useless on non-Qualcomm devices. Kudos to @gpatel-fr for the suggestion.
Yes! I confirm that disabling the Timekeeper service resolves the issue. The clock on the phone was still correct this morning after turning it on in "offline" mode.
Which also confirms that RTC is indeed supported natively on the Quintus.
To make double-sure, I'll let the phone NTP-synch on the WiFi at home this evening, then power it off for the night, and confirm tomorrow that its time is still "believable" after powering it up while offline.
Maybe you could try to disable the Timekeeper service ?
I think you nailed it! Congrats!
After having disabled and stopped the service, I powered off the phone for a couple of hours, and when I restarted it, the clock was at the expected value (i.e. 2 hours later).
In the logs, I have the following:
Jun 05 17:36:39 ubuntu-phablet systemd[1]: Starting timekeeper.service - Timekeeper is a utility to keep/restore RTC offset for Qualcomm devices...
Jun 23 23:29:43 ubuntu-phablet systemd[1]: Finished timekeeper.service - Timekeeper is a utility to keep/restore RTC offset for Qualcomm devices.
Jun 23 23:29:43 ubuntu-phablet systemd[1]: Starting systemd-timesyncd.service - Network Time Synchronization...
Jun 23 23:29:43 ubuntu-phablet systemd[1]: Started systemd-timesyncd.service - Network Time Synchronization.
As you can see, the "clock time unset or jumped backwards" message no longer appears, and the clock value only jumps once.
I'll update the Gitlab issue accordingly. I guess the Timekeeper service should only be enabled on devices that use the Qualcomm chipset, not in all cases.
Still no feedback from Volla. Created the following issue about it: [Bug] Volla Quintus: RTC problem: correct time/date not preserved across power cycles.
I can also confirm that the RTC issue is still present on the Quintus. Just created the following issue about it: [Bug] Volla Quintus: RTC problem: correct time/date not preserved across power cycles.
Bluetooth on the Quintus is still problematic as far as connecting to a laptop is concerned. The behaviour is still the same as the one described here: Noble bluetooth issues.
First feedback regarding Morph:
I also tried accessing a personal web application on my local net that uses Apache Basic Authentication method:
Something else I know was problematic with Morph on Focal was handling captive portals for WiFi authentication (a rather typical setup in hotels these days). This I couldn't test with 24.04-2.0 beta.
then run the following command in Terminal app or via ADB/SSH:
Of course -- right under my nose. Sorry for the silly question.
Running 24.04-2.0 beta now.
Thanks much.