In need of Help from the Experienced MEizu MX4 - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I bought a Meizu MX4 MT6595 OCta Core model M641 Flyme OS 4.0.2U , Thought it would be great purchase. It seems I was unprepared for how new this phone is and the lack of information on how to optimize it for a US user. I cant update the OS to the Newer version of Flyme OS , though I would prefer to replace the OS with something US friendly. ALso cant install anything because the package installer crashes with everything. I have purchase protection on the phone for one more week, should I just return the phone? Or will their be ROM's available soon to replace FLyme? I like to learn technology is it possible for a novice to learn how to hack a phone and port an available ROM onto a Chinese phone? Or is this something extremely difficult and time consuming? Really just looking for some advice from the informed/ knowledgeable.

lj26ft said:
I bought a Meizu MX4 MT6595 OCta Core model M641 Flyme OS 4.0.2U , Thought it would be great purchase. It seems I was unprepared for how new this phone is and the lack of information on how to optimize it for a US user. I cant update the OS to the Newer version of Flyme OS , though I would prefer to replace the OS with something US friendly. ALso cant install anything because the package installer crashes with everything. I have purchase protection on the phone for one more week, should I just return the phone? Or will their be ROM's available soon to replace FLyme? I like to learn technology is it possible for a novice to learn how to hack a phone and port an available ROM onto a Chinese phone? Or is this something extremely difficult and time consuming? Really just looking for some advice from the informed/ knowledgeable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
China devices are the worst to learn on as there is no kernel source for the device and moat avoid these devices. So you will have to take it on yourself if you want something. Yes it is time consuming and will have a learning curve.

Just got the phone and love it..
You should be able to update Flyme by finding 'upgrade' in your app drawer, but even after the upgrade its just a bit better.
The most current version is 4.0.3i
Not a big fan of Flyme ,I find it very buggy.
Im hoping for a cm rom of some sort. Would love to see something like the version on the onePlus .
LTE works with Rogers and Bell in Canada..

I like the phone as well I have tried the button in the panel to upgrade click it says android settings com has stopped, tried turning it off and upgrading from zip with zip stored in root directory, got nothing. Tried 4.0.3A ,4.0.3i, 4.03U also and everytime it says corrupted. My firmware version is 4.0.2 U . Tried lots of different ways to try and get google services on it and nothing happens. SOme apps from the app store installed like facebook and evernote. So kinda of feeling a little silly about purchasing this phone because the price vs hardware was spectacular. But I cant get everything I want to use on it. Looking for maybe some trouble shooting from experienced users or reassurance that i didnt just make a retarded mistake purchasing a phone i wont ever be able to use an i should just wait until developer community tackles these problems. Though dont know if that will matter if I can never update the thing. I am using windows 8 could could that be causing issues with upgrading my phone over the wire? Or should I try a .bin file ?

lj26ft said:
I like the phone as well I have tried the button in the panel to upgrade click it says android settings com has stopped, tried turning it off and upgrading from zip with zip stored in root directory, got nothing. Tried 4.0.3A ,4.0.3i, 4.03U also and everytime it says corrupted. My firmware version is 4.0.2 U . Tried lots of different ways to try and get google services on it and nothing happens. SOme apps from the app store installed like facebook and evernote. So kinda of feeling a little silly about purchasing this phone because the price vs hardware was spectacular. But I cant get everything I want to use on it. Looking for maybe some trouble shooting from experienced users or reassurance that i didnt just make a retarded mistake purchasing a phone i wont ever be able to use an i should just wait until developer community tackles these problems. Though dont know if that will matter if I can never update the thing. I am using windows 8 could could that be causing issues with upgrading my phone over the wire? Or should I try a .bin file ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to say it but your gonna be out of luck. Developers dont touch these devices. They seldom follow the GPL or have unlocked bootloaders and as they are mainly sold in China which doesnt have agreements set up with google in alot of places it is really a pain to get google services running. We have a forum for it but it has been long dead.

zelendel said:
I hate to say it but your gonna be out of luck. Developers dont touch these devices. They seldom follow the GPL or have unlocked bootloaders and as they are mainly sold in China which doesnt have agreements set up with google in alot of places it is really a pain to get google services running. We have a forum for it but it has been long dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well ill definitely try returning it then go with something a little closer to home. The Hardware vs price sucked me into buying it . What is a good deal on a phone right now? XDA developers favorite phone ? easiest to learn best one to modify. In hindsight probably should have tried finding this forum first rather than after I put money down on a phone but live and learn.

Give this a try.. crap...not letting me post a link...
google 'upgrading flyme to 4.0.3i' and the first link will give you some clear instruction and alternatives to get you going

Related

Developing an Android ROM for the HTC Mozart.

Hi.
This is my first post on xda, and I am hoping to learn a lot whilst I am here.
I am not expecting any help here, but there has been small hype about getting android onto this phone. And I understand that you may be critical about noobs like me expecting an easy fix from you.
I appreciate that the idea makes no sense from many perspectives, this is mine.
I purchased the windows 7 phone 3 months ago, I was a complete idiot and fell for the sales pitch, the salesman promised me the earth, he said I would be able to WiFi Tether on the next update, he told me it would be better then the android evo 4 that I wanted.
As you are probably aware, I am a complete fool. I have however spent many hours on the phone with a certain mobile phone outlett, and my provider, neither will help. And I am stuck with the phone till 2013.
The phone's buyback price has gone down to 1/3rd what it was on the day I bought the phone.
I have now made it my mission to get this phone to run android. I feel so strongly I may even remove the windows logo from the bottom of my touch-screen.
I have already researched some, and expect days more research before I'll be able to do, whatever it is I need to do.
I am and will be keeping a log, of all my research, and hopefully can use what I learn to help people out later on.
So....
Any comments, or questions or support?
CleverNoob
I have picked up a few things. And therefore want to clarify,
I don't want to dual boot the 2 OS's, I want to REMOVE windows 7 and replace it with Android.
From what I gather this means I need to develop an android ROM to work with the mozart, and then Flash it to the phone...?
So my logical mind tells me to look for the android ROM that works on the most similar spec phone.
I am however aware that the firmware or something is different in the mozart, from the HD7 and does not allow for certain android commands to work, therefore the ROM (gingerbread?) used on the HD7 will not be remotely compatible with the HD7?
It seems that there may be a few options for the actual flashing of the ROM already available... So I am going to concentrate on learning more about ROM development now.
If anyone wants to correct me, point me in the right direction, or hurl abuse at me... feel free to do so
I do not know all that much about ROM development.
What about drivers though? Sure it is fine for the chipset as there are Android devices with the same chipset (CPU and GPU)... Although the WiFi, bluetooth, radio etc. I guess it's built into the SoC?
Drivers for the screen, capacitive buttons, camera etc?
I think if you look around, you should be able to find a phone similar to htc mozart and the name which comes to my mind is Nexus one and htc desire...
Although it depends on you that you extract drivers from the OS of both of those android based phones then extract drivers from your mozart and compare if they have same chipset....
I really wonder if it's possible to do all this virtually instead of physically installing OSes on phones for development purposes.
You didnt give up did ya mate!
All of the Australia Telstra Community who got Conned into buying the Mozart over an iPhone due to This Service Provider not having a Contract with Apple are 'root'ing for your Success
just checking if i got it right...
you want android in the mozart just to enable wifi tethering.
well, FYI, its been done and done bro, just unlock your device and install any of the excellent custom ROMs here. my notebook is tethered to my mozart right now.
but if you want to further explore the capabilities of the hardware, no worries- many good samaritans are already doing that. explore the development forums here and thy shall learn!
take care!
Tethering is working now, even with Telstra and no unlocking (7720).
This is my first post too! I was about to post something like yours. I have an HTC Mozart too and I want to install an Android ROM on it though my reasons are different.
As a software developer I have no experience about ROM development but I'm very interested.
So what did you do until now? Any success?

[Q] Playstore/market after root?

I am more than a little cofused regarding the functionality of Google store/Market after root of an android device. I have read seemingly cotradictory posts, some say there is no problem some give work arounds involving Roms. A newer post seems to indicate Google has done something that only alows Chinese android devices to use Market after rooting. Which is true? Do all devices even act the same?
I have an Archos that needed a fix to get it at all but I had not heard that Market didn't work after root until a friend mentioned it a couple of days ago.
Was this something Google did with intent?
My new Phone
Unlocked Bell Galaxy SIII (I747)
on AT&T
WavyA70 said:
I am more than a little cofused regarding the functionality of Google store/Market after root of an android device. I have read seemingly cotradictory posts, some say there is no problem some give work arounds involving Roms. A newer post seems to indicate Google has done something that only alows Chinese android devices to use Market after rooting. Which is true? Do all devices even act the same?
I have an Archos that needed a fix to get it at all but I had not heard that Market didn't work after root until a friend mentioned it a couple of days ago.
Was this something Google did with intent?
My new Phone
Unlocked Bell Galaxy SIII (I747)
on AT&T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used a number of Android devices, and while I have not rooted all of them, I do know that there are no problems witch accessing the Play Store with those that I HAVE rooted. You see, in this world of rapidly changing technology, humans are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information they have to learn or process just to operate a simple device that is used for making calls. So, at times like these, there are people who tend to take advantage of the not-so savvy users and play with their mind by telling them that this won't work or that won't work. You can call them practical jokers or whatever.
In essence, rooting is nothing but gaining "root" privileges; that is, you take control of the device. The Play Store is nothing but a front-end for users to download apps which they would otherwise have great difficulty finding or getting to work. The Play Store doesn't do much. It download's the app that you want from it's servers and initiates the Package Manager to install the downloaded app.
Rooting does nothing to the Play Store. It is in fact a completely different scenario altogether. You GRANT the phone root privileges, and that may mostly be to modify system files. Other than that, "root" does nothing at all on your device. Rooting your device installs a Superuser app. This app is the GUI frontend that gains the root privilege after you give it permission.
Now, I don't know if Play Store has been officially launched in China or not. If it isn't, then rooting your device is the only way to get Play Store to work. It usually includes a modified version of Play Store that tricks the Google server into thinking that you aren't in China, even though you are.
So, you can root your device, at no cost to the access to the Play Store.
I hope this helped you.
Playstore/market after root?
gadgetroid
Thanks so much for your answer. I had asked a friend if he had rooted his phone (Sprint SIII) and he told me he did not want to loose the Store.
I said I did not think he would, but when I tried to confirm that I started to get really confused (doesn't really take much). I really did not want to mislead him. Is it possible that I have conflated what I have read about rooting with flashing a Rom?
WavyDroid said:
gadgetroid
Thanks so much for your answer. I had asked a friend if he had rooted his phone (Sprint SIII) and he told me he did not want to loose the Store.
I said I did not think he would, but when I tried to confirm that I started to get really confused (doesn't really take much). I really did not want to mislead him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's no problem at all. The thing in the Android world is that there are just too many devs who have their own ways and opinions of going about stuff. And then, there're the taggers on, like me, who haunt the developer threads and pick up 25-50% of stuff (and mind you, they hardly understand about 10% of the stuff ) and THEN form their OWN opinions and spread around half-truths to their friends to show that they KNOW something about developing, although in reality, they don't. Thankfully, this hasn't happened in Linux or Symbian.
Is it possible that I have conflated what I have read about rooting with flashing a Rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that is possible. You see, the majority of the custom ROMs out there for devices that are popular are either AOKP, CM7 or CM7 based. Stock ROMs differ greatly from the formers. Flashing an update.zip that contains the permissions and superuser.apk and flashing a custom ROM like CM7 are almost same. So it's VERY possible that you might've been confused, of course! And also, most of these aftermarket ROMs like CM7, MiUI and AOKP require you to flash "gapps.zip" which contains all the Google applications. If you do not flash that zip, THEN you will end up not having access to Play Store.
Hope this helped you.
Ahha!!:good:
Now if I can only get my main computer to talk w/ my SIII I can try my hand at this myself

Confirmed, no kitkat

http://blog.gethuawei.com/huawei-device-usa-updates/
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Was just about to post this. Disappointed. There better be a damn good reason for this.
The Instagram page says "Stay tuned to see what the future holds."
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Look for their facebook page. Huawei devices usa or something. Mine should be the first comment.
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Those developers that got a free Mate 2 are our only hope now.
I guess that's why they gave them out. "Can you guys make ROMs for us? We're too lazy."
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Would like to ask everyone who reads this and wants kit late to post all over their Facebook and twitter pages
"We want Kit kat for the ascend mate 2.
But you chose not to.
NEVER AGAIN"
Maybe some negative pressure will make them rethink.
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
ScoobSTi said:
Those developers that got a free Mate 2 are our only hope now.
I guess that's why they gave them out. "Can you guys make ROMs for us? We're too lazy."
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huawei is basically saying "you're on your own" to anyone who received a device as a devloper. That's not a great position... It's a pretty solid slap in the face. My first thought as a developer is "ok, they are out, why would I bother". I'd cut more slack if the device was 18-24 months old but they are pushing this as their flagship currently and an alternative to the more expensive phablets on the market. Even Samsung provides "reasonable" support for "old" flagships better than this.
The crazy thing is the hardware should be more than able to keep up with 4.4/5.0. Unless they are jumping right to 5.0 this move makes 0 sense to me.
Modding. Mymind and xordos with my continual softbrick testing have managed to port a pretty much fully working TWRP onto my MT2-L05 device and I have uploaded a decrypted 4.4.2 rom for my Mate 2 in this forum, so why don't we collectively try and port it to your device, any help you need that are within my skillset I will happily provide....just a thought.. .... Download the rom I posted and see what you can come up with.. ..... .
4L0M said:
Modding. Mymind and xordos with my continual softbrick testing have managed to port a pretty much fully working TWRP onto my MT2-L05 device and I have uploaded a decrypted 4.4.2 rom for my Mate 2 in this forum, so why don't we collectively try and port it to your device, any help you need that are within my skillset I will happily provide....just a thought.. .... Download the rom I posted and see what you can come up with.. ..... .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does Huawei use a tool like RSD or Odin for system images or are devs stuck with manual disk images and the like via recovery?
Hmm, I was thinking about getting one of these, now I'm having doubts. If we only
get third party firmware, would I still be able to run software which will not run with root access ?
Have any of those developers who received the free phones mentioned their intentions?
dzr said:
Hmm, I was thinking about getting one of these, now I'm having doubts. If we only
get third party firmware, would I still be able to run software which will not run with root access ?
Have any of those developers who received the free phones mentioned their intentions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now I'd hold off. Buy something else. The operating system on this phone is already a year old. Support for things like Android wear etc will be questionable in 6 months.
If Huawei doesn't update it's phones you should go with something else. Just my opinion.
Sent from my MT2L03
I saw the blog post on my G+ feed earlier today. I'm not really shocked, but it still really feels like a kick in the teeth.
I'm not sure what kind of luck we'll have getting a custom KK/LP Rom running on this phone. Usually the manufacturer-provided ROM is used as a baseline for other modifications to be made. If we were to spin our own AOSP Rom, could we even find the drivers and kennel modules to make everything work?
Where do we go from here?
UrticantOwl said:
I saw the blog post on my G+ feed earlier today. I'm not really shocked, but it still really feels like a kick in the teeth.
I'm not sure what kind of luck we'll have getting a custom KK/LP Rom running on this phone. Usually the manufacturer-provided ROM is used as a baseline for other modifications to be made. If we were to spin our own AOSP Rom, could we even find the drivers and kennel modules to make everything work?
Where do we go from here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The kernel is up on one of the hosted Huawei sites. A quick once over at the BABBQ indicated it's a fairly vanilla Qualcomm 3.4 kernel with some Huawei bits sprinkled in. Shouldn't be much of an issue for 4.4. getting a 3.10 kernel up for 5.0 will be trickier and is a big question mark as 5.0 isn't officially released just yet. At the BABBQ we also discovered they didn't implement all of the modem modes in the ROM. Another developer told me they might take a closer look but gave no detail for timing.
I've been tinkering with adb backups, titanium and xposed lately and I'm not liking the stock ROM much. They omitted large chunks of the adb backup stuff rendering apps like Helium useless, the SD cards don't come through to the root context properly forcing you to enable a compatibility flag in SuperSU in order to make titanium work and apktool and other standard tools choke nicely on the system apks. I had to fall back to running the smali decompiler by hand to find the right hooks in SystemUI for a simple xposed hack.
Adding to the fun their version of Settings.apk is missing a number of standard features which you can only adjust via Tasker/SecureSettings or by hand behind the scenes. They also didn't implement encrypted storage in the vold storage stuff so you're screwed in an enterprise setting.
Based on what I've seen thus far a source based build is almost necessary if you want everything android has to offer. However, vetting a ROM to ensure various new functionality is 100% will be a pain.
Huawei left out a lot and the lack of 4.4 is a serious kick in the teeth.
Horrible
I just purchased this phone from amazon on July. I wouldn't mind the no update but I want to get a google watch in the next few months so I'm not very happy about this announcement. For some odd reason, Amazon is still letting me return this phone so I'm thinking of returning the phone. What is another phone that I can get at this price range?
kemonine96 said:
Does Huawei use a tool like RSD or Odin for system images or are devs stuck with manual disk images and the like via recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Huawei's Hi-Suite software to flash roms to phone from pc. You can also pack roms up into Huawei's update format and flash them in quick update mode from your phone's external sd card, or you can install via recovery.
I bought mine on September 29 (didn't get it until early October) through the gethuawei site. I wonder if I can return it... I'll find out when there livechat is live today, the 29th of October.
After just one minor OTA update they officially announce no additional updates for their only US device... That's a deal breaker for me.
Damn, I was just about to buy this phone. Does anyone know of any good alternatives in Canada?
drvenom123 said:
I just purchased this phone from amazon on July. I wouldn't mind the no update but I want to get a google watch in the next few months so I'm not very happy about this announcement. For some odd reason, Amazon is still letting me return this phone so I'm thinking of returning the phone. What is another phone that I can get at this price range?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
_Perpetrator said:
Damn, I was just about to buy this phone. Does anyone know of any good alternatives in Canada?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus 5? Used flagships?
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Go spam them on g+! + my comment! (Seth Hin)
https://plus.google.com/116259104144339004134/posts/MwgooqkQpwK
Not surprised , saw this coming from the early start . Thing is , there is no alternative with these features / size at the 299$ price tag . There are phones like the ZTE nubia / moto g / Blu products / etc but they don't hold a candle to this phablet . On another note , I've customized my phone to the max and i don't need a major OS update . Just me , this phone runs perfectly for my use . Fine if they just push minor OS fixes via OTA . Developers can be our saviours ! Let's not forget this isn't really a flagship ! You're paying for the experience as created/intended at the time . Let's wait and see :thumbup:
_Perpetrator said:
Damn, I was just about to buy this phone. Does anyone know of any good alternatives in Canada?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably the Samsung Galaxy Mega.
Sent from my MT2L03

custom rom for oppo find x

hii, I first want to apologize for my bad english, it isn't my native language. secondly i wanted to ask if anybody here knows if lineageos or anything like these custom (nearly stock) roms is going to be available for the oppo find x and how long it would take before they will be released. I'm considering buying a OPX and i am pretty new to buying chinese phones, I heard a lot of complaints about not getting a notification of whatsapp or anything like this, I really don't like the idea that I would have to open whatsapp every time to see if i got a notification or not.
thanks for your help.
maikonor said:
hii, I first want to apologize for my bad english, it isn't my native language. secondly i wanted to ask if anybody here knows if lineageos or anything like these custom (nearly stock) roms is going to be available for the oppo find x and how long it would take before they will be released. I'm considering buying a OPX and i am pretty new to buying chinese phones, I heard a lot of complaints about not getting a notification of whatsapp or anything like this, I really don't like the idea that I would have to open whatsapp every time to see if i got a notification or not.
thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No apologies needed,make yourself at home @maikonor ........... :good:
While I can't speak regarding Whatsapp,you can get timely notifications for email/other SMS/MMS messaging apps,but,a lot of digging around in the settings is involved. Nothing beyond most users expertise,it's just a lot of redundancy & repitition,but,once set-up,my notifications come through just fine.
As for development,it's not unheard of on Oppo devices,but,is it possible with this phone ? IDK if the current firmware/software will support it.
If the promise of root/ROMs is a must,it's probably gonna be a while before development takes grip,if it ever does.
I'm hoping once the phone becomes available in more markets (international release/ROM),we'll begin to see some hint of what the future holds.
KOLIOSIS said:
No apologies needed,make yourself at home @maikonor ........... :good:
While I can't speak regarding Whatsapp,you can get timely notifications for email/other SMS/MMS messaging apps,but,a lot of digging around in the settings is involved. Nothing beyond most users expertise,it's just a lot of redundancy & repitition,but,once set-up,my notifications come through just fine.
As for development,it's not unheard of on Oppo devices,but,is it possible with this phone ? IDK if the current firmware/software will support it.
If the promise of root/ROMs is a must,it's probably gonna be a while before development takes grip,if it ever does.
I'm hoping once the phone becomes available in more markets (international release/ROM),we'll begin to see some hint of what the future holds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your reply, root/custom ROM is not a must for me if, I (in the netherlands) at least can change my home launcher.
Hey buddy, This is my second OPPO variant. From my previous experience on R11P, it was pretty nasty. Nothing was released from OPPO to support unlocking or Root the device. However, with Find X, OPPO has launched globally. It might change its perspectives regarding playing around with the systems. who knows. I hope they do, I love flashing ROMs, lolz!
xstormli said:
Hey buddy, This is my second OPPO variant. From my previous experience on R11P, it was pretty nasty. Nothing was released from OPPO to support unlocking or Root the device. However, with Find X, OPPO has launched globally. It might change its perspectives regarding playing around with the systems. who knows. I hope they do, I love flashing ROMs, lolz!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply, I hope they do change perspective and otherwise I will buy an oneplus 6.
The Find 7 was unlocked and they provided a rudimentary support for unlocking and rooting, this is the last vairiant that I'm aware of that saw wide release. Realistically that's all we need to obtain root, which is pretty easy via magisk. The Chinese launcher restrictions wont exist on the international handsets, those are for the Chinese market only and you'll be able to use the phone pretty much as normal in the Android world. It's all about whether or not the bootloader is unlocked. If yes we should be able to get root ourselves without special skills. From there it's just a matter of whether anyone with skills decides to pick up the phone and develop for it and then you've got TWRP and possibly a rom or two to play with.
I hope Oppo could release international version of the Find X rom
The chinese rom is pretty much unusable in North America
If it's like OPPO's other phones from the last few years, it will have a locked bootloader with fastboot removed and they won't release any kernel source.
Chinese OPPO fans tell you,It is very hard to request a root access or source code from OPPO,or just wait a loooong time:crying:,OPPO has always been like this,and sorry about my bad English,i want say more but i do not known how to
Explain in eglish(+_+)
Hard to do in China, there are rules there prohibiting that very thing and even when those don't apply Chinese companies are rightfully afraid to do something their dictator doesn't want because their executives would like to remain among the living. Chinese leaders are pragmatists however who enjoy the riches they deny the masses which means their products need to sell on a global market so they can keep enjoying all the things their populace is denied. The last product Oppo released in the world market was bootloader unlocked and they provided support for rooting. This does not mean the same will happen now but have no doubt they are well aware that their practices with Chinese phones will kill any hope at all of selling in the international market. Something to think about; One+ is owned by Oppo. They are unlocked and fully supported.

Is it possible to install Security Updates alone, without upgrading Android?

Hi everyone,
I can't find a satisfactory answer on my favorite search engines, so I thought I'd come here and ask. Sorry if this question has already been put on the table, carved, sliced and gobbled, I couldn't find trace of it in the forum's search engine either.
My phone's a Leagoo T5c that will forever be stuck on Android 7.0, it seems, because the OEM has already lost interest, and because its SoC makes it difficult, if not downright impossible, to find a suitable custom ROM.
The latest ROM I could find and install on this phone goes back to August of 2018 (no-no, no typos), and its Security Update is even one month older (July 2018).
My question is in the title: Is it possible to install Security Updates without reinstalling/updating/upgrading the firmware itself, like you would in, say, Windows or any other OS, I presume?
UglyStuff said:
Hi everyone,
I can't find a satisfactory answer on my favorite search engines, so I thought I'd come here and ask. Sorry if this question has already been put on the table, carved, sliced and gobbled, I couldn't find trace of it in the forum's search engine either.
My phone's a Leagoo T5c that will forever be stuck on Android 7.0, it seems, because the OEM has already lost interest, and because its SoC makes it difficult, if not downright impossible, to find a suitable custom ROM.
The latest ROM I could find and install on this phone goes back to August of 2018 (no-no, no typos), and its Security Update is even one month older (July 2018).
My question is in the title: Is it possible to install Security Updates without reinstalling/updating/upgrading the firmware itself, like you would in, say, Windows or any other OS, I presume?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With android 10 were introduced Google play security updates that lets you received security updates (not all of them unfortunately, some requires to upgrade) without updating the full OS. You can't do it because you're stuck with the wrong Android version
Hopefully you won't have any issues with hacking but consider buying a new phone when you'll get a chance
Security updates get rolled out as OTA by OEM/Carrier if they consider it's necessary. You can't force it. Theoretically, all Android smartphones should get around two years of security updates. However, the reality is often very different.
The Leagoo T5c is a small-budget phone what was sold for 99 USD - so more or less a disposable item. You cannot expect OEM/Carrier to have any interest in providing updates for such a phone.
Thank you both for your explanations. I understand that Android works differently when it comes to updating itself, mostly because Google isn't the only party to have a voice in the chapter; still, it's unnerving to see that the end-user is more or less captive anyway.
It kinda defeats the very purpose of an open-source OS, to have to wait for an OEM to release (or not) an update, when you could install the patches yourself.
As for buying another phone, well, as soon as I've got the dough, I will, believe me. Not because I'm dissatisfied with this one, but because I don't like the idea of totting around with a phone that hasn't seen a security update in over two years.
I'm also seriously considering moving to Ubuntu Touch, though there again, my phone's exotic platform could be problematic. Custom ROMs seems to be as complicated an avenue as others, too.
All in all, Android isn't what they sold me: It's not secure, it's not "free", it's just another way to make you shell out bucks for new hardware every couple years.
Android is just iOS without the eye-candy, you ask me...
UglyStuff said:
Thank you both for your explanations. I understand that Android works differently when it comes to updating itself, mostly because Google isn't the only party to have a voice in the chapter; still, it's unnerving to see that the end-user is more or less captive anyway.
It kinda defeats the very purpose of an open-source OS, to have to wait for an OEM to release (or not) an update, when you could install the patches yourself.
As for buying another phone, well, as soon as I've got the dough, I will, believe me. Not because I'm dissatisfied with this one, but because I don't like the idea of totting around with a phone that hasn't seen a security update in over two years.
I'm also seriously considering moving to Ubuntu Touch, though there again, my phone's exotic platform could be problematic. Custom ROMs seems to be as complicated an avenue as others, too.
All in all, Android isn't what they sold me: It's not secure, it's not "free", it's just another way to make you shell out bucks for new hardware every couple years.
Android is just iOS without the eye-candy, you ask me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android isn't iOS precisely because you can break free from your OEM by flashing a custom ROM. You can develop one for almost any device as long as the OEM releases the kernel source code. And most OEM do (expect for some very unknown phones).
Custom ROMs like GrapheneOS are made to free you from google Services and are truly privacy oriented. And all of that is possible because Android is open source.
Trust me, the Android community has always worked actively to counter aging of their devices (including me).
Just buy a phone with a solid community behind and you'll be able to keep it up to date a looong time
Raiz said:
Android isn't iOS precisely because you can break free from your OEM by flashing a custom ROM. You can develop one for almost any device as long as the OEM releases the kernel source code. And most OEM do (expect for some very unknown phones).
Custom ROMs like GrapheneOS are made to free you from google Services and are truly privacy oriented. And all of that is possible because Android is open source.
Trust me, the Android community has always worked actively to counter aging of their devices (including me).
Just buy a phone with a solid community behind and you'll be able to keep it up to date a looong time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you in principle, but if I must take an example: I have this Early 2006 MacBook Pro with a Core Duo CPU that precludes me from even installing Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" on it, because the CPU is 32-bit-only, and Lion requires a 64-bit CPU.
The machine itself works very well, albeit a bit slowly, but then it's got only 2 GB of RAM and a 120-GB SSD. When I got fed-up with OS X applications not updating/upgrading and Firefox addons not installing because my copy of Firefox was too old, I partitioned the SSD, installed rEFInd as boot manager, and installed Zorin 15.2 (now 15.3) Lite 32-bit.
I now spend more time on the Linux side of this Mac than on the OS X side, and updating/upgrading it is a breeze, either via the dedicated application or in Terminal. I know there'll be an end-of-the-line there too, someday, but at least I'll keep using this Mac until it truly dies on me, not when Apple tells me it's dead.
This, for me, is the very essence of open-source: Not just the fact that it's free, but that you can revive an old machine and keep it running long after Apple et al have decided that it had gone the way of the dinosaurs.
The same doesn't apply to Android, alas. Here, you must have a compatible SoC/chipset/what-have-you, a Treble-compatible device, you must have this, you must have that...
In the end, only a fraction of Android users really get to enjoy everything their device has to offer for as long as they choose; the others just pop into the nearest phone store, be it brick-and-mortar or cyber, and must produce their credit card.
My question was as much a challenge to myself as anything else. I would really like to learn how Android works, but the tutorials and articles I've found here and there are all a bit cryptic.
That's why I'm regularly prowling this forum, I guess.
"Hunting high and low", as the song goes... :laugh:
yep, good question but google & manufactures are in it for the moola not the users 2 yr old phone.
hiitsrudd said:
yep, good question but google & manufactures are in it for the moola not the users 2 yr old phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't I know it! It's true that even budget phones have decent specs nowadays, still, why dump a perfectly functioning phone simply because you can't update/upgrade the software?
I understand Google's rationale, of course: They invest tons of money year after year after year to keep the whole boat afloat, and they need a steady income. OK. Still, to not be able to keep your phone ***safe*** is a no-go for me.
I'm seriously beginning to think about installing Ubuntu Touch on the device. I think I'm going to try that next weekend.
I'll probably come back here with my eyes red, asking for help in unbricking my phone, though.
Stay tuned! :good:
A followup, if you are mindful of your own security it's conceivable to get more usage of that android. I don't use a banking app, but if need be use a good browser( thats updated of course) And update all often used apps via playstore. I'm still running Oreo on my phone. FYI you iOS ppl need to do critical updates asap

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