I was able to get everything working properly on my second try. No idea what I did wrong the first time though. Thanks again for all the documentation.
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Hi everyone,
I had iodeOS 2.4 20220407 go into a bootloop when doing fastboot flashing lock as per the official instructions on the iodeOS website and GitHub. Switching from slot b to slot a has allowed me to boot back into a working iodeOS install.
I now want to sort everything out and lock down the bootloader. I have a couple of questions right off the bat:
Can I achieve the same outcome as @AlphaElwedritsch’s procedure above (i.e. being sure that both slots are flashed with the iodé system) simply by waiting patiently for an OTA update to arrive via the stock updater?
I flashed the custom key as part of the official installation instructions (and didn’t receiver any errors), but now I have no idea where that key went (to which slot) and if it’s still there.
Is it safe to do fastboot erase avb_custom_key and fastboot flash avb_custom_key avb_custom_key-FP4.bin now? Should I do it on both slots, or just the current, working one? Should I do it at all? (Can I check if the key is in place?)
The official instructions had me do fastboot flashing unlock_criticalbut then there’s no mention of doing fastboot flashing lock_critical afterwards. Is this command safe to run under the same conditions as fastboot flashing lock (i.e. (bootloader) get_unlock_ability: 1)?
I’m hesitant to set everything up on my phone until I know that I won’t have to wipe data in the near future. From what little I’ve seen, iodeOS is awesome and I can’t wait to settle in!
No need to wait for an ota to flash both slots : you can simply change the active slot with fastboot after flashing the first one, or simply by rebooting the rom (the active slot should change after a successful boot) and reflash the same rom.
The key is not an a/b partition, must be flashed once, and forgotten. No need, I think, to erase the partition and flash it again. And no simple way to ensure it has been correctly flashed. If everything looked good when flashing it, you can suppose it has succeeded.
Yes, if you unlocked critical partitions, you must lock them again, and the same condition applies ( get_unlock_ability: 1).
As long as get_unlock_ability is 1, you’ll be able to unlock the bootloader if something goes wrong.
Thank you, @vince31fr, that’s really helpful.
I’m currently running off slot a with a bootlooping/unbootable slot b. Does that mean I can just switch to slot b and ADB sideload the iodeOS *.zip again? Given the build is the same, it then won’t matter which slot is current until an OTA update comes through (and gets applied to the non-current slot)?
And when it comes to relocking the bootloader. The instructions had me first unlock and then unlock_critical - should I now lock_critical first and then lock? Does the order matter? I’ll check unlock_ability at each step, of course.
Please forgive the naive questions, I’ve never worked with a/b partitions or a lockable bootloader before.
No : sideload in the working slot a, next reboot will be made on the newly flashed slot b. And yes no matter the booted slot then. About the relocking order, I have no idea if order matters. I did not observe a difference, but never had such bootloop problems on my device.
Flashing slot b went smoothly, the system booted into it on restart. Locking the criticals also went well.
But when I tried to lock the bootloader, I got the “your device is corrupted and will not boot” message and got stuck in fastboot mode. Following @AlphaElwedritsch’s instructions from a related thread, I unlocked the bootloader and tried reinstalling from scratch. I flashed the recovery.img to both slots and flashed the custom key, but I’m still stuck in the bootloader.
Volume up + power, fastboot reboot recovery and selecting recovery from the bootloader menu all bring me back to the bootloader menu.
Please, if anyone knows a way out of this, I’ll be very grateful.
EDIT 1: It’s OK, changing the current slot got me back into iodeOS. I’ll try sideloading the iodeOS *.zip from this slot.
EDIT 2: Sideload ends with the following error in the terminal (no errors in recovery screen):
serving: ‘iode-2.4-20220407-FP4.zip’ (~94%) adb: failed to read command: Success
The phone booted off the previously corrupt slot. I did a dirty flash, so all settings were retained.
So I definitely have one of these un-relockable phones, whether it’s a HW or FW thing, something is different in these newer batches. I bought my phone only a week or so ago. It’s a shame I can’t lock this phone down.
Thank you, @vince31fr, for your help.
Thank you for this well written instruction, but i will be daring to ask, maybe someone would be willing to film a step-by-step video of rebooting and installing iode 3.0? I am afraid to brick my phone, as i have very litlle programming experience.
Thank you @AlphaElwedritsch for these very clear instructions that allowed me to flash Iode3.0 beta. ( I haven’t lock the bootloader for the moment, I’ll see if it’s less risky in a few months, during my next reinstallation 
)
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@Pierre_l
Have you ever unlocked the critical partitions, as described in the fairphone unlock guide?
Unlock with fastboot flashing unlock_critical ?
I don’t think so, I switched directly from FairphoneOS to IodéOS2 at the beginning of february, then to IodéOS3 yesterday.
I saw that this command is used in the installation instructions of /e/OS, but if I remember correctly it was never necessary for IodéOS.
Yes, that’s right.
In that case and as long as get_unlock_ability is 1 you should be able to relock your bootloader
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Is it save to installiert iodé 3 OTA for a
- iode 2.4 (04-07-2022)
- with locked bootloader
- (the avb key was flashed along 2.4)
The changelog on the github release is a little frightning
No problem. I did it that way. Just sideload the zip in recovery without wiping the data.
No problems at all. Everything’s running fine.
Just two things if you update to 3.0 that way:
First
You have to clear cache and data in bluetooth app after first start in 3.0. Otherwise if will crash permanently.
Settings/apps/ - show system apps - bluetooth apps
Second
Enable developer settings
Enable “deactivate bluetooth a2dp hardware offload”
Reboot
Otherwise bluetooth audio is not clear
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And using the updater is not recommendet?
Why are such informations not documented in the changelog?
You can also use the updater
Maybe you still have to do the two steps. Happen only on updating from 2.4 to 3.0.
Not if installing from scratch
Using the updater worked flawless. But i also needet to clear the cache oft the Bluetooth service
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Hi,
At the weekend I updated my FP4 from iodeOS V2.5 to V3 Over the Air (OTA) with no issues. All my data was intact, only the bluetooth cache needed to be cleared to enable bluetooth. The only extra work was ensuring I backed up my SD Card as Android 12 insists on reformatting my SD Card before I can use it. (I have reposted this on the Fairphone forum too)
Nice work iode team, thank you
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A quick update on the iodéOS updater:
Updated Over the Air (OTA) from V3.0 to V3.1. No data loss, no issues seen so far, smooth update. Used WiFi to download. Biggest imeadiate improvement, which may be a placebo, was the perceived improvement of the quality of the pictures using the Open Camera app.
Is iodéOS 3.0 still in beta? On XDA the last entry is from 02/05/2022 with iodéOS 2.4: