[ROM][CUSTOM][O][SM-J530F] /e/ OS for Samsung J5 2017 (j5y17lte)

[steadfasterX]

brought to you by the

/*
 * I'm not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed (like it did for me...). 
 * Please do some research if you have any concerns about features included in the products you find here before flashing it! 
 * YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you. 
 * Your warranty will be void if you tamper with any part of your device / software.
 * Same statement for XDA.
 */

About /e/
/e/ is an a mobile ecosystem (ROM + onlines services) that:

• is open source
• is pro-privacy
• is compatible with most existing Android applications
• cares about usability
• is as far as possible freed from shackles by Google and OEMs
• already exists!

It’s the alternative to the Apple/Google duopoly on the smartphone.

... so again and just to be clear: /e/ is not just a ROM, it is more a complete privacy ecosystem and consists of:

• an installable mobile operating system for smartphones, which is forked from Android and strongly “ungoogled”
• a set of sorted and improved default open source applications
• various online services that are linked to the mobile operating system, such as: a meta search engine for the web, drive (with synchronization), mail, calendar, notes, tasks.

Features

• Based on the stable Lineage OS
• microG fully pre-installed with Signature Spoofing in restricted mode!
• All features described on the /e/ page: What is e
• All features and fixes of our LOS 15.1 builds.
• My builds come with full OTA update support
  ... you know that thing which informs you that a new update is there and where you just click to download + install

Difference from pure /e/ or: why are the builds CUSTOM?

• The /e/ app store has been removed completely (read FAQ #0 why I did this drastic change)
• AuroraStore has been added (pls always use "anonymous" unless you need paid apps to avoid bans)
• F-Droid has been added (The OpenSource alternative store. First search for any apps here!)
• Dozens of F-Droid repositories are pre-installed (activate them with just a finger tip! That's needed to ensure you only get what you want)

The above changes are the reasons why my builds are of the type "CUSTOM" and not "UNOFFICIAL".
This is according to the rules defined by /e/.


Known issues:

Keep in mind that this is brand new stuff so it may (still) contain unknown issues!
So back up regularly and frequently!

• When your current STOCK firmware or the latest you had flashed is PIE (Android 9) RIL will not work in this ROM. I am trying to fix that currently but while it works when your STOCK firmware/bootloader stack is on Oreo or earlier it stops working when you ever upgraded to pie
• If you find a bug not listed let me know and SHARE LOGS! -> READ FAQ#1 for how to provide proper logs.

Requirements

• Latest TWRP or SHRP build.
  Latest TWRP build based on Oreo sources (build by myself) can be found here: click
• Do a full Nandroid backup before doing anything!

Installation

1. Full clean install as described here (FAQ #2) is highly recommended. DO NOT REPORT ISSUES when you have skipped that step!
2. Flash /e/
3. Optional (if you want root): Flash Magisk
4. Flashing OpenGapps ????? NO No no! you don't want that on a google-free phone! /e/ contains everything you need to live without Google! So flashing OpenGapps on /e/ is like using a bit more secure LOS but that's not the point of /e/. Either try without or go with LOS (imho).
5. Boot it (will take a bit on first boot!!! be patient!)
6. Enjoy the most easy way to have a privacy focused and google-free phone!

Download

Get your builds from my leech server (new installs or re-installs)
http://leech.binbash.rocks:8008/e-os/oreo/

If you have /e/ installed already and just want to update to a newer release:
Android settings -> Updater (yes my builds have OTA support!)

Note:

1. Builds are updated as soon as possible. There is no build cycle.
2. Information pertaining to your device is displayed accordingly.
3. The current build is the latest for your device.

Changelogs

• search results from this thread: click

Support

Of course in this thread but also by Telegram. I have created a generic group for all stuff around Android : here
and another one if you want to keep up2date whenever I build something (TWRP, SHRP, LOS, /e/, ...): here


Credits

• nailyk
• LineageOS (the base of /e/)
• The /e/ foundation and all related devs making this experience possible!
• The Exynos7870 Team
• and more..

Sources

• build manifest

XDA:DevDB Information
j5y17lte_eos-oreo_custom, ROM for the Samsung Galaxy J5

Contributors
steadfasterX, nailyk, ananjaser1211,DarkLord1731,Exynos7870 Team (github)
Source Code: https://gitlab.e.foundation/e

ROM OS Version: 8.x Oreo
ROM Kernel: Linux 3.x
ROM Firmware Required: NOUGAT/OREO only - if you have stock PIE installed RIL won't work!
Based On: Lineage OS

Version Information
Status: Beta

Created 2020-08-05
Last Updated 2020-09-09

 

[steadfasterX]

-

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q #0: Why is the /e/ App store not included??? It is GREAT!
Mainly due to security and privacy concerns. Wth? I thought /e/ is secure and privacy focused? Yes it is but.. read on:

First of all the App store itself has no security or privacy issues. It is opensource and I see no issues with the app itself!
... the most important point for a smartphone is the availability of apps. I mean having a secure device which respects your privacy is great but it will have no chance to win when you cannot get easily apps on it.
... and the most dangerous part for a smartphone is installing apps because here is where Malware can easily step in! So whatever you do never install APK files from a website directly unless you can be 100% safe it is trustworthy.

It is all about trust again and when you look in the sources of the /e/ Apps store you find it connects to: cleanapk.org.
/e/ makes that not a secret though as you can read here.
So who is behind that cleanapk.org? Why is /e/ trusting them? While reading through the /e/ forums I found that this page hosts (as far as we know) apps mirrored from apkpure + fdroid.
.. and it's completely unclear who hosts that site and where is behind it. On the other site /e/ (Gael, the founder as well) states clearly they are not in any relation to that site. "They just using their api".

here some facts:

• you cannot get the owner by a whois request
• They have a info page here which just roughly describes where the apps are coming from and how
• There is no detailed privacy statement or even an info if they keep your data GDPR compliant or not
• No way for devs to get their apps removed or updated

The /e/ foundation clearly states they have no relationship to that repository of apps but some things are interesting aren't they:

• IP's of /e/ and cleanapk are at least nearby
• During an ongoing discussion about exactly that topic something took my attention: the welcome notification on api.cleanapk.org was exactly at that time: https://archive.is/U1E0y (I mean.... )
• /e/ itself was audited several times by a site named "infosec-handbook" and of course even they find that app store at least "mysterious"

During that mentioned discussion and after pointing Gael to that - the welcome message suddenly changed to what it is today..
The full topic where even Gael is talking (not that friendly) is: here

TL;DR:
/e/ is providing apps (the most used way to get infected by malware) by an API which is at least questionable.
I do not say /e/ is doing questionable things and as said before the /e/ ROM is 100% trustworthy (otherwise I would not do any builds for it) but that cleanapk.org site is truly another story.
An interesting quote of Gael can make one read between the lines (I marked the interesting ones bold and cursive):

Some users have reported that they are using Aurora, [...] (context: we will never integrate this) because it’s infriging the play store terms of services.
For this, we have to use indirect mechanisms, that don’t infrige the play store TOS, and therefore, we are using a service that is not officially part of the /e/ project, and which is called cleanapk.org
On the long run, we other plans with partners, to offer something more transparent, but it’s too soon to talk about this.

Of course /e/ needs to ensure that what they are doing is 100% legal and offering an app repository like cleanapk.org is not.
My personal assumption is that /e/ is offering that repo - indirectly so not officially by the e.foundation itself.
A relation between is for sure nothing they want to have public as this would cause legal questions.

So the last question is:
Q: Why do I consider AuroraStore "better" then using cleanapk.org and so removed the /e/ apps store and adding AuroraStore instead?
A: Because I definitively know where the apps are coming from when using Aurora instead of /e/. Not just the app itself is OSS (like the /e/ one) the apps are coming directly from the play store instead of an unknown source.

Q #01: I want to report an issue. What is the proper way to do so?
I'm glad that you are asking: before doing so check the KNOWN ISSUES topic in the OP and ofc the other FAQ's listed here!
if you have an audio issue follow FAQ #6 instead.

If your issue is not listed there click here to proceed:

If your issue is not listed there follow the directions here briefly and I may can fix it:

logcat GUIDE

Ensure you have done a full CLEAN install before doing so (refer to FAQ #2 for what that means).

Warning: NO SUPPORT when:
- magisk is installed (known to cause issues sometimes - regardless of the ROM or version)
- Xposed is installed (known to cause issues sometimes - regardless of the ROM or version)
If you have installed any of these UNINSTALL or better do a FULL CLEAN install (see FAQ #2) before doing anything else. Often enough these above causes several issues like battery draining, problems on booting and much more. Even when they may work properly you should re-produce your issue without them first and follow the above to grab the log.

Magisk is a great piece of software and besides that it is Open Source which SuperSu never was.
I just saying I do not "support" issues when you have Magisk installed. Why? It is (like Xposed) extendable with modules (made by whoever) and those can cause billions of issues.
Other then that magisk was sometimes the reason for battery drain etc. Magisk modifies the boot "process" and sits very deep in the system (which is needed to make it work ofc) but that has the potential to make a system/ROM unstable or result in strange behaviors.

so in order to support a specific issue I have to be sure the ROM is in a "clean" state, no magisk, no xposed.
Pro-Tip: a very first test is to set magisk on core functions only to see if an extension causes your issue or not.

Q #02: I want to install clean, how? What is a clean install? What is the recommended way to flash a new ROM version?
A clean install ensures that there are no leftovers from any previous install. One can say that there are 2 phases of a clean flash:

1) regular
2) full - when you (still) encounter issues

Usually the regular one is fully ok when flashing a new ROM version but if you encounter strange issues nobody else is reporting or if a release post is recommending it you should do a full clean install instead.

A regular clean install can be done like this:

• WIPE -> Advanced -> select: System + Cache
• Flash the ROM
• reflash root addon/magisk if you want root

A full clean install needs 2 steps more then the regular:

• follow the steps for regular clean
• go back in WIPE -> touch the "FORMAT data" button and type "yes" to format the internal storage (you will LOOSE ALL YOUR DATA - obviously)
• REBOOT -> Recovery
• Flash the ROM
• reflash root addon/magisk if you want root

It is absolutely recommended to create a backup before and COPYING IT to your PC(!) before doing the above.

Q #03: Are there any plans or a chance of official /e/ builds?
TL;DR answer is: who knows...

Background:

/e/ points to LineageOS requirements which need to be met first. LineageOS has "some" requirements before they accept it to do official builds: device-support-requirements.
No I personally do not have any plans in going official atm. That might change though.
If someone else wants to go that way and needs help, I am here. But I cannot spend my whole free time on that.

Q #04: Will this ROM support / pass SafetyNet?
When you install Magisk you can hide and so yes you might be able to pass SafetyNet. Which can change every day though because even when that might work atm you should note the following:

Magisk has its own protections to ensure you pass safetynet but this is something which will change one day and there is no known method yet to workaround that.

Q #5: Is there an /e/ specific FAQ?
Sure:

• FAQ: click
• Forum: click
• HOWTOs: click (a great resource for all your first questions)

Q #6: issues with audio (e.g. echo's, silence on one or the other site, ..)? Read here how to provide a specific log for that:
Do the following steps:

• 1) Ensure you have adb set up on your PC, and have adb debugging and adb root enabled in developer options on your phone
• 2) Then perform the following (all one command)
  
  On Linux:
  

  adb root ; adb shell "stop audioserver; logcat -c -b all; start audioserver" && sleep 10 && adb logcat -b all |egrep -vi "(dialer|telecom|ril|gsm|touch|brightn|dct|QC-time-services|SST|sensors|AlarmMan|Lights|perfp)"

  On windows:
  

  adb root ; adb shell "stop audioserver; logcat -c -b all; start audioserver && sleep 10 && logcat -b all |egrep -vi '(dialer|telecom|ril|gsm|touch|brightn|dct|QC-time-services|SST|sensors|AlarmMan|Lights|perfp)' "

• 3) Then re-produce your audio issue and cancel the logcat from step 2 before hanging up!
  
  
• 4) Share the logcat output from the console screen using paste.omnirom.org

Q #7: I'm scared about that microG , I don't want to expose my phone so is this /e/ version a security risk?
First of all you need a lot of trust installing ANY custom ROM. A developer can do nasty things right? Besides that yes microG allowing to let apps act like as they are another app, also known as signature spoofing. This CAN be a good and a bad thing. Read on why my builds are different:

In general the microG patch is an all or nothing. A ROM which supports microG (i.e. signature spoofing) have that feature enabled, always.
The difference in my /e/ builds is that I am using the "restricted" option of signature spoofing so as long as you trust me you are as safe as without microG.

.-

 

[steadfasterX]

Reserved

 

[jw96]

Encryption of storage works?

 

[steadfasterX]

Encryption of storage works?

Haven't tested yet

Sent from my OnePlus 7T Pro using XDA Labs

 

[Morceaux]

I just installed it on my J5 2017 (SM-J530F). I did a full clean install (No magisk or xposed installed), but sadly my sim card is not detected.

 

[steadfasterX]

I just installed it on my J5 2017 (SM-J530F). I did a full clean install (No magisk or xposed installed), but sadly my sim card is not detected.

yes one reason for that (I encountered that rn) might be the bootloader version.

What was the last stock ROM version you flashed? exact version if possible but at least if it was nougat, oreo, pie
or even better show a screen of "baseband version" in Android settings


.-

 

[Morceaux]

yes one reason for that (I encountered that rn) might be the bootloader version.

What was the last stock ROM version you flashed? exact version if possible but at least if it was nougat, oreo, pie
or even better show a screen of "baseband version" in Android settings


.-

My baseband Version is "Unknow" rn, and I didn't check on my last ROM.

I used the stock ROM and was in pie version (I don't have the exact version rn, if you really want it I'll check tonight.

Do you want more informations ?

 

[steadfasterX]

My baseband Version is "Unknow" rn, and I didn't check on my last ROM.

I used the stock ROM and was in pie version (I don't have the exact version rn, if you really want it I'll check tonight.

Do you want more informations ?

exactly what happened to me. I have upgraded the STOCK bootloader and modem to pie and RIL stops working. Was trying to figure out the reason for that but no luck yet.
so for sure the prev. STOCK version is an issue here. My last Samsung is a while ago so I dont know if one can downgrade without an issue or if I would brick it..

EDIT:
woa.. I cannot downgrade.. "check fail" in ODIN pointing to lower ARB levels.. damn.
so it seems that I have to find out the root cause for newer (i.e pie) bootloader stack


.-

 

[Morceaux]

exactly what happened to me. I have upgraded the STOCK bootloader and modem to pie and RIL stops working. Was trying to figure out the reason for that but no luck yet.
so for sure the prev. STOCK version is an issue here. My last Samsung is a while ago so I dont know if one can downgrade without an issue or if I would brick it..

EDIT:
woa.. I cannot downgrade.. "check fail" in ODIN pointing to lower ARB levels.. damn.
so it seems that I have to find out the root cause for newer (i.e pie) bootloader stack


.-

I tried the same things last night, and I had the same problems (just so you know, If maybe it can help)

 

[steadfasterX]

I tried the same things last night, and I had the same problems (just so you know, If maybe it can help)

thx. yes it definitively depends on the bootloader stack if it works or not. I have updated the OP with that information ("firmware required").
technical site info: I was able to flash the OREO radio (modem.bin) and cp_debug (modem_debug.bin) partitions without a problem but this alone does not make it work again.
Like for LG the 2nd stage bootloader likely initializes the hardware and the software (i.e. e.g. RIL) must know where and how these are loaded in memory etc. That's why just replacing the radio partitions will not fix it. RIL (and that is not just replacing a file) must fit to that as well..

The good news are: I am able to boot the radio now - PIN popup comes up and baseband is now correctly displayed (I am on the latest stock pie ROM available..)
but as you can see in the status bar still no cell service so still something missing..



IMEI is still 0 as well so it might has to do with the EFS.. which would explain it

but at least some progress.. At least it is clear now why some ppl reported on our LOS thread that SIM does not work for them while it worked for others.

.-

 

[Morceaux]

thx. yes it definitively depends on the bootloader stack if it works or not. I have updated the OP with that information ("firmware required").
technical site info: I was able to flash the OREO radio (modem.bin) and cp_debug (modem_debug.bin) partitions without a problem but this alone does not make it work again.
Like for LG the 2nd stage bootloader likely initializes the hardware and the software (i.e. e.g. RIL) must know where and how these are loaded in memory etc. That's why just replacing the radio partitions will not fix it. RIL (and that is not just replacing a file) must fit to that as well..

The good news are: I am able to boot the radio now - PIN popup comes up and baseband is now correctly displayed (I am on the latest stock pie ROM available..)
but as you can see in the status bar still no cell service so still something missing..

View attachment 5078627

IMEI is still 0 as well so it might has to do with the EFS.. which would explain it

but at least some progress.. At least it is clear now why some ppl reported on our LOS thread that SIM does not work for them while it worked for others.

.-

Do you have a link to the last stock rom ? I think I don't have the right one, because I couldn't flash it, or maybe I did something wrong
(Nevermind, I found the right one)

 

[steadfasterX]

Do you have a link to the last stock rom ? I think I don't have the right one, because I couldn't flash it, or maybe I did something wrong
(Nevermind, I found the right one)

https://sfirmware.com/samsung-sm-j530f/

 

[Mehran`]

goodjob

 

[jaggedN]

The good news are: I am able to boot the radio now - PIN popup comes up and baseband is now correctly displayed (I am on the latest stock pie ROM available..)
but as you can see in the status bar still no cell service so still something missing..

View attachment 5078627

IMEI is still 0 as well so it might has to do with the EFS.. which would explain it

but at least some progress.. At least it is clear now why some ppl reported on our LOS thread that SIM does not work for them while it worked for others.

.-

Hi,
do you think there is a chance to get this running for phones which are already on PIE? (I think this is the majority of all phones.....)

kind regards
Jagged

 

[steadfasterX]

Hi,
do you think there is a chance to get this running for phones which are already on PIE? (I think this is the majority of all phones.....)

kind regards
Jagged

Oof .. Well i don't have much time atm but i need that phone as my navigation device for my motor bike. so i need to fix it



Sent from my OnePlus 7T Pro using XDA Labs

 

[steadfasterX]

New eOS v1-oreo build *20200909* has finished!

Changes:
- kernel: commits
- Device tree: commits
- Common Device tree: commits

Download: see OP

Known issue with the OTA Update!
Unfortunately it will work with the next update first. There was a missing entry in the fstab causing the install to fail. You can still use the Updater to download the package though!

1. Open Settings —> System
2. Expand Advanced & select Updater
3. Refresh if not listed already
4. Download
5. Reboot to TWRP
6. browse to /data/lineageos_updates/ and select the zip from here


BREAKING NEWS

I've decided to create a Telegram group for all stuff around Android : here
and another one if you want to keep up2date whenever I build something (TWRP, SHRP, LOS, /e/, ...): here

The second one will also show sha256sums of every build for those who need it.

.-

 

[steadfasterX]

No more OREO builds!

The reason is that almost everyone has flashed stock PIE in the meanwhile and I switched to Android 10 already. A10 works great so far and so backporting whatever is needed is not worth it.

Check it out: j5y17lte - Android 10 / Q

Thread closed.

.-