Ubuntu Touch OTA-25 Release

Ubuntu Touch is the privacy and freedom-respecting mobile operating system by UBports. Today we are happy to announce the release of Ubuntu Touch OTA-25, the very latest update to the system! OTA-25 will become available for the following supported Ubuntu Touch devices over the next week:

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1  
BQ E4.5 Ubuntu Edition
BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition
BQ M10 (F)HD Ubuntu Edition
BQ U Plus
Cosmo Communicator
F(x)tec Pro1
Fairphone 2
Fairphone 3
Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL
Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL
Huawei Nexus 6P
LG Nexus 4
LG Nexus 5
Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition
Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition
Nexus 7 2013 (Wi-Fi and LTE models)
OnePlus One
OnePlus 2
OnePlus 3 and 3T
Oneplus 5 and 5T
OnePlus 6 and 6T
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (910F, 910P, 910T)
Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo+ (GT-I9301I)
Sony Xperia X
Sony Xperia X Compact
Sony Xperia X Performance
Sony Xperia XZ
Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet (LTE or Wi-fi only)
Vollaphone and Vollaphone X
Xiaomi Mi A2
Xiaomi Mi A3
Xiaomi Mi MIX 3
Xiaomi Poco F1
Xiaomi Poco M2 Pro
Xiaomi Redmi 3s/3x/3sp (land)
Xiaomi Redmi 4X
Xiaomi Redmi 7
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and 7 Pro
Xiaomi Redmi 9 and 9 Prime
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro Max and 9S

The Pine64 PinePhone and PineTab are updated independently of the rest of these devices. The stable channel for the PinePhone and PineTab will not receive an update labeled "OTA-25".

                What's new?


                This release of Ubuntu Touch is still based on Ubuntu 16.04.

                NOTE: This is the last OTA for Ubuntu 16.04 (xenial)! There will be no further OTAs in this channel, unless a catastrophic event forces us to do so. Ubuntu 20.04 (focal) is already shipping the first OTA, mainly for testing out how the upgrading works, but this is where the future lies. However, we can deliver you for one last time a few cool improvements:

                • Security upgrades for QtWebEngine
                • Waydroid install/setup improvements and cleanup
                • Emblem counters (unread messages) for dialer and messaging app
                • Notification text can now have more than 2 lines
                • Channel selector has now ordering from 16.04 channels to 20.04 channels, and shows version number also

                Known Issues 


                It is sad that while we thought we can also add generic security upgrades from Canonical´s ESM program (supporting Xenial beyond the end of life date), but unfortunately these archives do not contain binaries for ARM architectures. This was added only with 18.04. So the published outlook to have a significant amount of security updates wil not become true. One more reason to expedite changeover to Focal!

                Bugs and issues fixed

                • Date/Time pickers hard to see in dark theme
                • Favorites can again be pinned correctly in the dialer-app
                • Vibration is now more noticeable on the Vollaphones

                How to get OTA-25


                Existing Ubuntu Touch users 

                Existing users of Ubuntu Touch on Stable channel (which is selected by default in the UBports Installer) will receive the OTA-25 upgrade by using the Updates screen of System Settings. Devices will randomly be allocated the update from today through the week . This spread is to give us a breathing space to stop the roll out of any bad update (should that ever become necessary), and is not to accommodate any bandwidth restrictions.

                There is also the system update broadcast facility, which will send each online device a trigger message. If the device can find its update, it will be downloaded for you and when everything is ready, a notification will pop up and you can install right away. This only works if you have set up that updates can be downloaded automatically.

                If however you would like to receive the update immediately, turn on ADB access and issue the following command over `adb shell`:

                sudo system-image-cli -v -p 0 --progress dots
                Your device should then download the update and install it. This process may take a while, depending on your download speed.

                New Ubuntu Touch users


                You will find instructions for installing Ubuntu Touch on your device at devices.ubuntu-touch.io.

                "I found an issue!" 


                Have you found a bug? We want to know! Quickly!

                You can follow our Bug Reporting document to learn how to present the information we'll need to confirm and fix your issue. Every bit helps. The best way to improve Ubuntu Touch is to use it and then tell us about the experience.

                You should always check to see whether your bug has already been reported on ubports/ubuntu-touch on Github. Browsing open bugs is worth doing, even if you have nothing to report. This ensures that you can watch for any of the open issues and help fix them by providing more information.

                PinePhone and PinePhone Pro 20.04 Install
                20.04 Focal Install and Update