Installing rooted android on TWRP boot 2 in order to put UBPorts in 4. Any cons?

[idc]

Hi,
I would like to install Ubuntu Ports on my Cosmo and need therefore to free up boot 4, but would like to retain Gemian in boot 3. If I don't need wireless for rooted Android, is there any reason I shouldn't install rooted Android into boot 2 instead of TWRP? Would I be losing anything useful? So far as I can tell TWRP is of no particular use on this machine. The instructions here are ambiguous as to whether or not this is possible, referring to boot 2 only working with 'recovery mode', and suggesting only boot 3 and 4 can take rooted Android. (Let me know if I've missed something here.)

On my Cosmo I have Android in boot 1, Gemian in boot 3 and rooted Android in boot 4. (Though since reinstalling Gemian I can now see six options on booting: 1 NORMAL; 2 RECOVERY; 3 TWRP; 4 Debian/KDE; 5 ROOTED_ANDROID; 6 FASTBOOT.) I only ever use rooted Android once in a while in order to run Titanium backup, backing up to an SD card — because I use Android without logging in to Google and therefore, I believe, nothing is backed up by default. Presumably I could do this just as well with rooted Android in boot 2. Has anyone else done this?

Will the process of installing rooted Android in boot 2 mean I have to reinstall Titanium Backup or change any other settings, or am I right in thinking that rooted Android keeps everything (or nearly everything?) in the same partitions as unrooted Android, so reinstalling rooted Android to boot 2 as per the instructions would leave me with Titanium Backup and its settings unchanged?

Sorry for so many questions and thanks in advance for any help/advice you can offer. Despite using Android for a number of years, I still feel it is an OS I don't really understand.
Ian

[MonkeyControl]

I couldn't find much to help you other than this post warning about no modem access:  https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?topic=36413.msg296945#msg296945, and you suggested you didn't need wireless, but other than that I don't know.  Maybe do a backup and give it a go, or contact PC and see what they have to say about it.  I have Android, Recovery, Debian, UBPorts, FastBoot options on my Cosmo.  UBPorts is my default and I have no use for Android, but I may have a go this weekend out of curiosity, if I'm feeling brave. 

[idc]

Thanks for that. When I've some time, I shall give it a go. If you do get there before me, I'd be interested to hear your experience. Are you using Ubuntu as a phone or just as a mobile computer? How do you find the battery life?
Thanks again for your input.

[MonkeyControl]

Thanks for that. When I've some time, I shall give it a go. If you do get there before me, I'd be interested to hear your experience.

I didn't have time last weekend, definitely this weekend though, full backup then a deep breath. 

Are you using Ubuntu as a phone or just as a mobile computer?

Full time phone, part time computer, I suppose.  Maybe you don't quite get the full desktop package experience that you do with Debian, but for me UT fits my use case, and it's very stable and has a really nice interface. 

How do you find the battery life?

From an overnight charge I get a day's work out of it, maybe a little topup in the evening if I'm caning the browser.  UT seems a lot lighter on battery than Debian, and also better signal coverage, not sure if the two things are related. 

[idc]

Cool. It does sound like it might meet my use case. Let me know how you get on if you manage this weekend.

[MonkeyControl]

Cool. It does sound like it might meet my use case. Let me know how you get on if you manage this weekend.

My weekend didn't go to plan, but I did get a little trial run. 
I managed to get to a stage where all the options: 
    [1] NORMAL
    [2] RECOVERY
    [3] ROOTED_ANDROID
    [4] DEBIAN_KDE
    [5] UBPORTS
    [6] FASTBOOT
appear on bootup, but rooted android doesn't boot.  Also note the recovery option is still there after I tried to put rooted android into 'EMPTY_RECOVERY_BOOT_2'. 
I'll have another go this weekend, maybe changing the sequence I load stuff up, or putting stuff in different slots. 
The order I tried (following the instructions from the Planet website (https://support.planetcom.co.uk/index.php/Linux_for_Cosmo) using firmware V3) was: 
1.  Debian into EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_3, (worked okay)
2.  Tried Rooted Android into EMPTY_RECOVERY_BOOT_2, (appeared below recovery on boot options, but didn't boot)
3.  Rooted Android into EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_4, (seems okay, but android is still ugly)
4.  Ran out of time and needed Ubuntu Touch back, so installed as per instructions here (https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?topic=36413.0). 
I wrote the procedure down as I went along, it's a bit long winded for a post, but I'll pm it to you if you are interested. 
I'll have another crack this weekend if I get time. 
Sorry, can't be more help than that at the moment, I'm short of time and really don't know what I'm doing

[idc]

Thank you for the above. Sorry about the slow reply, I've been busy so haven't looked in for a while, but I am interested to see your procedure if it isn't too much trouble to PM (or even to write up here in case anyone else is interested). But perhaps you've managed to make it work in the intervening time?

[MonkeyControl]

Thank you for the above. Sorry about the slow reply, I've been busy so haven't looked in for a while, but I am interested to see your procedure if it isn't too much trouble to PM (or even to write up here in case anyone else is interested). But perhaps you've managed to make it work in the intervening time?

I had another couple of goes at getting rooted android running in multiboot alongside Ubuntu Touch, but I couldn't make it work. 
I've lost the original procedure due to a bout of overenthusiastic housekeeping, but I'll have another look in my backups to see if I can find it. 
I did write a new procedure in the meantime for installing Ubuntu Touch, I posted it here:  https://forums.ubports.com/topic/3453/cosmo-communicator/36?_=1625602673257, on the UBPorts forum.  I originally wrote this for my own purposes, but it may help you.  I can't take any credit for this procedure, I just collected and compiled the work of other generous capable community folk, but it works for me. 
You may be able to cycle through the install stages from the Planet website instructions once you have set up your partitions to try different configurations in an attempt to get your rooted android and Ubuntu Touch combination, but I couldn't get it to work.  A work of warning though, I'm just copying and pasting, following the steps laid out by others, I don't really know what I'm doing.  I'm not a developer, I'm just an Electrical Engineer with a groovy mobile, and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.  While I didn't manage to brick my Cosmo tinkering with the install steps, maybe I could have.  It may be worth a quick email to Planet to see if the setup you are after is advisable or even possible.  Apologies if that sounds like me covering my backside, I am, but I'd also hate to help you dig a big hole and get stuck in it. 
I appreciate what you are trying to do, but personally, for my use case, Ubuntu Touch on my Cosmo is all I want or need.  It's a beautiful OS on a super device. 

[idc]

Hey, thanks for the instructions. Great to see those. I'm away from home for a few days, but I'll give it a go when I get back and have my desktop available.
Is Ubuntu Touch now your daily driver? How is the battery life?

[jakfish]

UBPorts: this is very intriguing.

https://open-store.io/?type=app

I've been poking around in the store. Am I correct in assuming there's not a word processor available? Can't find LibreOffice, etc.

Thanks,
Jake

[MonkeyControl]

Is Ubuntu Touch now your daily driver?

Yes it is

How is the battery life?

It gets me through a work day for an overnight charge.  Maybe it's a bit heavy on power, but the battery is a good size.  It lasts as long as any other phone I've had in the past decade. 

Am I correct in assuming there's not a word processor available?

Unfortunately you are correct, there are the usual note taking apps, and document viewer, but no true word processor or spreadsheet app as such.  This may be a showstopper for some. 
There is a tool called 'Libertine', which I think allows the install of LibreOffice: 
https://forums.ubports.com/topic/5122/good-office-program-for-lg-nexus-5
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/Libertine
but I haven't tried it. 
I may give it a go. 

[jakfish]

Thank you for that fast follow-up. While intrigued mightily with UBPorts, I don't think my Cosmo can make the switch: my wifi/bt are dead and while cam1965 held my hand and helped me compile the Gemian kernel to let me use usb wifi adapters, I don't think such an arrangement will transfer to UBPorts. That, an absence of accessible word processing seem to make me cheer on rather than actually use UBPorts.

I will lurk with respect

Jake

[cam1965]

Hey, thanks for the instructions. Great to see those. I'm away from home for a few days, but I'll give it a go when I get back and have my desktop available.
Is Ubuntu Touch now your daily driver? How is the battery life?

Hi .
I am intrigued.
artifacts.zip has only 24MB in size.
This is too small for an Operating system, unless it will download files when installing. Or it will use the files from Debian install.
When I unzip the file and extracted the contents as showed  in the photo attached , there is no rootfs.img
I think I will have to create an image of the contents of system and rename it to ubuntu.img.
Can you please confirm the contents of rootfs.img (ubuntu.img ) ?
Thank you so  much.
 

[sven1999]

Yes, 24 MB is too small. If you follow the instructions at https://github.com/gemian/gemian/wiki/UBPorts , please look at the word FLASHABLE. Only the artifacts with this mark can be used for the described installation. If there are none at the moment, I can share some older ones.

[MonkeyControl]

artifacts.zip has only 24MB in size.

I'm having the same problem following my own instructions.   
Either I'm missing something or something has changed. 
I've previously used this link to download the flashable zip: 
https://gitlab.com/ubports/community-ports/android9/planet-cosmocom/planet-cosmocom/-/pipelines
I lifted it from the original instruction: 
https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?topic=36413.0
It should extract a folder called 'out', containing 'boot.img' and 'rootfs.img'
I've got a copy of pipeline #284408889 sitting on my desktop, extracted it's about 3GB. 
I don't know what's going on here, I'll see if I can figure out where we're going wrong.