Bricked my phone

Hardware Librem 5
1

Well, now that I bricked my phone trying to get the camera working what now?

All I did was install megapixels in hopes that would be a functional camera because the camera app that came with it just crashes.

I was already looking into flashing a new ROM on either the Librem 5 or my PinePhone because I’ve been looking to make the jump from my Moto G Stylus to something that can take over a majority of functionality that I currently have while maintaining some level of privacy.

I’m guessing in order to fix this I’ll have to use JumpDrive on my Librem 5.

Also any recommendations on OS’s if not PureOS that would have functionality that is close to what I’m used to?

2

I forgot to add that currently, turning it on it vibrates once, flashes a green light, then repeat.

3

L5-Camera is already funcional, what type of funcional we talk about?

Probably is crashing because the Camera HKS is OFF.

I dont think that Jumpdrive will help. Just reinstall the Libre Operating System with uuu.

4

Jumpdrive will only be useful if you would know what to do in order to “repair” your drive contents and if that is even possible.

Just reflash.

Jumpdrive would also be useful if there’s something that you want to rescue from your drive contents before reflashing.

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5

This is Millipixels, a fork of Megapixels, and the functionality is already better than Megapixels on the L5.

(Neither is going to be as sophisticated as what you’re used to with Android or iOS. It’s still all very manual.)

6

I heard elsewhere last week there were 5 billion discarded phones. Wonder what it would take to building housing out of them since they’re “bricked”? It could relieve a housing shortage!

You know, like a few have built structures using old beer bottles and mortar? I think there is one in Alaska and one in Knott’s Berry Farm.

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7

I think the L5 camera phone app could use the following polish without seemingly too much dev effort required from my non-dev experience:

  1. dont crash app when camera is disabled with hardware switch,
  2. make it an option to save RAW in camera settings, it could still save the .dng raw temporarily, then do all the cleanup and then discard the file, while saving the result as .jpg, it already saves as .jpg, and .dng,
  3. disconnect the functions of collecting data, processing data, saving data, display saved result in app to speed up showing a sortof image estimate of what the taken picture may look like first prior to more heavy processing so the app becomes responsive and appears to instantaneously take pictures while processing continuous in the background,
  4. add setting to define saved .jpg image resolution, lower resolution- faster saving etc,
  5. add setting to define image save directory,
  6. use meta data to manage image library by image taken date, maybe content, location, allow for adding / editing metadata right on camera app either before, during, and or after taking the image,
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8

I hope you can “unbrick” your phone by a reinstallation of your Librem5. Not sure how you could brick it, was it just the Kernel with the Megapixel Driver?

I thought the Librem5 saved some working Kernel and iterate the Kernel counter if you try to customize your installation.

However i would not count on your Phone if you like taking Pictures. Purism and some Community support do a great job here, but its a hard one. 99% of the other Cameras will have some Magic in Firmware, Hardware and i am sure they all sell Data about pictured objects. Through Firmware, Neural Networks optimizing Pictures and for the real time Feeling by using the Camera. Modern-Picture-Devices are just sweet little liars, because the Eyecandy with extra sugar is much better as the bitter reality. :wink:

Hundreds of Years ago when humanity start to speaking and could save Information through brains. It takes a long time… to manifest the Math and the Power to write down Stuff. Because Information got lost and changed through Brains. And 2022 we think it is a good idea to have chatty networking computers because they don’t lie, to us. Of cause they do!
Purism/Librem5 try to be more and more to bring back a reasonable Computer, for offline local and Internet usage, without (strike, personalize, end-strike) changing reality.

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9

I’m just now getting ready to try reflashing my phone. Lol.

How do I determine the hardware version so I flash it properly? I’m sure there is documentation somewhere…

I’m currently following:
https://developer.puri.sm/Librem5/Development_Environment/Phone/Troubleshooting/Reflashing_the_Phone.html#overview

The model number from my battery compartment is L5USAv1-01

10

All L5USAs are Evergreen.

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11

When I run the command:
sudo ./scripts/librem5-flash-image --udev

I get the following message:
ERROR:root:Cannot load Jenkins
Try running: sudo apt install python3-jenkins

I’ve searched the Manjaro repositories as well as AUR repositories and I’m not finding that. Anyone running Manjaro that ran into this before?

Edit: I may have found it. it was under python-python-jenkins in AUR.
Looks like there is a Librem5 package in the AUR that is already complete with dependencies. lol and I’m doing it the hard way…

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