GrapheneOS strategy when there multiple upstream images for the same device

eugenesan

I could not find anything on the subject so I'll ask here.

How GrapheneOS devs deal with situation when Google posts multiple images for the same device?

For example, there are 3 images for Pixel 8 and they contain different Radio firmwares and probably drivers, provisioning data etc.

de0u

eugenesan How GrapheneOS devs deal with situation when Google posts multiple images for the same device?

For example, there are 3 images for Pixel 8 and they contain different Radio firmwares and probably drivers, provisioning data etc.

This sort of question is improved by citing a source to make it clear exactly what is being asked. For example, on this page I see 20 Pixel 8 images, not 3. What I see there appears to differ mostly in terms of carrier additions, which GrapheneOS does not ship. If a different selection of Pixel 8 images is being asked about, a link would be helpful.

GrapheneOS

eugenesan There's only really one variant of the firmware and OS for each device model. The separate releases are due to certification procedures which block them from releasing changes made late into the process unless carriers approve it. These changes are usually related to carrier configuration changes, etc. We use the generic release, then check what the differences are between each of the revisions and sometimes we update to one shipping additional patches early after determining it's not going to cause issues. The changes are included in the generic release for the next month in nearly every case since this is simply due to the certification processes blocking quick changes without special exceptions being made.

eugenesan

I didn't think I had to elaborate that much in such a technical community.

Google release monthly updates of AOSP (source), Driver Binaries and Factory/OTA images.
Both Driver Binaries and Factory/OTA images comes in 1 to 3 variants, usually Generic plus 1 or 2 Provider specific variants of the same "patch level" images.

My question is what should a user expect to receive in GrapheneOS image:

Generic binaries only and no provider specific improvements
Generic binaries only and provider specific improvements
Generic binaries, specific binaries and provider specific improvements

For example there is often a separate version for Verizon (5G-mmWave) which includes different Radio, Drivers and Provisioning. Should GrapheneOS users assume their experience will be degraded when using Verizon device/network?

de0u

eugenesan I didn't think I had to elaborate that much in such a technical community.

The GrapheneOS community includes people from all walks of life.

Separately, if an implication is being made that "technical people" don't cite sources, I think there is an argument in exactly the opposite direction.

eugenesan For example there is often a separate version for Verizon (5G-mmWave) which includes different Radio, Drivers and Provisioning. Should GrapheneOS users assume their experience will be degraded when using Verizon device/network?

My understanding is that the Verizon-specific devices are all permanently OEM-locked/bootloader-locked and thus cannot run GrapheneOS at all. The last time I checked (which was admittedly when the 6a was released) only the locked Verizon devices had 5G-mmWave, i.e., the only way to run GrapheneOS on Verizon's network was to forgo mmWave.

GrapheneOS

eugenesan We don't use the driver binary packages. They're incomplete, do not fully match the stock OS releases and are not really usable for proper production releases. They use a prebuilt vendor.img despite it being straightforward to build a huge portion of it from AOSP. We want to build as much as we can ourselves so that's not a viable option. Our hope is that with the move away from Exynos nearly all of it will end up being shipped in AOSP including firmware which would make upstream contributions and figuring some things out easier.

eugenesan

de0u
You are correct mmWave is limited to OEM locked devices, so we can skip that aspect.
But I suspect Verizon images/binaries also contain changes unrelated to mmWave.
I assume those images are result of Verizon certification process and who knows what changes and/or bug fixes it contains...

I was hoping to hear from GrapheneOS devs or someone in the know who could addressing the question.

de0u

eugenesan I suspect Verizon images/binaries also contain changes unrelated to mmWave.
I assume those images are result of Verizon certification process and who knows what changes and/or bug fixes it contains...

I have no way to dispute the "Who knows what?" uncertainty.

eugenesan I was hoping to hear from GrapheneOS devs or someone in the know who could addressing the question.

A developer may choose to weigh in... but I doubt they are disassembling/decompiling the various carrier-specific binaries, and I also doubt the carriers are providing source code or detailed documentation. And, at the end of the day, GrapheneOS releases one system image for each hardware type.