If you're having issues booting the latest Beta / Alpha release, we need more details. We need to know which device model you were using and whether you had any modifications to the OS. Updates are only supported with an unmodified official release of GrapheneOS and you should have the bootloader locked for verifying OS integrity.

@spl4tt You have a previous post implying that you have a modified OS:

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/2275-will-gos-and-root-related-issues/17

Is this still the case? That would explain why it's not working.

@v6ak @DoctorGo If you've modified the OS, we need to know that.

    were any modifications (modding,rooting,etc) made to the OS?

    GrapheneOS

    • My device is Pixel 6a. (Bought in Germany.)
    • Bootloader is locked (verified the hash shown on boot), no root or other modification like that.
    • Free space is currently a bit tight: just 5.51 GB free.

        v6ak

        DoctorGo
        How far does the OS boot after update before failing? Does it get to GrapheneOS logo or to the "Optimizing apps" screen?

              v6ak Please try freeing up a bit more space if possible. It would be good to know if that helps.

              • v6ak replied to this.

                  muhomorr It's more of a timing issue. The first time I didn't unlock the sim and it rebooted. When I noticed that I tried to log in as fast as I could. Got past the sim lock and halfway through the password and it would keep rebooting then telling me it was corrupted/couldn't load OS and to factory reset. I just kept restarting it and punching in the passwords as fast as I could. After around 15 tries I got passed the master password and it fired up. Very scary on a day I'm flying to the other side of the country. Glad I didn't factory reset. Anyone having trouble try over and over.

                      We built a release with a possible solution for the Pixel 7 but were unable to get feedback on it. We could build that for other devices if people with that booting issue are willing to test it, but you'll need to explicitly tell us that you want to help with testing a solution.

                      GrapheneOS Yes, I'm still rooted, and I understand that you won't support this. But seeing that others with no modified OS have the same issue tells me that it's probably not that.
                      Also, flashing the new release without the patched boot.img has the same issue, but I didn't lock my bootloader.

                      I can surely test the fixed build on my p7p, of course without the patched boot.img, to see if it runs.

                      • de0u replied to this.

                          spl4tt Yes, I'm still rooted, and I understand that you won't support this. But seeing that others with no modified OS have the same issue tells me that it's probably not that.

                          As a reader of the forum, who is interested in knowing how widespread an issue like this might be, it would be nice to know what fraction of reporters are running unlocked bootloaders, rooted devices, unofficial builds, forks, etc. So it might be supportive for people running something other than an official GrapheneOS build to say so in reports (arguably each time). Empirically it seems as if in this case that would have saved the moderators/developers some time figuring out how to weigh this particular report (and this sounds like the sort of issue that it would be good to be figured out sooner rather than later).

                              muhomorr I got GrapheneOS logo, which was being shown for a long time. (Didn't measure, just subjective…) Then, the boot got aborted. (Not sure if this was the case of all the boot attempts. The first reboot was more like 1. reboot, 2. do something else without watching the screen, 3. see the error screen.)

                              GrapheneOS
                              Retrying, again with 2023061400. Before update:

                              • version: 2023060700
                              • Storage: 20.27 GB free
                              • no USB device connected (during the previous attempt, I might have had headphones connected)

                              I just touched Reboot from the notification.

                              1. Failed
                              2. Failed
                              3. Failed, trying long press of power button.
                              4. Booted 2023060700 (the boot was much quicker than all the previous attempts)

                              Now, the phone is installing an update (probably 2023061402).

                                  1402 works, with and without patched boot.img. It's now on the optimizing app screen, which will take a while.

                                  Thank you for the amazing work GrapheneOS team.

                                  I've just successfully finished the upgrade (including reboot and Optimizing app X/Y phase) to 2023061402 on my Pixel 6a. Free space has increased to 31.20 GB, but this might be caused by finished update, as we no longer need to keep old version of system and old AOTs for apps.

                                  This update has also brought me 5G in Czech Republic.

                                  2 months later

                                  DoctorGo
                                  I had the exact same problem, and the work-around was as you described to enter the SIM unlock code as soon as possible -- it felt like more than 5 seconds to enter the code and then phone would crash. However, after the SIM unlock stage, I didn't need to enter my phone password super quick (I failed once).

                                  GrapheneOS
                                  My particular install:
                                  -Pixel 6
                                  -OS version 13/TQA.230705.001/2023072600 (N.B. phone updated to that version over wifi about a week ago)
                                  -58.5GB storage free
                                  -NOT rooted
                                  -bootloader LOCKED
                                  -OEM unlocking DISABLED
                                  -no USB or peripherals attached

                                  FYI here is a recent Reddit post on someone experiencing what seems to be this issue after sideloading what I suppose is the most recent OS update.

                                  I do wonder whether this is an issue related to Android's TQA.230705.001 code, rather than GrapheneOS, as an internet search shows people experiencing such boot issues in the past after updates irrespective of GrapheneOS (e.g. reddit post from 2 years ago).

                                        GrapheneOS de0u

                                        Hi, just an update. The problem persists exactly as before, after having sideloaded the latest update (13/TQ3A.230805.001/2023080800) via adb tools.

                                        Therefore, if it is an Android problem, then it wasn't fixed in the TQ3A.230805.001 update; and if it is a GrapheneOS problem, the it wasn't fixed in the updates subsequent to 2023072600.

                                        Some additional information on top of my original post (PixtTraveler):

                                        • If no SIM card is installed, the phone boots as normal, and waits at the phone password prompt without rebooting
                                        • The problem seems independent of mobile networks (I have tried with two different SIM cards of different networks)
                                        • The phone will reboot in about 6-7 seconds from showing the SIM unlock screen (without successful SIM card PIN entry).
                                        • In order for the phone to not reboot, you need to input the SIM unlock within ~ 3s. If your security settings are with a scrambled PIN layout, I found it almost impossible to type it in so fast. If you take longer than that, even if you successfully enter the PIN before the 6-7 seconds, the phone will begin to restart
                                        • If you are able to input the SIM card PIN within at least ~ 6s, there is a way to get the phone to stop from rebooting: as soon as your SIM card PIN is accepted, immediately swipe up to unlock -- that will get you to the phone password entry field and at that point the phone will not go into the reboot loop. After this, even if you do not enter the password (or enter it wrong), or lock the screen and walk away, the phone will not proceed to reboot.

                                        @GrapheneOS Is this still the right place to be discussing this or should a separate post be created?

                                        • de0u replied to this.

                                                PixtTraveler Is this still the right place to be discussing this or should a separate post be created?

                                                I can imagine that folks on the Matrix channels might be able to talk you through turning on some logging and then triggering the problem.

                                                    8 days later

                                                    GrapheneOS DoctorGo v6ak de0u
                                                    Hi all, I was able to pin down the problematic element, and I thought I would post it here for the sake of reference since it had already been discussed here and couldn't find it elsewhere, rather than open a new posting.

                                                    Subsequent to my last post ( PixtTraveler ), I updated the OS to 13/TQA.230805.001/2023080800.
                                                    I needed to do a factory reset for another reason, so it was an opportune time to discover where this problem was coming from. (FYI I did the reset via the phone Reset Options "Erase all data (factory reset)"). The problem of course was not there after the factory reset.

                                                    Upon changing various settings, I came across the element that for me seems to have been causing the issue -- ImsService.

                                                    The SIM lock boot-loop problem begins if you make changes to the locations permissions of ImsService, with either:

                                                    • you disable "precise location" for its location permission
                                                    • you disallow the location permission for ImsService completely

                                                    In either of those scenarios, I am able to replicate the problem. And then re-enabling ImsService's location permissions, the problem goes away completely.

                                                    I hope this helps others in case their problem was caused by the same issue, so as to avoid any potential factory reset!

                                                                PixtTraveler Hi there, I'm glad you found the solution. Just so you know, it is best not to change the permissions of any system apps whatsoever, not just ImsService.