grapheneos-enthusiast Was using vanadium (default settings, up to date) on a pixel6a, when I was prompt to select a device nothing showed up in the list of connected devices
Was the Vanadium window incognito? That is known not to work.
What are the USB port settings on the GrapheneOS side? If something else is plugged in to the USB-C port, such as a flash drive, does that work?
de0u not in incognito mode, as stated in prerequisites.
usb-c port settings are set to default (charging only when locked). Yes it's working if I plug a USB drive in it.
just remembered that months ago I dropped my phone in snow and usb-c port stopped working for a while, there was "Warning: water or debris in your usb-c port, don't charge your phone or plug anything in it" or something similar.
As of today, the port for charging is still working fine and my phone is still capable to transfer files with a USB drive. I'm not aware of the technical differences between the connection for transferring files to a USB drive or connecting to another phone, but I suppose it's same (?), thus, if it is, we can tell the port is still working fully.
grapheneos-enthusiast Was the target device in fastboot mode before it was plugged in to the GrapheneOS pixel?
de0u at first it wasn't but rest assured that I have unplugged and plugged it in again to check, I've also rebooted my grapheneos phone, I've also tried to plug to my computer (and notice it was detected) and plugged in again to my grapheneos phone (and it again wasn't detected).
grapheneos-enthusiast Which version of GrapheneOS is installed on the 6a?
fid02 was 2024123000
I can reproduce the issue on a 6a running GrapheneOS 2025010700. But I can also reproduce it on the same 6a running stock PixelOS with the January security update.
My Pixel 8 is not detected by the web USB installer.
Booted into the bootloader interface. Connected to the 6a while booted into the bootloader interface.
Same issue in Vanadium and Brave. When I try the same but in reverse – the 6a in the bootloader interface connected to the 8 – Vanadium on the 8 detected the 6a just fine.
Stock PixelOS on the 6a tested from Chrome.
Cable is the one that came with the device. Never had issues with it.
Worth noting that another user successfully flashed GOS from a 6a on November 30th 2024, but it's unclear if the 6a was running GOS or stock PixelOS, and unknown which OS version it was: https://matrix.to/#/!TrjYpPRJtchNTQkSKB:grapheneos.org/$IxHCaH-VBIJDkQlfpHwCZzkYqDSlRpItqBsoY1wDr6U?via=matrix.org&via=tchncs.de&via=nitro.chat
I now found that, from the 6a running stock PixelOS, Google's web installer also does not detect my 8: flash.android.com
fid02 I don't understand this part, isn't flash.android.com meant to be run on desktop?
grapheneos-enthusiast not necessarily.
It is also possible to flash GrapheneOS onto a Pixel device from the web installer on a second Android device, and connecting the two phones via a USB cable.
For more details, see the list of supported OSes detailed in the web installer: https://grapheneos.org/install/web#prerequisites
de0u Thanks for doing all of this experimentation! Should an issue be filed?
I don't know? Since the issue appears to be upstream, it might make sense to file an issue with Google. Although I suspect that they might prefer that the person filing the issue has tested the connection between two devices running stock OS, which I can't do without certain inconvenience.
treequell please read the full thread
grapheneos-enthusiast I don't understand this part, isn't flash.android.com meant to be run on desktop?
Officially their web installer does not support flashing from mobile, but it has always worked for me regardless. And even if the flashing process fails, it's always been able to detect the connected device.
Just to chime in, a few weeks ago, I did not succeed, installing GOS onto a Pixel 6a with a Pixel 6a that was already running GOS. The devices was just not recognized by the Pixel that was running GOS already. Whereas I could install GOS onto a Pixel 8 with a Pixel 7. Both times I was trying with standard settings, using Vanadium.
Double check your cable, even the OEM one tend to fail at some point.
I use a single GOS 6a to flash other 6a, 7, 7a, 8 and 8a without problem.
When both are plugged in and your "guest" phone is in bootloader but not recognized by the "host" you are flashing from, just leave it plugged but restart it in bootloader and it will appear.
NetRunner88 thank you for reporting.
my cable was new, as I bought a new pixel, and it worked the other way around, it is just the pixel 6a that's doesn't recognize any connect device.
your describe behavior is probably a good work around but does not sound like the expected behavior.
It is
just a memo for those who stuck with "restarting device" state in Vanadium webusb after an attempt to flash (where it starts with "writing", then target device reboots into fastboot as expected, but vanadium continues to show "restarting device").
Please ensure you don't have "desktop site" turned on for grapheneos.org. It appeared that for me only mobile site version showed button "reconnect device" upon execution of subsequent "restarting device".
