Install LineageOS on sunfish

keyboard_arrow_left Back to the overview

Basic requirements

Important: Please read through the instructions at least once before actually following them, so as to avoid any problems due to any missed steps!

Make sure your computer has adb and fastboot. Setup instructions can be found here.
Enable USB debugging on your device.

Warning: Before following these instructions please ensure that the device is on the latest Android 11 firmware.

Unlocking the bootloader

Note: The steps below only need to be run once per device.

Warning: Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data on your device! Before proceeding, ensure the data you would like to retain is backed up to your PC and/or your Google account, or equivalent. Please note that OEM backup solutions like Samsung and Motorola backup may not be accessible from LineageOS once installed.

Enable OEM unlock in the Developer options under device Settings, if present.
Connect the device to your PC via USB.
On the computer, open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type:
```
adb reboot bootloader
```
You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
```
fastboot devices
```
Tip: If you see no permissions fastboot while on Linux or macOS, try running fastboot as root.
Now type the following command to unlock the bootloader:
```
fastboot flashing unlock
```
Note: At this point the device may display on-screen prompts which will require interaction to continue the process of unlocking the bootloader. Please take whatever actions the device asks you to to proceed.
If the device doesn’t automatically reboot, reboot it. It should now be unlocked.
Since the device resets completely, you will need to re-enable USB debugging to continue.

Temporarily booting a custom recovery using `fastboot`

Download a custom recovery - you can download Lineage Recovery. Simply download the latest recovery file, named something like lineage-18.1-20220112-recovery-sunfish.img.
Connect your device to your PC via USB.
On the computer, open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type:
```
adb reboot bootloader
```
You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
```
fastboot devices
```
Tip: If you see no permissions fastboot while on Linux or macOS, try running fastboot as root.

Tip: Some devices have buggy USB support while in bootloader mode, if you see fastboot hanging with no output when using commands such as fastboot getvar ..., fastboot boot ..., fastboot flash ... you may want to try a different USB port (preferably a USB Type-A 2.0 one) or a USB hub.
Temporarily flash a recovery on your device by typing:
```
fastboot flash boot <recovery_filename>.img
```
Note: Outdated fastboot releases dropped legacy A/B support, so it might attempt to flash to boot__a / boot__b rather than boot_a / boot_b if you try to flash boot. In this case, you must update fastboot to a release newer than or equal to 31.0.2. Alternatively, you can manually specify which slot to flash to based on what slot fastboot failed to flash to. For example, if fastboot fails to flash to boot__a, you must flash to boot_a.

Tip: The file may not be named identically to what stands in this command, so adjust accordingly.
With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power. Then use the menu to select Recovery Mode.

Installing LineageOS from recovery

Download the LineageOS installation package that you would like to install or build the package yourself.
- Optionally, download an application package add-on such as Google Apps (use the arm64 architecture).
If you are not in recovery, reboot into recovery:
- With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Power. Then use the menu to select Recovery Mode.
Now tap Factory Reset, then Format data / factory reset and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage, as well as format your cache partition (if you have one).
Return to the main menu.
Sideload the LineageOS .zip package:
- On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from ADB” to begin sideload.
- On the host machine, sideload the package using: adb sideload filename.zip.
  Tip: Normally, adb will report Total xfer: 1.00x, but in some cases, even if the process succeeds the output will stop at 47% and report adb: failed to read command: Success. In some cases it will report adb: failed to read command: No error which is also fine.
(Optionally): If you want to install any add-ons, click Advanced, then Reboot to Recovery, then when your device reboots, click Apply Update, then Apply from ADB, then adb sideload filename.zip those packages in sequence.

Note: Add-ons aren’t signed with LineageOS’s official key, and therefore when they are sideloaded, Lineage Recovery will present a screen that says Signature verification failed, this is expected, please click Continue.

Note: If you want the Google Apps add-on on your device, you must follow this step before booting into LineageOS for the first time!
Once you have installed everything successfully, click the back arrow in the top left of the screen, then “Reboot system now”.

Warning: Depending on which recovery you use, you may be prompted to install additional apps and services. We strongly advise you to opt out of installing these, as they may cause your device to bootloop, as well as attempt to access or corrupt your data.

Get assistance

If you have any questions or get stuck on any of the steps, feel free to ask on our subreddit or in #LineageOS on Libera.Chat.