Reformatting postmarket os with ubuntu touch

[mackdaddy67]

Hi there,
Got my new pinephone and I am very new to the concept, I have a good understanding of linux but I am still new to it. I set up the pinephone out of the box with post market OS and chose the full disk encryption option. I then flashed a micro SD card with ubuntu touch and attempted to install it on the device but immediately it comes up with an error and saying it can't access the disk as it is denied. It then boots right into ubuntu touch and i can use it just fine but when i remove the sd card it goes back to the post market OS.

I basically want to reformat the device and have only ubuntu touch on there so how would i go about this? Also on post market OS the root password does not work and neither does the pin number i put in. Not sure if this is a glitch or if I input it incorrectly.

Also I have been doing some reading on here and seeing people have been running their phone OS straight from the SD card? Is that a better option? Is it possible to do full disk encryption on the Ubuntu touch install disk? And if I was to install ubuntu touch on the device and then had a seperate sd card, could I encrypt the sd card using LUKS via desktop and then still access it via ubuntu touch once it is in the phone?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just excited about my very first linux smart phone and i want to do it right and have it fully encrypted and secure.

I remember contacting the Pure OS team and they said with pure OS it won't yet offer full disk encryption, but the home folder is encrypted and you need that password to start up the device in the future and USB is disabled until the password is input as to protect from brute force attacks and also the removal of the Keys from the device for brute force attacks.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me with this. Just tell me what to do and I will try it!

[bcnaz]

1) I suggest you browse the forum and check out the threads pertaining to your questions, there are a lot of   very very important  tips available here.
2) It may be best if you try Ubuntu Touch from an sd card first,  before installing it.
3) "Just my opinion", I would not worry about 'encryption' until you have made a decision about which OS you want to
make your permanent operating system.

The Pine phone does run fairly well from an sd card, It is a great way to test drive a few different operating systems,
  just a little slower response times, not a major difference.

Welcome to the forum, and a new phone experience.

[mackdaddy67]

1) I suggest you browse the forum and check out the threads pertaining to your questions, there are a lot of   very very important  tips available here.
2) It may be best if you try Ubuntu Touch from an sd card first,  before installing it.
3) "Just my opinion", I would not worry about 'encryption' until you have made a decision about which OS you want to
make your permanent operating system.

The Pine phone does run fairly well from an sd card, It is a great way to test drive a few different operating systems,
  just a little slower response times, not a major difference.

Welcome to the forum, and a new phone experience.

Whole reason I switched to linux was for the encryption component. I have significant encryption experience so I am just trying to understand how ubuntu touch encryption works. I have browsed the forums but still not finding the answers I am seeking. All I need to know is how to factory reset the hard drive inside the phone and install ubuntu touch on it but if it runs so well from sd card perhaps i can just do that instead.

[bcnaz]

The UBPorts forum 'may' be your best bet for getting more information on encrypting Ubuntu Touch.

As far as the Pine phone use goes it may be simpler to use the sd card until that operating system is a
little more polished.
There are a few methods to install the OS to the eMMC, using the PMOS 'boot strap' method is one that is
popular for several different operating systems.

[SwordfishII]

Too flash directly to your phone:

- Download and flash jumpdrive to an sd card
- Put the card in your phone and boot
(Jumpdrive exposes the internal phone memory to your computer as a mass storage device.)
- Plug your phone into your computer
- Flash the new image directly to your phone storage with balena, DD, win32diskimager, Chrome Recovery Software, or whatever flashing utility you like and works on your computer.

Encryption still seems to have some bugs. So be cognizant of that.

Also be aware pmOS does not support direct flashing unless using a demo image, so if you want to go back you would need to read up on pmbootstrap and it's usage.

[mackdaddy67]

Too flash directly to your phone:

- Download and flash jumpdrive to an sd card
- Put the card in your phone and boot
(Jumpdrive exposes the internal phone memory to your computer as a mass storage device.)
- Plug your phone into your computer
- Flash the new image directly to your phone storage with balena, DD, win32diskimager, Chrome Recovery Software, or whatever flashing utility you like and works on your computer.

Encryption still seems to have some bugs. So be cognizant of that.

Also be aware pmOS does not support direct flashing unless using a demo image, so if you want to go back you would need to read up on pmbootstrap and it's usage.

Thank you very much for your reply. So to get rid of pmOS on internal storage and put any one I like on there I would use the jump drive method? Is Pm bootstrap method only for getting pmOS back on internal storage?

And if I have to do pmbootstrap method where would you suggest is the best guide for me to read?

[SwordfishII]

Too flash directly to your phone:

- Download and flash jumpdrive to an sd card
- Put the card in your phone and boot
(Jumpdrive exposes the internal phone memory to your computer as a mass storage device.)
- Plug your phone into your computer
- Flash the new image directly to your phone storage with balena, DD, win32diskimager, Chrome Recovery Software, or whatever flashing utility you like and works on your computer.

Encryption still seems to have some bugs. So be cognizant of that.

Also be aware pmOS does not support direct flashing unless using a demo image, so if you want to go back you would need to read up on pmbootstrap and it's usage.

 So to get rid of pmOS on internal storage and put any one I like on there I would use the jump drive method? Is Pm bootstrap method only for getting pmOS back on internal storage?

And if I have to do pmbootstrap method where would you suggest is the best guide for me to read?

Yes you would use the jump drive method.

You could flash a demo pmos directly but it's not recommended. The pmOS wiki has info about pmbootstrap.