Google Pixel 9a

Identity

Observed stock build on first OpenPhone device:

google/tegu/tegu:16/BP4A.260105.004.E1/14587043:user/release-keys

Sources

• Device tree: downloaded by Lineage breakfast tegu.
• Kernel source: downloaded by Lineage breakfast tegu.
• Vendor blobs: extract from a matching Lineage installable zip or from a device already running the matching Lineage branch.
• Lineage build docs: Build LineageOS for Google Pixel 9a
• Lineage install docs: Install LineageOS on Google Pixel 9a

Host Checks

From the OpenPhone repository:

adb devices -l
adb shell getprop ro.product.model
adb shell getprop ro.product.device
adb shell getprop ro.boot.hardware.sku
adb shell getprop ro.build.fingerprint
adb shell getprop ro.boot.flash.locked

Expected before unlock:

model: Pixel 9a
device: tegu
sku: GTF7P
flash locked: 1

Prepare Device Repositories

After syncing and applying the OpenPhone overlay/patches:

export OPENPHONE_ANDROID_DIR="$PWD/.worktree/OpenPhoneAndroid/android"
cd "$OPENPHONE_ANDROID_DIR"
source build/envsetup.sh
breakfast tegu

If proprietary vendor files are missing, extract them according to the upstream Lineage tegu instructions.

Build

From the OpenPhone repository:

OPENPHONE_ANDROID_DIR="$PWD/.worktree/OpenPhoneAndroid/android" \
./scripts/apply-patches.sh

OPENPHONE_ANDROID_DIR="$PWD/.worktree/OpenPhoneAndroid/android" \
OPENPHONE_BUILD_GOAL=bacon \
./scripts/build.sh openphone_tegu

For Pixel 9a OTA-producing build goals, scripts/build.sh automatically prepares device/google/tegu-kernels/6.1/tegu.dtb from the upstream prebuilt vendor_kernel_boot.img and verifies the generated vendor_kernel_boot.img contains the known-good DTB. The same checks can be run manually with:

OPENPHONE_ANDROID_DIR="$PWD/.worktree/OpenPhoneAndroid/android" \
./scripts/prepare-tegu-dtb.sh

OPENPHONE_ANDROID_DIR="$PWD/.worktree/OpenPhoneAndroid/android" \
./scripts/verify-tegu-bootchain.sh openphone_tegu

Expected output directory:

.worktree/OpenPhoneAndroid/android/out/target/product/tegu/

Expected release artifacts after a successful device build:

vendor_boot.img
lineage-*-UNOFFICIAL-tegu.zip

The zip name may still use Lineage's package naming until OpenPhone release packaging is customized.

Unlock and Flash

Unlocking the bootloader wipes the device.

Before unlocking:

• Finish initial Android setup.
• Enable Developer Options.
• Enable OEM unlocking.
• Enable USB debugging.
• Verify adb devices -l shows device:tegu.

Reboot to bootloader:

adb reboot bootloader
fastboot devices -l

Unlock:

fastboot flashing unlock

Confirm the unlock on the device with the hardware buttons. The device will wipe data.

Flashing instructions currently follow the upstream Lineage tegu install flow until OpenPhone has its own release package and installer documentation.

Optional User-Supplied Google Apps

OpenPhone does not ship Google Play Store, Google Play Services, or Google apps. Users who want Google Play on their own Pixel 9a can sideload a compatible user-supplied Google apps package after installing the OpenPhone OTA. See ../GMS.md for the project policy and compatibility notes.

Install the package immediately after the OpenPhone OTA, before first normal boot, unless the package's own instructions say otherwise.

Typical recovery flow:

1. Sideload the OpenPhone OTA.
2. If recovery asks "Install additional packages?", choose Yes.
3. If recovery says it must reboot recovery first, choose Yes.
4. Return to Apply update -> Apply from ADB.
5. From the host, run:
   scripts/download-mindthegapps.sh
   scripts/sideload-user-gms.sh \
     --package .worktree/downloads/gms/MindTheGapps-16.0.0-arm64-*.zip
6. If recovery reports success, choose Reboot system now. The host helper then
   waits for Android and repairs Google Play Services location grants for
   fused/network location providers.

The sideload helper only runs adb sideload against a local ZIP. It does not download, bundle, validate, or license Google packages. The download helper fetches a public MindTheGapps GitHub release into ignored local worktree state and verifies the release-provided SHA-256 before sideloading.

Bringup Notes

The first OpenPhone smoke OTA installed and produced valid OpenPhone userspace, but its generated vendor_kernel_boot.img had a zero-byte DTB and fell back to fastboot before Android could start. The DTB-fixed OpenPhone smoke OTA booted successfully on slot _a. See ../TEGU_BOOTCHAIN.md for the root cause and the DTB extraction fix.

The first full openphone_tegu OTA booted far enough to expose full product identity but crashed during system_server startup because SELinux denied registration of the new openphone_agent Binder service. The fix is captured in patches/system_sepolicy/0001-OpenPhone-label-agent-manager-service.patch.

The SELinux-fixed full OTA boots to lock screen and reports:

ro.product.model=OpenPhone Pixel 9a
ro.openphone.version=0.1.0-dev
ro.openphone.smoke_build=
sys.boot_completed=1
dev.bootcomplete=1

OpenPhone runtime verification:

pm list packages -> package:org.openphone.assistant
service list -> openphone_agent: [android.openphone.IOpenPhoneAgentService]
service check openphone_agent -> found
dumpsys activity services -> org.openphone.assistant/.OpenPhoneAssistantService running

Current assistant development baseline:

assistant manifest version: derive from overlay/packages/apps/OpenPhoneAssistant/AndroidManifest.xml
on-device package version: verify with scripts/verify-tegu-device.sh
OTA artifact and SHA-256: record in release notes for each published artifact

The assistant-only APK / OTA iteration loop is built on a Linux Android build host, pushed or sideloaded to the physical Pixel 9a, and validated for:

• app launch after reboot,
• chat-style home screen,
• profile icon opening the advanced surface,
• keyboard-aware composer positioning,
• mic-to-send icon state after text entry,
• outside-tap keyboard dismissal, and
• absence of recent FATAL EXCEPTION / AndroidRuntime logcat signatures.

Recovery and ADB Notes

After a clean data wipe or recovery Format data / factory reset, Android may boot to first-run onboarding with stale host-side ADB visibility:

adb devices -l -> device
adb get-state -> device
adb shell -> error: closed
adb logcat -> waiting for device
adb install -> abb_exec failed: closed

Treat this as an authorization/onboarding state, not proof that Android failed to boot. Complete or skip onboarding until the home screen, then re-enable Developer Options and USB debugging. Accept the USB debugging prompt on the phone before running package or service verification.

Useful post-onboarding verification:

./scripts/verify-tegu-device.sh

The script runs the ADB shell probe, device identity checks, framework service check, assistant package diagnostics, accessibility settings, and recent OpenPhone logs. The underlying manual commands are:

adb shell 'getprop sys.boot_completed'
adb shell 'service check openphone_agent'
adb shell 'dumpsys package org.openphone.assistant | grep -E "versionCode|versionName|OpenPhoneAccessibilityService" -n'
adb shell 'settings get secure enabled_accessibility_services'
adb shell 'settings get secure accessibility_enabled'

For the current repository manifest, the assistant APK should report the versionCode and versionName from overlay/packages/apps/OpenPhoneAssistant/AndroidManifest.xml, plus .OpenPhoneAccessibilityService. Trust scripts/verify-tegu-device.sh over stale example output. The script derives the expected assistant package version from the repository manifest and fails if PackageManager still reports stale metadata.

Acceptance Checklist

Run the automated portion of the hardware checklist with:

./scripts/smoke-test-tegu-hardware.sh

The script writes an evidence report under .worktree/reports/. Automated service probes are not enough to mark user-facing hardware as passing; fill in the manual sections for calls/SMS, microphone/speaker, camera capture, fingerprint enrollment, reboot stability, and factory reset before moving those rows out of pending.

Known Issues

• Play Integrity behavior is expected to change after bootloader unlock.
• OTA/release signing is not implemented yet.
• Privileged assistant APK push is validated for assistant-only iteration, but framework, sepolicy, Settings/SystemUI, boot-chain, and first-install changes still require full target-files/OTA builds.
• Pixel 9a OpenPhone target-files/OTA builds rely on the automated DTB extraction and verification in scripts/build.sh.
• Full product boot requires the OpenPhone system/sepolicy service label for openphone_agent.
• After a data wipe, ADB may list the device before shell/logcat/install channels work. Finish onboarding and re-authorize USB debugging before treating adb shell: error: closed as a lower-level transport failure.
• A development OTA can update /system_ext/priv-app/OpenPhoneAssistant/OpenPhoneAssistant.apk while PackageManager still reports an older assistant versionCode from persisted package metadata. Verify both the APK hash and PackageManager version after each OTA. If PackageManager stays stale after onboarding, wipe data from recovery and verify again before running agent evals.