tips_and_howtos:sailfish_on_nexus5

It can be easy. The docs make it look like performing arts but all it takes is just a few steps to get you up and running with gorgeous multitasking Sailfish OS.

Do this at your own risk! I did not have problems but when enough people do something then things will happen.

I made these instructions after I completed my installation so any corrections and comments are appreciated.

If not yet rooted then start your Nexus 5 and enable developer mode and usb debugging.

Open settings - about phone and tap build version multiple times until screen says you've got developer mode.

Open settings - developer options and enable usb debugging.

Turn off your phone and turn it on to fastboot mode by pressing power+volume up+volume down simultaneously.

Connect your phone to your computer, use your PC to navigate to your Android studio and under platform tools directory find fastboot.

Unlock your phone with fastboot and reboot again to fastboot mode.

fastboot oem unlock
fastboot reboot-bootloader

Keep the phone connected, copy the twrp image file to the same directory as your fastboot executable and issue a command

fastboot flash recovery <twrp image file>
fastboot reboot-bootloader

You need a multiROM if you want to have choice between operating systems.

This is what they do not tell you anywhere: install your preferred operating system BEFORE you start doing any multiROM stuff. Do not attempt it to an empty platform. I did and could not make it work.

Install first your preferred Android (or SailfishOS?) with TWRP and only when you get it up and running you are ready to install multiROM. Look for multiROM instructions in the last chapter.

Use volume up/down buttons to select recovery and press power button to continue.

Activate adb sideload from phone TWRP advanced options and load Cyanogenmod and SailfishOS. Copy cyanogenmod and sailfish os images to the same directory with fastboot and issue commands

adb sideload <cyanogenmod image>
adb sideload <sailfish os image>
adb reboot

First boot may not complete but it will not happen again once you power off and on. Let it boot for a few minutes before doing hard reboot.

Make sure you have a working Android (or SailfishOS? did not try it that way) installation before proceeding. You can install SailfishOS as a second operating system this way.

Keep the phone connected to USB, boot to fastboot mode, copy the modified TWRP recovery file to the same directory as your fastboot executable and issue a command

fastboot flash recovery TWRP_multirom_hammerhead_20150630.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
<code>

Now continue to recovery with volume buttons and confirm with power button. Once there activate ADB sideload from modified TWRP and copy the multirom files to your phone from your PC with commands

<code>
adb push multirom-20150529-v32c-hammerhead.zip /sdcard/
adb push kernel_kexec_hammerhead_510.zip /sdcard/

Also if you are installing Sailfish as a second OS you need to copy those files as well

adb push cm-11-20141008-SNAPSHOT-M11-hammerhead.zip /sdcard/
adb push sailfishos-hammerhead-release-1.1.9.28-beta0-201510022255.zip /sdcard/

Then just add another ROM from the menus and select the images as instructed by the friendly SailfishOS aware menus :)

Please comment below if you did with with SailfishOS as a primary OS.

  • tips_and_howtos/sailfish_on_nexus5.txt
  • Last modified: 2021/10/24 13:51
  • by 127.0.0.1