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I give up on free software phones (2019)

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Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#91

Post by anonymouskimmer »

chongli wrote: post #78
jancsika wrote: post #33

Someone should do a Linux phone that scales way back: 1. you can dial phone numbers somehow 2. you can talk on the phone 3. you can hear the person on the other line 4. the cell reception on the phone is decent quality 5. antenna is properly placed for very good reception 6. basic SMS works, all the time 7. has been extensively tested to work with a single carrier, any other carrier is no warranty 8. boot time and sh…

What do #1-#8 have to do with Linux? As far as I can tell, nothing. A flip phone will cover your use case nicely. Personally, I have no interest in making phone calls. 99% of the time when my phone rings it’s a spam call. The other 1% of the time it’s one of my uncles or aunts, all of whom are in their 80’s or thereabouts. After they pass on, I will have no reason at all to make a phone call, except perhaps to book a…

> A flip phone will cover your use case nicely.

Before switching to a smartphone in late 2020 various multi-message SMS texts dropped the middle message for some unknown reason.

> After they pass on, I will have no reason at all to make a phone call

You may think so, but things pop up. Moving states required calling my insurance company. I've made a couple of emergency calls.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#92

Post by anonymouskimmer »

lytedev wrote: post #44
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't #8's opportunistic shutdown prevent it from functioning as a phone and receiving calls?

Yes. Additionally, why would you want this specifically? I think OP just wants better battery life?

If you're going as basic as OP wants you can get 10+ days on a typical phone battery regardless, just by implementing battery saver. I've done it with both smart and feature phones.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#93

Post by TheAceOfHearts »

AndyKelley wrote: post #75

I got my librem in the mail last week after waiting several years(!!) for shipping. It's complete trash. The software is shit, the battery is shit, it's expensive, low specs, completely unusable. I'm willing to compromise a lot in order to go with the free software approach, but my god, just do better. There's no excuse for how un-functional this thing is. Try harder. I had the same reaction with the pine phone a cou…

Also received my librem 5 recently, and it's incredibly disappointing. The software in particular is incredibly buggy and janky. When I open the app store it just fails to load things sometimes. Even the FirefoxOS device I tried a few years ago was better.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#94

Post by secondcoming »

timthelion wrote: post #17

I use lineage on oneplus phones and have no problems. I can't do internet banking and a bunch of other non-free things, but really, who needs that? I have a web browser. The only thing that doesn't work is google meet and google docs and google drive because they intentionally break the mobile experience in the web. But there is a simple solution. Simply don't use google services. If/when my employer demands that of…

I use two banks in the UK and both are pushing to use their app over their website.

Even logging in to the websites is a chore.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#95

Post by the_third_wave »

Animats wrote: post #69
the_third_wave wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...de-googled android and how it doesn’t work very well due to how everything depends on google play services Even that aspect is wildly overblown in my experience of using Google-free Android devices for the last 12 years. Yes, the thing will prompt you to install some Google-thing because it supposedly does not work without it - there are currently two such notifications on one of my devices telling me so. The th…

> All in all I think the current situation with de-Googled Android is quite useable. It is, mostly. So far, I've still been able to reject having a Google account on new phones. Then I delete the "first time" app Google sticks on there, disable Google services, install F-Droid, and use only F-Droid apps. Does that still work? It's been three years since I started a new phone?

Yes, that seems to work still, I recently configured my wife's new Galaxy S21 FE and had no problems telling Google and Samsung to take their accounts to where the sun don't shine.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#96

Post by Arnavion »

AndyKelley wrote: post #75

I got my librem in the mail last week after waiting several years(!!) for shipping. It's complete trash. The software is shit, the battery is shit, it's expensive, low specs, completely unusable. I'm willing to compromise a lot in order to go with the free software approach, but my god, just do better. There's no excuse for how un-functional this thing is. Try harder. I had the same reaction with the pine phone a cou…

>The software is shit, the battery is shit, it's expensive, low specs, completely unusable.

>I had the same reaction with the pine phone a couple years ago.

Anyone who writes "the software" like you and TheAceOfHearts did, as if it's an iPhone or Android, doesn't understand the first thing about a Linux phone. Please resell them to someone that's less PEBKAC than you. Thanks. They'll appreciate it.

And in the future I recommend asking people who have them before you buy them, so that you know ahead of time not to keep these phones from going to people who will make better use of them. For example, we in the PinePhone IRC channel will happily listen to what you want from the phone and tell you whether the phone meets those requirements or not.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#97

Post by subarctic »

muppetman wrote: post #89
richiebful1 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what the stock messaging app is anymore, but "Messages by Google" accomplishes what we're talking about [1] 1. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...

That's a closed source proprietary Google app that relies on Google Play Services to work.

Just like the rest of android

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#98

Post by OldManRyan »

Arnavion wrote: post #96
AndyKelley wrote: post #75

I got my librem in the mail last week after waiting several years(!!) for shipping. It's complete trash. The software is shit, the battery is shit, it's expensive, low specs, completely unusable. I'm willing to compromise a lot in order to go with the free software approach, but my god, just do better. There's no excuse for how un-functional this thing is. Try harder. I had the same reaction with the pine phone a cou…

>The software is shit, the battery is shit, it's expensive, low specs, completely unusable. >I had the same reaction with the pine phone a couple years ago. Anyone who writes " the software" like you and TheAceOfHearts did, as if it's an iPhone or Android, doesn't understand the first thing about a Linux phone. Please resell them to someone that's less PEBKAC than you. Thanks. They'll appreciate it. And in the future…

They shouldn't need to understand it. I don't understand the first thing about how my phone works or mobile development in general. It just works and does what I need it to do.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#99

Post by Arnavion »

OldManRyan wrote: post #98
Arnavion wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The software is shit, the battery is shit, it's expensive, low specs, completely unusable. >I had the same reaction with the pine phone a couple years ago. Anyone who writes " the software" like you and TheAceOfHearts did, as if it's an iPhone or Android, doesn't understand the first thing about a Linux phone. Please resell them to someone that's less PEBKAC than you. Thanks. They'll appreciate it. And in the future…

They shouldn't need to understand it. I don't understand the first thing about how my phone works or mobile development in general. It just works and does what I need it to do.

Yes they do need to understand it. If you believe you don't need or want to understand it, then Linux phones are not for you.

It's okay. Really. Not everything has to be for everyone, and evidently Linux phones are not for you. Please don't buy them. Thanks.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#100

Post by anonymousDan »

nelblu wrote: post #50
zorrolovsky wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use CalyxOS on a Pixel 6a and a LineageOS on a OnePlus 6. No micro G on any of them. Honestly, I have absolutely no issues with CalyxOS and I use mainstream apps like: UK Banking (Starling and HSBC), Whatsapp, Telegram, MyFitnessPal, some airlines and local bus apps... I guess your mileage might vary. If you're keen on a particular app and you can't make it work, that's a frustration. So far I haven't found any rea…

I use calyxos as well and have microg disabled. WhatsApp works fine, signal, telgram works great, fairemail client for emails, davx5 for contact syncing etc. I don't use any google apps expects camera app (which I have disabled data access using firewall), but I have a feeling those may not work so well on calyxos. Only problem - which I actually think is a feature is that I don't get any notifications for a lot of a…

Is it possible to uninstall all browsers (including Chrome) in Calyxos? Most of the time I waste on my phone is in the browser and I would love to have a browserless but otherwise connected device.
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