I use this between my Arch/KDE desktop + Samsung Galaxy S21, and it works beautifully.
Same, but a Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact (the tiniest phone I could buy with decent LineageOS support). Just a shame it isn't supported on Ubuntu Touch.
KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
41–50 of 208 posts
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#42KDE Connect is great, but it sometimes doesn't work well enough on Apple Devices. I've been using LocalSend with better success when sharing to Android or Windows. But for Android to Linux/Windows and Vice versa, it's pretty much perfect.
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#43I was wondering what "the network" here means: > To achieve this, KDE Connect: implements a secure communication protocol over the network, and allows any developer to create plugins on top of it. Has a component that you install on your desktop. Has a KDE Connect client app you run on your phone. Looking further it is only for the local network (with ways to extend it e.g. VPNs).
> Has a component that you install on your desktop. This is only if you use Windows (or MacOS, as there's also a KDE Connect compatible Mac app out there somewhere IIRC). If you're on KDE Desktop Linux, you're already good-to-go, as it's a pre-installed component of a typical KDE environment. :)
not true for all distros. and this kind of thinking is really bad imo for network services.
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
it also talks about using a VPN and what ports to open in a firewall. I don't know how it handles the harder part, the "device on internet" talks to "device in my house" most phones and apps use this "harder part" to interpose their corporate server for more than TURN/STUN and continue to "collect all the data" or "insert a subscription"
Did you get this to work with wireguard though? As long as my phone is connected to wireguard KDEConnect does NOT see any other computer, apparently because it wont forward ICMP broadcast according to the internet. I would really like to have a solution to this issue but since its baked in WG i don't think this is possible
mdns is a really awful protocol. it was already bad in the era it was born, being just an evolution of Microsoft NetBIOS out something. today in the age of wifi and overlay networks, i just consider it information leak with zero benefits.
so, the rfc have a section on how the mdns server have to evolve to handle multiple interfaces and own that. but in reality nobody gives a damn because the maintainer (redhat ibm) is it in the context it was invented (work networks on the 00s), so everyone (like many comments below) just work around in all the wrong ways making other things more complicated.
"just do these hundreds changed on wireguard, your firewall, install this reverse proxy... now your service that only exists to route things automatically can look like it works" heh.
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#45I love KDE connect. After install I turn off things I don't want, but I have options. Works better than any similar app. Connects essentially and system. I pair it with tail scale or zero-tier depending on needs. Multiboot, all major os's mobile. PC, Mac all have ports. It's under rated
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#46This looks neat, from what it looks like it's essentially an Open Source version of Apple's continuity/airdrop/airplay stuff?
Seems like it even does the universal clipboard as well, I use that all the time with Apple devices, really cool to see an OSS alternative.
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#47when it works it's amazing. but very often both my phone and laptop are connected to the same WiFi, yet kde connect can't see them. I can't figure out how to diagnose and solve that when it happens
Same here, Fedora and iOS. I've mostly stopped using it because I couldn't rely on the app working when I needed it.
The computer doesn't even change addresses, there is no need for mDNS or anything fancy, setting up devices manually once would be just fine.
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#48The one thing I dislike, is the trouble to finish the application in a sane way:
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#49when it works it's amazing. but very often both my phone and laptop are connected to the same WiFi, yet kde connect can't see them. I can't figure out how to diagnose and solve that when it happens
Same, it's just too unreliable to be a tool for me. Which feels like the experience with everything that relies on automatic network discovery.
Same, I haven't used it in years because it was so disappointing when it would randomly stop working.
In the last year I have even given up on KDE in favor of Cinnamon on Mint.I loved KDE but there would always be some issue coming up. LTS Mint with Cinnamon has been rock solid.
Re: KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices
#50The branding does a major disservice to this application - it works like a charm on my windows and i3wm setups, having no trouble sharing a clipboard and files. There are very few features if any that only work on KDE. Sometimes on windows it needs a click of the refresh button to get going after connecting to a network. The discovery is wonky on some platforms.
KDE is simply the 'community' that maintains it, makes sense why that's the branding used despite the inevitable confusion
(the DE has been called Plasma for ages, and almost everything KDE works outside of it)