Linux Phones

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Community about running GNU/Linux on phones. Projects like Ubuntu Touch, Plasma Mobile, PostmarketOS, Mobian etc. Either on former Android phones or hardware like the PinePhone.

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pinephone? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I was gonna buy a pinephone, but i want to know if this is really the best choice. I'm a real fan of the hardware switches. Any recommendations?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Sorry if i am late to that party, but i have been daily-driving a pinephone for 4+ years now. 1/ It's not for the faint of heart. it is work. serious admin work. 2/ i chose a hard line of PostMarketOS edge (equiv of debian "unstable" updated continuously) and sxmo (a lovely, experimental interface, fully hackable, lightweight etc.) 3/ most of the shortcomings described by people who tried it only or expected a lot from it are related to comparing it to android or ios. it's a mistake i think. it should be treated as its own thing, with no expectations, and most of the shortcomings can be fixed by adaptation and custom work.. for me: most tasks via CLI (mail, matrix, mastodon, etc.) and lightweight browser, combined with lightweight interface (sxmo) considerably extend battery life. in suspend i get 48h (which is more than most android phones i used before) and with moderat use it lasts way over 24h for me.

I would totally recommend it IF you value computing freedom, autonomy and taking back control of your communication infrastructure and data more than an ideal of "comfort" or standardized streamlined processes modeled after the ones that put everyone in the hands of big US corporations (aka "user-friendly" lol)

Also that feeling that whatever tiny bit you may invent, fix or hack for yourself, can be put back into a wild community of avid trailblazing hackers is invaluable. Yes it's all work, but it's work for you and other people who value freedom. not work for Google and such...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

@JoeBidet @urheber I'm one of the "tried Pinephone" people. Not nearly adept enough to do all the CLI work you did. I can edit config files if someone tells me what to type in 😆.

I use a laptop for the fun stuff. A phone to me is for texts and calls. I gave up on the Pinephone because of problems with that. Big one: not waking from sleep to ring. I get about 2 calls a month, but they're the sort I can't miss. After about the 3rd miss, I had to give up. Yes, I'd try again after updates 😖

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

for sms+calls to work much much there i a little bit of very easy work: to install the "modem distro" instead of the original OS running the modem chip. yes it means you can ssh into your modem and edit its crontab also...:)

https://github.com/the-modem-distro/pinephone_modem_sdk

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

@JoeBidet I settled on mobian. I think I tried pmOS (this was back in '21? '20??) and a couple of thers I don't remember. I do remember ssh-ing for something else, never edited crontab though. Sounds interesting! I'll have a look at that. Still have the phone. Be great if I could make it useful 😆

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

wow! thats very long battery life, my phone right now only lasts for 8 hours, with no to moderate use.
I'm betting on 2 phones on eBay right now, and if I don't get either, I'll get a pine phone.

Thank you so much!