Librem 5 Daily Usage poll

Librem Phones (Librem 5)
#15

One day I’d like to daily it and sell my android. Watching progress is always exciting in the mean time. Off the top of my head.

Required:

  • Better Bluetooth (BLE and music without drops)
  • Better battery life (working standby with wake on calls)
  • GPS/navigation (I use this regularly - I’m unable to get a fix and worried this may never come)
  • Camera (I’m simple. I need auto all the things)

Other nice to haves:

  • Waydroid or equivalent for any gaps (stadium apps, bike shares, maybe more below?)
  • Facebook messenger
  • Casting (youtube/Plex/TV app)
  • Discord
  • uber

Next iteration:

  • Haptic feedback I think is very weak - Edit Solved double duration for button-pressed
  • Maybe smaller screen size / package in general. (but really I do like how this phone feels in your hand as is. comparing it to phones with a case on it’s more or less in line)
  • GPS fixes if it is in fact a hardware issue across all phones

I consider myself a pretty basic phone user. With maybe some core improvements and waydroid I’d be able to switch over.

6 Likes
#16

This is pretty much here in the form of Anbox. @dos has actually been working on this, and sometime in the future it will be in the repos with instructions.

I’m using this right now on the Librem 5. I use the web client. I have Whatsapp (I know. I hate it, but it’s Germany and everyone uses it), Rocket Chat, Threema, and Telegram all working thanks to the web clients for those services.

2 Likes
#17

This is pretty much here in the form of Anbox…

Yah I’ve been watching their work. Very impressive. :slight_smile:

I use the web client.

I’m not a huge fan of that. Discord didn’t work on Web for some reason, wanted to try to make it a web app. It does work in firefox. I don’t know much about web apps, but I’m assuming they don’t have a lightweight background task running for notifications? ed - I guess they can. That would be convenient. ed 2- nvm :frowning:

One more I guess:

  • Sharing photos through chatty. Pretty sure MMS is supported it’s just a matter of having a nice flow from taking and sharing a photo.
#18

This applies to waydroid. I don’t think anbox will be working any time soon.

They do not, they’re essentially web page bookmarks. You’d have to leave them running to get notifications.

#19

So uber has a progressive web app I guess m.uber.com. Used Web and installed it as an application. When loaded there is a Run in background checkbox that may make sense for msging apps. I’ll have to play with these more.

#20

Post can’t be empty

#21

Ah OK. It may be that I just don’t know what I’m talking about (or, at least, its on a site-by-site basis). Either one could be the truth.

#22

I’m betting site by site. I don’t know what I’m talking about either. Probably why I prefer just a native application.

#23

Thanks. I don’t think I know enough to modify the config properly. Reading the doc I originally thought I could only really set the type. It looks like configs have magnitudes as well, but only for VibraPeriodic. Say I want to increase keyboard presses rumble. I’d want something like:

{
          "event-name"   : "button-pressed",
          "type"         : "VibraRumble",
          "magnitude"    : ?????,
          "duration"     : 15,
},

32767 is what’s in there for vibraperiodic. Not sure where to look for the max value, and if rumble can accept magnitude.

#24

Need to actually have one before I can use it. 3 years, 8 months and counting…

2 Likes
#25

Use my L5 too rarely, truth be told. I’m so busy with work, other IT, studies, etc., I rarely have time to get it to do the necessary for my daily driver.
Need to get a version of Tor browser working on it and Signal would be nice.
I don’t know if those 2 do work with it or not because I’ve just not got the time to invest. Must move it higher up my priority list - it’s such a great piece of hardware.
So I guess I’d vote, ’ I use the L5 as an additional mobile device,’ for now.

1 Like
#26

Signal’s desktop client works on the MNT reform. I get debs from the Mobian site which has it compiled for ARM64.

I have tried doing the same on the Librem 5, but the Glibc version is off and it crashes on start. I’m sure I can get it working, or someone else here could give it a whirl as well.

Here is the link for the debs:
https://wiki.mobian-project.org/doku.php?id=signaldesktop

1 Like
#27

Wish I could use it as a daily driver, but can’t make phone calls and stuck with my attempt to debug because everyone says it is someone else’s fault.

I was actually thinking about making a poll like this to see who was actually successfully using VoLTE.

#28

Well i do believe LTE is working for some folks. I’m not too concerned. There are some ways to make calls today, that it doesn’t really bother me. In fact, if the dino client fixes making calls through jmp.chat then it really wont matter to me at all. The big thing for me is that the modem works with LTE and data.

#29

Yes, I’ve considered the jmp.chat approach too, but I don’t see the incoming calls from that getting the phone to hop out of suspend mode so not sure I could trust it for incoming calls. Plus, I’d like regular text messaging with my friends and coworkers…

#30

As far as they’re concerned, it is. They text your jmp number and you get the message. You message their number@cheogram.com and they get the text (assuming an xmpp setup, which works best in android. If you’re going straight SIP, it’s just number to number like normal).

1 Like
#31

I commented earlier how I switched to my old Android phone while trying to work out this SMS issue on the L5. I sort of missed having the convergence so I switched back this afternoon. The last few days I only got a couple of text messages, so I ain’t missing much.

#32

I think both of you talk about VoLTE. Just to clarify for other readers so that nobody gets confused.
LTE works.
VoLTE might be still work in progress.

3 Likes
#33

I already mentioned it on other post. It seems that this SMS use is a US thing.
I live in Germany and if I am not mistaken I have received 0 SMS from real humans for the last 4 - 5 years.
All SMS I get are some activation codes, SMS that you get when crossing borders, stuff like that.
Communication with real people happens in messenger apps like Telegram, Signal and co that allow Voice Calling, Video Calling, Rich Text with photos, videos ect.

3 Likes
#34

I voted. Waiting for more development.
I honestly don’t know why it is but every time I am willing to take my L5 out to the real world something fails.
This week I actually took it out as my only device.
I was willing to accept the fact that I will not be able to use any app that I normally use.

Nevertheless -

  • gPod stopped working
  • Firefox was not loading
  • no alternative for Signal to communicate with people who live abroad
  • of course the non responsive screen
  • And worst was people calling me but they couldn’t hear me.

I am told that it is a question of software.
I shall be waiting

2 Likes