Librem 5 Signal app -- newbie

Hardware Librem 5
1

Hello,
I am a newbie setting up my new Librem 5 phone.
Could anyone send detailed instructions (for a beginner!) on how to download the Signal communication app from the signal.com website?
I checked the PurOS Store and it’s not listed there.
Thanks.
2nd Q: Are there are recommendations for the best news flash app in the PurOS Store? I’m currently using the CBS app on my Samsung. It works pretty well, but I would like a news app from the PurOS Store on my new Librem 5
Thanks again
Belerry

2

That signal dot com website above redirects to something that wants to sell websites.

No such software.

(Had to spell out “signal dot com” or this comment window also tries to turn it into a link.)

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3

Yes there is a news app on the store

4

See: https://forums.puri.sm/search?q=signal%20app&expanded=true
And in particular, this: Building and running Signal Desktop on the Librem 5

5

The real website is signal . org.
For @belerry, they only provide Android, iOS, and a desktop version. The desktop version requires linking to either an Android or iOS app on a separate device (currently).

The Librem 5 is considered a computer (for these purposes), so it would require the desktop application, but as you can see from the above links, it’s complicated to make it work (currently).

6

Maybe wait for the next version of Axolotl? They are working on it.
Last version started with a registration option. Alas it did not work.
Hope it will be possible to register in the coming version.

7

This one works pretty well for Signal - https://flathub.org/apps/details/de.schmidhuberj.Flare

9

After having registered on an Android or IOS phone.

10

Unfortunatly, flare does not work. There is olways a error message that nö communication with libsecret is possible.

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11

I think they have said they could implement registering from Flare.

12

Same problem. There is a closed issue in Gitlab: https://gitlab.com/Schmiddiii/flare/-/issues/4 The author said, he thinks it has something to do with libsecret and not with Flare.

13

The only way to get a full-featured tool is to install signal-desktop:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists signal-arm https://elagost.com/flatpak/signal.flatpakrepo
flatpak install signal-arm org.signal.Signal

I basically never open it except for calls because it’s too heavy. For messages, I just use Flare which you can also install from flathub (de.schmidhuberj.tubefeeder de.schmidhuberj.Flare)

If you don’t have an android phone to link the desktop client, you can do the registration either via waydroid and the android signal app, or via a CLI.

14

Hi there
Thanks so much for all the useful advice re the Signal app. I now understand this is not a straight forward project!!
Thanks again
Belerry

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15

Hello
Thank you very much for the links and all the info. I have learned so much ad now realize my question was not straight forward!!! Much more for me to learn!!
Thanks again
Belerry

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16

Hello
Thanks for telling me about Axolotl. I had not even heard of it!! I will definitely educate myself and wait for the next version. All the responses from the forum have made me realize how much I still have to learn!
Thanks again
Belerry

17

hi there,
Thank you so much for telling me about Flare. The Purism Support team suggested this also. I’ll do some more research before I try it out.
Belerry

18

Hello
Thanks for your advice re installing the Signal desktop. From reading your comments it appears this might be too complicated for me … as a newbie!!! I will try to learn more and maybe dip my toe in the water!! Perhaps Signal will come out with an app for Librem5.
Thanks again
Belerry

19

Hi @belerry,

This is what I did to have the closest Signal experience to my old Android device:

  1. Follow these directions to install and configure Waydroid. Begin on step 2 as you are installing Waydroid for the first time.
  2. Launch Waydroid by tapping the icon and allow the program to run through its boot animation. If you do not see the animation within ~15 seconds, try locking the phone and unlocking it. This has consistently helped me ensure the program was launching correctly.
  3. Once Waydroid has fully loaded (it should look like a normal Android environment), launch a browser in this environment and download the Signal package.
  4. Launch the Signal Android package (APK) (you must first enable permissions to install “untrusted apps” as this was not installed directly through Google Play) by tapping on the file within a file browser (i.e. Files app) and selecting “Install”
  5. Download/copy a Signal backup file within Waydroid, if applicable
  6. Launch Signal and follow its procedure to restore your backup

I hope this helps! Let me know if these steps are confusing and I’m happy to revise this post.

20

Hello JCS
Thanks a lot for typing out all these instructions! The step-by-step is perfect.Then, as I read each step, I found myself searching duckduckgo for Waydroid and other technical terms!! such as: Ul … Signal APK …
At step 4. I wasn’t sure how to 'launch the downloaded APK." Step 5. I wasn’t sure I would be able to find the downloaded/copy of a Signal backup within Waydoid!!
So, at that point, I decided to contact a friend who speaks this language that is strange to me!!! Maybe he will be able to teach me how to understand!!
I am really, really grateful to you, and all the Forum members, for taking so much time to help us ‘newbies’. The learning process is slow, but I am determined to learn.
BTW, other ‘posts’ have mentioned Axolotl and Flare. Do you have any comments on these? and …what are they!
Thanks again, JCS. Enjoy a peaceful evening
Belerry

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21

This is all you need! :slight_smile:

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