Observatons with the Chestnut batch - Librem 5 received Jan 2020

Hardware Librem 5
41

Butchered link. Corrected: https://askubuntu.com/questions/82825/do-files-at-etc-apt-sources-list-d-need-to-have-an-extension-list

With the proviso that naming has to be sensible so that duplicates do not arise. Hence why I objected to nano.save even if it would work.

*.d directories also just make it easier to add and remove programmatically - rather than having to edit files that may themselves have been subject to random edits by users and may not be arranged exactly as expected.

Until you have external display and keyboard (or the on-screen keyboard is fixed), absorbing bulk information will be easier on a Linux laptop / desktop.

Not having a phone yet, I can’t tell you the correct repository paths.

1 Like
42

hi there! :slight_smile:

i came across this keyboard in the recent days, and maybe it can be good for anything:
http://t-sato.in.coocan.jp/xvkbd/
i know its for x, but wayland can run x based apps, otherwise it seems to be mature, so i could imagine it as an alternative or temporary workaround, or as a resource, or even just to get some ideas…
it has a numpad (according to what ive seen there), that possibly makes it inconvenient, and that maybe can be disabled, and i didnt go any deeper than skimming the available info, so i dunno what to expect, just ive thought that its worth to be mentioned here :slight_smile:

have fun, all the bests to all of u! :slight_smile:

43

Hi Brad, I read somewhere that the Modem in the “Librem 5” at present, that a person has to choose from for Australia (the European one of the BM818), will work with 3G too. This by the info from the Modem’s Website of the 3G and 4G Bands it supports (below), does suggest by the up-todate Info below the modem’s specs; about the Bands each Carrier in Australia use, that the phone will work quite well, for the 3 Carriers, with 3G and 4G! Have a look through, and check that please.

There is only the 4G Band (B28) missing from the modem for it to fully support all Australian frequences used. I think I’ve read that B28 is not used in many places? (Check your area though, when you do get 4G). :rofl:

BM818-E1: (I’m pretty sure that E1 stands for European)
FDD-LTE:B1/B2/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20 TDD-LTE:B38/B40/B41(120M)
HSPA+/WCDMA:B1/B2/B5/B8
GSM/GPRS/EDGE:B2/B3/B5/B8

AUSTRALIAN PHONE BANDS below
3G/UMTS

3G bands

850MHz (B5) – Telstra
900MHz (B8) – Optus, Vodafone
2100MHz (B1) – Optus

Former 3G bands

850MHz (B5) – Vodafone
2100MHz (B1) – Telstra (3G 2100 Exit 25 March 2019), Vodafone (Re-farm to 4G by end of 2019)

Mandatory handset 3G band support

Telstra – 3G 850MHz (B5)
Optus – 3G 900MHz (B8)
Vodafone – 3G 900MHz (B8)

4G/LTE

4G bands

Australia is currently using these LTE bands:
2100MHz (B1) – Telstra (a handful of sites), Optus, Vodafone
1800MHz (B3) – Telstra, Optus, Vodafone
850MHz (B5) – Vodafone
2600MHz (B7) – Telstra, Optus
900MHz (B8) – Telstra (a handful of sites, utilises spectrum previously used by 2G)
700MHz (B28) – Telstra, Optus
2300MHz (B40) – Optus

Note the 2300MHz listed above was for Vivid Wireless and is only available in some of the Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane metro areas: i.e. not in NBN fixed wireless areas.

1 Like
44

Having a quick look around my area indicates that Telstra is using 3g and 4g on most towers. You are correct that the 700 band is not that common, and where it is present there is an 1800Mhz as well, or 3g. So I dont think I should have to much drama. So its looking good.

Thanks for that info.

45

Its been a while since there has been a post here. I’m hoping to maybe get an update from the one known Australian user who has an L5. I’m keen to see how its performing both with regard to its ability for general daily use and how the modem stacks up.

46

Hello there @Brad.

I am not an Australian user, but I have the Chestnut phone.

The phone is not ready yet for daily usage. Specifically the Chestnut batch, since it has the non production battery.

This battery still drains very fast and is really not usable as a daily phone.

There still quite a few issues that would prevent a “regular” user to use that phone.

Example I had the MIC muted, and there is no “easy” way to un-mute it during a call, for a normal user this would totally make the phone non working and very frustrating.

All that said, there is improvements in all areas of the software stack of the phone. It is going in a good direction.

As for Chestnut it will never be usable for a daily phone, unless we can buy the production battery which I really hope we can do soon.

All in all, I really want to have this phone as a daily driver, because my Essential PH-1 is really showing it’s age now ( battery getting bad ).

4 Likes
47

Thanks for the reply. Not great news really. I’m slotted in for Evergreen which I may defer to Fir which means, realistically that I will be lucky to get my phone this year I’d say.
I hope they are using this enforced downtime to work on the phone. For me,this phone needs to be a daily driver, especially for the price.

But, again thanks for taking the time to put pen to paper.

1 Like
48

Due to the delay with covid-19, I wouldn’t expect the Fir batch until the spring of 2021.

But as far as battery life is concerned, the battery of the Evergreen batch that will be released in August/September 2020 will have full capacity and the software will be more optimized by then (and then updated again in the following months).

Edit: change 2020 to 2021

49

You mean 2021?

2 Likes
50

Yes :sweat_smile:

51

Basically you should buy this phone to help puri.sm achieve their goal.

But don’t expect to use it daily yet :slight_smile: as of today 2020-04-28.

They are improving the software stack and battery life alot, so Evergreen might have a good uptime, I saw a 10hour runtime in Matrix on Birch with the prod battery.

4 Likes
52

or for those of you for aren’t in the market for an 800$ phone just grab a fraction of that value and ask Purism where to make a donation … that is if you can’t contribute anywhere else …

2 Likes