Password changed: Login no longer possible

I changed the password on commnad line by using passwd command. Because I used alpha characters and the login on Librem 5 doesn’t offer any character input I am not possible to login any more. Is there any chance to login without reflashing the phone?

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if you have a keyboard that you can plug into it that should work

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If you don’t have a keyboard and know what you are doing, you can try using Jumpdrive to get access to the phone’s file system.

And giving you a third option … if you installed and enabled the ssh server then you should be able to ssh in from another computer and the other computer will have a regular keyboard attached.

@dcz: This seems like the kind of error that any new user could make. Is there some way that this can be handled better?

e.g. provide an ‘escape’ from the PIN pad to a full on-screen keyboard? (but that might be a can of worms), or

e.g. provide an ‘escape’ from the PIN pad to a regular login screen? (the kind of thing that Linux computers sometimes give you when the GUI fails to start properly) The assumption is of course that if you ever received the login screen then the full on-screen keyboard would be available to type the password.

PS If you use Jumpdrive then you can also telnet in to the phone. There probably isn’t much to choose between fixing it remotely (mount exported drive on host) and fixing it locally (via telnet) - unless of course the host is not running Linux. :rofl:

Probably an easier option than using Jumpdrive will be to login via serial console over USB: https://developer.puri.sm/Librem5/Development_Environment/Phone/Connecting_via_USB.html#usb-serial-console

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We have designs on what to do with passwords, but I think we just haven’t gotten around to it, with other, more important stuff to do recently.

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… and what I would really like is integration with the smartcard. So the PIN being solicited is to open the smartcard, and from there can come a strong partition encryption password and a strong account password etc. Maybe.

The FIRST this I do when I’m a new user is change the password. I incorrectly assumed we would be able to enter a password using the same virtual keyboard that allows me to change the password! Like maul, I discover that we can’t type letters on the lock screen / login.

So I order a USB C adapter to allow me to plug in my keyboard. When I try it, I discover that ONLY NUMBERS ARE ALLOWED TO BE TYPED BY A CONNECTED KEYBOARD ON THE LOCK SCREEN. Why would you only accept numbers, when it’s functionally just a login interface?

No one on the dev team changed their password to one using alpha characters, ever?

Anyway, now I guess I’ll try to flash/install the OS because this is a “low priority”.

All you need to do it login via USB serial console and change the password back to a numerical one, no reflash necessary. With a keyboard attached, you can also login on a tty (CTRL+ALT+F2, for instance).

That said, support for alphanumerical passwords in phosh is being actively worked on: https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Phosh/phosh/-/merge_requests/923

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Probably not … because they know what works and what does not work.

Anyway, it seems a solution to this is in the works.

Thank you! I should have thought to try one of the ttys…
I’ve had little time to play with my new phone and was easily frustrated. I’ll check my attitude at the door next time.

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Hello, I see on the gitlab that the “keyboard” unlocking feature has been merge already, however I don’t have it in my latest System upgrade.
Is it just a matter of time (server), or does it need other packages upgrades to be integrated in a “System upgrade” ? Thank you

There was no release that included these changes made yet.

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There’s a process to get from gitlab to repository where you’ll see it in system upgrade.

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Thank you both, it is clearer for me !