panJun 29
Sam

It is so cool!
I am by no means an expert in those things but I got a linux OS running on a new smartphone.
This is a Fairphone 6 running PostmarketOS with Phosh and I love it.
Thank you @postmarketOS @phosh for all the great work.

This post was sent from the fairphone with @Tuba 🥳
A really great software for the fediverse even on a small mobile screen.
#fairphone #fairphone6 #phosh #mobilelinux #postmarketos

Jun 29 at 11:37amWeb
Show threadSamJun 29

To be fair, there are still a few things missing to use it as a daily driver. Network and internet works only through USB and the OS runs on a SD-Card. The camera, audio, calls, mobile data etc. doesn't work right now.
On the postmarketOS wiki is a list with (not)working features: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Fairphone_(Gen._6)_(fairphone-fp6)

My experience is somewhat similar. The battery reporting is missing on my device but I think thats only because of missing knowledge on my side 😄

Fairphone (Gen. 6) (fairphone-fp6) - postmarketOS Wiki

Show threadgoebbeJun 29
@sam01 😂 Thank for sharing.
It's very good news, that the OS is booting and running - but without wireless/ calling/ camera this is not ready for prime-time. Not yet. 🤞
Show threadGamey  Jun 30
@goebbe @sam01 It ran on day one tho so I would expect a bright future for Linux on this device. Fairphones tend to spark a lot of interest from the Linux community in general and I wouldn't be surprised if those missing features get implemented relatively (for FOSS standards) soon!
Show threadAtiJun 30
@gamey @goebbe @sam01 Are you into Linux on mobile? Is there a working configuration available on the market now? I mean any phone running PM OS / Mobian / whichever distro, that could be used as a daily driver, with no proprietary shit like Whatsapp etc ofc but with working calls / texts / camera / data and linux apps?
Show threadGamey  Jul 1
@ati1 @goebbe @sam01 (1/2) I used to own one of the first Pinephones (awful peace of ewaste) but the cops never gave it back and I stopped blogging about it a year or two before that anyway. I have to admit that I am a little out of the loop now but I think Ubuntu Touch with an Android kernel is probably still the best phone experience in the linux world, you can check device compatibility on their website.
Show threadGamey  Jul 1
@ati1 @goebbe @sam01 (2/2) If you want a mainline kernel you will probably have to tinker a little more but for certain devices it should be daily drivable too. In that case PostmarketOS with Phosh or Plasma Mobile are probably your best bet and you can check device compatibility on their wiki. In both cases you will have to make significant sacrifices in terms of app compatibility, battery life and features compared to open source Android (Lineage, Calyx and co.) tho so be prepared for that!
Show threadGamey  Jul 1
@ati1 @goebbe @sam01 Over all I think your best bet for reliable and future proof phone usage is probably the Fairphone 5 with Ubuntu Touch and a Android kernel using Halium! But with that you are on a Android kernel and I am pretty sure Ubuntu Touch still lacks Flatpak support and I am not entirely sure how well Libadwaita and Plasma Mobile apps work there rn.
Show threadAtiJul 3
@gamey @goebbe @sam01 Thanks. I tried Lineage OS for 3 months and it worked fine (apart for banking/paying and some specific apps relying heavily on Google Services notifications -> like bike alarm). But, making usability and security sacrifices and still being 100% dependent on Google software (AOSP) and their present and future "politics" is what bugged me. After 3 months UT + 3 months Lineage I'm back on iOS and looking for true Linux on mobile.
Show threadAtiJul 3
@gamey @goebbe @sam01 Looks like there is no real hardware declared 100% compatible with Postmarket yet. Or even "usable". I looked at Mobian but there it looks like best option would be ... PinePhone Pro. I see lots and lots of negative comments about original PinePhone hardware reliability (you called it ewaste yourself 🥹) so I guess "pro" doesn't have to be better. Especially as it is chinese company. Which is also a dealbreaker for me. 🙄
Show threadAtiJul 3
@gamey @goebbe @sam01 I have used Ubuntu Touch for 2 or 3 months on Pixel 3A I bought for that job, but it doesn't run Linux apps and those made for UT and available at their store are mostly not maintained at all, even basic stuff like podcast players are full of bugs, not usable. And using web apps is not a solution really cos even UT web browser is terribly outdated and seen as security threat by many web apps 😟
Show threadMiss Behave3d ago
@ati1 i daily drive a google pixel 3a with postmarketos. calls, sms, gps etc works, however the camera is still crap (but might improve in the future). i tried the librem5, too, but it is too slow for me. the OP6T is great, but audio on calls does not work right, so its no good choice as a phone. Edit: WiFi is not always stable, but i am on mobile data nearly all the time, so that does not bother me much;)
Show threadSamJul 2
@ati1 @gamey @goebbe i think with postmarketOS, the OnePlus6/6T is pretty close: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/OnePlus_6_(oneplus-enchilada)
OnePlus 6 (oneplus-enchilada) - postmarketOS Wiki

Show threadGamey  Jul 2
@sam01 @ati1 @goebbe Not sure if it's truly usable (kinda out of the loop) as android replacement yet but it's always been one of the closest thanks to calebs efforts! I would be extremely careful and do a lot of research if you plan to go with a mainline device tho, barely any of them is even fully featured enough to be usable and on many that are functionality like the modem breaks from time to time
Show threadAtiJul 3
@gamey @sam01 @goebbe I'm willing to buy hardware specifically for the job (of running true Linux on mobile). I don't want to use proprietary software so "Android replacement" stuff like "no Whatsapp" "no Messanger" and so on is not a problem. Whatever runs on desktop Linux is fine. But I would strongly prefer it not to be made by chinese company and ideally not even made in China. I have no trust in communist party of china that controlls them all.
Show threadLinux G. Fossman4d ago

@ati1 @gamey @goebbe @sam01 All of these (VoLTE calls, SMS, camera, data) work for me with #postmarketOS on a #Librem5 with the exception of no sound in video recordings.

Usable as a daily driver if you are used to desktop Linux, as it works the same way. If you can afford a #LibertyPhone for the extra memory and storage, the experience would be better.

That being said, I do encounter buggy behaviour from time to time but nothing that will prevent me from daily driving it.

Show threadAti4d ago
@opensourceopenmind @gamey @goebbe @sam01 Wow, these are great news. How about apps? Can I assume that those Linux apps that have mobile interface would work fine? I am mainly after simple things like podcasts so say KDE Kasts? Elisa or VLC for music player? Any modern browser? Firefox? Librewolf? Vivaldi? Or just ...anything that is not based on 5 years old Chromium and not working anyways like Ubuntu Touch browser (sorry UT 🫣 but 🙄).
Show threadLinux G. Fossman3d ago

@ati1 @gamey @goebbe @sam01 You can use #flatpak apps that have ARM builds on #Flathub. If the app is not optimised for small screens, you can scale it to fit using the Mobile Settings app that is preinstalled on #postmarketOS, #PureOS and others.

1. Podcasts: #Kasts works great in my experience.
2. Music player: #Elisa and Audio Player (Decibels) work great, but they don't play all types of files so you might need #VLC sometimes.
3. Browsers: #Firefox and #Brave work well. #Kumo, #GnomeWeb and KDE #Angelfish can work as minimalistic browsers for lightweight, trusted websites.
4. Feel free to ask about any other app category.

Show threadAti3d ago
@opensourceopenmind @gamey @goebbe @sam01 Thanks. I see you also use Delta Chat so I guess it works. Good. Do you have usable solution for GPS/navi ? And cloud storage? Like Nextcloud or sth?
Show threadGamey  2d ago
@ati1 @opensourceopenmind @goebbe @sam01 I'm not a big fan of Purism as a company and the device is pricy, especially for it's specs but it probably is your best bet for mainline if they actually managed to get the modem and wakeup stable enough without too much battery usage. I would highly recommend Angelfish or Gnome Web over desktop browsers tho since they are a pain to use even with all the hacks people use to get them to fit and work better, both should use up to date blink/webkit.
Show threadGamey  2d ago
@ati1 @opensourceopenmind @goebbe @sam01 Not sure how things developed but another issue I faced was the lack of push notifications and while there was work on UnifiedPush it was still very early last time I used a linux phone. Furthermore I mostly communicate over signal and it was an absolute pain to get the third party clients you need working properly and none of them had push notifications except the SailfishOS specific one.
Show threadGamey  2d ago
@ati1 @opensourceopenmind @goebbe @sam01 Delta Chat and XMPP should work well tho and Matrix works really well using Fractal too so that part is covered. Kasts for podcasts and Tuba for Mastodon work great too and most modern Libadwaita (used for all Gnome apps) and Kirigami (used for some KDE apps) work nicely too so you have a decent app selection over all. For Youtube the best solution is probably Freetube, it's an electron app but usually works good enough and scales relatively well.
Show threadGamey  2d ago
@ati1 @opensourceopenmind @goebbe @sam01 Bitwarden was another big issue for me but by now there is a GTK app for it, I didn't try that one yet because it was still experimental back then but I know it scales well. My by far biggest issue was that wakeup for sms and especially calls had a delay and broke from time to time using my Pinephone tho
Show threadJT LeskinenJun 29
@sam01 @postmarketOS @phosh @Tuba Well this sounds interesting, thanks for using the fairphone hashtag 🦾
Show threadstovisJun 29
@sam01 @postmarketOS @Tuba @phosh Can you connect to external monitor? 👀
Show threadSamJun 29
@stovis I tried it and it doesn't work 😅
But since the USB-C connector on the phone is just USB 2.0 I don't think it will work at any point.
Maybe the Fairphone people develop a 3.0 module to upgrade the phone in future? But thats just me speculating..
Show threadstovisJun 29
@sam01 One can only hope, getting a full linux experience from a phone with ext monitor was/is one of the really cool opportunities with pmos imo
Show threadSamJun 29
@stovis oh yes!
Show threadLuca WeissJun 29
@sam01 @postmarketOS @Tuba @phosh Awesome to see that somebody has already installed it! I hope that more features will work within the coming months, so that it becomes more usable than the quite barebones state it's in right now!
Show threadSamJun 29
@z3ntu Thank you for all your work! Your post motivated me to give it a try.
This would be amazing. I am motivated, but at the moment I have no idea how I could get more things running.
I need to learn a lot more about phone hardware and software. 😆
Show threadLasse Gismo (Friendica)Jun 29

@sam01

Where do you get this HW/SW combination?
I'm running FP3 with LOS on, but after the life cycle I'd like to move to Linux. @postmarketOS @phosh @ @ @norbert

#fairphone #fairphone6 #phosh #mobilelinux #postmarketos

Show threadSamJun 29
@lassegismo @postmarketOS @norbert @phosh
My current phone (OnePlus7 currently with e/os) has slowly reached the end of its life and I am looking for a newer one.
The new Fairphone looks really promising to me so I bought it with the normal Fairphone Android, unlocked the Bootloader and flashed postmarketOS on it. So the process isn't that simple right now but I love to experiment with it.
Show threadLasse Gismo (Friendica)Jun 29

@sam01
Thanks. Is there a useable HowTo?

@norbert @postmarketOS @phosh

Show threadSamJun 29

@lassegismo there is a good guide from the fairphone people to unlock the bootloader:
https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/10492476238865-Manage-the-Bootloader

It works like a charm for me.

There is another guide from fairphone about manually installing android: https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/18896094650513-How-to-manually-install-Android-on-your-Fairphone

Helpful information about flashing a phone in gerneral..

For postmarketOS the wiki is a great place. There is a short guide for the Fairphone 6 but not that easy if you got no experience with flashing phones just like me: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Fairphone_(Gen._6)_(fairphone-fp6)

In the general install guide is a lot more information: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Installation

Show threadLasse Gismo (Friendica)Jun 30
@sam01
TX - And what about the usability of POS and the apps?
Show threadSamJul 2
@lassegismo its pretty usable and there are a lot of apps working great on a small mobile screen!
Show threadLasse Gismo (Friendica)Jul 2
@sam01
Guess my next one will be an actual FP with POS on.
TX ya all 😊
Show threadmillennial falconJun 30
@sam01 @postmarketOS @Tuba @phosh eeeeeeenteresting
Show thread__Miguel_Jun 30

@sam01 Oooh, VERY that's cool. Especially because the FF6 literally just released.

Is everything working?

Also, how does it work in terms of standby, making and receiving calls, and battery longevity, if I may ask?

Show threadSamJul 2
@nanianmichaels
There are a few things missing. So not really usable as a dailydriver for now 😄
https://social.tchncs.de/@sam01/114766476507000044
Sam (@sam01@social.tchncs.de)

To be fair, there are still a few things missing to use it as a daily driver. Network and internet works only through USB and the OS runs on a SD-Card. The camera, audio, calls, mobile data etc. doesn't work right now. On the postmarketOS wiki is a list with (not)working features: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Fairphone_(Gen._6)_(fairphone-fp6) My experience is somewhat similar. The battery reporting is missing on my device but I think thats only because of missing knowledge on my side 😄

Mastodon
Show thread__Miguel_Jul 2
@sam01
Still impressive that there's already a booting image less than a week after the phone's been released!