Mastodawn

Sylvia Jul 19, 2025

I would like to urge my followers to strongly avoid #TRMNL.

TRMNL calls itself "unbrickable" and Open Source, telling you you can host your own server and that basically everything is fully supported: https://web.archive.org/web/20250718183453/https://docs.usetrmnl.com/go/diy/byos. This is not true. The only thing a local server can do is send images to the device and *proxy from their proprietary server*: https://web.archive.org/web/20250718062040/https://github.com/usetrmnl/byos_hanami/issues/178.

To add insult to injury, TRMNL is trying to refuse me a refund, in gross violation of EU law.

#UseTRMNL #DoNotUseTRMNL

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Sylvia Jul 19, 2025

I really hate fedi drama, but I know most of my followers care about *true* Open Source and want the privacy of running stuff locally. Which is exactly what TRMNL promises, but not what they deliver. I know most of my followers would be as devastated as me when the device arrives and... almost nothing works locally.

I do hope they turn this all around and actually start becoming the Open Source project they claim to be. But as it stands, they're doing some severe openwashing of their platform.

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lbnvds

@SylvieLorxu Don’t worry. I wouldn’t call this drama at all. Regulations are regulations, and you’re right to call it out. They are not making you a favour once they are inevitably forced to refund you.