Chosing device for Ubuntu touch

KennethMonnin

I finally made the jump and I decided on the Nexus 5 32GB. I got one brand new from eBay for about $160, and went with the iBlaston Armor box from Amazon for a case (built in screen protectors are my preference). The experience has been fantastic so far. Extremely easy to unlock the bootloader and flash the new OS, especially compared to other android devices I've hacked before (the UBPorts installer is really straight forward and simple) Despite being an older device, it runs fast and smooth. I haven't had the money to spare on hardware to try convergence yet, but I'm looking forward to it! Only hickup I really had was that I couldn't swipe close enough to the edge to pull out the launcher with the case on, but changing edge settings in the UT Tweak tool was a fast remedy.

Overall investment came in at under $175 including shipping and I couldn't be happier. If you want to try it out and don't want to invest a lot of money, Nexus 5 is readily available and reasonably priced. I'll update this when I've got my desktop converged onto my 54" TV and let you know if it's as fun as I think it'll be (bet it is!).

tydell

I also bought Nexus 5 32GB ver.D821 few weeks ago. It works great, I\m very happy using it, only problem is non-functional mobile data (I know there is a bug with mobile data) but except this all other things working great.

Lakotaubp

@tydell As a check try contacting your sim provider and check your APN settings are correct. I had know problem with my nexus but the mx 4 did not load the correct settings even though it was the same sim.

Stefano

@tydell Reset the APN, mine Nexus 5 works fine.

advocatux

@tydell are you talking about this bug? https://github.com/ubports/ubuntu-touch/issues/376

I have a N5 and I have no problems with mobile data after doing this workaround:

I've switched from stable to devel (that recovered mobile data) and then switched to stable again, and it keeps the mobile data.

tydell

@advocatux yep, Im talking about this bug I also did it as described (stable->devel->stable) but unfortunately no effect, it doesn't work for me on devel too so switching between channels deos nothing in my case
@Lakota @Stefano APN is fine, it worked for me once, 'mobile data' switch (to turn on/off mobile data) was inactive but I could switch between 2G/3G/LTE and I had mobile data connection, but after some phone restart (or I flashed UT once again on my N5) it didn't work anymore.

I will try to investigate more, but currently havo no more ideas

advocatux

@tydell some people had a problem with the cache not been emptied. See https://github.com/ubports/ubuntu-touch/issues/377

See this workaround https://github.com/ubports/ubuntu-touch/issues/377#issuecomment-353586034

tydell

@advocatux some time ago this workaround didnt worked for me too.
But now my issue has gone, I really don't know why. Like @Stefano wrote I did reset my APN settings and gave the same settings one more time. Settings are the same, but mobile data switch is accessible now (it is not grayed out) and my mobile connection works like a charm.

Thank you all for your help and all tips

advocatux

@tydell I'm glad everything is running fine now

prog-amateur

Hello, I am also looking for the best device for my daily usage. Ideally, I would like to get :

Spectre / Meltdown proof phone
Ubuntu 16.04
Anbox compatible

About criteria #1, I see Nexus 4 and Meizu MX4 are the only immune hardware.
About criteria #2, it seems that they are compatible too
But about criteria #3, it is not so clear, I can read opposite answers here and there. So my questions are :

Which phone between Nexus 4 and Meizu MX4 can reach all those criteria ?
Are those phones smooth and quick (I mean not so much delay to open an app) ? What about GPS location speed ?

Thank you very much for your kind help.

Lakotaubp

@prog-amateur Hi the mx 4 in my opinion is abit slow and clunky on mobile data/wifi and is not that future proof and might/struggle with 16.04. I have no experience of nexus 4 so can't comment.
Also try the welcome and install group at https://t.me/WelcomePlus they will have the answers if none appear here.

flohack

@prog-amateur said in Chosing device for Ubuntu touch:

About criteria #1, I see Nexus 4 and Meizu MX4 are the only immune hardware.

How did you come up with this fact?

BR

libremax

A fact ? Not at all : https://forums.ubports.com/topic/866/security-meldown-spectre-and-ubports-smartphones-tablets

Stefano

@needforkill Stick with Nexus 5 for the time being. Oneplus 3 should be supported soon enough as Marius said, so that would be a nice upgrade to a much stronger, faster, better device overall.

speedracer08861

I believe the the Meizu Pro5 is the best big screen, fast processor, long battery life, and great overall phone

Stefano

@speedracer08861 Apart from bluetooth not working

flohack

@libremax I know, I wanted to know his source just

Josele13

hello guys, I'm new here,
I have a Bq aquaris E4.5 that I bought in February 2015, I was 18 months using Ubuntu phone, it was unstable in updates,

I was already tired and I installed android and I gave it to my daughter , now she has a better phone, so I installed Ubuntu touch of Ub ports, now it is very stable, except for the GPS that does not work well,
I bought a Nexus 5 to install Ubuntu touch and see how it works in general but for my taste it is a phone with little camera, does not have dual SIM, little storage space and lack slot for micro sd,

I would like to know which devices will go ahead in 16:04 version and anbox,
I think Meizu pro 5 is great, although I read here some problems on that device, One plus 3 also seems good phone,
greetings ...

advocatux

@josele13 all the supported devices (http://ubuntu-touch.io/devices) will get 16.04 but not all of them have the same hardware so we'll see which one can run anbox.

As you say, there will be more devices ported to 16.04 than those in that list, but none have been officially announced yet.

P.D. There's a UBports Spanish Group in Telegram if you want to join us (https://t.me/UBPorts_ES).

libremax

@flohack
Not surprised