How I'm now using Signal on UT

danfro

@Robipo Glad to hear you got it working. Hopefully soon that wouldn't be needed anymore (except for pre-release testing).

Moem

@danfro You have at least two testers now!

Sander

Thank you @moem for documenting this and @danfro for maintaining the Cinny app! I've found bridging to Matrix very useful for WhatsApp. Personally, I use Beeper as a homeserver for this. It's an iOS and Android app that lets you connect multiple chat services and protocols in one place. Beeper uses Matrix underneath, so you can also log in to Beeper with Cinny once your account is set up. Here's how I got it working:

Create a Beeper account on iOS or Android. I set mine up using the app installed on WayDroid. If you see a popup with a recovery code during setup, be sure to save it for later.
Link WhatsApp (or Signal, or any other supported chat service - I haven't tested them all) to Beeper through the Beeper app.
Install Cinny on Ubuntu Touch and set the homeserver address to beeper.com.
Get a password for Beeper:
- This is necessary because Beeper's official app only uses email codes for login and doesn't require a password.
- In Cinny, enter your Beeper username and click on Forget Password?.
- Follow the instructions in the email to generate a password for your account.
Verify Cinny as a Matrix client. A red shield will appear in the left sidebar. Click it, choose Verify Manually, and enter the recovery key you saved when setting up your Beeper account.
That's it! Your bridged chat services should now appear in Cinny's sidebar.

danfro

@Sander Thanks a lot your detailed walkthrough.

I actually wanted to recommend to everyone using matrix (new users expected here ) to set it up in a second device. Why?

Chats in matrix are mostly encrypted. Those chats are only visible on verified so called sessions. A session is any other matrix client logged in with the same username and homeserver.

As described by you, one can use a key to verify. But I found that more difficult than with a second device by comparing a few emojis.

A second device can be any matrix client that supports verification. This can be Cinny or Element on desktop or another phone. But it can also be a web client e.g. cinny web. Just use a different device in case your phone breaks or get lost.

Regarding Cinny, I am struggling with the terrible last mile fixing some last downloads. I am almost there for releasing. But I guess it will take a few more days...

Moem

Today, my desktop Signal told me to sign into my mobile Signal in order to keep the account active. Briefly running original Signal for Android in Waydroid was enough to make it happy again.
This may be a monthly thing. Not horrible, but good to be aware of, as I don't think Cinny passes that message on.

RedXXIII

Hello, I installed Cinny UT (from Danfro) via the openstore, but notifications do not work. Maybe it's because the old Cinny was already installed? I do receive notifications from the old Cinny. Will removing the old Cinny allow the new one to show notifications? Or should I remove both versions and then install only the new one?

danfro

@RedXXIII This must be some system bug, but after installing Cinny-UT, you need to restart your device once. This triggers Cinny being available in system settings under notifications. They should then work without you doing anything.

AppLee

Hi @RedXXIII

I think I had something similar.
I removed the old Cinny and I now have the notifications from Cinny UT by Danfro.

So should be fine in my experience.

wally

Big thank yous @Moem for showing your work on this and @danfro for getting an up to date Cinny app for us all. Really, really appreciated!

danfro

Anyone else here using the tchncs signal bridge and having problems recently? It stopped working for me.

From reading in their support chat I learned, that might be due to some "federation issues" with tchncs and matrix.org. Whatever that means.

Moem

@danfro said in How I'm now using Signal on UT:

It stopped working for me.

And for me.

messayisto

@Moem so for me...

messayisto

@messayisto its working again since this morning... hum...@danfro can you share the link you reffered to about the sign
al bridge?

Moem

@messayisto said in How I'm now using Signal on UT:

its working again since this morning

Yes, the maintainer applied a patch, all is well again!

messayisto

@Moem phew, thats good morning news!

RedXXIII

@danfro already done that. Both Cinny apps are available under notifications. That's why I was thinking on some interference between the 2 apps.

RedXXIII

@AppLee OK thanks I'll try that and let you know.

danfro

@RedXXIII you can only try uninstalling the old one. I don't have both installed. It might be to some of the patches we use, that they register to the same push helper. So it might be worth uninstalling one.

RedXXIII

@danfro Yes i did uninstall the old Cinny and that's it! New Cinny sends the notifications now Thank you very much. I'll try the bridges with signal and whatsapp and give you my feedback.

Ida_

Thank you guys for making Cinny work on UT, and for sharing these bridge tutorials! This has solved so much for me!