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    Installing Ubuntu Touch from a non-Android OS (specifically Sailfish)

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      • O Offline
        O.o.
        last edited by

        Okay so I've messed around with Ubuntu Touch for a while on my Fairphone 5, and while I'm generally impressed, it's not quite there yet for me. Mainly I can't live without Signal. That's how my entire family and more than a few friends stay in touch, and not having it on my phone is just not gonna do it for me.

        So now I want to give Sailfish OS a spin. That's why I bought that Fairphone 5 for after all - to evaluate mobile Linux OSes 🙂

        The process to install Sailfish OS seems straightforward enough. But returning to Ubuntu Touch isn't: before I waste Ubuntu Touch, what's the correct way to go about reinstalling it? Or better, can I back up my current installation and reinstall it verbatim later?

        R K 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • R Offline
          Rondarius @O.o.
          last edited by

          @O.o.
          This might be of interest to you and your family:

          https://forums.ubports.com/topic/10819/how-i-m-now-using-signal-on-ut/37

          4 Google Pixel 3A
          1 Google Nexus 6P
          2 Google Nexus 5
          2 Pinephones
          2 Sony Xperia X

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          • O Offline
            O.o. @Rondarius
            last edited by O.o.

            @Rondarius I am aware of this - very creative I must say - solution. But it's not gonna fly: we mostly share audio and video snippets.

            You know, kind of like if my wife tells me "Can you swing by the grocery store to grab this-or-that?" while in the car (so not typing, but with a quick audio thing). Then while I'm here, I don't know what to choose so I'll shoot a picture of the shelf and ask her to choose what she wants... That sort of thing. Matrix just can't do that.

            I realize I can run the Matrix thing just to get notified that I got a message, then fire up the true Signal app in Waydroid. But... Hella Rube Goldberg, all that.

            So I figured I'd try Sailfish OS and Whisperfish. I'm 90% sure Whisperfish will be disappointing in some way or other, but since I procured this phone for the express purpose of evaluating different Linux phone solutions, that's what I'll do. I'm not losing anything:

            I don't actually use it as my main phone yet, it really is still just to mess around with mobile Linux OSes at this point. So why not.

            G MoemM 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • K Offline
              kugiigi @O.o.
              last edited by

              @O.o. It's always recommended to install stock Android and the correct version before installing Ubuntu Touch. Fairphone provides a script or instructions for this so it's quite easy to do.

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              • G Online
                gpatel-fr @O.o.
                last edited by

                @O.o. said in Installing Ubuntu Touch from a non-Android OS (specifically Sailfish):

                I can run the Matrix thing just to get notified that I got a message, then fire up the true Signal app in Waydroid

                as it's a big thread, unsure if you noticed this post:

                https://forums.ubports.com/post/88122

                in the github repo doc:

                https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android

                there are some hints about using the FOSS version with a private notification server here:

                https://github.com/mollyim/mollysocket

                or even using a public one:

                https://github.com/mollyim/mollysocket?tab=readme-ov-file#setup

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                • O Offline
                  O.o. @gpatel-fr
                  last edited by O.o.

                  @gpatel-fr Yes, Molly is what I got going on now. It works fine, but it has two drawbacks:

                  • I have to be super-careful not to stop the Waydroid container

                  • When the container is minimized / phone is locked and a message arrives, the ping sound doesn't play properly: it gets chopped up in itty-bitty broken pieces that play with a worrying crackling sound. If two or three messages arrive in a row, the phone crackles and beeps for several minutes. Really annoying.

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                  • MoemM Offline
                    Moem @O.o.
                    last edited by

                    @O.o. said in Installing Ubuntu Touch from a non-Android OS (specifically Sailfish):

                    I'll shoot a picture of the shelf and ask her to choose what she wants... That sort of thing. Matrix just can't do that.

                    That's odd. It does that for me. The only difference to the other person (in this case, your wife) is that they'll need to download the picture in order to see it. But I can take it and send it from right inside Cinny just fine.

                    Is currently using an Op5t
                    Also owns an Op1, a BQ E4.5 and an Xperia X, as well as a BQ tablet and a Pinetab2. Please, someone... make it stop.

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