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Patches that implement repository switching mechanism for system updates have been suggested a few months ago but gained no attention. Same with mirror hosting proposals.
strictly speaking no patch is really necessary to switch repos, since none of the systems involved (ubport.com, gitlab.com, github.com) has dnssec enabled, so if the device is tricked into following a different server, it will work just as well. By definition if the server don't use dnssec, there is no way for the client to test it.
Lying DNS servers are evil only if the users don't know. Many Linux users already use fully knowingly lying DNS servers (PiHole for example)
Concretly, the lying DNS server could be setup at local Wifi level by each user wanting to use a mirror.
So the only hard requirement is an agreement for mirroring since this consumes bandwidth, and possibly some Api for the store (not sure about that).
Where are the mirror hosting proposals you are mentioning ? I follow this forum since nov 2025 and I don't recall having seen something like it.
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K Keneda moved this topic from General on
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@sysadmin
Well, actually VPN doesn't fix access to UBports resources. I tried three different ones - doesn't help at all. And by the way, original WireGuard has been successfully blocked in Russia for quite a while - the protocol is too obvious for DPI. Will have to make do with Android for now, not Ubuntu Touch. :))))))
And you obviously don't quite understand what you're saying: "But on Ubuntu Touch there is currently no reliable working VPN client." IN ORDER TO HAVE UBUNTU TOUCH ON ONE'S PHONE, ONE HAS TO INSTALL IT ON THE PHONE USING UBPORTS INSTALLER ON PC WITH THE PHONE CONNECTED TO PC. AND THE INSTALLER (ON THE PC) CAN'T DOWNLOAD ANY FILES FOR WHATEVER REASON! EITHER WITH VPN OR WITHOUT IT! :)))))) -
@shcarl276 they are working on a solution, been discussed by the developers in the latest questions and answers video on youtube. from what i understood, all they need is a host
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@shcarl276
Hello.
Some people have managed to install UT from Russia.
There’s a Telegram group that might be able to help you in the meantime
https://t.me/UBports_Ru -
Vlad-Nirky
I know that "some people have managed to install UT from Russia", but a functional system is characterized first of all by satisfying the needs of the overwhelming majority, not "some people". The fact that this technical issue can be discussed/addressed only in Telegram groups and not via normal Support (online forms) points to the fact that non-profit projects like Ubuntu Touch don't always stand up to the standards of commercial enterprises....And, honestly...one shouldn't expect them to. :)))))) -
@shcarl276 UBports doesn't have support, exactly because it's not a business; it does not deliver a service. What we have, as you noticed, is places where users try to help users. Places like this, and Telegram, and Matrix.
I have to disagree that
a functional system is characterized first of all by satisfying the needs of the overwhelming majority
I don't think that is true in general.
More specifically: Ubuntu Touch is not made for the overwhelming majority. It's made for the adventurous, the tinkerers, those who do not wish to join the mainstream, and those who wish to get away from Big Tech. We will in all likelyhood always be a minority. And that's fine. -
Ubuntu Touch is not made for the overwhelming majority. It's made for the adventurous, the tinkerers, those who do not wish to join the mainstream,
this reminds me of a cherished memory.
It was a long time ago (but in this galaxy) I was in a store taking a look at the Android shelf. I heard suddently a loud cry saying 'no, not here, that's the phones for cave men', and saw a middle-aged guy pulling his young boy out of the fatal attraction of the phones for the overwhelming majority, toward (probably) the phones appropriate for the refined ubermenschen (I did not investigate but it was certainly the Apple phones shelf).
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@shcarl276 said:
I know that "some people have managed to install UT from Russia", but a functional system is characterized first of all by satisfying the needs of the overwhelming majority, not "some people". The fact that this technical issue can be discussed/addressed only in Telegram groups and not via normal Support (online forms) points to the fact that non-profit projects like Ubuntu Touch don't always stand up to the standards of commercial enterprises...A great many commercial companies offer their services only in a very limited part of the world, for example, only in the European Union and North America.
A great many commercial companies take weeks or even months to respond to their customers’ support requests, and very often their response consists of pointing out that the requested service is not part of their contractual obligations, or of offering the service at a price that the customer cannot or will not pay.By comparison, the level of assistance provided by the community UBports over the past decade through various channels (Telegram, forums, Matrix) and in dozens of
languages – in the absence of any commercial relationship and therefore outside any contractual obligation – strikes me as being of a very high standard in terms of relevance and effectiveness.And all this help is provided free of charge.
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@Moem
First of all, did you notice what I've said in my previous post? I said that nobody should expect non-profit project for enthusiasts to provide support on the same level as commercial enterprise.
Secondly, you didn't quite get what I was saying about "overwhelming majority". I didn't mean THE WHOLE POPULATION OF EARTH!! What I meant is the overwhelming majority of Russian users, who are simultaneously "the adventurous, the tinkerers, those who do not wish to join the mainstream...and bluh, bluh, bluh.." :)))
It doesn't change though the very meaning of "functional system". Even if you decide to give someone a bicycle to ride for free, it is expected that the bicycle is in working condition. Otherwise, what's the point? -
@libremax You can talk all you want comparing non-profit projects to commercial enterprise. It doesn't cancel the fact that the installer doesn't work in Russia, because the mirrors for whatever reason are inaccessible. Besides, I have said that one shouldn't expect the same level of service from non-profit projects, didn't I? However, functionality of the system does imply functionality for users worldwide.
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