I've updated the "Mount_WaydroidHome.sh" script, so the WaydroidHome folder is writable from Ubuntu Touch (without using sudo):

#!/bin/bash
## Set-up commands
#mkdir ~/WaydroidHome
#chmod 755 ~/WaydroidHome
#sudo chmod 777 ~/.local/share/waydroid/data/media/0

## Bind mount Waydroid's home folder if it's not already mounted, and then ensure it (and all sub-folders) stay read/write-able by the Ubuntu Touch user
set -e
/usr/bin/findmnt -rno SOURCE,TARGET /home/phablet/WaydroidHome >/dev/null || /usr/bin/mount --bind /home/phablet/.local/share/waydroid/data/media/0 /home/phablet/WaydroidHome
while /usr/bin/true; do
        /usr/bin/sleep 5
        if [[ ! "$(/usr/bin/stat -c "%a" /home/phablet/WaydroidHome)" == *7 ]]; then
                /usr/bin/find /home/phablet/WaydroidHome -type d ! -perm -o+rwx -print0 | /usr/bin/xargs -0 -I {} /usr/bin/chmod o+rwx '{}'
        fi
done

WARNING: The above scripts work for me, but I haven't tested it thoroughly, or even for that long, and it may contain security flaws. It is (as I said before) just a 'quick hack'. In the spirit of open source, I hope other people will provide improvements to it.

@Eric-H said in No GPS access from inside Waydroid:

First can I ask you which version of MIUI did you flash before installing Ubuntu Touch?

While I seem to have solved the GPS problem, maybe the MIUI version I flashed might have impacted Waydroid's reliability or other things? I'd be happy to start a new thread for that, if you want? Just in case, this is the version I flashed:
surya_global_images_V12.0.9.0.QJGMIXM_20210508.0000.00_10.0_global_1b411d7477
(IIRC it was the oldest supported image I could find, which I assumed would be the best since it would have had the longest time for bugs to be found & fixed.)

@Vlad-Nirky said in No GPS access from inside Waydroid:

@Sentinel
Have you tried disabling location services in UT before using GPS in Waydroid?
Have you tried the GPS test app via Atpoide?

THANK YOU for this suggestion! It never occurred to me that U.T. using the GPS might block Waydroid, since GPS data is essentially read-only (so I assumed they could both use it at the same time).

This has instantly made U.T. much more usable to me. (Now if only Waydroid didn't randomly glitch or stop working every few days - hopefully that will eventually get resolved.)

@gpatel-fr

as a datapoint, for myself with a Fairphone 5 under 24.04.1, I can get position under Waydroid without disabling location services in UT.

That is weird! I'm only using 24.04.0, but I can't see why that or me using a Poco X3 NFC would make a difference. (Surely either Waydroid can access GPS through U.T. or else it always requires exclusive access to the GPS device?)

EDIT: I just updated to U.T. 24.04.1, and it now seems that Waydroid is able to use GPS with U.T. Location service enabled - as long as it's not being used by a native app right now. But if I then start a native app that uses GPS, then Waydroid permanently looses access to GPS (even after the native app is quit), until I restart Waydroid itself. At least from some quick tests I did.

EDIT: Rather that the update to U.T. being the solution, it may be that until now I was always running the Clock app (which happens to use GPS), and so I didn't realise this was blocking Waydroid from using GPS.

@Eric H said in Smooth Edges (name pending) - Let's Fix the Bugs That Drive You Mad:

I'm surprised by some of the bugs you report because I don't have the same ones on my poco x3 nfc.
For example, I was able to download Android images without a problem with Waydroid Helper, waydroid has access to GPS

Is it possible my GPS (and possibly other Waydroid) problems are due to "waydroid init" not working for me, such that I had to manually find & download the (hopefully?) correct vendor & Lineage system images, and then run "waydroid init -f" myself?

These are the images I used:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/waydroid/files/images/system/lineage/waydroid_arm64/lineage-20.0-20250809-VANILLA-waydroid_arm64-system.zip/download
OR
https://sourceforge.net/projects/waydroid/files/images/system/lineage/waydroid_arm64/lineage-20.0-20250809-GAPPS-waydroid_arm64-system.zip/download

AND

https://sourceforge.net/projects/waydroid/files/images/vendor/waydroid_arm64/lineage-17.1-20250809-HALIUM_10-waydroid_arm64-vendor.zip/download

Are they wrong, or do I need to so something more than just "waydroid init -f" to properly install Waydroid & get GPS working?

I have the same problem, but waiting an hour(s?) did not help on my Poco X3 NFC, with Ubuntu Touch 24.04.0 .

I tried both from the Terminal & using Waydroid Helper. If I Ctrl-C the Terminal, I see that Python has been stuck on connect(), i.e. the download never even starts.

The only way I can get it to install is manually download the needed images to the right place & then run "waydroid init -f". No idea why, as Android apps can access the network just fine, and sourceforge.net doesn't block me from accessing it (but maybe it blocks Python's default user agent?).

But I cannot recommend my solution, because some things like GPS seems broken, but someone else says it should work.

@projectmoon said in Smooth Edges (name pending) - Let's Fix the Bugs That Drive You Mad:

@Sentinel said:

Lack of easy access to Waydroid files (and Waydroid not having easy access to any UT files) is kind of a big issue. I've created a SystemD service to auto-mount the Waydroid folder on UT side, but most people won't be able to do that.

Could you share that system unit in another topic maybe?

I'm embarrassed to make a thread for such a small thing, especially as I'm sure other people must have done better jobs than my quick hack. But since you asked, here are the contents of the files I created to do this:

phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ ll /etc/systemd/system/autostart.service /home/phablet/.autostart /home/phablet/Scripts/Mount_WaydroidHome.sh
-rw-r--r-- 1 root    root    156 Oct 22 22:24 /etc/systemd/system/autostart.service
-rw-r--r-- 1 phablet phablet  57 Oct 22 22:29 /home/phablet/.autostart
-rwxrw-r-- 1 phablet phablet 243 Dec 13 18:53 /home/phablet/Scripts/Mount_WaydroidHome.sh*
phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ cat /etc/systemd/system/autostart.service
[Unit]
Description=Autostart user-defined script on boot

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/bash /home/phablet/.autostart

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ cat /home/phablet/.autostart
#!/bin/bash
/home/phablet/Scripts/Mount_WaydroidHome.sh

phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ cat /home/phablet/Scripts/Mount_WaydroidHome.sh
#!/bin/bash
#mkdir ~/WaydroidHome
#chmod 755 ~/WaydroidHome
#sudo chmod 777 ~/.local/share/waydroid/data/media/0
/usr/bin/mount --bind /home/phablet/.local/share/waydroid/data/media/0 /home/phablet/WaydroidHome
while /usr/bin/true; do
        /usr/bin/sleep 5
        if [[ ! "$(/usr/bin/stat -c "%a" /home/phablet/WaydroidHome)" == *5 ]]; then
                /usr/bin/chmod o+rx /home/phablet/WaydroidHome
        fi
done

EDIT #2: The above "Mount_WaydroidHome.sh" script has been updated to work-around a problem.

I'm intentionally not providing precise instructions on how to install these files, because if you don't know enough to do that, then you probably shouldn't be messing about with this stuff in the first place.

But as the #comments of the last script hint, you need to run these commands once before it will work:

mkdir ~/WaydroidHome
chmod 755 ~/WaydroidHome
sudo chmod 777 ~/.local/share/waydroid/data/media/0

WARNING: The above scripts work for me, but I haven't tested it thoroughly, or even for that long, and it may contain security flaws. It is (as I said before) just a 'quick hack'. In the spirit of open source, I hope other people will provide improvements to it.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

said in Smooth Edges (name pending) - Let's Fix the Bugs That Drive You Mad:

It's sifnificative that the main use of UT is Waydroid. So, we want to use a Linux distro to run .exe files. Maybe, you do not want to use a Linux distro, maybe you want to use Windows but you don't like it.

I obviously pressed some of your buttons. I'm not going to get drawn into a debate, or answer your straw-man false accusations, but I will say that I see Waydroid as helping ease the transition from an Android phone, and some Android apps as an unavoidable necessity until U.T. gains alternative native apps.

If U.T. doesn't want any Android apps, then why does it have a port of Waydroid? Why does Wine or Steam exist on Linux? No need to answer my rhetorical questions (I won't reply as it's off topic!), I am just trying to nudge you towards a less black & white perspective. Not everyone is the same as you!

@gpatel-fr said in Smooth Edges (name pending) - Let's Fix the Bugs That Drive You Mad:

I'm not sure you understood fully the topic. If you reread it, you'll notice that it states something like 'we all know that UT has rough edges'. And the title specified 'bugs that drive you mad'. It was an incitation to priorize, not throw the kitchen sink at everything that crosses your mind about what could be better.

I felt my post looked quite similar to many others early in the thread, and I don't understand the point you are trying to make, but sorry if I somehow misunderstood the purpose of this thread. I found out about this thread because I watched Ubuntu Touch Q&A 179 ( https://youtu.be/jIcfYORt6P4?t=1322 ), where Marius described it as "Making U.T. more attractive for the masses", while his opening post says "the stuff that actually stops UT from being a usable daily driver". And I felt that's pretty much what my points were (you may think them minor, but as a potential new user I found most of them major annoyances if not actual blockers).

Well, I won't argue further. I was trying to contribute to this thread, and having done that to the best of my ability, I'll move on. Once Waydroid gets better on U.T. (and some of my bugs apparently don't exist for others), then it's quite likely to become my main phone.

Sorry if my post upset someone, but this thread is about reasons why people can't switch to or keep using UT, so clarity & honesty seems best. If I don't mention what I am comparing UT to, how can you accurately judge what needs doing?

Hi

I'm trying to ditch Google/Android, and have been testing-out both Ubuntu Touch 24.04 (on a Poco X3 NFC) & Sailfish OS (on an Xperia 10 III). What UT has implemented is really impressive for a non-commercial community effort, but most of the problems below are issues that Sailfish OS doesn't have (and hence I'm strongly leaning towards that, despite really favouring UT as an Ubuntu geek & finding the battery life of Sailfish OS to be unreliable).

Priority 1: Core System Stuff

Priority 2: Basic Phone Features

• Waydroid cannot be installed, as it ALWAYS fails to download Android images (at least on my Poco X3 NFC), both from the Terminal & using Waydroid Helper. If I Ctrl-C the Terminal, I see that Python has been stuck on connect(), i.e. the download never even starts. The only way I can get it to install is manually download the needed images to the right place & then run "waydroid init -f". No idea why, as Android apps can access the network just fine, and sourceforge.net doesn't block me from accessing it (but maybe it blocks Python's default user agent?).

Priority 3: Daily Use

• Waydroid randomly glitches or stops working every few days (a real problem if I'm not notified of new messages or events), and using Waydroid Helper to stop & restart it rarely fixes it - the only way is to reboot the whole phone, which is not practical for something I must rely on a daily basis.
  If stopping & restarting Waydroid would fix it, then having a script to restart Waydroid every night at 4am would probably make Waydroid reliable enough to use. Unfortunately I can't currently use UT without many Android apps.
  * Waydroid does not have access to GPS, which means I can't use highly polished & reliable Android satnav & related apps. I view them as essential & not something I could live without.

Priority 4: Polish

• I'd like the phone to not lock as soon as I turn the screen off, but to wait for my "Lock when idle" timeout (like Android). It's very cumbersome that I have to enter a PIN (let alone a password!) every time I briefly stop using my phone (and turn off the screen to avoid distractions, for privacy & to save power).
• The status bar at top of screen is obscured by camera cut-out & screen's rounded edges, e.g. I cannot see the full time. (I believe someone is already working on fixing this?)
• The inability to re-order the app grid feels like a major limitation you'd only get on a toy OS (sorry!). Pinning apps to the sidebar isn't sufficient, as I have more than 15 commonly used apps. If manual reordering isn't easy to add, then what about having custom 'folders' that you can move apps into? (Would allow me to hide apps I rarely need, as well as grouping apps I am most interested in or that have similar purposes.)
• '3D' task switching feels somehow back-to-front & clumsy. On Android the most recently-used app appears at the front & close the right side (where my hand is), where-as on Ubuntu Touch it appears at the back (behind all the other apps), and on the left side (furthest from my right hand). I'm not sure if I will ever get used to this! A setting to swap the order would be great; at least have the most recent app on the right side, but preferably also in front of the other apps.
  * Add an option for the 'app grid' to appear as soon as you drag from the left to show the 'task bar'. The two-step process of revealing the task bar & only then being able to tap the 'start button' makes switching to a new app feel much slower & clumsier than on Android (where I can just tap the Home button to see everything).
• Controlling the Terminal seems very difficult (compared to say Termux on Android).
  • Scrolling up/down through the command output is very difficult to initiate reliably, and usually scrolls through my command history before I've even activated the hidden scrollbars (which IMHO should either be wider & permanently visible, or else I should be able to stop dragging from scrolling the cmd history at all). In Termux I can just drag to scroll the display & it's wonderful. Maybe scrolling through the command history should be done by dragging left/right instead? (Although that might still be too easy to trigger accidentally.)
  • Common controls are spread through different Scr/Fn/Ctrl sections (clumsy & slow to switch between), rather than just having one section that contains Arrows (U/D/L/R), Tab, Esc, Ctrl+C (maybe followed by Page Up/Down, Home/End, Del).
  • Selecting text to copy/paste is inaccurate & a bit slow. I have to press the screen for far too long before the menu options (not customisable). I can get the menu immediately by tapping the top-right icon, but after I click on Select, why is there no icon in the top-right to cancel selection mode? (Going all the way to the bottom of the screen feels harder than going to the top right.) Accurately selecting characters is almost impossible as my finger hides what I am selecting (unlike Termux which has selection handles I can drag).

Priority 5: Nice to Have

• Morph Browser & Waydroid not supporting USB or NFC access to "physical passkeys" aka FIDO2 devices (e.g. Yubico security keys) will likely become a show-stopper for me in the future, as my most important accounts (e.g. ProtonMail) will become ONLY accessible using a FIDO2 key. This may seem niche to you now, but they are rapidly gaining in popularity, and anyone really worried about their online security will be using them.
• Android apps all appear on one Waydroid 'virtual phone' rather than with native apps in the main task switcher. (I believe there are plans to eventually fix this, but it's waiting on QT to accept a pull request or something??)
• Ubuntu Touch's display only appears to be 30fps, at least on a Poco X3 (where-as Sailfish OS looks like 60fps). Doesn't really bother me, but a friend would find Ubuntu Touch unusable.
• Lack of easy access to Waydroid files (and Waydroid not having easy access to any UT files) is kind of a big issue. I've created a SystemD service to auto-mount the Waydroid folder on UT side, but most people won't be able to do that.
• Unlocking UT using the fingerprint sensor doesn't seem to be supported? At least not on my Xiaomi Poco X3, even though devices.ubuntu-touch.io lists it as working.

Thanks for listening, and sorry my list is so long! Despite all the above, UT feels like it is pretty close to being a usable phone for many people (e.g. with VoLTE now working).