There have been a couple of rough spots because of literal technical limitations with the PinePhone – for example, PostmarketOS v21.06 wasn’t MMS-capable
I am assuming that MMS works well for you now? It works for me, but since there is no tracking of any kind, I really have no idea if there are issues unless someone tells me.
likely to leave a voicemail, which I am alerted to
I am assuming that MMS works well for you now? It works for me, but since there is no tracking of any kind, I really have no idea if there are issues unless someone tells me.
For the most part, yeah! I experienced some breakage with mmsd-tng briefly where the configuration was getting overwritten on boot and the APN was being set to apn.invalid but I was able to fix it and I’m back to sending and receiving photos, group texts, etc.
Out of curiosity, how are you getting voicemails?
I get a text message containing a vvm URL from some carrier-internal phone number, at which point I know that someone left a voicemail and I should check my inbox. I get to my inbox by just calling my own phone number. I don’t know if that’s carrier-specific behavior.
There is VVMd, which is probably better, but I haven’t bothered with setting it up yet.
For the most part, yeah! I experienced some breakage with mmsd-tng briefly where the configuration was getting overwritten on boot and the APN was being set to apn.invalid but I was able to fix it and I’m back to sending and receiving photos, group texts, etc.
Heh, if it happens again, could you file an issue? You are not the first one to report that and Unfortunately it works for me….so I have yet to track that down. I am glad it is working though!
I get a text message containing a vvm URL from some carrier-internal phone number, at which point I know that someone left a voicemail and I should check my inbox. I get to my inbox by just calling my own phone number. I don’t know if that’s carrier-specific behavior.
There is VVMd, which is probably better, but I haven’t bothered with setting it up yet.
FYI, there is a known issue with AT&T: https://gitlab.com/kop316/vvmd/-/issues/8 , but it isn’t hard to work around. AT&T uses a proprietary protocol and they changed how they send the password. It shouldn’t be hard to fix, but since it involves me paying $50 (and an hour of my time) to get a new SIM….. I haven’t fixed it.
Heh, if it happens again, could you file an issue? You are not the first one to report that and Unfortunately it works for me….so I have yet to track that down. I am glad it is working though!
Of course, I didn’t file it in the bug tracker because I saw that exact issue you’re mentioning, filed the same day I noticed the behavior, but I certainly will if it happens again.
(Also, I had no idea you were the maintainer! Thank you for your work)
Of course, I didn’t file it in the bug tracker because I saw that exact issue you’re mentioning, filed the same day I noticed the behavior, but I certainly will if it happens again.
Thanks, and no worries! Sometimes I just see reviews and the reviewer goes “well MMS didn’t work well”….and since mmsd-tng doesn’t have any tracking on it, I have no idea what happened or why.
(Also, I had no idea you were the maintainer! Thank you for your work)
I’ve been playing around with Haunt recently myself, and absolutely love how far you’ve gone with your theme! It really stands out c:
This post inspired me to find my Pinephone (a Manjaro Community Edition) this morning, which I was frankly worried I’d lost, and I’ll be referencing it as I update firmware and attempt to set it up with a functional package manager; I was initially going to attempt porting Gentoo, for which there are resources available, but I’ve been thoroughly converted to the functional approach and know from past experience that distcc can’t offload all/subjectively enough of the work when you’re working with what the Pinephone has. Hoping that I can do more with a functional manager by cross-compiling the whole system ahead of time, but eh, we’ll see. Gonna have a blast either way.
The work you’ve done is awesome, and thanks for taking the time to document and share it!
Thank you for the kind comment! I’m really happy to hear I’ve inspired you to pick up your PinePhone again, I think that’s the best kind of response I could have gotten out of writing this.
The problem I have with these Linux phones is security. They are so completely far off when it comes to hardware and even software security in comparison to current generation Apple and Google mobile devices.
Edit: Also, I don’t think I ever expected to ever see another Yung Lean listener on here :P
That’s a point I wish I elaborated on more; the security situation is certainly different. At the same time, my threat model for a “Linux phone” is different from my threat model for a regular Android phone – because I tend to trust the software that I would be running on the former, and because cellular capabilities are implemented by a chip that is isolated (at least relative to how it’s implemented in, for example, a phone built around a Snapdragon SOC) from the main system. Hence, my view on security for the PinePhone is similar to how I think about security for my workstation.
Are there specific security features from Android that you would be missing on a PinePhone? Or is it more general, like wanting more protection for your cellphone because it’s what you use for important things like electronic banking and SMS?
I was secretly hoping someone would comment on my choice of music for the screenshots ;)
Hence, my view on security for the PinePhone is similar to how I think about security for my workstation.
That’s fair enough.
Are there specific security features from Android that you would be missing on a PinePhone?
I don’t know how the rest feel about them but I’m a big fan of the “madaidan’s insecurities” blog. There’s a short article about Linux phones here I think it focuses on the Librem 5 but I think similar can be said for Pinephones. One thing to take away from this article is in the modem isolation section;
There is also a lot of misinformation as to how the modem being on a separate chip means it’s isolated — this is completely untrue. […]
Whether or not the modem is on a separate chip is irrelevant to if it’s isolated.
I’m an avid user and advocate of GrapheneOS which is a hardened Android-based OS that I think deserves more attention. They only support Google Pixel devices because of their strict security requirements, like a proper secure element, among other things. No other devices (Android or otherwise) currently meet their security requirements. If you haven’t heard of this project I recommend checking it out, the work their team is doing is I think quite important, and quite interesting to observe if anything.
So to answer your question, I think when the Pinephone meets these very strict security requirements of GrapheneOS, then I’ll be happy using it :)
love your website! it looks great imho. i’d love to switch to the pinephone daily (i have a pinephone pro), but all of the issues underlined in your “cons” section are huge blockers for me sadly. hopefully we’ll get there someday!
Thanks! I spent a lot of time on the theme a couple years ago. Every once in a while, I’m tempted to change it up, but I always have a change of heart when I go back to look at it because I’m really happy with how it turned out.
I am assuming that MMS works well for you now? It works for me, but since there is no tracking of any kind, I really have no idea if there are issues unless someone tells me.
Out of curiosity, how are you getting voicemails?
For the most part, yeah! I experienced some breakage with
mmsd-tngbriefly where the configuration was getting overwritten on boot and the APN was being set toapn.invalidbut I was able to fix it and I’m back to sending and receiving photos, group texts, etc.I get a text message containing a
vvmURL from some carrier-internal phone number, at which point I know that someone left a voicemail and I should check my inbox. I get to my inbox by just calling my own phone number. I don’t know if that’s carrier-specific behavior.There is VVMd, which is probably better, but I haven’t bothered with setting it up yet.
Heh, if it happens again, could you file an issue? You are not the first one to report that and Unfortunately it works for me….so I have yet to track that down. I am glad it is working though!
FYI, there is a known issue with AT&T: https://gitlab.com/kop316/vvmd/-/issues/8 , but it isn’t hard to work around. AT&T uses a proprietary protocol and they changed how they send the password. It shouldn’t be hard to fix, but since it involves me paying $50 (and an hour of my time) to get a new SIM….. I haven’t fixed it.
Of course, I didn’t file it in the bug tracker because I saw that exact issue you’re mentioning, filed the same day I noticed the behavior, but I certainly will if it happens again.
(Also, I had no idea you were the maintainer! Thank you for your work)
Thanks, and no worries! Sometimes I just see reviews and the reviewer goes “well MMS didn’t work well”….and since mmsd-tng doesn’t have any tracking on it, I have no idea what happened or why.
I’m glad you find it useful!
I’ve been playing around with Haunt recently myself, and absolutely love how far you’ve gone with your theme! It really stands out c:
This post inspired me to find my Pinephone (a Manjaro Community Edition) this morning, which I was frankly worried I’d lost, and I’ll be referencing it as I update firmware and attempt to set it up with a functional package manager; I was initially going to attempt porting Gentoo, for which there are resources available, but I’ve been thoroughly converted to the functional approach and know from past experience that distcc can’t offload all/subjectively enough of the work when you’re working with what the Pinephone has. Hoping that I can do more with a functional manager by cross-compiling the whole system ahead of time, but eh, we’ll see. Gonna have a blast either way.
The work you’ve done is awesome, and thanks for taking the time to document and share it!
Thank you for the kind comment! I’m really happy to hear I’ve inspired you to pick up your PinePhone again, I think that’s the best kind of response I could have gotten out of writing this.
I also love my Pinephone and Pinephone Pro.
They’re behind alternatives in lots of important ways, such as features and stability.
They’re ahead in others: privacy and control (cfgmgmt, UI choice, etc.)
I contribute to the community because I believe in the fundamentals, and that the flaws aren’t fundamental, and can be improved with time.
The problem I have with these Linux phones is security. They are so completely far off when it comes to hardware and even software security in comparison to current generation Apple and Google mobile devices.
Edit: Also, I don’t think I ever expected to ever see another Yung Lean listener on here :P
That’s a point I wish I elaborated on more; the security situation is certainly different. At the same time, my threat model for a “Linux phone” is different from my threat model for a regular Android phone – because I tend to trust the software that I would be running on the former, and because cellular capabilities are implemented by a chip that is isolated (at least relative to how it’s implemented in, for example, a phone built around a Snapdragon SOC) from the main system. Hence, my view on security for the PinePhone is similar to how I think about security for my workstation.
Are there specific security features from Android that you would be missing on a PinePhone? Or is it more general, like wanting more protection for your cellphone because it’s what you use for important things like electronic banking and SMS?
I was secretly hoping someone would comment on my choice of music for the screenshots ;)
Sorry for taking so long to get back.
That’s fair enough.
I don’t know how the rest feel about them but I’m a big fan of the “madaidan’s insecurities” blog. There’s a short article about Linux phones here I think it focuses on the Librem 5 but I think similar can be said for Pinephones. One thing to take away from this article is in the modem isolation section;
I’m an avid user and advocate of GrapheneOS which is a hardened Android-based OS that I think deserves more attention. They only support Google Pixel devices because of their strict security requirements, like a proper secure element, among other things. No other devices (Android or otherwise) currently meet their security requirements. If you haven’t heard of this project I recommend checking it out, the work their team is doing is I think quite important, and quite interesting to observe if anything.
So to answer your question, I think when the Pinephone meets these very strict security requirements of GrapheneOS, then I’ll be happy using it :)
love your website! it looks great imho. i’d love to switch to the pinephone daily (i have a pinephone pro), but all of the issues underlined in your “cons” section are huge blockers for me sadly. hopefully we’ll get there someday!
Thanks! I spent a lot of time on the theme a couple years ago. Every once in a while, I’m tempted to change it up, but I always have a change of heart when I go back to look at it because I’m really happy with how it turned out.