LINux on MOBile

Hi! This is the main Fediverse account of a blog about LINux on MOBile devices – linmob.net. It's has been restarted in 2020 because of the PinePhone.

Used to be https://identi.ca/linmob. Also on bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/linmob.net.

blog: https://linmob.net
peertube: https://tilvids.com/c/linmob_channel/videos
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LINMOBnet
moved to: https://linuxmobile.social/@linmob

Public Key

npub1pusprud9xdn2c4xpmu5dxtj934p9lsedr5n9zlg6d9dwnnugc4lqxuaagp

NIP-05 Address

linmob_at_fosstodon.org@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsq7gq37xjnxe4v2nqa72xn9ezc6sjlcvk36fj305dxjkhfe7yv2lspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds8wn3se

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1pusprud9xdn2c4xpmu5dxtj934p9lsedr5n9zlg6d9dwnnugc4lqxuaagp

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Last Notes

2025-06-01 09:21:15 UTC

Weekly GNU-like Mobile Linux Update (21/2025): Librem 5 5G and other fun stuff
https://linmob.net/weekly-update-21-2025/
#LIbrem5 #UbuntuTouch #SailfishOS #Phosh #PlasmaMobile #ALTLinux #postmarketOS #PinePhone #FuriLabsFLX1

2025-05-18 21:34:04 UTC

Weekly GNU-like #MobileLinux Update (20/2025): A Linux Phone From Africa and #Phosh 0.47.0
https://linmob.net/weekly-update-20-2025/
#LinuxMobile #Lomiri #UbuntuTouch #Gentoo #SailfishOS #Debian #Mobian #postmarketOS #DawnOS #DivineD #PinePhone #PinePhonePro #LIbrem5 #FuriLabsFLX1

2025-05-18 12:36:14 UTC

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For current options, it's not too easy:
- FuriLabs FLX1 reportedly is a good experience, but no mainline,
- RK3588s options (Liberux Nexx, dawndrums Divine D) seem multiple months away,
- FairPhone 5 lacks audio support on mainline (USB-C dongle works though),
- Shiftphone 8 (same SoC as Fairphone 5, but 12 GB RAM is supposedly shipping in August) and how well support will pan out is unknown.
OnePlus 6, Poco F1, Pixel 3a are affordable, but also aging (with hard(er) to replace batteries).

2025-05-16 07:06:32 UTC

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Thank you! I hope I did not miss any huge GTK 4.18 showstoppers, BTW, if you just want to have the option to use Megapixels, you could (in addition to that distrobox approach, if that takes too much space) also always boot into another OS on sdcard - while, when using tow-boot on that sdcard, still booting from eMMC by default (this flexibility is what I love about the PinePhone).

2025-05-15 16:06:54 UTC

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They are in an early stage still, but from what I could take in, I think that their approach can work. The only thing that gives me pause (knowing the app ecosystem) is the 5.5" 16:9 display (see also https://www.reddit.com/r/dawndrumsdev/comments/1k18zcv/divine_d_next_generation_gnu_linux_phone/msgrq0d/).
It's definitely nice to see a phone designed in Africa (Tunisia)!

2025-05-15 15:59:45 UTC

It looks like the Liberux Nexx is no longer the only upcoming RK3588s phone:
The DawnDrums Divine D will use the same very SoC, running a Debian/@mobian based OS called DawnOS (with GNOME Mobile or Plasma Mobile).
(My #D key needs a break now 😉 )
Docs: https://docs.dawndrums.tn/docs/introduction
Status page: https://docs.dawndrums.tn/docs/Current_state/
Github: https://github.com/dawndrums/dawndrums
Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/dawndrumsdev/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dawndrums-o7m/
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@dawndrums/

2025-05-14 22:32:02 UTC

New blog post: GTK 4.18, the PinePhone and Megapixels https://linmob.net/gtk-418-the-pinephone-and-megapixels/

2025-05-05 15:51:29 UTC

I just noticed that the recording of Evangelos' MiniDebConf talk titled "A look at Mobian Trixie" is now available: https://meetings-archive.debian.net/pub/debian-meetings/2025/MiniDebConf-Hamburg/hamburg2025-30-a-look-at-mobian-trixie.webm
Talk page: https://hamburg2025.mini.debconf.org/talks/15-a-look-at-mobian-trixie/

2025-05-04 20:28:01 UTC

Weekly GNU-like #MobileLinux Update (18/2025): Mobile Overlord adds Desktop Mode
https://linmob.net/weekly-update-18-2025/
#LinuxMobile #postmarketOS #Mobian #UbuntuTouch #SailfishOS #Phosh #PlasmaMobile #FuriLabsFLX1 #PinePhone #Librem5

2025-03-30 23:07:13 UTC

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I guess I worded that poorly. I was thinking of the combination of hardware and graphics drivers, where often OpenGLES 2.0 is a first base line reached, and later on, more is accomplished. Like with Asahi: December 2022 2.0, Mid 2023 3.1. Sadly, not all efforts move along as quickly, think etnaviv. Add the fact that the PinePhone Pro (ES 3.1, Mali T860) has issues with the new renderer..
(I could also look up when the last SoC with a Mali 4xx GPU was announced, but sure, that's DOA).

2025-03-30 22:10:39 UTC

Weekly GNU-like #MobileLinux Update (13/2025): Crossing Platforms, Breaking Barriers
https://linmob.net/weekly-update-13-2025/
#LinuxMobile #Phosh #SailfishOS #Ubuntu Touch #Megapixels #FuriLabsFLX1 #Librem5 #PinePhone #postmarketOS

2025-03-26 21:53:23 UTC

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It's not really different. It's mostly fixes to make stuff work with current Firefox 136.
Before this release, you would get "Failed to read the configuration file. Please contact your system administrator." with Firefox 136.
Aside from that, it's minor cosmetic things, see screenshots.
@npub1clc…emga @npub1785…zmup
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/230/912/309/793/554/original/5b0119092bbd89c0.png
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/230/929/491/207/016/original/17a0fe485e2b790e.png

2025-03-23 17:36:04 UTC

Weekly GNU-like #MobileLinux Update (12/2025): GNOME 48 and other goodies
https://linmob.net/weekly-update-12-2025/
#LInuxMobile #postmarketOS #UbuntuTouch #SailfishOS #Firefox #GNOME #PinePhone #Librem5 #ChimeraLinux #Movuan

2025-03-22 12:26:40 UTC

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Can't say, not familiar with the acronym. This photo is straight out of GNOME Camera (snapshot).

2025-03-22 10:35:24 UTC

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edge (see https://postmarketos.org/, https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/OnePlus_6_(oneplus-enchilada) :-) )

2025-03-22 07:59:49 UTC

And.. arriving #CLT2025
#ShotOnOnePlus6
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/205/022/624/236/624/original/5f11542e054b6a1c.jpeg

2025-03-21 16:35:06 UTC

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Got lucky: MRB (a transdev brand) waited. They don't have to, awesome that they did!

2025-03-21 14:32:49 UTC

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Generally yes, but while you can package everything into a .deb, getting it accepted into #Debian (and I assume similar for #Devuan) is a different thing. There's a reason why the #UbuntuTouch @npub1lmq…xa4a people were super happy and proud when they managed to get Lomiri accepted into Debian.
Maybe Debian/Mobian contributors can chime in here :-)

2025-03-21 14:27:35 UTC

Not loving the #DB delay, but loving @npub1ncy…3x0q #itinerary reliably informing me on my way to Chemnitz for #clt2025 #ChemnitzerLinuxTage
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/200/881/714/743/235/original/15b2882fd8fe69a6.png

2025-03-19 21:38:14 UTC

I (Peter) am going to attend #CLT2025, that's "Chemnitzer Linux Tage" (Chemnitz Linux Days) this weekend: https://chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/2025/en
If you're also attending please get in touch (here, matrix, xmpp or email) 🙂
Sorry for the last-minute announcement - the decision to actually go and attend was only made today. I am just going to meet some people I know from other activities, and AFAIK there's nothing truly #LinuxMobile on schedule.
#ChemnitzerLinuxTage

2025-03-19 06:28:08 UTC

Look at that: If you dislike systemd and like debian packages, but want Phosh instead of hildon (on Maemo Leste), Movuan has you covered:
https://gitlab.com/l2385/movuan/movuan-recipes
Basically, that's a #devuan for your #PinePhone
#Movuan

2025-03-19 06:15:28 UTC

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Oh, but many people need it or even want "phone". If I had a Euro for every time I've been asked "but does it do phone calls reliably" which obviously in the age of VoLTE introduction is impossible to answer without "where do you live and what carrier are you on" ... it would have paid for a pretty decent laptop, at least.
BTW: Isn't it ironic that VoLTE with its "crystal clear call audio" was introduced just when everybody started to use crappy sounding BT headphones?

2025-03-16 22:56:35 UTC

Weekly GNU-like #MobileLinux Update (11/2025): #Libadwaita 1.7 and news from #Sxmo
https://linmob.net/weekly-update-11-2025/
#LinuxMobile #postmarketOS #SailfishOS #Phosh #UbuntuTouch #UBports #FuriLabsFLX1 #Librem5 #PinePhone

2025-03-15 08:02:50 UTC

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All thanks to https://github.com/FuriLabs/gnome-software-plugin-android (unless I am seriously mistaken).
Also: Termux on #LinuxMobile, lol

2025-03-13 17:56:44 UTC

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"when" not "if" ;-)

2025-03-08 12:43:32 UTC

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It's PinePhone Pro specific issue, ... I managed to solve it on my PPP, but ... it's been a while ago (and I don't even know if that's with edge or 24.12). But I remember that I don't use tow-boot - I use megis rkaw https://xnux.eu/log/098.html

2025-03-01 11:08:55 UTC

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If someone wants to step up, merging a MR or applying a patch/uploading a file is something I feel able to 🙂

2025-03-01 11:07:19 UTC

Due to personal health issues (nothing too critical, don't worry), Peter won't be able to publish a "Weekly #MobileLinux Update" post this weekend. The current plan is to have a combined post about two weeks on the 8th of March.
Sorry about that!
If you're impatient you can always use the pipeline (by re-running this https://framagit.org/linmob/linmob.frama.io/-/jobs/2738005 job tomorrow 🙂

2025-02-20 17:41:50 UTC

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They seem to be back to installing via script https://themodemdistro.com/ (and I'll add a note to my old guide)

2025-02-18 22:12:47 UTC

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I am betting that libcamera is involved here :-)
Cheese didn't use to work, and as it did not really see a ton of development as far as I can tell (https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/cheese), the change must have happened somewhere in the stack.

2025-02-18 17:42:41 UTC

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This is a nice hack, but IMHO it's not the solution yet, just for viewfinder speed alone (it's not that fast on old smol Pixel 3a at least).
Megapixels IIRC works around this by setting different resolutions for 'just view finder' and 'actually taking pictures'.
@npub1vnu…8mqn

2025-02-18 13:59:14 UTC

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It's the same commit on my end. No idea what the issue is - it seems to work as intended on my Pixel 3a (can't test on OP6 right now).

2025-02-18 07:36:49 UTC

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For the lazy ones interested in what magdesign's change does (and for those who don't want to pollute their install by randomly putting newer than packaged libadwaita etc):
Here's a flatpak: https://gitlab.gnome.org/1peter10/snapshot/-/pipelines
You will need the GNOME Nightly remote: https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Nightly and org.gnome.Platform
While you are at it, I recommend giving the Nightly of GNOME Maps (for Transitious public transport) and Image Viewer (Loupe, for cropping images) a try - it's totally worth it IMHO!

2025-02-18 07:11:44 UTC

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You have good points, and my amount of mainline-ish devices here is way higher than of those running halium. You don't have to compromise.
But I strongly believe we should allow others to follow their rationale and decide on their trade-offs, and work together where we can all benefit and not waste that time on "true trueer truest mobile linux" infighting no one on the outside can understand anyway.
@npub1cks…06kl @npub1r57…rfry

2025-02-17 19:13:17 UTC

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Gapless looks different on my device, and Amberol does too - hence the question :-) @npub1e7a…trdk
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/020/809/480/296/260/original/e2364e17318f6e8d.png
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/020/812/919/935/239/original/632830fc21a9e8a1.png

2025-02-17 19:01:21 UTC

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I must ask: Which good-looking app is running here?

2025-02-16 23:15:12 UTC

Weekly GNU-like #MobileLinux Update (07/2025): Reviews and Improvements
https://linmob.net/weekly-update-07-2025/
#FuriLabsFLX1 #PureOS #PinePhone #LIbrem5 #LinuxMobile #postmarketOS #UbuntuTouch #SailfishOS #liberuxNexx

2025-02-15 14:18:03 UTC

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It has some design issues and has thus been discontinued, looks like it won't come back.
There are many PINE64 forum threads discussing the various hardware issues.
@npub1z7v…fnxu @npub1thr…t6e2

2025-02-15 12:25:44 UTC

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This. 100% this.
Using Halium may not be fine for you, but if it's fine for others that's fine and it's none of your business. Same for using mainline vice versa. Let's focus on what unites us and not division. Let's work together. This niche is small enough already, splitting it further makes no sense at all.

2025-02-11 20:49:10 UTC

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Nice!

2025-02-03 18:18:55 UTC

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Sadly they weren't there. The project has been banned from FOSDEM - they will be back in 2027, I hope! Maybe @npub1lmq…xa4a or @npub158c…mg8q can elaborate.

2025-02-01 17:42:58 UTC

And ... time for the last talk on #FOSSonMobile at #fosdem25
postmarketOS: what is it and what's new? by Oliver Smith @npub1clc…emga
https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-4654-postmarketos-what-is-it-and-what-s-new-/
https://postmarketos.org
#postmarketOS
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/113/929/860/596/710/441/original/1538aa33387b1b76.jpeg

2024-12-20 22:37:07 UTC

Look at that: https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/track/mobile/ #FOSDEM #LinuxMobile
Thanks @npub13a8…am5l and others for all the hard work!
Also note: "The schedule is now available (modulo talks for which the speakers haven't yet clicked on the confirmation link)" - so there's even more good stuff coming!

2024-11-18 21:41:40 UTC

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Yeah, it can be made to work somewhat okay. Now I just played with it for a little bit of time, and setup of new accounts or some PGP dialogs don't work well, and search is also difficult, as the left bar remains quite wide without adjustments.
I hope I can find the time to share what I did in a way that does not make maintainer of a "mobile-config-thunderbird"; I've got enough on my plate already ;-)

2024-11-18 17:34:42 UTC

After I had borked my last #postmarketOS install, I did not want to bother with setting up email accounts, and just copied my #Thunderbird profile over - how hard can it be?
I managed to come up with something I can live with, unfortunately it required customizing the icon bar by hand, so these changes are likely not directly transferable via user.js and co.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/113/505/136/599/464/150/original/5cc3149319561f5a.png
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/113/505/136/601/573/791/original/c57cfd5a7723c0bc.png

2024-09-08 09:41:54 UTC

I really enjoyed 'Why and how to use KDE frameworks in non-KDE apps' https://conf.kde.org/event/6/contributions/214/ - make sure to check the slides or recordings!

2024-08-27 06:04:01 UTC

Maemo Leste have published another progress report:
https://maemo-leste.github.io/maemo-leste-2024-telepathy-update.html
#maemoleste

2024-08-21 21:54:42 UTC

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It may also be that it feels obsolete in terms of distro support. Take the support for rtl8723cs in the mainline rtw88 driver that landed with Linux 6.10.
In the old days, projects like @npub1ua9…sk4k or @npub1vnu…8mqn would have jumped on this, yet, AFAIK, only @npub16ss…2rua #SailfishOS port ships this so far.
It's normal and still sad - while we have mainline support many Qualcomm devices (e.g., Pixel 3a), the PinePhone support is still more complete.

2024-08-21 18:14:51 UTC

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I think the issue is that chatty's XMPP support is based on libpurple, which also makes it - even with stuff like lurch - an unreliable at best candidate for working chats with OMEMO in my experience. Thus is it's IMHO not a huge loss.

2024-08-18 13:57:33 UTC

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cc @npub1j6f…76l3

2024-08-05 20:22:13 UTC

#Librem5 users waiting for #PureOS Crimson: Giving money to Purism is not the only option:
https://liberapay.com/devrtz-PureOS_crimson
I (Peter) for one definitely trust @npub13a8…am5l more than a company distracted by building a robot ;-)

2024-07-02 06:07:58 UTC

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Like with Jolla's subscription model, I like this. It allows non-developers to put their foot down, and as this is an optional subscription, it feels less weird: you get all the updates if you don't pay, too.

2024-07-02 06:04:24 UTC

After the backlash Jolla got for announcing subscription pricing for SailfishOS/SailfishX, @npub1qy0…nsak follow with an optional monthly subscription to fund #PureOS development: https://puri.sm/posts/pureos-optional-subscription-added-to-advance-development/, starting at USD 5.99
(via [@liliputing_](https://liliputing.com/author/liliputing_/ ) https://liliputing.com/?p=170031)

2024-06-27 06:22:50 UTC

Fun typo in @npub10cz…4lpy's article about the FuriLabs FLX1 (https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/26/furi_phone_flx1_debian_smartphone/) /home/picard/screenshots/2024-06-27-08:20:11.png
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/687/138/337/117/468/original/bf4ab8effc6f2112.png

2024-06-15 21:40:14 UTC

I have just used my #Librem5 (with #postmarketOS Phosh) as little desktop for a few hours, and it has been surprisingly smooth.
I am pretty sure at least part of the reason was that I have attached one of these ridiculous phone fans for gaming.
(I have got a random one from Amazon, don't ask for the model, it's not a good fit - attaching it I struggled with the kill switches and volume rocker.)