I tried to see what I could do with the “Programmable” Button, and there’s nothing in the settings to program it.
A quick inside search gave me a solution to @Andrei_K’s question here. While it works, the proposed uses are not interesting.
Finally I decided to got look some somewhere else. And I found this app.
I don’t know if there is a FOSS alternative but it seems to do the trick. I think any button remapper can be used for this purpose – one have to remap the “CAMERA” key.
Is this some kind of “common knowledge” that the programmable button needs a 3rd party app ? Was this the case before Android 6 ?
Where does it say that this button is a “programmable” button?
It is the camera button (or the “camera/shutter button” according to the User Guide), and by default it starts the camera App and once the camera App is active, it takes a picture when pressed.
You can turn its intended behaviour on and off in the settings.
It needs an App to make this button do something else than what it is intended to do.
In that regard it works the same as every other button, the App you linked to can remap those other buttons, too.
In that sense, every button is a programmable button. But they are still the power (or “on/off”) button, the camera (or “camera/shutter”) button, and the volume buttons (or “button”).
Yeah, I didn’t specify, but it’s on Fairphone Shop | Fairphone (in the specifications). So, not only historically accurate, but also currently publicized.
Ah ok, I take everything back and claim the complete opposite .
So it says
“Power, Volume, Camera (Programmable)”
there … you could even read that as if every button would be programmable.
So you’re right. The normal assumption would be that there’s a setting for this, but there isn’t.
Perhaps they should correct that.
I think technically it’s not incorrect. The button was supposed to be programmable by developers, but afaik the needed documentation was never provided. Maybe hackable would be more correct.
If you disable the camera (like I did because it stopped working after only a couple photos, but I don’t really need it anyway) and then accidentally hit that button, it also will say “Unfortunately, ProgrammableButton has closed” or something.
Funny, I also experienced that - it wasn’t the best idea to first deactivate the default app and only then install another camera app. Or to try what happens when you push the camera button in the in-between state.
Fortunately, if you install another camera app (or activate the default one again) and then reboot the phone it works just fine.
With the apps above, you can set it to “Do Nothing”.
Or, you could physically abrase it from existence
I found that the “Do not disturb” feature cycle through "Do Not Disturb, “Vibrate”, and “Normal”, and I find that really cool !
Of course the phone have to be awake (but not necessarily unlocked), or one must root the phone…
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