UBPorts 16.04 updates + feature tests

Discuss The Products
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Here is an overview of what works with the current development version 16.04 of UBPorts. Don’t expect too much at the moment :wink:

I’ll update this thread whenever I have time to test a new version. The latest post will be marked as solution so that one can easily jump to the latest update.

Installed via UBPorts installer 0.9.1-beta on windows (stable version 15.04 of ubuntu touch was installed previously; corresponding feature test at UBPorts 15.04 updates + feature tests).

What doesn’t work for me so far

So, as I can’t type anything - even if I re-install and skip the PIN - there is not much to test anyway. I will postpone my testing until above issue is fixed.

After I got myself an USB OTG adapter, I could at least type in the WiFi password.

What works for me so far

  • WiFi
  • USB OTG
  • (didn’t test anything else yet…)

In the Ubports telegram welcome groups somebody recommended to wait another month or so until things are more stable. I guess I’ll do that and install 15.04 again.

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Does UBPorts support USB OTG? You could perhaps use a real keyboard then …

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Haha, haven’t thought about that. But that would require some kind of new hardware/adapter first.

For now I did a factory reset and skipped setting a PIN. So I can “use” the phone as long as I don’t have to type anything. Or something needs networking, because I can’t enter the WiFi key :smiley:

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I used USB OTG with keyboard successfully type the PIN and WIFI password yesterday.

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That virtual keyboard issue has been fixed: https://github.com/ubports/ubuntu-touch/issues/395#issuecomment-356099115

I guess I still wait a bit before testing 16.04 again. There is a local IT meeting coming up where I would show Ubuntu Touch and I guess it’s more impressive if everything’s working :slight_smile:

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in this video it actually looks quite usable including the on-screen keyboard, though the video is from late Oct 2017. Why did e.g. the keyboard stop working in the meantime?

Ubuntu Touch 16.04 devel on Fairphone 2

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Eeh, that’s the definition of a development channel : it will break ! :wink:
Adding new functionalities could deteriorate the existing ones…

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I was just curious what functionality was valued more important than a functioning keyboard…

I would expect that if I had a functioning keyboard and something breaks it, I’d probably remove whatever broke it and try to implement it in a way, that doesn’t break the keyboard OR look for a flaw in the keyboard and fix that before continuing… Because a keyboard to me seems a rather important function, in comparison to many others.
On the other hand, I’m neither a programmer nor do I know what has to be done to complete a port like this.

But I’m interested in giving UBPorts a try, so I should probably specify my question:
How far from a remotely usable system is UBPorts base don 16.04? What are the main bullet points on the todo list?
(e.g. a functioning compass is nice, but having no compass wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me. Not being able to make calls, would. And Anbox would be rather important, to be honest)

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Now that the keyboard issue is fixed I’ll give 16.04 a try again.

Installed via UBPorts installer from Linux, version 16.04 r153

What works for me

  • call / be called
  • send SMS / receive SMS
  • internet via WiFi
  • internet via mobile network
  • USB connection to PC / MTP
  • USB OTG
    • external keyboard works, but with wrong layout (physical: German, in use: English)
  • screenshot (press + hold Vol-up and Vol-down)
  • terminal app

What doesn’t work for me

  • openstore (no apps displayed; maybe temporary issue?)
  • flash (new camera module; known issue)
  • camera (app loads forever)
  • bluetooth (doesn’t see any devices)
  • Adding an owncloud account (in settings > accounts)
  • keeping the time zone (have to set it again after each start)
  • alarm
  • Spotify web player
    • no way to login
  • email (app “Dekko 2” loads forever)
  • file manager (app loads forever)
  • music playback (app starts but buttons don’t work)
  • gallery (app exits immediately)

Didn’t try so far

  • location (as far as I know, GPS doesn’t work)
  • External monitor via WiFi direct (with a Samsung BD-J5500 Blu-Ray player)

Also, the phone gets very hot and battery drains quickly. At least on the day I did the installation.

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Don’t update to 16.04 r170!

With that version, the FP2 no longer boots up. One of the devs is already debugging it.

Also, a fresh install with the Ubports installer at the moment would install this version. So, don’t do that either :wink:

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Newer version is out. 16.04 r175 seems fine again. Will do the feature test later…

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Installed via UBPorts installer from Linux, version 16.04 r175

What works for me

  • call / be called
  • send SMS / receive SMS
  • internet via WiFi
  • internet via mobile network (4G)
  • USB connection to PC / MTP
  • USB OTG
    • changing to correct physical keyboard from the status bar works
  • automatic screen rotation
  • bluetooth
    • audio speaker: MusicMan BT-X2
  • alarm
    • but clock app sometimes crashes and doesn’t seem to use the correct time zone
  • screenshot (press + hold Vol-up and Vol-down)
  • external sd card
    • I can access existing photos with the gallery app
    • I cannot navigate through the existing folders (maybe need to try formatting it)
  • gallery app
  • file manager app
  • terminal app
  • notes app
    • list of notes doesn’t show note name
    • after creating a note, one has to close and edit again before one can actually type something
  • calculator app
  • weather app
  • enabling ssh
  • the syncevolution script to set up my owncloud account

What doesn’t work for me

  • openstore (no apps displayed; maybe temporary issue?)
  • flash (new camera module; known issue)
  • camera (new camera module; app loads forever)
  • Adding an owncloud account (in settings > accounts)
  • keeping the time zone (have to set it again after each start)
  • Spotify web player
    • no way to login on a mobile phone, so without an app it looks like I can’t use it
  • email
    • no app installed and cannot use the openstore to download one
    • before wiping the phone I had upgraded from 15.04 with app “Dekko 2” installed, but that didn’t start and loads forever
  • music app
    • claims it finds no music even though there is some in the “Music” folder
    • when opening an MP3 from the file manager app, it wants to import the file but that never finishes
  • media app
    • cannot open any of the files I tried

Didn’t try so far/again after last update

  • contacts and calendar apps as I can’t add my owncloud account anyway
  • location (as far as I know, GPS doesn’t work)
  • External monitor via WiFi direct (with a Samsung BD-J5500 Blu-Ray player)
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Adding your owncloud account doesn’t work in settings > accounts, but have you tried the syncevolution script method? I wonder if this could do the work :slight_smile:

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I haven’t found the time yet to try that. It’s on my list.

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In case anyone else tries 16.04 and needs to (un)install apps while the openstore app doesn’t work, here are a few things I learned today :wink:

  • Install packages
    • browse https://open.uappexplorer.com and download a package on the phone or push the file from a PC
    • either via terminal app or adb shell from PC: pkcon install-local --allow-untrusted <packagefilename>.click
  • Uninstall packages
    • click list to get a list of installed packages and their exact name for the actual uninstall command
    • sudo click unregister <packagename>
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I got the syncevolution method to work :slight_smile: But it took quite some time to get things straight.

  • The script needs another variable declaration
    • after the line with “CAL_URL=…” add another with “CONTACTS_URL=…”
  • Initially I used spaces in “CALENDAR_VISUAL_NAME” and “CONTACTS_VISUAL_NAME”, but that seems to break the script
  • I had to install my self-signed certificate - saved as *.crt - first (after storing it in the home dir):

sudo mount / -o remount,rw
sudo cp <mycertificate>.crt /usr/share/ca-certificates/
sudo dpkg-reconfigure ca-certificates
sudo mount / -o remount,ro

Not sure if that survives system updates…

Edit: I saw that someone forked the gist and added the two necessary changes. The updated one can be found at https://gist.github.com/vanyasem/379095d25ac350676fc70c42efe17c8c

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Didn’t update for quite a while… Now 16.04 r205 is installed and openstore and camera are working. Yay! :+1:

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Can you already test Android apps?

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The FP2 is not yet supported for anbox use: https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/userguide/dailyuse/anbox.html

Only three devices supported at the moment

  • Meizu Pro 5
  • BQ M10 HD
  • BQ M10 FHD
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New camera? With flash and upright front camera?