n00b questions - can I add additional repos? how is UT different from a "full" ubuntu

[arturo2bodegas]

I am loving my pinephone, but as a linux newbie, it is sometimes frustrating. I'm learning as fast as I can. Here are some of my initial questions about running Ubuntu Touch version 54 on my Pinephone:

1. Can I add additional repos to gain access to additional packages built for the arm64 architecture, or will it break my install?

2. How is Ubuntu Touch different from a full GNU/Linux OS? I get the amd64/arm64 ISA difference, but what am I missing? 

3. Once the phone goes to sleep/screen shuts off, it loses wifi connectivity, and I have to restart the phone to reconnect to wifi...is there a fix for that?

4. Is it possible to install Phosh on top of UT, instead of the Unity/Lomiri shell?

Thanks for helping a learner here...I enjoy being part of the FOSS community - this project rocks!

[pizzalovingnerd]

1. Can I add additional repos to gain access to additional packages built for the arm64 architecture, or will it break my install?

Ubuntu Touch does ship with apt, and you should be able to add apt repos, but all of Ubuntu Touch's apps come from .click packages, which are kind of similar to APKs. Source

If you want to run desktop apps, or LibHandy apps or something like that, you could run that using Libertine

2. How is Ubuntu Touch different from a full GNU/Linux OS? I get the amd64/arm64 ISA difference, but what am I missing? 

The biggest difference is that it mostly uses click packages instead of apt, snaps, or flatpaks, and it ships Lomiri. Other than that, behind the hood is it just Linux.

3. Once the phone goes to sleep/screen shuts off, it loses wifi connectivity, and I have to restart the phone to reconnect to wifi...is there a fix for that?

I don't know the answer to this. Sorry.

4. Is it possible to install Phosh on top of UT, instead of the Unity/Lomiri shell?

It might be possible using Libertine, but I'm not sure. If you want a Debian phosh experience, I'd recommend Mobian.

[arturo2bodegas]

thanks for answering my questions. I'll check out libertine.

[bingo600]

I don't have to reboot in order to get WiFi back, on Stable 3 / Dev 53
I'm just asked for my WiFi password once it wakes , but that could be an unresolved issue of me having 2 WiFi accespoints serving the same SSID

/Bingo

[Diogo]

I am loving my pinephone, but as a linux newbie, it is sometimes frustrating. I'm learning as fast as I can. Here are some of my initial questions about running Ubuntu Touch version 54 on my Pinephone:

1. Can I add additional repos to gain access to additional packages built for the arm64 architecture, or will it break my install?

2. How is Ubuntu Touch different from a full GNU/Linux OS? I get the amd64/arm64 ISA difference, but what am I missing? 

3. Once the phone goes to sleep/screen shuts off, it loses wifi connectivity, and I have to restart the phone to reconnect to wifi...is there a fix for that?

4. Is it possible to install Phosh on top of UT, instead of the Unity/Lomiri shell?

Thanks for helping a learner here...I enjoy being part of the FOSS community - this project rocks!

Software for Ubuntu Touch is shipped as click packages (an ancestor for snap packages created for Ubuntu Touch). click packages are distributed via the OpenStore.io, which is the only centralized repository of software for Ubuntu Touch (nothing prevents people from creating others, and the OpenStore was once an alternative the the Ubuntu Store).
On Ubuntu Touch you can also use libertine containers, which allow you too use deb packages from the Ubuntu Archive.
Ubuntu Touch itself is updated with images not packages, and it's rootfs is for safety reasons (including security) read only. This means that you can use deb packages from Ubuntu, but because the rootfs is read-only, by default that's it. I believe that in theory you can make the rootfs, read-write and add extra repositories like on any Ubuntu, however this is not recommend nor supported and is risky and change the rootfs to read-write might lead to breaking your OS or at least it failing to upgrade.

Ubuntu Touch differences to Ubuntu are mostly on how Ubuntu Touch was designed to be more safe than Ubuntu, because having a working phone is usually more critical to people (i.e.: it's used to call for emergency services). This means things like read-only rootfs, apps not being able to freely roam through the OS and user data, but having to use system services and special API, to access resources in controlled ways, click packages that include confinement features, on-the-go permissions system that asks the user if applications should be able to access things like sensors. Additionally both Lomiri, the Ubuntu Touch UI, formerly known as Unity 8, and the frameworks and toolkits, are made in ways that depending on the case are either intentionally designed for, or that just allow to do UI convergence.

The wifi thing you mentioned is PinePhone specific, I don't know more about that issue.

It's not possible to replace Lomiri on Ubuntu Touch, in the sense that UBports hasn't made anything to allow for it, or facilitate it, it would also mean to remake almost everything if anyone else wants do to it, UBports has no intention of doing it.

[user7654]

I am loving my pinephone, but as a linux newbie, it is sometimes frustrating. I'm learning as fast as I can. Here are some of my initial questions about running Ubuntu Touch version 54 on my Pinephone:

1. Can I add additional repos to gain access to additional packages built for the arm64 architecture, or will it break my install?

2. How is Ubuntu Touch different from a full GNU/Linux OS? I get the amd64/arm64 ISA difference, but what am I missing? 

3. Once the phone goes to sleep/screen shuts off, it loses wifi connectivity, and I have to restart the phone to reconnect to wifi...is there a fix for that?

4. Is it possible to install Phosh on top of UT, instead of the Unity/Lomiri shell?

Thanks for helping a learner here...I enjoy being part of the FOSS community - this project rocks!

Software for Ubuntu Touch is shipped as click packages (an ancestor for snap packages created for Ubuntu Touch). click packages are distributed via the OpenStore.io, which is the only centralized repository of software for Ubuntu Touch (nothing prevents people from creating others, and the OpenStore was once an alternative the the Ubuntu Store).
On Ubuntu Touch you can also use libertine containers, which allow you too use deb packages from the Ubuntu Archive.
Ubuntu Touch itself is updated with images not packages, and it's rootfs is for safety reasons (including security) read only. This means that you can use deb packages from Ubuntu, but because the rootfs is read-only, by default that's it. I believe that in theory you can make the rootfs, read-write and add extra repositories like on any Ubuntu, however this is not recommend nor supported and is risky and change the rootfs to read-write might lead to breaking your OS or at least it failing to upgrade.

Ubuntu Touch differences to Ubuntu are mostly on how Ubuntu Touch was designed to be more safe than Ubuntu, because having a working phone is usually more critical to people (i.e.: it's used to call for emergency services). This means things like read-only rootfs, apps not being able to freely roam through the OS and user data, but having to use system services and special API, to access resources in controlled ways, click packages that include confinement features, on-the-go permissions system that asks the user if applications should be able to access things like sensors. Additionally both Lomiri, the Ubuntu Touch UI, formerly known as Unity 8, and the frameworks and toolkits, are made in ways that depending on the case are either intentionally designed for, or that just allow to do UI convergence.

The wifi thing you mentioned is PinePhone specific, I don't know more about that issue.

It's not possible to replace Lomiri on Ubuntu Touch, in the sense that UBports hasn't made anything to allow for it, or facilitate it, it would also mean to remake almost everything if anyone else wants do to it, UBports has no intention of doing it.

Do you know if , say, r/w was applied. Can you revert back to read only??

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[dawg161]

I had no luck running Libertine about 3 weeks ago, it crashed instantly. I have been able to run desktop apps on the Pinephone using the Fedora offering