Are PinePhones Becoming More Usable On Each Release . . .

[bcnaz]

The Pine phone is not yet ready for everyone to use...  Obviously

I do carry an old message phone for the    'just in case issues'  But I DO USE my Brave Heart phone for 99% of all my text,  probably 80% of my voice calls.

I have 3 PMOS Convergent Edition phones I use to "TRY"  the newer and new releases,  while the Brave Heart phone is running on the October 05 release.

The Operating Systems do seem to be varying from usable to non-usable and back again.

>  The Pine phone does need many different skill set levels to help with the progress,  It is my personal opinion that "sometimes" people are too quick to start modifying the code when all that is needed is to fiddle with the settings.
When using T-Mobile on one of my PMOS phones, I discovered it requires different APN settings for 3g data,  than for 4g data to function.

While I am just a GUI user,  I have usually found a operating system that allows talk and text most of the time since early in 2020, 
>  Yeah, many times I had to change operating systems.  And a few times I went days without a working system.

There have been many thousands of Pine phones sold to date,  *  I do wish more persons would post who have had better results.

It seems the few Complainers are kind of trying to steal the show.
(They do have their "right" to complain.)

[firefox-58]

Why not using it for 100% of calls and only for 80% ?

[bcnaz]

They are two different phone numbers,
> some people still call me on the older message phone number,  (one reason).
Sometimes when out for long periods the Pine phone 'may' have a low battery. The message phone battery can last for 3+ days.

---

In answer to the original poster's question :
Yes, the software is improving overall ...
BUT , NO, not every release 'appears' to be a step forward.

[NobodyNew1]

I was one of the first to order the original Brave Heart, then I purchased 3 of the PMOS Convergent Edition phones,
and have my order in for the Manjaro Convergent phone.

It has been a bit of an adventure, but I have no regrets... While I am not a Linux Developer, my ability to use the Pine phone has been fairly successful.
Forget me as a single person..!    ( I could be a Loon )

There has been literally (many ?) thousands of Pine phones sold....

NOW,  we have a handful of people saying it does not work,     or    even some that still say it will never work.

IF the Pine phone really was a failure..  ?  Wouldn't there be hundreds   or  thousands of people here complaining !  ?


My answer to NobodyNew1 would be :    "YES, the Pine phone is becoming more Usable"

I have hope and agree with you. The pinephone will work one day right out of the box, but for now its fun being apart of this process or it is for me anyway.

---

Hello,
I'm just curious if the phonepines are ironing out issues on every release. I read all these little things and curious if those tiny issues ( ex.  the high pitch buzz upon turning on the pinephone or a muffled sound when trying to talk on the phone ). I had the PMOS release but gave the phone to my little nephew, who seems to be getting way more out of it than I was at the time. The kids 11 and now bugging me for one of my thinkpads, bc his father won't let him switch his desktop over to linux. I'm itching for another pinephone, but really want to use it as a functioning phone. I don't use social media or any google apps on my phone.So, is it safe to pull the trigger on the Manjaro edition ?

If you buy a development phone with an OS still in development, and the makers explicitly state that it's not ready yet for daily use, then of course the phone/OS will have issues.
It's like buying a broken TV from someone who clearly states that the TV is broekn, and then you ask the seller when the TV will get fixed.

(Yes, you can buy broken TVs, but the target audience will always be technicians who know how to fix TVs.)

That's a good way to look at it. I'm not expecting a fully operational phone now and didn't when I picked up the PMOS edition. More so curious if the talking and txt functions have made progress, and I guess more specifically for Mobian, if you're run that. After going through all the OS's, I just landed on Mobian for some reason and have a feeling that's what I'll be gravitating to now. Not sure if it's bc unconsciously I feel safer or a connection bc of Debian or what.

---

How long is battery life now ? Say, all day with 3-5 45min phone calls and an average of 10-20 txt ( send and received ). Are your calls clear with Mobian now ? I was always told, "I can hear you, but it sounds muffled".

I can't provide a representative estimate of battery life, it varies wildly for me (with the modem on or off).

The call quality is 'good enough' at both ends, but isn't perfect. The earpiece on my Braveheart 'whines' during a call.

With the PMOS edition it whined with every OS and stopped a second or two after boot. Keep me posted if you don't mind if you notice a great battery life change between OS's.

[User 18618]

@NobodyNew1 This may be of interest to you:

Warning: Call audio is currently bad quality as there is a clock mismatch from the modem to the mainboard. Using Megi's 5.9 kernel should solve this.

[ryo]

That's a good way to look at it. I'm not expecting a fully operational phone now and didn't when I picked up the PMOS edition. More so curious if the talking and txt functions have made progress, and I guess more specifically for Mobian, if you're run that. After going through all the OS's, I just landed on Mobian for some reason and have a feeling that's what I'll be gravitating to now. Not sure if it's bc unconsciously I feel safer or a connection bc of Debian or what.

I just received my salary, and ordered the Manjaro edition just moments ago.
So once I receive it, I'll be able to review the phone from first hand experience rather than just YouTubers and the official website.

$25 (about ¥2614) for shipping is pretty cheap considering it being a Europe to Asia shipping.
I had previous experiences where I had to pay way more because of that, so that's already the 3rd positive (first positive was the low price of the phone itself, second was the speedy and friendly support when I asked my IMEI question).

Edit:
What a coincidence.
A few minutes after placing my order, my bank sent out a notice to all customers about what to do in case of a frauded transaction.
For a moment I thought they blocked my debit card, but I was still able to pay at Seven Eleven next door. (´ﾟдﾟ｀)ﾋﾞｯｸﾘｼﾀﾖｰ

[storedim]

For what it's worth, I too am disappointed with my phone. I read the warnings and knew about the short battery life. I knew some things weren't working but I never expected such poor quality voice calls. I actually had to stop using it because people were complaining too much. This is where I draw the line. I hope it gets fixed soon.

[NobodyNew1]

@NobodyNew1 This may be of interest to you:

Warning: Call audio is currently bad quality as there is a clock mismatch from the modem to the mainboard. Using Megi's 5.9 kernel should solve this.

Thanks !! It's a bummer to read, but also exciting as well. Atleast now those 2 issues are completely out in the open, which I'm hoping the dev's are working on fixes to this. I think I'm going to donate to Megi's as I read he is the only one or one of the very very few working on the kernel.

---

That's a good way to look at it. I'm not expecting a fully operational phone now and didn't when I picked up the PMOS edition. More so curious if the talking and txt functions have made progress, and I guess more specifically for Mobian, if you're run that. After going through all the OS's, I just landed on Mobian for some reason and have a feeling that's what I'll be gravitating to now. Not sure if it's bc unconsciously I feel safer or a connection bc of Debian or what.

I just received my salary, and ordered the Manjaro edition just moments ago.
So once I receive it, I'll be able to review the phone from first hand experience rather than just YouTubers and the official website.

$25 (about ¥2614) for shipping is pretty cheap considering it being a Europe to Asia shipping.
I had previous experiences where I had to pay way more because of that, so that's already the 3rd positive (first positive was the low price of the phone itself, second was the speedy and friendly support when I asked my IMEI question).

Edit:
What a coincidence.
A few minutes after placing my order, my bank sent out a notice to all customers about what to do in case of a frauded transaction.
For a moment I thought they blocked my debit card, but I was still able to pay at Seven Eleven next door. (´ﾟдﾟ｀)ﾋﾞｯｸﾘｼﾀﾖｰ

I'm excited for you, you seem like a guy. I think you left a message for me previously. I'm curious what your personal take will be on the phone. So, you chose the DHL option ? I really assume everyone does, it's the kid in us that wants our device asap !! lol.

[ryo]

@NobodyNew1 This may be of interest to you:

Warning: Call audio is currently bad quality as there is a clock mismatch from the modem to the mainboard. Using Megi's 5.9 kernel should solve this.

Thanks !! It's a bummer to read, but also exciting as well. Atleast now those 2 issues are completely out in the open, which I'm hoping the dev's are working on fixes to this. I think I'm going to donate to Megi's as I read he is the only one or one of the very very few working on the kernel.

---

That's a good way to look at it. I'm not expecting a fully operational phone now and didn't when I picked up the PMOS edition. More so curious if the talking and txt functions have made progress, and I guess more specifically for Mobian, if you're run that. After going through all the OS's, I just landed on Mobian for some reason and have a feeling that's what I'll be gravitating to now. Not sure if it's bc unconsciously I feel safer or a connection bc of Debian or what.

I just received my salary, and ordered the Manjaro edition just moments ago.
So once I receive it, I'll be able to review the phone from first hand experience rather than just YouTubers and the official website.

$25 (about ¥2614) for shipping is pretty cheap considering it being a Europe to Asia shipping.
I had previous experiences where I had to pay way more because of that, so that's already the 3rd positive (first positive was the low price of the phone itself, second was the speedy and friendly support when I asked my IMEI question).

Edit:
What a coincidence.
A few minutes after placing my order, my bank sent out a notice to all customers about what to do in case of a frauded transaction.
For a moment I thought they blocked my debit card, but I was still able to pay at Seven Eleven next door. (´ﾟдﾟ｀)ﾋﾞｯｸﾘｼﾀﾖｰ

I'm excited for you, you seem like a guy. I think you left a message for me previously. I'm curious what your personal take will be on the phone. So, you chose the DHL option ? I really assume everyone does, it's the kid in us that wants our device asap !! lol.

I have no idea, there was no shipping options available.
My receipt only says "$25.00 via PinePhone Courier Shipping Method – 25".

And even if I check now again, I have no specific shipping options I can choose from.

[firefox-58]

For what it's worth, I too am disappointed with my phone. I read the warnings and knew about the short battery life. I knew some things weren't working but I never expected such poor quality voice calls. I actually had to stop using it because people were complaining too much. This is where I draw the line. I hope it gets fixed soon.

You are a happy guy,

unlike others here You CAN make and receive phone calls with the Pinephone?

Here on NO functional build - I have tested a lot of - I can have a reliability in receiving the call if the phone sleeps for more than some minutes.
Mostly the phone does not ring and do not wake up the modem within 10-30 seconds

For a regular driver absolutely not suited ATM.