Why the 12/15/2020 build is no where near a daily driver yet

[TheLastDon]

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1. To warn others not to waste their time installing the latest build if they are looking for a daily driver.  Mobian is in a state that is mostly unusable. 
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You are welcome to your opinion.

I disagree.

I use my PinePhone for my phone calls (in & out, VoLTE when in LTE signal, I don't have a landline), SMS (in & out and the basis for a vehicle security application), Telegram chats, email (evolution which also populates all my contacts and will be where I bring my calendar when I get the urge), RSS feeds & podcasts (liferea), web browsing (FireFox-ESR) and terminal work as necessary. Let alone printing various bits that I need, occasional music (via lollypop) and videos (via mpv). The camera is good enough for me to record bits and in fact takes OK pictures if there is sufficient light. Battery life is fine for me - for sure needs to be charged every night but that was the same with my last Android. Equally 3-4 hours browsing and video download/playing will probably require a charge earlier than bedtime.

When I am home my mobile phone subscription is my only internet gateway and provides tethered internet access for my desktop work via an RJ45/ethernet connection in a USB-C hub that plugs into the phone. (In the same way I am unenthusiastic about FAANGS I am underwhelmed by WiFi.)

For sure loads of things I wish for but my basics are well covered. I used to have to reboot several times a day - now I reckon I am running 3 or more days between boots. (My current system log is at 95918 seconds which isn't too shabby considering the clock stops effectively in CRUST mode.) I don't believe I have any special skills to get this usable - but for sure several years using linux on my desktop is invaluable.

And yes I do have a third/Android phone. It was last switched on on 25 December for a Signal video call (in fact I can now do Telegram calls if I use version 2.4 in Arch), previous to that about 15 December for a stupid loyalty app I have as well as a COVID locator app that keeps my government happy.

What build are you using? The 12/15 one? If so, I just don't see how you could use it if you browse the web. You have more patience than I! The battery life is what I've highlighted as one of Mobian's successes. I agree that it's passable now. I wonder if mobile data is faster than wifi? I didn't try that. It literally takes a minute or more to load a simple web page like www.espn.com. It's ridiculous. 

[Zoomzit]

I beg to differ: there ARE people using it as daily driver, I don't think they share your opinion... "Daily driver" means different things to different people, don't judge only according to your own definition of what "daily driver" should be.

If their aim is to use their phone as a flashlight then it could be a daily driver. 

Like others, I disagree with this statement. Pinephone has been my daily driver for the past month. I also think this very clearly points out the disconnect. Every mobile user's use case is different. Mobian is a daily driver for me, but it might not be for you and that perfectly encapsulates where we are right now.

@TheLastDon That's what rubs me the wrong way about your initial post. You made a blanket statement about what you need and how Mobian isn't meeting it. As others have stated, a broad review like that won't make it better, nor is what you want the same as what others want. Use the bug tracker and express well deserved gratitude for the work of volunteers who have done exceptional work.

[TheLastDon]

i also had the same hope of freedom from Samsung/Apple when i got my pinephone this year. I have not been disappointed since i came upon Mobian though.   While you are posting about 12/15/2020, my uname -a is the Dec 13 version, and updated up untyil yesterday.  i've been using my pinephone as my daily driver for the last 3 months at least.  While, like you said, the battery life vastly improved recently, my firefox ESR had been fast, playing videos, podcasts, what have you. (the initial opening is a few seconds but ON once it's on).  USB tethering, something that i really needed started  working after one of the november updates and has been my internet connectionfor my laptop ever since. The calling and sms have been right on. i don't think it can handle call waiting yet but thatmay have been a fluke.  a lot of he initial difficulies w weren't all due to mobian, but with the cellphone provider's service problem, some proprietary, some growing pain. (t-mobile usa). 
you have provided a snapshot of what happened when you tried the 12 15 20 install, which has its merit, but it does not represent my reality.  i am not but a tourist-level with linux, meaning i can follow instructions, (sometimes to somewhere way beyond my skill set) from the amazing volunteers who choose to offer their knowledge and expertise, so that i can earn the freedom from Samsung/Apple.

Interesting that you have a different experience. I'm going to try the Dec 13th version and see if I notice a difference. The Firefox ESR browser is definitely not snappy for me and I am unable to update anything unless I use the terminal. Thanks for the info.

[pajux]

4. Convergence still doesn't work for me. I have read that it works for some people, but when I plug in my monitor all I see is a blank screen with only the wall paper of my phone showing. There are no apps for me to click. This is actually an improvement from 4 months ago because 4 months ago I didn't even see anything from my phone. My monitor wouldn't even get a signal. This is very disappointing because I dream of one day using my phone for almost all day to day tasks which include some development and creating docs.

this means convergence is working, in its current state. Open an app and you can drag its window to the larger screen. Convergence on Phosh does not yet use the external as main monitor...

[HLing]

Interesting that you have a different experience. I'm going to try the Dec 13th version and see if I notice a difference. The Firefox ESR browser is definitely not snappy for me and I am unable to update anything unless I use the terminal. Thanks for the info.

You're welcome! Just to be sure,  I checked in my book and found that my last fresh install was the 11/6/20 Nightly.  I've been  updating via the terminal since then. Also, are you using the Firefox ESR with wifi? I use mine mostly with my mobile 4G data.  I will try tomorrow with the wifi at work to see if there's any difference.

An issue that may or may not affect you: I'm still having to check to be sure that someone hadn't sent me a mms, which if  there were too many,(I don't get notified and it doesn't  show who it's from) the modem gets jammed  up and cannot receive new  ones.  This is a Chatty limitation. You can only imagine the blame game before i  found out by chance that T-Mobile just so happened to be also having some sms  problems where one can send but not receive.  I understand very well the  feeling of  not knowing what you may have missed. For a while i would send myself text to make sure both ways are working. Anyhow, now that sms are quite reliable, i just check on mms by issuing  sudo mmcli -L  to find out what the modem number is and go from there to check. It could get tedious, but most of my friends now know better than to send me a picture via mms.

[TheLastDon]

4. Convergence still doesn't work for me. I have read that it works for some people, but when I plug in my monitor all I see is a blank screen with only the wall paper of my phone showing. There are no apps for me to click. This is actually an improvement from 4 months ago because 4 months ago I didn't even see anything from my phone. My monitor wouldn't even get a signal. This is very disappointing because I dream of one day using my phone for almost all day to day tasks which include some development and creating docs.

this means convergence is working, in its current state. Open an app and you can drag its window to the larger screen. Convergence on Phosh does not yet use the external as main monitor...

Ah, I see. Thanks for the info! It works as currently designed then.

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Interesting that you have a different experience. I'm going to try the Dec 13th version and see if I notice a difference. The Firefox ESR browser is definitely not snappy for me and I am unable to update anything unless I use the terminal. Thanks for the info.

You're welcome! Just to be sure,  I checked in my book and found that my last fresh install was the 11/6/20 Nightly.  I've been  updating via the terminal since then. Also, are you using the Firefox ESR with wifi? I use mine mostly with my mobile 4G data.  I will try tomorrow with the wifi at work to see if there's any difference.

An issue that may or may not affect you: I'm still having to check to be sure that someone hadn't sent me a mms, which if  there were too many,(I don't get notified and it doesn't  show who it's from) the modem gets jammed  up and cannot receive new  ones.  This is a Chatty limitation. You can only imagine the blame game before i  found out by chance that T-Mobile just so happened to be also having some sms  problems where one can send but not receive.  I understand very well the  feeling of  not knowing what you may have missed. For a while i would send myself text to make sure both ways are working. Anyhow, now that sms are quite reliable, i just check on mms by issuing  sudo mmcli -L  to find out what the modem number is and go from there to check. It could get tedious, but most of my friends now know better than to send me a picture via mms.

I tried the 12/28 nightly build now and it's MUCH better on the FireFox speed. It's good enough. The updater issue is also fixed. I think that 12/15 build isn't a very good one. I'm much happier with the 12/28 build.

[LibrePhoneUser]

It literally takes a minute or more to load a simple web page like www.espn.com. It's ridiculous. 

The Allwinner A64 CPU in the PinePhone is extremely underpowered by today’s standards and the modern web with its heavy load of ads and Javascript challenges it. A mainstream media site like ESPN is about as bloated as you can get today. If you want acceptable performance on Firefox on the Pinephone (any distro, really, not just Mobian), then you really need to install not only uBlock Origin, but also Noscript pre-filled with blocklists you have already created on your computer.

Me, I just avoid browsing any heavy sites on my Pinephone at all, and I simply wait until I can reach my laptop.

[HLing]

It literally takes a minute or more to load a simple web page like www.espn.com. It's ridiculous. 

The Allwinner A64 CPU in the PinePhone is extremely underpowered by today’s standards and the modern web with its heavy load of ads and Javascript challenges it. A mainstream media site like ESPN is about as bloated as you can get today. If you want acceptable performance on Firefox on the Pinephone (any distro, really, not just Mobian), then you really need to install not only uBlock Origin, but also Noscript pre-filled with blocklists you have already created on your computer.

Me, I just avoid browsing any heavy sites on my Pinephone at all, and I simply wait until I can reach my laptop.

@TheLastDon , @LibrePhoneUser , I had just tried www.espn.com, (for a friend, who wanted to watch NFL), and got to see the Buf 38 vs NE 9 , the 1:36 video clip of "Allen throws for four TDs, breaking franchinse record for most TD passes in season". no lag. smooth. probably better than my friend's Samsung Note 8 could because he always has a ton of spammy stuff interfering with the playback....just saying. (yes, i do have the uBlock Origin activated)

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".... The camera is good enough for me to record bits and in fact takes OK pictures if there is sufficient light. ..."

@dukla2000 , by the way, my USB tether finally worked, like a charm, after the Nov 6 update.  It remains a mystery how yours had worked way before , and now maybe it's the same with the camera app.  My Megapixel has been getting worse, not better.  now it is distorted (elongated, sort of cinematic perspective), and has a bluish hue.  Plus, it doesn't seem to save the picture.  How do you get yours to work?

[dukla2000]

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".... The camera is good enough for me to record bits and in fact takes OK pictures if there is sufficient light. ..."

@dukla2000 , by the way, my USB tether finally worked, like a charm, after the Nov 6 update.  It remains a mystery how yours had worked way before , and now maybe it's the same with the camera app.  My Megapixel has been getting worse, not better.  now it is distorted (elongated, sort of cinematic perspective), and has a bluish hue.  Plus, it doesn't seem to save the picture.  How do you get yours to work?

Oops, just discovered same problems as you in Mobian.
1) Stretched format on initial start and rear camera. Same in Arch, corrects if I swap to front camera then back again.
2) Crashes if I try take a picture. Same result with front or back camera. Does take photos fine in Arch though so need to log with Mobian folk.

@TheLastDon: my Mobian is 20201215 installer with encrypted disc that is updated manually daily.

[gizmuth]

4. Convergence still doesn't work for me. I have read that it works for some people, but when I plug in my monitor all I see is a blank screen with only the wall paper of my phone showing. There are no apps for me to click. This is actually an improvement from 4 months ago because 4 months ago I didn't even see anything from my phone. My monitor wouldn't even get a signal. This is very disappointing because I dream of one day using my phone for almost all day to day tasks which include some development and creating docs.

this means convergence is working, in its current state. Open an app and you can drag its window to the larger screen. Convergence on Phosh does not yet use the external as main monitor...

Not by default anyway, you can make the external monitor the main one in the settings