Using the Pro1 as a daily device - what hinders you?

[Maplesteel 97]

I added some basic stuff to the poll, but I want to hear your thoughts and results to see who on this forum (general topics or the great On the Production status thread) or catches this from the fxtec subreddit / maemotalk forum post cares to weigh in.

[elvissteinjr 359]

Tempted to vote "Other - I didn't get mine yet..." but considering the customs mess will hopefully be sorted out during this week and knowing I can't change my vote...

As for what I plan to do is to mess with it at least a few days before I try to use it as a daily driver. Got a bunch of stuff I want to experiment with first, so having an always usable phone on the side still will be important. Apart from that, knowing all the oddities, I'm not aware of what would be stopping me right now. Unless it arrives in a broken state or something.

[david 929]

Similar to what @elvissteinjr said, when my phone arrives (today sometime), I'll be doing the following.

NOTE:  I intend on using the stock android with it, not LineageOS or Sailfish at this point.  Possibly LineageOS down the road.

- Putting on a screen protector

- Putting the SD card and non-activated SIM into it

- Putting a Note 7 case on it (I have at least a couple to try)

- Trying out my belt holster case

- Booting it up and messing around with it a little bit (includes setting google play to not auto-install my apps)

- Unlocking the bootloader

- Installing TWRP

- Rooting it with Magisk

- Installing Titanium Backup so I can take backups at various states

- Removing encryption

- Possibly seeing if I can do a nandroid backup with TWRP, with encryption removed.  If not, possibly see if I can do the equivalent through ADB.

- Updating with all the OTAs, taking img backups along the way with Magisk (never used Magisk, but I believe someone else posted that this can be done)

- Installing all my apps

- Possibly migrate some apps from my old phone to the new phone with Titantium Backup, because some apps aren't available anymore in the Play Store and some have data I want in the new phone.

- Playing with it for a few days or longer to see how it works and to gauge stability

- Taking the leap by activating the new SIM, which will disable my old SIM in my Relay 4G.  The only way to go back will be to put the nano-SIM in an upsizing adapter

- Testing the calling and data with the cellular connection, and if everything works, stay with the Pro1 for my main phone

 

So the only thing that will be stopping me from using it for a few days is getting things set up and tested.  But that wasn't an option, so I didn't answer the poll.

Edited January 28, 2020 by david

[YelloDumpling 23]

My only issue is the power button placement.  The middle of the right side;  Cancer.

Stock Android has it's own quirks, but that's android;  Not the phone.

The keyboard is very nice, though QWERTY is shifted slightly;  Takes some getting used to.

But I will be using it as my daily driver for on-the-go.

[divstar 164]

Using it as my daily driver. Works fine and whenever I have both hands free and going to type a long text, switching to landscape mode.

Without 4G (I have an old contract here in Germany, which does not yet include 4G) the mobile networks keep switching and are really horrible. Manually switching is better, but cumbersome. Luckily I got another sim I am going to use for data. So this should be fixed.

WhatsApp is horrible when using speakers (so are some other apps) - I hope there'll be a fix eith the crackling / doubled sounds. I assume it is because of speaker + microphone position, though. No idea of it's going to get fixed, but it is not a deal-breaker for me.

Overall a great phone. I am overjoyed each time I connect to my server via RDP (Ubuntu 18.04) and have a full screen even when I am typing.

Thank you, FxTec!

[elvissteinjr 359]

17 minutes ago, divstar said:

 

WhatsApp is horrible when using speakers (so are some other apps) - I hope there'll be a fix eith the crackling / doubled sounds. I assume it is because of speaker + microphone position, though. No idea of it's going to get fixed, but it is not a deal-breaker for me.

The crackling bug is supposed to be fixed in the upcoming OTA update.
It only affect certain apps. It might depend on on the API used, in particular we have deducted that OpenSL and AAudio do crackle in an app where you can choose the backend, while AudioTrack and AudioTrack N do not. This may not be the only factor, however.
Dunno about doubled sounds though.

[Uncledingo 25]

I’ll admit that the first day I did not use the pro1 because I was too scared😂 but I’ve had it with me for two days now and really love this phone. My biggest hinder is not having a proper screen protector or case, other than that this phone will now be with me all the time 

[Alcesterlocks 3]

I found the crackling disappeared after a couple of days use

 

it was doing it in headphones and speakers but not bluetooth

 

I came to the conclusion it was possibly because the headphone socket and speakers had never been used before

 

all good now

[netman 1,424]

22 minutes ago, Alcesterlocks said:

I came to the conclusion it was possibly because the headphone socket and speakers had never been used before

I'm fairly sure it's a software bug that got fixed by the last OTA update. I was wrong, update to fix this is to come

I had wrongly remembered from reading that.

Edited January 30, 2020 by netman

[mosen 202]

8 hours ago, Uncledingo said:

My biggest hinder is not having a proper screen protector or case, other than that this phone will now be with me all the time 

Did you not find the screen protector hidden in the manual??
It is very good quality imo.

[Wasmachineman_NL 99]

Still using my N900 because Android is a garbage OS compared to Maemo.

The Maemo-Leste port for the Pro1 can't come soon enough!

 

[netman 1,424]

24 minutes ago, Wasmachineman_NL said:

Still using my N900 because Android is a garbage OS compared to Maemo.

The Maemo-Leste port for the Pro1 can't come soon enough!

Sailfish not floating your boat either?

[Wasmachineman_NL 99]

1 hour ago, netman said:

Sailfish not floating your boat either?

No Rockbox which means it's automatically trash /s

jk, never tried it. whats SFOS like?

[netman 1,424]

29 minutes ago, Wasmachineman_NL said:

jk, never tried it. whats SFOS like?

Certainly more like normal linux than android is, wayland instead of the familiar x11 on maemo, zypper and rpm for packages like on opensuse instead of apt/dpkg. I'm sure some of people here will be able to add to this :).

[Slion 1,201]

I switched from my Huawei P30 Pro after trying and configuring it for 5 days.
Before making the jump I had to tackle the following issues:

1. Find a premium book case that fits: using Snakehive Huawei P20 Pro case. 
2. Make sure it's fairly stable: not a single crash to boot since I got it.
3. Find a way around minimum screen brightness being way too bright in the dark: using Lower Brightness Pro.
4. Sync PIM from my Exchange server: used Gmail app. 
5. Sync SMS/MMS/Phone logs from my previous phone: used SMS Backup & Restore Pro. 
6. Make sure both my SIM cards are working: had to configure the APNs manually. 

Since I switched I could use Android Auto with my car BT without any issue. 
Today I found out about SwiftKey Keyboard which provides much needed smart features when typing on your physical keyboard.

I'm quite amazed at how smoothly that went. I actually switched phone yesterday so it's still early days but so far so good.

There are a few things FxTec need to iron out but the things that bug me most are the lack of swipe to go back gesture and working system wide dark mode. I will have to wait for Android 10 for those. 

Still, I'm a happy customer. 😁 

[ermghoti 88]

I deployed my Pro1 immediately upon defeating Verizon's attempt to stop me from using it. It's not a perfect device, and I could go over my gripes if I find a review/impressions thread, but the only thing that gives me pause using it every day is durability, particularly the absence of any sort of waterproofing. I plan not to even leave it in the bathroom when I shower.

[PC_ 61]

I'm been using it now for almost a week and I love it.  I love the quality feel of the aluminium after my plastic backed Priv however it is slippery as hell. I am using the supplied sleeve after applying several coats of Scotchgurad, which I do like.  I would really like the same design but made from a good quality (black) leather. I might also have to stick something on it to give me a bit more grip.

Figuring out the best way to open the keyboard was a challenge but the videos really helped.  All my previous phones were eithers straight slider or clamshell.

I haven't quite figured out how long the battery will last with my normal usage becuase currently I pick it up and play with it at every opportunity.

Still getting used to the shifted QWERTY keyboard but will get there.

I'm not really a fan of Android but I'm using it as my work phone so I'm kind of stuck with it.

Citrix Secure Mail doesn't appear to be working properly in landscape. I still stand by Windows Mobile being the best OS for productivity and seamless integration with Exchange.  I guess those days are gone. 

Edited January 30, 2020 by PC_

[Uncledingo 25]

6 hours ago, mosen said:

Did you not find the screen protector hidden in the manual??
It is very good quality imo.

I did but I prefer a tempered glass style. Plus I got a million bubbles in mine when I put it on😂

[wilhelmfitzpatrick 47]

I am using my as my daily driver, but there are definitely challenges, at least some of which I hope will get better over time:

1. curved screen leading to lots of spurious edge touches - this has turned into the biggest ongoing annoyance. I'm trying to learn different ways of holding the phone, but that also leads me to worries of dropping the phone as it is heavy and if I'm trying to avoid the edges I can't grip it as securely.

2. the fingerprint reader constantly misfiring as a handle the phone. Here's hoping for the "reader is off when the screen is off" feature request.

3. spontaneous reboot about once a day. Hoping this will get better as the software gets more mature.

 

[netman 1,424]

6 hours ago, Uncledingo said:

I did but I prefer a tempered glass style. Plus I got a million bubbles in mine when I put it on😂

The bubbles can go away over a few days if they aren't huge :).

[shani 14]

The second question is missing some crucial answer options.

I'm simply not using it as a daily driver because of all the bugs and design flaws.

[3zet 100]

11 hours ago, Wasmachineman_NL said:

No Rockbox

Maybe it's time for dedicated rockbox player? I'm still using my iPod video with Rockbox.

[Slion 1,201]

3 hours ago, shani said:

I'm simply not using it as a daily driver because of all the bugs and design flaws.

Could you be specific? 

[Slion 1,201]

9 hours ago, wilhelmfitzpatrick said:

curved screen leading to lots of spurious edge touches - this has turned into the biggest ongoing annoyance. I'm trying to learn different ways of holding the phone, but that also leads me to worries of dropping the phone as it is heavy and if I'm trying to avoid the edges I can't grip it as securely.

I find this to be true for most bezel-less phone. That's why I always carry mine in a bulky leather book case. Much better grip, no unwanted input and I have not broken a phone seen I smashed my Nokia 9210 to pieces when slamming my car's door back in 2004.

9 hours ago, wilhelmfitzpatrick said:

the fingerprint reader constantly misfiring as a handle the phone. Here's hoping for the "reader is off when the screen is off" feature request.

Here again, proper casing should fix you up. 

9 hours ago, wilhelmfitzpatrick said:

spontaneous reboot about once a day. Hoping this will get better as the software gets more mature.

I must be fortunate as I have not gotten a single one of them yet.

Edited January 31, 2020 by Slion

[Wikiwide 19]

Have just received parcel today. Haven't opened it yet. When I open it, I will be putting screen protector onto the device immediately - even if it's not perfect, it's better than nothing.

Have got to look into cases/accessories available. Something to water-proof the device would not be amiss - weather can change very quickly here, from sun to rain and back.

Would want to have a belt holster or something - I cycle a lot, putting phone into a jeans pocket (or a shirt pocket) isn't an option (especially considering its size), and putting it into backpack would be awkward (difficult to reach when a phone call comes in; unless I cycle with headphones on all the way, which might actually be a good option). Has to be reliable, given weight of phone (and dangers of it falling onto a busy road).

Will be installing Sailfish OS immediately, for lack of better options (such as, Maemo Leste or Debian). Wish multi-boot was available already - will come later, apparently.

Haven't tried anything zypper-related for a while. Will Sailfish OS have nice FingerTerm? Apparently yes.

How bad is Sailfish OS as daily driver? Can it make and receive phone calls, send and receive SMS, take photographs, show a map?

GPS does work in SailfishOS, apparently? I hope that 3G/4G will work nicely, as well.