Pro¹ X – state of production and delivery

[PoongZY 7]

5 hours ago, Name_not_avail said:

@EskeRahn please move this post if appropriate, I know there has been thread drift in the last 6 posts but I didn't find another thread where it seemed to fit, and I have what I think is useful info to share. 

I have now updated to build 2.1.5, but because I am still roaming on Canadian GSM service, I won't be able to say whether LTE reception has been improved for a couple of weeks.  The most noticeable improvement of this build is that touching the fingerprint reader does not cause wild scrolling behaviour the way it did in build 2.1.2, so that is a much appreciated improvement.

Because 2.1.5 is GMS-less, I missed having some basic Google services (Gmail, contacts, messages, calendar) with this build. The build has AOSP apps for calendar, messages and contacts, but no email app.  I tried a couple of open-source alternatives to Gmail, but found them disappointing by comparison. 

I looked into flashing various Gapps, but all of them seemed to require flashing with TWRP first, and as far as I know, there is no TWRP or other custom recovery available for the Pro 1x, so that seemed like a non-starter.

So in the end, I rooted with Magisk according to instructions by @Casey here: https://community.fxtec.com/topic/3690-pro1-x-rooting-with-magisk

Then I enabled Zygisk in the Magisk settings.

Then I downloaded version 1.0 of this awesome Magisk module by @wacko1805, and installed it with Magisk: https://sourceforge.net/projects/magiskgapps/files/r/Core/

Version 1.0 of the module is for Android 11, and I think the newer versions are for 12 and 13.  Version 1.0 worked great for my Pro 1x on build 2.1.5.

That puts the Play Store and Google Services Framework on the Pro 1x as a removeable Magisk module.  From there, it was possible to start the Play Store, sign into my Google account, and download Gmail, Contacts, Messages, and Calendar.  It took some fiddling with the permissions to get everything syncing, and some restarts, but now the phone and those four apps seem stable.  I have no idea if other Gapps work with this method, so someone else can test if they like.  

I don't know what other people are doing for Gapps in build 2.1.5, but that solution suits me fine for now.

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mkpE8d2bYbUvmR6HDqgEArBYjGKopCSJ
there are GMS and GMS-less build

[Casey 194]

8 hours ago, Name_not_avail said:

Because 2.1.5 is GMS-less, I missed having some basic Google services (Gmail, contacts, messages, calendar) with this build

As @PoongZY said above, there a two 2.1.5 builds, one has GMS and the other don't. The one that has GMS can only be found via the beta testing scheme, which you'll need to join to get.

[zundappchef 51]

taking bets on the delivery date now 
i put 800$ on december next year 🤣
but if anyone is willing to bet on sooner ill pay great odds against it

[SchattengestaIt 411]

What is the reason they haven't updated via e-mail anymore? Are only the indigogo supporters supposed to get their devices?

Last update was on July saying that all shipping would be completed by August (both indigogo and website).

[Rob. S. 1,407]

57 minutes ago, SchattengestaIt said:

What is the reason they haven't updated via e-mail anymore? Are only the indigogo supporters supposed to get their devices?

Last update was on July saying that all shipping would be completed by August (both indigogo and website).

I haven't received updates for my 2019 website order lately, either, but they confirmed to me earlier that the phone would definitely be delivered, too. They seem to have forgotten about keeping their non-Indiegogo orderers informed...

[Hook 2,290]

3 hours ago, Rob. S. said:

I haven't received updates for my 2019 website order lately, either, but they confirmed to me earlier that the phone would definitely be delivered, too. They seem to have forgotten about keeping their non-Indiegogo orderers informed...

I am an IGG supporter and I don't get the emails anymore. I suspect something broke at IGG. Maybe IGG has a time limit on emails going out. I just go to IGG and check the updates while ignoring the comments. 😉

[Name_not_avail 29]

On 12/5/2022 at 8:32 PM, Name_not_avail said:

 I have now updated to build 2.1.5, but because I am still roaming on Canadian GSM service, I won't be able to say whether LTE reception has been improved for a couple of weeks.

So I brought one Pro1x with 2.1.5 GMS-less, and one stock 2.1.2 Pro 1x, to the Cayman Islands, using a new Flow sim card in each one. Flow operates both LTE and GSM network service.

After extensive trial and error, I am sorry to have to confirm that the only way to get voice service with these phones on Flow is to lock out LTE and select "GSM only".

Allowing the phones to connect via LTE showed good signal strength, and SMS and data worked, but voice calls were unable to connect about 90% of the time. On the odd time that LTE would connect, the quality of the voice call was much better than "GSM only", which mostly connected via Edge on Flow. But it was mostly impossible to place a voice call on LTE, with "mobile service unavailable" messages 90%+ of the time.

There was no discernable difference in ability to connect with 2.1.2 vs. 2.1.5 firmware. I had both phones side by side, while testing.

So that makes these phones complete bricks in the USA in terms of voice calls, I am sorry to say.

I hope @Caseycan tell us that FX Tec is working on this problem with new firmware. GSM voice calls work ok, though with reduced quality.

In the USA, there is no more GSM, so I am sorry to recommend that no potential American customers should buy this phone until proof of LTE improvement.

[dicer 36]

On 12/11/2022 at 3:47 PM, Hook said:

I am an IGG supporter and I don't get the emails anymore. I suspect something broke at IGG. Maybe IGG has a time limit on emails going out. I just go to IGG and check the updates while ignoring the comments. 😉

Same here. Maybe we should make a (pinned) thread in this forum were people copy the news messages into? Then we can have notifications again. I don't want to follow this topic

[Hook 2,290]

10 minutes ago, dicer said:

Same here. Maybe we should make a (pinned) thread in this forum were people copy the news messages into? Then we can have notifications again. I don't want to follow this topic

Seems simple enough to just use this link to check rather than asking someone else to maintain an update thread:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pro1-x-smartphone-functionality-choice-control/x/17980121#/updates/all

[Jadran 1]

I just read that someone was complaining about the fact that although F-rec ensured us there weren't going to any additional shipping costs due to Brexit, they're going to charge VAT anyway. That would mean I'll have to pay 20% extra for a phone I already paid good money for almost 2 years ago. Can they do this legally?? I'd much rather have my money back.

[VaZso 1,920]

This is their latest update came today here:

Quote

by FX Technology

Dec 16, 2022 • 4:50AM

4 hours ago

Pro1-X Update - Novemeber

Dear Pro1-X backers, 

Here are the latest shipping updates.

We aim to start shipping in small batches before Christmas, so some Pro1-X’s will arrive before the New Year!

Due to ongoing logistical issues affecting mass shipments in China and Hong Kong, we are dispatching units in small numbers,  but plan to gradually scale up as things move back to normal in January. It is unlikely that all orders will ship before Christmas, but we will keep everyone posted on our shipping progress once orders have been sent out.

We’d like to mention, that given the nature of Indiegogo being a crowdfunding platform, we understand that there may be concerns associated with backing and even receiving new and upcoming products. Despite these delays, we can guarantee the shipping and delivery of each and every perk that has been backed through Indiegogo. We appreciate all your support throughout and will continue to work towards getting your devices to you!

OS Developments:

Our team is preparing for the final sprint toward fixing stock OS bugs. We have a number of high-priority issues affecting UX that is being investigated. Thank you again to our beta testers and active community on Forums/Discord that have contributed greatly to identifying bugs in our current stock OS. We understand some users are experiencing poor cellular signals and occasional call drops, our team is looking into this with an effort to produce an OTA within the next month or two. Other corner cases revolving around NFC detection, sensitive microphone, and GPS lock are also in our backlog. We apologise for the inconvenience these issues have caused. 

LineageOS and Ubuntu Touch OS development are still in the works to produce a stable build soon. Please be aware this is a community-driven project and the progress is heavily dependent on their time. In the meantime, we will be working closely with the developers to provide any support they need.

Feel free to reach us at info at fxtec.com for any additional questions related to your order, shipping, delivery, or technical support.

Thank you for your support and patience! 

Team Fxtec 🙂

 

[claude0001 962]

OK ... this does not seem to go well.

According to the past updates, almost all units should have been sitting at "their" warehouse (really Expansys', I understand) already for four (4) months. Given that Expansys are obviously able to ship their own Pro1-X's without any problems, I think F(x)tec should stop blaming "logistical issues" in "China and Hong Kong" for everything ... they must have at least some part in this mess and I think people would appreciate if they admitted that.

However, the most disappointing part about the last few updates is how alternative OS development is increasingly being framed as "not our problem ... community thing ... ask somewhere else". Guess what? We are asking "the community" and get responses like "we do not know that device, ask at F(x)tec". Seems like everyone is pointing at everyone else. Is anyone actively working on a LOS port for Pro1-X? If one remembers that the Pro1-X was once branded as the "XDA phone", it is quite saddening that alternative OS development is seemingly no longer given any priority at F(x)tec ...

Sorry for the outburst. Had to vent. Please proceed, nothing to see here ... 🙂

Edited December 16, 2022 by claude0001

[suicidal_orange 98]

2 hours ago, claude0001 said:

the most disappointing part about the last few updates is how alternative OS development is increasingly being framed as "not our problem ... community thing ... ask somewhere else". Guess what? We are asking "the community" and get responses like "we do not know that device, ask at F(x)tec". Seems like everyone is pointing at everyone else. Is anyone actively working on a LOS port for Pro1-X?

If you want a community to work on something you need to give them the hardware.  The few who did get their IGG perk delivered were not the most enthusiastic "Early Bird" orderers or those with the "Secret Community Perk" available through XDA they were seemingly chosen at random so that can't have helped.  Then (if you believe the updates) anyone who was working on it was told to stop until they had a stable stock image, which as of today's update they're still "working on".  Sounds like they've had three months and got nowhere - it must be really broken!

[Acurus 12]

I assume for most who haven't gotten their device yet the money is lost. Irretrievable. The same applies to those who bought the device through the indiegogo campaign. Fxtec is no longer able to even begin to implement its own announcements. At the moment it seems to me that we are being lied to. Too many promises have been made for more than two years now and then broken.

[suicidal_orange 98]

2 hours ago, Acurus said:

I assume for most who haven't gotten their device yet the money is lost. Irretrievable. The same applies to those who bought the device through the indiegogo campaign.

The way I look at it is that if I'd bought a different phone two years ago instead of backing the Pro1x it may well be broken and need replacing by now.  Instead I've continued to use the phone that was already annoyingly half broken so in terms of money per year it has kinda paid for itself.  I'm still expecting it to arrive sometime and even if it only works as a pocket computer (maybe with an external wi-fi antenna) it should still be useful alongside the small phone I'm now resigned to buying.

Edited December 16, 2022 by suicidal_orange
Fixed quote

[Hook 2,290]

5 hours ago, claude0001 said:

However, the most disappointing part about the last few updates is how alternative OS development is increasingly being framed as "not our problem ... community thing ... ask somewhere else".

I think  this really does misrepresent what they said.  They said the alternative OSs are community run projects by volunteers and progress depends on their time (true), but that they are working closely with those volunteers to provide as much support as possible.  There was no comment about ask the devs.  Only the continuing "if you have questions ask at fxtec."

I do understand the frustration.  Must be even greater for those who, who unlike you and me, are waiting without a Pro 1 in their hands. And, honestly, I bet FxTec are pretty frustrated too.

I don't know the reason, but FxTec has only ever been able to ship in small batches (and Expansys has been their logistiics contractor since 2019).  They may have tried to change that this time and may even been part of the reason for the contract problems.  I think, whatever they re-negotiated, they are back to small batch shipping.

The one other thing, which they have made clear before, is that final development on alternate OSs seems to be awaiting a new firmware update.  That might be more Lineage than UT, I don't know. I assume it has to do with a mutually reached decision that, to the degree that alternate OSs incorporate firmware blobs, they don't want to waste effort on something that is going to change.

 

[claude0001 962]

3 hours ago, Hook said:

I think  this really does misrepresent what they said.  They said the alternative OSs are community run projects by volunteers and progress depends on their time (true), but that they are working closely with those volunteers to provide as much support as possible.  There was no comment about ask the devs.

OK, ok, I was probably overshooting a bit. Sorry. 🙂

However, my point was not about something specific they wrote in this latest update. It's more that I dislike the overall trend: One year ago, F(x)tec had an in-house developer actively working on Pro1/X kernel mainlining and alternate OS porting. At that point they seemed pretty serious about delivering a phone with official, out-of-the box LineageOS and UbuntuTouch support. As I wrote previously, this was a very important aspect of the initial Pro1-X concept.

During this year, they first abandoned the "out-of-the-box" part (by shipping all phones with Android), then - slowly but steadily - walked away from the "official" aspect (by admitting that the porting was essentially done by independent community devs after all).

I am ready to believe that, even when not driving the effort themselves, they still want to support community devs -- but they are obviously quite inefficient even at that. I find it worrying that today's most advanced alternative OS's for the Pro1-X (SailfishOS and Droidian) are precisely NOT the ones F(x)tec initially wanted the Pro1-X to ship with (LineageOS and UbuntuTouch). How does that fit? The pessimistic explanation would be that they have alienated their community ... I hope that is not the case.

[Hook 2,290]

Your points are well-taken, even in your first post.  I don't know what has been happening.  I suspect they don't have a lot of money to play with, which might be why they couldn't hang onto that in-house person.

I guess I just appreciate their doggedness to get us hardware in our hands that then may be able to become what we want.  They crowdfunded a phone they had already designed and built with only more memory and Lineage and UT ready to go.  Suddenly, they lost the SOC they had paid for and found themselves having to design a new phone in a pandemic remotely in China.  I don't know much about UT, but as I mentioned above, I think Lineage is awaiting the firmware update.  The fact that Droidian ans Sailfish are advancing, I think, shows that  the community is interested in this phone. That's a good sign.

[claude0001 962]

31 minutes ago, Hook said:

I don't know much about UT, but as I mentioned above, I think Lineage is awaiting the firmware update.  The fact that Droidian ans Sailfish are advancing, I think, shows that  the community is interested in this phone.

In the end, all those OS's rely on the stock Android 11 core. I do not think UT or LOS are any more dependent on an updated firmware from F(x)tec than SFOS or Droidian. But I can see your point that the latter two indeed show that not all is lost. Probably I'm just overly pessimistic ...

[SchattengestaIt 411]

My guess is that they're missing parts and always expecting them to arrive in time. It might not even be their fault since suppliers can very well promise delivery as well without actually delivering (with the possibility that they're also missing parts or staff).

Transparency would be the key here but many of us have waited years and we never got reliable information.

If they're missing stuff they should simply offer to send all the parts for self-assembly. I wouldn't mind building my own phone and I believe many of us nerds would be able to do so.
But I'm almost sure that they always need parts which don't arrive in time, are faulty, etc. And those dumb excuses suck.

[EskeRahn 4,891]

5 hours ago, SchattengestaIt said:

My guess is that they're missing parts and always expecting them to arrive in time. It might not even be their fault since suppliers can very well promise delivery as well without actually delivering (with the possibility that they're also missing parts or staff).

Transparency would be the key here but many of us have waited years and we never got reliable information.

If they're missing stuff they should simply offer to send all the parts for self-assembly. I wouldn't mind building my own phone and I believe many of us nerds would be able to do so.
But I'm almost sure that they always need parts which don't arrive in time, are faulty, etc. And those dumb excuses suck.

Well they told us long ago that the devices were produced and are awaiting shipping, so parts should not be the issue.

[SchattengestaIt 411]

6 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

Well they told us long ago that the devices were produced and are awaiting shipping, so parts should not be the issue.

I'm sorry to say that but they told us the same thing a year ago. I am calling that a lie - even by foot delivery the devices should have arrived at the customers already.

[Rob. S. 1,407]

Since I ordered my first Fxtec phone, a Pro1, in Sept 2019 (which also seems to become the one to arrive last...) I've read everything Fxtec communicated (plus every comment in this forum), including a couple of personal mails from support, and while I've been having my doubts and a lot of bad feelings about the goings-on myself more than once, too, from all we know nothing of what they have said over the time can safely be called a lie. Wrong, overly optimistic estimates by the bucketful, yes, but really nothing where we can be absolutely sure they would have known beforehand that their announcement couldn't come true.

Like with the Pro1 X, there were similar delays with the Pro1 already, and in the end most of the devices reached the customers – except for a few which were changed to Pro1X and haven't been shipped yet due to the current problems with the Pro1X production and delivery (like my original Pro1).

With all the effort Fxtec has been and is still putting into keeping its operations going, after I would have expected them to long since have thrown in the towel (how are they even paying their employees' wages?) with none of us being able to receive either our devices or get our money back anymore, I say innocent until proven guilty!

For every earlier delay there were plausible explanations, and with a bit of imagination we can think of reasons why the devices are now supposed to come in small batches even though they've all long since been manufactured—like the other party in a perhaps still ongoing logistics dispute, which seems to somehow have gotten hold of the majority of devices, only releasing them in batches, for whatever reason. Who knows, there might have a change of the shipping company with the switch not being perfectly smooth, and that's just one guess.

Expansys, by the way, seems to have only blue versions of the Pro1X left for retail at this point.

And just for the record, I have been contributing to two other Indiegogo campaigns since I've ordered my first Pro1. The first one was a tiny mobile inkjet printer, backed in Oct 2019, delivered in Jan 2021 as a non-functional piece of electronic waste, without the accessories I had also paid for, and no communications whatsoever from the Chinese company (which still seems to sell the printer through other channels, perhaps some of the devices actually do even work in one way or the other, who knows). As the comments section of the Indiegogo campaign shows, I must even consider myself lucky, because from there it becomes clear that a huge number of people didn't receive anything at all. That campaign definitely turned out a scam.

The second campaign was for a portable, attachable guitar amplifier, backed in Nov 2020, from a small US company that massively suffered from supply chain problems during the pandemic, too, and I still have hopes there, too, even though the latest communications so far came in August, finally announcing a first pre-production phase of fifty pieces to perform final testing on, with the promise of frequent follow-ups—with complete radio silence since then...

Just as I'm still optimistic to finally see the Pro1 (X) I'm still waiting for, at some point in 2023.

Edited December 17, 2022 by Rob. S.

[EskeRahn 4,891]

26 minutes ago, Rob. S. said:

Expansys, by the way, seems to have only blue versions of the Pro1X left for retail at this point.

Yup, and seems to be limited to US qwertY only too

[MrPib 21]

FYI:  There's a Facebook group called F(x)tec Pro1 Users and Fans, and there was a post today about another store getting a bunch of Pro1-X's:

Hey guys, as you may already know, 100 unused fx tec pro 1x(SD662 6GB 128GB) arrived at a store in Japan the other day and sold out by the end of the day. The price is about $300 USD.

The performance is not up to date, but other than graphics-heavy games, it's fine and comfortable for me, who used to use a blackberry.

https://weekly.ascii.jp/elem/000/004/116/4116714/

Edited December 17, 2022 by MrPib
Made easier to read quote