Tag: cell phones

Generational Communication Preferences

~ cafebedouin

Before mobile phones, there were landline phones. If it was someone far away, they would have to pay “long distance” charges in order to talk to you. If it were someone in the local area code, they could just come over. But, with a landline phone conversations tend to be short, and there is the understanding that you are interrupting someone at home.

The key thing is that texting is asynchronous communication. You can respond when convenient for you. With landlines, this was accomplished with an answering machine. But, a text message is obviously better than listening to recorded messages.

I think there is a generational move toward using mobile phones as a substitute for synchronous, face-to-face communication, When I walk around my city, I see postal workers, and a lot of younger women, having conversations with the friends, almost as if they were there with them, while out walking. This is probably a smart adaptation when you have a life that is largely based around social media and where people are part of online communities that are not situated closely in meatspace.

But, that said, “full-on surprise Facetime their friends” is a phrase that makes me very thankful I use an Android device. And, yes, I am aware Android users can still Facetime through their mobile browsers, just as I am aware there is no chance I’ll do such a thing.

Installing GrapheneOS on a Pixel Device

~ cafebedouin

As you may know, I like trying out alternative operating systems. I bought a Pixel 6 device and installed GrapheneOS on it. The web installer instructions are pretty easy to follow, and I was able to do it in less than an hour. It took longer to do the Android updates it recommends doing before installing GrapheneOS.

The initial screen is bare. If you just needed to do messaging and calls, it would get the job done. It is possible to install a sandboxed version of Google Play. It works pretty much the same, although I found that some apps that rely on the wifi network or cross-app verification do not work. For example, Nextcloud Notes can not be used with the Nextcloud app authentication because of the sandboxing. The same is also true of apps like Orbi, Sonos, et al that cannot access what they need outside the sandbox. So, I’m either not using these apps or using alternatives.

It also flashes when booting that the operating system has changed, but it doesn’t present a problem. You just have to wait a few more seconds for the phone to boot.

Overall, if you need a flawless experience. I’d stick with the stock OS. If you can deal with a few things not working for better security, or at least worth trying it out, you might want to consider trying it. It is possible to go back to the stock OS later, and it could provide a useful learning experience.

Accessing a Locked Android Phone Not Displaying A Keyboard

~ cafebedouin

I use AnySoftKeyboard as my keyboard of choice on Android. It’s great, except when my SD Card becomes corrupted. When that happens, AnySoftKeyboard no longer works. If my device is locked at the time, there doesn’t appear to be a way to type in my password to unlock the device.

There is a solution to this problem, if you have enabled Developer options and USB debugging on the device. Boot into recovery (Volume Up, Home & Power, all at the same time). Start adb on the device. Connect it to your computer with adb and reboot. Then from a command prompt on the computer, type in the following:

$ adb shell input text password && adb shell input keyevent 66

This will basically work just like the displayed keyboard on your device. keyevent 66 is the equivalent of Enter. Then, you can reformat your SDCard in Settings. Then, reboot the device and you will be good to go.

e Foundation

~ cafebedouin

“We build desirable, open source, privacy-enabled smartphone operating systems.

–https://e.foundation/

e Foundation is a recent fork of LineageOS. It looks like it supports older devices, such as the t0lte device (aka Samsung Note 2) that I had to upgrade from when LineageOS stopped supporting when they rolled out Android 9, Pie. So, of course, I’ll be trying it in the next few months.

The Watchers Are Watching

~ cafebedouin

“For brands, following someone’s precise movements is key to understanding the “customer journey” — every step of the process from seeing an ad to buying a product. It’s the Holy Grail of advertising, one marketer said, the complete picture that connects all of our interests and online activity with our real-world actions.

Once they have the complete customer journey, companies know a lot about what we want, what we buy and what made us buy it. Other groups have begun to find ways to use it too. Political campaigns could analyze the interests and demographics of rally attendees and use that information to shape their messages to try to manipulate particular groups. Governments around the world could have a new tool to identify protestors.”

-Stuart A. Thompson and Charlie Warzel, “Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy.” The New York Times. December 19, 2019.

What could possibly go wrong?

Public Service Announcement: TV KILL

~ cafebedouin ~ 6 Comments

Step 1. Buy or own a phone with a built-in infrared transmitter.

My preferred choice, at the moment, is a Samsung Galaxy S5, which has a removable battery, support for the newest version of Android (Pie) via LineageOS, and can be bought from eBay for <$100.

Step 2. Install TV Kill.

The app sequentially goes through the off codes of all major TV models. It even has a mode to keep cycling repeatedly through the codes until you stop it.

Enjoy the silence, and you’re welcome.

Put Your Phone in Do Not Disturb Mode Forever | The Outline

~ cafebedouin

“My phone never buzzes or beeps — unless someone calls me more than twice in a row, which is a setting I turned on in case of emergency — and the screen never flashes some distracting reminder of all the other nonsense I could be giving my attention. Even when my phone is open or in use, all the alerts stay neatly tucked away in the pulldown menu.”

—Paris Martineau. “Put Your Phone in Do Not Disturb Mode Forever.” The Outline. August 28, 2018.

Signs You Have A Bad Relationship With Your Mobile Device

~ cafebedouin

“Signs you might be experiencing problematic use, Lembke says, include these:

  • Interacting with the device keeps you up late or otherwise interferes with your sleep.
  • It reduces the time you have to be with friends or family.
  • It interferes with your ability to finish work or homework.
  • It causes you to be rude, even subconsciously. “For instance,” Lembke asks, “are you in the middle of having a conversation with someone and just dropping down and scrolling through your phone?” That’s a bad sign.
  • It’s squelching your creativity. “I think that’s really what people don’t realize with their smartphone usage,” Lembke says. “It can really deprive you of a kind of seamless flow of creative thought that generates from your own brain.”

—Michealeen Doucleff and Allison Aubrey. “Smartphone Dehox: How To Power Down In A Wired World.” NPR: Morning Edition. February 12, 2018.

The solution? The Sabbath. Sometimes the oldest technologies are the best.

Installing LineageOS on a Samsung Device

~ cafebedouin

Updated: April 2021 after updating a Samsung S5 Qualcomm device to LineageOS 18.1 or Android 11.

LineageOS is an alternative operating system for your phone. It’s what stock Android looks like, i.e., it doesn’t have the unnecessary software from device manufacturers and phone carriers. Installing it is also an interesting exercise in how taking more control of technology often means taking more responsibility and risk.

Note: Installing alternative operating systems like LineageOS on your phone is a great way to learn more about how your phone works. You are going to make mistakes. You may brick your phone. But, most problems can be fixed. If you are interested in attempting it, use an outdated phone you already have on the LineageOS device list or get one from eBay to learn on (A Samsung S5 can be purchased for <$60). In the beginning, it’s best not to attempt installing LineageOS on a device that is important to you until you know what you are doing.

Installing LineageOS on your phone is relatively painless. It requires two steps. First, install either a custom recovery or TWRP into the RECOVERY partition using flashing software, i.e., Heimdall or Odin. Second, install LineageOS and then OpenGAPPS as described on the LineageOS website for your device.

It sounds difficult. But, it’s pretty straight-forward. The most important step? Make sure you are installing the right files for your device.

Note: If you are on Windows, Odin sounds easier to use than Heimdall. I didn’t use it, so I do not know if this is true. It is also software with unclear origins. User beware!

Download required software

There are two choices for recovery software: custom recovery and TWRP. To illustrate, here is the link to the Samsung S5 custom recovery and TWRP files. Notice that the device code name is the same for each. I recommend installing custom recovery to start.[1]

First, select your device from the left side of the LineageOS build downloads page. Then download the custom recovery and LineageOS (most recent nightly for the device).

Second, if you want Google’s suite of software to work, such as Maps, you’ll need a version of GAPPS, such as MindtheGAPPS for 18.1 (previously it was OpenGAPPS). Select the appropriate architecture listed in your devices’ information page, e.g., ARM is listed as the architecture for a S5 device. Select the same version of Android as the LineageOS build you downloaded, e.g., Lineage 17.1 is equivalent to Android 10. Then, select how much of Google’s software you want, e.g., pico is the minimum for most of Google’s software to work as expected.

Take a look at the installation instructions. If you are installing from recovery, then transfer the LineageOS and OpenGAPPS files to the SD Card on your phone. If sideloading, then put them in whatever directory makes sense, e.g., just leave them in the Downloads folder.

Enable developer mode

Enable developer mode for your device (in my case, going to Settings, About Device, and tapping on Build Number 7 times) then select USB Debugging in developer options. You will then be able to connect your phone to your computer, agree to connect on your phone and use any file utility to transfer files to your phone. USB Debugging needs to be enabled to flash the custom recovery or TWRP.

Install Heimdall

Install Heimdall: Try an apt-get install. 

$ sudo apt-get install heimdall-flash

Then, check your version. Update: As of February 2020, Ubuntu installs v.1.4.2, which works as intended.

$ heimdall version

If you get v.1.4.1 (or if you cannot get Heimdall to work), try compiling from source. Previously, I could only got it to work by installing from source. Now, the repository files from Ubuntu work normally.

Install Heimdall from source (if necessary)

$ sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake zlib1g-dev qt5-default libusb-1.0-0-dev libgl1-mesa-glx libgl1-mesa-dev 
$ mkdir ~/bin
$ cd bin
$ git clone https://gitlab.com/Benjamin-Dobell/Heimdall
$ mkdir -p Heimdall/build
$ cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ..
$ make
$ sudo cp bin/* /usr/local/bin

If this doesn’t work or you don’t use linux, official instructions for your operating system can be found at the Heimdall site.

Install custom recovery

$ heimdall-frontend

Turn off your device. Boot into download mode, on my device (SAMSUNG) download mode was started by holding down Volume Down, Home and Power. Then connect to your computer using the USB cable.

  1. Go to Utilities tab in the Heimdall frontend.
  2. Detect Device.
  3. You will see Download PIT, which stands for Partitions Information Tables. Go to Save As, indicate a location on your computer, then click Download.
  4. Go to Flash tab.
  5. In PIT category, click Browse and select PIT file you downloaded from device in step 3.
  6. Click Add button.
  7. For partition name select where you want to flash it. BE CAREFUL! If you flash it on wrong partition you can perma-brick device. For most devices, the recovery partition is RECOVERY.
  8. Go Browse for file and select lineage-[version]-[date]-recovery-[device-name].img file you downloaded in step 1. In Session, check No Reboot.
  9. Click Start.
  10. When complete, disconnect device from the USB cable, pull the battery and immediately restart into recovery. On my device, you can boot into recovery by holding down Volume Up, Home and Power. If you don’t, your phone will likely write over the TWRP file you have flashed, and it will look like nothing has happened.

Install LineageOS

From here, it was straight-forward per the instructions on the LineageOS Installation Instructions for my device.

  1. Boot into recovery. On my S5 device, download mode was started by holding down Volume Up, Home and Power
  2. Wipe the Cache, System and Data partitions.
  3. Install or sideload LineageOS.zip first, then OpenGAPPS.zip second – using the installation instructions for your device at the LineageOS site.

Different devices use different instructions, such as install from within recovery or sideloading the software. For a Samsung Note 4, the instructions suggested LineageOS and OpenGAPPS could be installed from an sdcard after TWRP/custom recovery was installed. The Samsung S5 instructions suggested sideloading the operating system using adb. Your best bet is to follow the official instructions, but I was able to do it either way with a S5 device.

When done, custom recovery will ask if you want to reboot. If you sideloaded the software, you’ll need to restart your device manually, e.g., by pulling the battery.

That’s it. Good luck!

[1] The difference between custom recovery and TWRP is that custom recovery is more tightly integrated with LineageOS but it has fewer features, specifically it doesn’t allow you to back up your phone. TWRP does allow you to back up your phone. However, it doesn’t always do the system update properly, and it tries to install the TWRP app, which requires root, when you reboot from recovery. There are tradeoffs to each choice, but if you doing this for the first time, use custom recovery. You can always go through the install recovery process and try either later. In fact, I recommend trying both. The correct TWRP file ends in *.img.