Migrating from iOS - general questions

[Shiunbird1]

Hello everyone,

I'm a very experienced Linux user (I have all sorts of devices with Linux, including a Jornada 720 and HP C8000 workstation), but I've always used iOS - my employer started issuing us iPhones around 10 years ago, and I went lazy. I like to play around with old UNIX workstations and use IRIX and HP-UX daily.

Before that, I used Nokia Communicators, starting with the 9210i and then had a short year with Blackberries before my employer went full Apple, so I have zero experience with Android.

I became wary of my privacy and also find iOS very disturbing. What I liked about the old Communicators is that they allow for you to get just enough information in a notification (SMS in the case) adding a barrier that impedes you taking action (you need to open the device, find a stable surface, etc), so I was very excited when I first found out about Cosmo and the possibilities of fine tuning notifications, plus keeping my private and professional lives separated (dual SIM, one for voice and another for data, and separated from my work phone).

My Cosmo arrived last week and I went straight with Linux. I found it rather limiting, though. I couldn't get the notifications through to the codi and the phone app is very basic (no carddav). Then I thought that, since I never gave Android a proper try, I will see what's up there. I host my own email, caldav and carddav services for already 10+ years, with full redundancy for everything.

After spending the whole day reading the forums, I have the following questions:

Linux:
- I found Debian very hard to use as a daily driver (usual interactions are too slow, text is too small even increasing font sizes and scaling). If I go the Ubuntu Touch way, what can I expect to work or not?
- Any way to get notifications out to the codi?
- I've ordered the USB-HDMI and the USB hubs from Planet. What is the current status of support? I went through the threads here but most of the information I found is rather old. I was hoping the Cosmo could become my main Linux laptop.

Battery life is not a concern. I'm hardly ever more than 4 hours away from an outlet and I'm not a person who spends too much time glued to the phone.

Android:
My installation routine was the following:
0. Rooted.
1. Upgrade to V25.
2. Upgrade codi to 1.1.1.16 (after trying some 20 times...)
3. Installed and upgraded Magisk.
4. Installed microG.
5. Installed DAVx and AdAway.
6. Installed Termux (omg I wish iOS had this!)
Using Aurora Store and F-Droid.

The questions and problems:
1. I'm using the native Contacts application, but the contacts don't show up on CODI. Any suggestions?
2. The media controls also don't seem operational on the CODI.
3. I can't remove the Google bar widget from my main screen. I tap and hold and don't get the option to drag it around or remove it from the main screen like I get with every single other widget and application icon. Tips?
4. microG "system spoofs signature" and "gmscore has correct signature" are not checked. Any way to fix it? What are the consequences if this fails?
5. My notifications are always hidden behind the "locked" icon on the codi (check attached photos). This kinda defeats the purpose of the external display for me (although having different LED colours is AWESOME). Is there a way that I can see the app icons of the notifications on the codi when the phone is locked? I'd love to have something like photo 9869 even when the phone is locked.
6. Nothing that I tap on the "About phone" screen would bring the developer options. Suggestions?

I'm sorry for the flood of questions. I'm loving the phone so far and look forward to being able to contribute to the community in the near future.

[jakfish]

Hello, and welcome here.

I can't answer all your queries, since I've given up trying to make the Cosmo work as a genuine phone, but I will say you're not alone with your CODI woes. IMO, CODI is essentially junk and there aren't too many users here that will disagree. I had the same faulty listing of contacts (CODI would only generate a partial listing) that you suffer and I never solved it.

Nor do I know of many users that use Gemian as their daily driver, but there are some. I now use my Cosmo as a Linux-only laptop and am pleased to do so--I do not use a SIM card with it.

Some of your display issues may be tied to the rooted aspect of your setup and perhaps others will weigh in with their experience. One thing I did use right away, and also use it with my Pixel 4a, is Nova Launcher (in the Playstore) and if I remember correctly, that will solve your 3. dilemma.

I know I was able to set myself up as Developer, some sort of tapping 7 times or something, but it can be done (though perhaps not in root, now that I think about it).

The Cosmo can function as a daily driver, it just takes work and a lowering of expectations and God knows you know your stuff (your setup is airtight) so you'll find your way, though not with CODI

Again, welcome,
Jake

[Shiunbird1]

Thank you, Jake, for the warm welcome.

I'm very sorry to hear about the CODI. One of the reasons I got the device was exactly to replicate the experience I used to have with my Nokia Communicators. Seriously, way too many times I came too close of buying a 9500 or a E60 and just write the software for it based on my needs. (Although... S60...)

I found out that my issue with me not seeing the notifications on the main screen is because of my settings. The notification settings seem to be "philosophically different" from iOS and, for Airmail, I managed to get the notifications on the main screen even when the phone is locked, so I just need to tweak the other applications accordingly. I am still to figure out the LED settings - I don't get how to get the pattern creator to use, or what applications support it. One of the things I always missed in iOS was a proper LED. I like to use something like a red LED for important notifications so I know I need to do something.

I installed Nova Launcher and it indeed got rid of the stuck Google bar. Thank you.

I also managed to enable developer mode, after tapping an indefinite amount of times and will try to find my way with Android, because I really want to try to get some user from the CODI.

For now, I think I found a good setup, so I will do a factory restore to start fresh. Linux will stay as secondary OS when I need to do some coding or network related work, and I will have two SIM cards in the phone: an unlimited data SIM provided by my employer and a pre-paid voice SIM from another carrier. Let's see how that works.

I still need to use my employer-issued iOS device for MFA and such, but I will remove all my personal things from it. I will also after setting everything up monitor the network connections for a while, to see if there are no applications doing nasty things and I think that will be it. =)

Thank you so much!

[Shiunbird1]

 :'(

All right - the device was working perfectly fine as described, with Magisk and microG.
But I wanted to see if I could remove the google toolbar, so I went into settings and did a factory restore from there.

Now the device is looping on "Red State". It won't even turn off and doesn't boot to the micro SD via the volume up + power combo.

Did I get myself a paperweight?

edit: solved - https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=36336.0;last_msg=296554