Linux - MobileThis forum is for the discussion of all topics relating to Mobile Linux. This includes Android, Tizen, Sailfish OS, Replicant, Ubuntu Touch, webOS, and other similar projects and products.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
The web seems to have a lot of startandhalt linux phones from 2006 or so. I'm wondering if and how people are running linux phones this year? Is it just a regular Ubuntu install but with an app that handles calls and texts? or?
Do you have to buy a certain type of phone? or do you buy a regular Android phone and then somehow wipe it and install linux?
I personally don't know of any but I am sure there might be some. Ubuntu got out of the mobile OS business a few years ago so you won't ever see an Ubuntu phone, at least a modern one.
No. I am not affiliated. No dogs in this hunt. My Samsung S7 still chugs along with cracked screen, worn battery, and all. Because I like the mini sd slot.
so the question is:
"does anyone use a gnu/linux phone in 2019"
- i don't, i don't know anyone either, be it personally or by hearsay.
yes, projects exist, and there's a lot on the horizon atm.
some linux podcaster - i believe it was "destination linux" - promised to use ubuntu touch (or is it ubports nowadays) as his primary for a month, and report on it.
and then there's the librem 5, of course. coming out soon.
iirc, kde plasma also have something in the works.
dear op, there's a few search phrases for you in the above.
There is no Linux distro for smart phones. While some may claim that Android is Linux but Google has molested the Linux kernel so severely that it doesn't resemble Linux in anyway. Then there is LineageOS that replaces Android but doesn't work on all smartphones, just a few. Since I couldn't take it anymore dealing with Google's Spyware/Malware that they call Android I went with a regular flip phone which has reduced my blood pressure greatly. It seems there are no developers that have figured out how to create a Linux distro for all smartphones that work as they should by doing what the user of that smartphone wants it to do and not like Android which does the complete opposite. Android does what Google wants it to do by spying on you so Google can sell all the data it steals from you. There is a KDE Linux smartphone distro based on Ubuntu in never ending development with no end in site.
for a "phone number" so that I can receive sms texts on my laptop with gajim and audio chat with cell phone users with linphone.
This does, of course, make me a bit of an odd duck. I rarely carry a laptop around with me, just a camera, radio, musical instrument, notebook or whatever I actually want to use.
Distribution: Ubuntu Linux 16.04, Debian 10, LineageOS 14.1
Posts: 1,572
Rep:
I don't know of anyone who has a Linux phone.
Supposedly KDE is working on a Linux based system for phones called Plasma Mobile. It's not ready for general use (meaning it's not ready for me), but hopefully will be at some point.
Also, Ubuntu Touch was taken over by UBports, so it's not completely dead. There are some devices that it can be installed on (mine wasn't one of them).
There's also postmarketOS, which apparently can be installed on the phone I own -- but the directions were too confusing for me.
And there's Librem 5, which is a crowd-sourced high-end Linux phone being developed for users concerned about privacy. It was supposed to be released in April 2019, but I haven't heard anything.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.