1. T680T's Avatar
    My passport broke almost a year ago. I've gone through about 10 android phones since. I landed with the unihertz TITAN, and am quite pleased with the phone, but i can't stand android. Just last week some time, the LED notification for SMS stopped working, for no reason (LED notification for other things still work). Also, my friend will text me something "hey, look at this car" and then my phone will suggest an article/ad about that car. Android is scraping my SMS messages. I can't get word substitution to work at the speed i type (android can't even do this natively, i had to buy 'texpand' app, but it forces me to type slow or else otherwise letters get out of place).

    In my frustration, i ordered a supposedly "new in box" passport from china. Is there a wiki or faq or some documentation about how to get the most out of a passport in 2020 somewhere? Will i even be able to update to the latest OS? How many of us are there? I don't need any "apps", i just need text and email and calling. It'd be nice to have a usable browser and a maps/directions facility, but at this point, i'm ready to go back to printing out directions on paper beforehand.

    thanks
    10-04-20 04:38 PM
  2. 3800's Avatar
    My passport broke almost a year ago. I've gone through about 10 android phones since. I landed with the unihertz TITAN, and am quite pleased with the phone, but i can't stand android. Just last week some time, the LED notification for SMS stopped working, for no reason (LED notification for other things still work). Also, my friend will text me something "hey, look at this car" and then my phone will suggest an article/ad about that car. Android is scraping my SMS messages. I can't get word substitution to work at the speed i type (android can't even do this natively, i had to buy 'texpand' app, but it forces me to type slow or else otherwise letters get out of place).

    In my frustration, i ordered a supposedly "new in box" passport from china. Is there a wiki or faq or some documentation about how to get the most out of a passport in 2020 somewhere? Will i even be able to update to the latest OS? How many of us are there? I don't need any "apps", i just need text and email and calling. It'd be nice to have a usable browser and a maps/directions facility, but at this point, i'm ready to go back to printing out directions on paper beforehand.

    thanks
    disable all the google apps on your titan and ditch chrome and use Firefox with strict controls. thats what I did on my titan and I never get pointed ads like that
    10-04-20 04:51 PM
  3. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    disable all the google apps on your titan and ditch chrome and use Firefox with strict controls. thats what I did on my titan and I never get pointed ads like that
    I disable practically nothing on Android/iOS devices. For mobile browser, I use Firefox too but the separate “Focus” version. Don’t get ads or suggestions.
    3800 likes this.
    10-04-20 05:54 PM
  4. anon(10512033)'s Avatar
    My passport broke almost a year ago. I've gone through about 10 android phones since. I landed with the unihertz TITAN, and am quite pleased with the phone, but i can't stand android. Just last week some time, the LED notification for SMS stopped working, for no reason (LED notification for other things still work). Also, my friend will text me something "hey, look at this car" and then my phone will suggest an article/ad about that car. Android is scraping my SMS messages. I can't get word substitution to work at the speed i type (android can't even do this natively, i had to buy 'texpand' app, but it forces me to type slow or else otherwise letters get out of place).

    In my frustration, i ordered a supposedly "new in box" passport from china. Is there a wiki or faq or some documentation about how to get the most out of a passport in 2020 somewhere? Will i even be able to update to the latest OS? How many of us are there? I don't need any "apps", i just need text and email and calling. It'd be nice to have a usable browser and a maps/directions facility, but at this point, i'm ready to go back to printing out directions on paper beforehand.

    thanks
    Can you switch to QKSMS from F-Droid on a BlackBerry? I've used it before on other phones and it works well. No ads.
    10-04-20 07:01 PM
  5. T680T's Avatar
    Of the 3 things i mentioned, the ads are merely annoying. The other 2 things, inhibit productivity, and i know the passport does them well.
    10-04-20 07:43 PM
  6. spARTacus's Avatar
    How specifically are people getting flooded with ads?

    I hear about this all the time and other than ads in web pages or in-apps, I am trying to understand if I am also getting flooded with ads or some how if I am avoiding them.
    10-04-20 08:06 PM
  7. 3800's Avatar
    How specifically are people getting flooded with ads?

    I hear about this all the time and other than ads in web pages or in-apps, I am trying to understand if I am also getting flooded with ads or some how if I am avoiding them.
    just as you said, in apps and browser. and it happens on iPhone too
    10-05-20 05:14 AM
  8. conite's Avatar
    Of the 3 things i mentioned, the ads are merely annoying. The other 2 things, inhibit productivity, and i know the passport does them well.
    just as you said, in apps and browser. and it happens on iPhone too
    Just use Netguard or Blokada. Poof, ads are all gone - and so are all of the trackers.
    pdr733 and anon(5597702) like this.
    10-05-20 06:39 AM
  9. mr_shotter's Avatar
    The passport is definitely usable in 2020 especially if you only need it for communicating.

    I've moved away from the latest samsung galaxy back to my old passport se as I was sick of all the ads, notifications constant updates and generally the design of the current android phones.

    I've spent a fair amount of time tweaking things to get the best battery performance, must have apps and generally making it suitable for my needs in 2020.

    Waze is a perfect replacement for Google maps. It's upto date, works well and has live traffic. Also notifys you of pot holes! It's a battery drainer so make sure you have a charger in your car if using it though!
    I actually have dash mounted an old android phone in my van to use as a dedicated sat nav to save my passports battery.

    Fennec F Droid for browser is working really well and seems to be displaying modern sites well! Inc youtube and amazon.

    Hell, I've even got netflix and spotify running well!

    A little bit of messing about and research and your passport will be a dream to use again.


    Posted via CB10
    10-06-20 01:53 PM
  10. spARTacus's Avatar
    ....I've moved away from the latest samsung galaxy back to my old passport se as I was sick of all the ads, notifications constant updates and generally the design of the current android phones....
    The constant app updates I agree is a pain. It's almost like laziness in terms of just throwing the apps out there and then fixing them later. Or, maybe it's updates for ads and marketing purposes. Then again, the whole world seems now like that so I guess that is just what things have (unfortunately or fortunately) come to. The notifications on Android I don't mind. Those I have been able to tweak. The design of the Samsung phone (and tablet) I have are decent for me.
    10-06-20 05:41 PM
  11. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    The constant app updates I agree is a pain. It's almost like laziness in terms of just throwing the apps out there and then fixing them later. Or, maybe it's updates for ads and marketing purposes. Then again, the whole world seems now like that so I guess that is just what things have (unfortunately or fortunately) come to. The notifications on Android I don't mind. Those I have been able to tweak. The design of the Samsung phone (and tablet) I have are decent for me.
    Relax... you’re just seeing what it’s like for modern app development updates for Android/iOS with all the security and bug fixes. Security through obscurity wasn’t really a thing..... LOL
    3800 likes this.
    10-06-20 07:59 PM
  12. spARTacus's Avatar
    Relax... you’re just seeing what it’s like for modern app development updates for Android/iOS with all the security and bug fixes....
    I know what I am seeing in terms of modern approaches for app development. Not liking what I am seeing was my point, and it spills over to the rest of the world also with half arse approaches and mediocre that lots on people now use for everything they do.
    10-06-20 08:12 PM
  13. spARTacus's Avatar
    ...Security through obscurity wasn’t really a thing..... LOL
    No one of any reputable knowledge ever thought security thru obscurity was security. It goes against every fiber of the principles of security.
    10-06-20 08:15 PM
  14. conite's Avatar
    I know what I am seeing in terms of modern approaches for app development. Not liking what I am seeing was my point, and it spills over to the rest of the world also with half arse approaches and mediocre that lots on people now use for everything they do.
    Surely you don't see a lack of updates as a sign of quality.

    BlackBerry had a number of apps that they worked on, so they could only spend so much time fiddling with each one. A development team working on a single app, however, is constantly adding features and plugging security vulnerabilities in order to stay ahead of the competition forever biting at its heels.
    3800 likes this.
    10-06-20 08:19 PM
  15. spARTacus's Avatar
    Surely you don't see a lack of updates as a sign of quality.
    No I do not. But updates every other day or even once a week is probably a sign of poor quality, or just not giving a shat, or perhaps more interested in assuming people think more frequent updates actually means something.
    10-06-20 08:23 PM
  16. conite's Avatar
    No I do not. But updates every other day or even once a week is probably a sign of poor quality, or just not giving a shat, or perhaps more interested in assuming people think more frequent updates actually means something.
    When your file manager is up against 5 other file managers in a dog-eat-dog competitive environment, is sure as heck matters to keep delivering - whether it be features, UX enhancements, or patching security holes.

    Also, since the OS itself is in rapid development with security patches each and every month, and massive updates every year, you have to stay on top of things. Not to mention contending with dozens and dozens of phones and form-factors from OEMs around the globe.
    3800 and Troy Tiscareno like this.
    10-06-20 08:27 PM
  17. spARTacus's Avatar
    When your file manager is up against 5 other file managers in a dog-eat-dog competitive environment, is sure as heck matters to keep delivering - whether it be features, UX enhancements, or patching security holes.

    Also, since the OS itself is in rapid development with security patches each and every month, and massive updates every year, you have to stay on top of things. Not to mention dozens and dozens of phones from OEMs around the globe.
    Yeah it's almost like the system was specifically conceived to feed itself.
    10-06-20 08:28 PM
  18. conite's Avatar
    Yeah it's almost like the system was specifically conceived to feed itself.
    That's simply what a highly developed ecosystem looks like. It's only strange to us because we came from the slow crawl that was BlackBerry.
    3800 and pdr733 like this.
    10-06-20 08:29 PM
  19. spARTacus's Avatar
    That's simply what a highly developed ecosystem looks like. It's only strange to us because we came from the slow crawl that was BlackBerry.
    Agree that's what the system looks like. It's not odd to me because of coming from BlackBerry (although the difference is indeed painfully obvious). It's odd to me because that is what the world has bred into existence.
    10-06-20 08:35 PM
  20. conite's Avatar
    Agree that's what the system looks like. It's not odd to me because of coming from BlackBerry (although the difference is indeed painfully obvious). It's odd to me because that is what the world has bred into existence.
    But the result is vastly superior apps - like file managers, sharing capabilities, media players, etc. And tons and tons of choice.

    I simply don't see an upside to stagnation.
    3800 likes this.
    10-06-20 08:40 PM
  21. spARTacus's Avatar
    But the result is vastly superior apps - like file managers, sharing capabilities, media players, etc. And tons and tons of choice.

    I simply don't see an upside to stagnation.
    The upside is lots of choices and all the apps fiercely competing for trying to be thought of as the best or having the latest and greatest. The downside for me is apps that are constantly needing to be updated. For my needs, the apps constantly needing to be updated seems rarely actually needed. I've gone through several "office suite apps (for .doc, .ppt, etc...)" for example, eventually deleting them, because I refuse to have to constantly do hundreds of MBs of updates for an app almost more than weekly.

    I didn't think we were talking about the topic of stagnation.
    10-06-20 08:57 PM
  22. Josh Ruiter's Avatar
    I have been using my Passport as my daily driver. I have a Pixel 3 but it does not last all day, and it freezes and crashes. The passport does everything I need it to do perfect.

    I check reddit, and forums I follow at night instead of throughout the day

    Posted via CB10
    10-07-20 06:47 PM
  23. brookie229's Avatar
    I check reddit
    Tip for Reddit: try RedReader from F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org....ger.redreader/

    This open source app works great on android phones AND on the Passport. NO ADS = BIG WIN. It is far superior to the Reddit website or app imho.
    10-07-20 07:05 PM
  24. the_boon's Avatar
    Tip for Reddit: try RedReader from F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org....ger.redreader/

    This open source app works great on android phones AND on the Passport. NO ADS = BIG WIN. It is far superior to the Reddit website or app imho.
    Boost for Reddit is definitely my recommendation for BB10 devices. It's on the Yalp Store.
    10-07-20 08:39 PM
  25. brookie229's Avatar
    Boost for Reddit is definitely my recommendation for BB10 devices. It's on the Yalp Store.
    Haven't tried that one, but I'm big on FOSS android apps over Google Play if possible (especially on BB10).
    10-07-20 09:51 PM
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