Questions of a new Sailfish user

General
#1

Hello,

I apologize in advance if these topics were discussed but I found nothing on this topic.
I am looking for an escape from google / apple and I found a sailfish os which I like very much, but in the free version, apart from calling and sending text messages, practically nothing else (somehow “ordinary” user writes it) is not suitable. If I buy a license, will applications such as Wrick ME, Protonmail and some duckduck or opera browser work normally? These are the necessary applications for me, the rest I do not care.
And from what he understands, sailfish doesn’t give permission like android google that has permission to do everything? What about the application’s permissions, if it installs, for example, whatsapp, all permissions (contacts, information, connections, etc.) work in the same way as on android? And is a google account necessary for android applications to work? If I add a google account in the settings, does google automatically have access to the entire content of the phone from sailfish?
I will be grateful for the answer and if the questions are incomprehensible, sorry but I don’t know English and I write it on the translator.

greetings

3 Likes
#2

hello and welcome to Sailfish OS!

if you buy a license, you then get access to predictive input, MS Exchange sync, and most importantly in your case, Android support (Alien Dalvik).
The latter allows you to run Android apps on your device.
Please note that for that, you’ll need to install on an officially supported device - aka Sailfish X - please refer to https://jolla.com/sailfishX/ for a detailed list, but you’re mainly talking about Sony Xperia XA2 (and variants) and Xperia 10.

You can control what Android apps can get access to, either natively from SFOS, or by installing 3rd party apps from Openrepos.

Re a Google account, it will allow you to synchronise emails, calendars and contacts, but (at least to my knowledge) it doesn’t give more than that - although i would highly recommend to move away from such an account, since that’s what you’re trying to do in the first place by moving to SFOS :slight_smile:

Good luck and feel free to join us on Telegram for more questions - https://t.me/joinchat/AWx9iUE-U9pZ_NeJlxXs0w

1 Like
#3

@cartron:
Why not discuss further questions here?
Telegram is nice and all and I’m aware you write ‘feel free to’. But this is the official forum thought for exactly this kind of questions. This way any other new user can profit from questions being answered, independently of any third party (and in this case I have to add: controversial) service.

6 Likes
#4

Welcome! If you want to move your calendardata and contacts away from Google, I can recomend you to use Fruux.com for syncing calendars and contacts. Works fine on the Sailfish OS layer, but there are differences between the Xperia devices when it comes to Android support. Xperia X has an old Android support version (4.4 if I am right). The “newer” devices like Xperia XA2 or Xperia 10 have a higher Android version (8.1 if I am correct), but there ar still some issues with calendar syncing (not working on XA2 for example on the Adroid layer). so you will be forced to use the calendar from sailfish OS, that cuurently is very poor on finctionality and clarity for busines use. But as Jolla says is beeing worked on to improve (mostly with the help of community).

If you have advanced skills there is also Nextcloud.com

Edit: my Protonmail App works fine. After a popup about missing google services you can use the app without issues.

1 Like
#5

I don’t know about Wrick ME, but Protonmail and Opera work according to this list: https://together.jolla.com/question/198517/wiki-state-of-sailfish-x-sensors-apps-and-androidtm-support-on-sony-xa2-variants/ and DuckDuckGo works for me as well. (Using 3.4.0 on XA2 here)

#6

I’ve used Fastmail as a happy customer for years for contacts and calendar. Currently running my own Radicale server since I had a VM running for other stuff anyway.

I’m using the native browser more and more but I still default to the Android Firefox since it comes with nice addons like NoScript, HTTPS Everywhere and uBlock Origin.

So there’s definitely options.

By default a good number of Android apps work ok, some complain about Google Services missing and still work, a few you need to install microG for (I am not willing to do that) and a few apps will not work at all.

For example, one of my banking apps works fine and the other works but does not want to scan QR codes without Google Services.

1 Like
#7

Thank you very much for all the answers. I bought the phone especially for this system, I have a Sony xa2. The license is also purchased, we will see how the system works in practice. Protonmail works, the rest are still being tested.
I would also like to ask how can I manage Sailfish privileges? I want to download the bank’s application and she wants access to the camera and location, how can I turn it off?

greetings

#8

you go in Settings > Apps > , and then Android settings, which will allow you to control what the app can do

1 Like
#9

Nice seeing new Sailfish enthousiasts here, wellcome!
I am an ordinary customer for about 6 years, not a dev.
The first thing I do after installing the OS or after resetting, because I am allergic to Google:
to settings - to apps below - tap on browser app, switch to Bing. Then go to browser in home screen, search for openrepos.net. There type in: ‘Search engines manager’. You will see this function made by Coderus.Download the latest pair, i486 + arm. Go to settings, with transfers in settings. Then go to the browser app in settings (below), change the search engine of your choice. I choose Qwant, Duckduckgo is also fine.

4 Likes
#10

If Protonmail has imap and smtp, you can make this mail default by typing the smtp and imap names, your password and the numbers of portals in ‘general mail’. You will find this in settings below, under ‘accounts’.
Openrepos is not officially Jolla’s. The app store from openrepos is called ‘Storeman’. For most of these apps you will need to use the ‘not trusted software’ function in settings and give permission.
Amdroid apps: first install FDroid in Jolla store. Then search in FDroid for Aurora Store. This gives you the opportunity to download Android apps without a Google account. Only the non-paid apps.
Permissions for each Android app can be regulated in settings, below, under ‘apps’. Good luck!

4 Likes
#11

Q: Regarding Protonmail, ist it possible to run the protonmail bridge native in SFOS?

Because the Protonmail Bridge is running perfect on Linux laptop, I think it may be possible to make it also run on SFOS. Does anyone know more about this?

greetings & hny!

1 Like
#12

If you follow the second post, you can get protonmail bridge running under a general email account.

3 Likes
#13

I discovered Sailfish OS because I became an AVID fan of the Xperia XA2+ which I bought used in mid 2019. I have used the phone for almost 2 years and am very happy that it is practically indestructable, and the video keeps playing when I close the app. I have just picked up a 3rd XA2plus and I plan to install Sailfish. I just wanted to know how continuing support is going? Someone mentioned Android 8 here, I have Android 9 on my Sony maintained device. I can tell you that I dislike Andtoid 10 because they have removed the ability for firewall apps to snitch all hosts, which exists through Android 9. Don’t have any device with Android 11 yet.
Is there a link you can give me to the version and build changes logs and most recent updates date, before I make my decision about buying. Thanks. I just don’t want to buy into something that’s been dropped or something.
PS I noticed in the adjacent thread about maps apps and GPS, some disturbing propaganda about the US elections. Is this a platform that has a political orientation of pro democrat? Because that would also be a big red flag for me.

#14

You can install the free version to test if you like it. The only difference is that it lacks Android App support, text prediction and MS Exchange Server support.