Lineage OS on a OnePlus 6T - Push Notifications? (No Firebase, De-Googled, internet outage)

Wondering how reliant the Meshtastic app will be without Google APIs, Firebase, whatever.

Thought: In a world of possible “cyber pandemics”, the internet/power may go down. I understand that push notifications work by being routed through Google servers. No internet, no push. Am I right?

Further to this; no GAPPs, no Google on Lineage OS, no push notifications; am I right?

I’m wondering if development on this project is keeping the above in mind?

Will Push Notifications, or the app in general, work without Google --whether we use a de-googled phone, or we have an internet outage, or both?

Random add-on question? Have you looked at the Pirate Box box project (Raspberry Pi). It’s now unsupported, but huge media and thriving community. Some kind of compatibility would be neato.

Above all, blown away by this project. Well done. I have 10 nodes currently and I’m just waiting on an Android phone to come in the mail. Been waiting a month. It’s keeling meeeee.

I plan to blanket my small city with access to Meshtastic when I get it all together.

Related keywords: Philippines, doomsday, prepper

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@maderunner I use Lineage OS without GAPPS (Google Apps) and have had no issues using Meshtastic, as far as I know and I stand corrected if I am wrong but Meshtastic doesn’t use Google API’s to function.

Meshtastic works by utilising legal ISM bands worldwide, so no internet or data or license is required to use this communication method. So for example in EU it’s 868mhz and 433mhz. There are limitations on the data that can be sent using these ISM frequencies, hence only GPS locations, text messages, battery status, etc and perhaps picture messages (maybe later) can be currently sent.

The phone/tablet can be connected to the meshtastic transceiver in a number of ways usb to usb, bluetooth. The phone/tablet allows the user to easily type a message, and then it is sent to the meshtastic device and transmitted onwards through the ISM frequency.

As for the “Pirate Box box project”, I’m not familiar with this project, but it sounds like it maybe possible using Python API and web browser interface (currently in development) to use it along side this device.

Sounds like you are doing great work rolling out your own network, well done. :grinning:

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Hi @maderunner

meshtastic runs here, too on lineageOS, no GAPPS.

You only have to look for the Android-APK once in a while on Git-Hub. (Not every version is available there).

Greetings

viti

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Really appreciate the replies, all.

I guess I’ll ask a direct question re: Push Notifications

Without any GAPPS, or Playstore, or whatever --do I still get push notifications for the Meshtastic app?

Wish I could test it. Figured I’d ask.

Hi @maderunner!

The simple answer: yes.

The longer one: There are a difference between app notifications and push notifications:

The main difference between push notification and notification is that the latter are created internally from an application on the device that wants to show user some information, a reminder, some news or updates, and so on. Push notification are “messages” sent from outside the device, for example a server, that triggers an application of the device (which usually handle the incoming message and transform it in a “normal” notification to be displays in the system tray). This is usually made through a public service such as Firebase Cloud Message ( Firebase Cloud Messaging ) of Google or a proprietary service such as the one that is used by the most common chatting application (Whatsapp, Telegram, …) . (What is the difference of "Notification" and "Push Notification" in Android - Stack Overflow)

Meshtastic mesh network is handled by nodes, without Internet. Therefore, Meshtastic App uses notifications, and users will get those notifications, also without GAPPS. :slightly_smiling_face:

The Meshtastic app might one day get a update to support some kind of message transportation trough internet. Push notifications might be in handy in that case. However, I believe @geeksville will allow, also in the future, full functionality for the app for users also without GAPPS.

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Love it. So long story short, user sends me a message, I get notified immediately, without GAPPS installed?

Above all, thank you community. Truly. Thanks CycloMies.

I don’t thing Meshtastic integrating with the internet is needed --unless it’s to “portal” chats from Chile to the US, for example, through an intermediary server.

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… it will be the latter. A way for meshes (possibly only those that are sharing the same keys) can bridge with each other using the internet (when any of the nodes is able to reach the internet).

only issue I have is bluetooth/app needing location access on 24/7 to function

That would be amazing. I know some digital HAM equipment does this. Very cool. Not bad for such a little device.

Thanks for your good humor and patience everyone. Geeksville, you got a really great thing here.

alas- that’s a requirement of the Android APIs. Because bluetooth can be used by nefarious actors to gain ‘indirect’ location information. (i.e. I see ble macaddr X nearby, so if you know about macaddr X you can now guess my location)

So if your app wants access to the BLE api, google requires you ask the user for location access first.

If anyone is concerned about the code in meshtastic, they are welcome to check it on github. It doesn’t do anything nefarious :wink:

not concerned about anything nefarious in your code, just don’t like leaving location access on on my phone

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Yeah, it isn’t Meshtastic I distrust, it’s Google.

For a total basic simpleton like myself; this API call lives begins and ends within the device, as opposed to calling home to a Google server, correct? Google bad.

Quick add-on --why do I pay so much mind to Google? They’re total snitchware.

They ratted on people re: social distancing for one.

Then there’s the war on software apps they don’t like (Parler). Hardware could be just as easy to single out, if there’s any reliance there.

If the powers that be decide they dislike Meshtastic, it wouldn’t be long before it’s is on that sh*t list. If Google has the coordinates of a node, you’re damn right they’re sharing it with anyone who wants to shut that node down.

I don’t know how I feel about the competency of the EFF, but they could be a good funding source. And hell, I’d keep a phone just for Meshtastic if it ran on a single purpose OS on an old Android phone (if it wasn’t for the nightmarish scope creep that would cause our developer friends here).

For me, Meshtastic is a way to communicate during some possible/probable dystopian nightmare. Yet, at the same time, I don’t want that to put pressure on talent behind it. I accept whatever I get folks, just happy to be here.

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re: yes the location data just stays on the device / not sent to google by meshtastic. Also, we don’t get the location of the phone at all if we don’t need to (i.e. if your local radio has a GPS like a TBEAM we never even fire up the android location api)

we even are careful to anonymize our log strings so we don’t accidentally leak lat/lons that way in crash reports.

One caveat the (free) map provider we use does get position info. Mapbox is a pretty legit company and they only get location and an opaque user ID and they claim they don’t do sleazy things with it.
But I can’t vouch for them, which is why when the analytics checkbox is off in the app, we turn the map off (then we don’t run their code and we also obey their TOS). Ideally someday someone will contribute a PR to provide an alternate pure OSM map implementation. I mostly used mapbox because it was easy and well documented. :wink:

re EFF
I’ve got friends that work for the EFF, alas I don’t think they have funding for this. Though I did ask some legal questions informally in the early days.

re two bits of politics you raised (and then please - no politics on this site - but I’ll use my special position to respond once :slight_smile: )

re: Google social distancing reports
I think anonymous reporting on how much social distancing populations are doing in aggregate are super useful for society making its decisions. This is not “ratting on people.”

re: parler
Personally I’m glad they are gone.

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I was looking around at how similar technologies work, and Portapack Mayhem software loads a static 94mb world map JPG to the device, and just uses that.

Maybe a simple image on the Android device within Meshtastic app to visually interpret the lat/long might be a more secure offline solution? One less unknown to consider for the privacy conscious or those living in mercurial developing countries like myself (and less maintenance, should Mapbox change any APIs or add limits). It could be a toggle in the settings at first load.

I only know enough to kinda’ be annoying. I sincerely don’t want to invent more work for a project that’s already so intensive.

As for the Parler thing --didn’t want to know you that well :joy: No two-dimensional politics in my statement, I didn’t use the app. Next week it could be Tor, though. Who knows.

“Google bad” sums it up, and I’d wager that’s something everyone here agrees on. That’s as far as I’d take it, politics are a nuanced, fickle beast.

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And while I have you --is there a driver I might be missing (on MacOS)? Maybe that’s why I can’t load the firmware with ESPHome? It doesn’t see the device on the serial port dropdown. I think that might be it.

Something like this?

hmm - I think cp210x is standard supported on os-x not really sure. @mc-hamster?

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Unfortunately, no native drivers provided by Apple.

Manufacturers drivers are available here:

Fortunately for me! I was losing my mind lol. Will update this if/when it works. Above all, thanks everyone. And a worthy addition to documentation!

I’ll pick this up on the original thread I mentioned this issue: https://meshtastic.discourse.group/t/first-boot-flashing-screen-logo/