Hi guys,
I was frustrated to find out that I was not able to connect my newly bought bluetooth keyboard. I could pair it within Bluetooth settings, but it always shows "Paired but not connected".
Even more frustrating is that the developers of apps which allow for a working connection to the keyboard are asking around 10 USD for the app.
I don't care about any features like shortcut keys and such. I just need a connected keyboard.
I decided to write an app which exactly does just this. For free, as it should be!
Description
-------------
A service which connects your bluetooth keyboard device.
Android 2.3 has support for HID devices but is not able to connect bluetooth keyboard devices correctly (yet).
This service automates the connection to your keyboard.
There are no extra features like key mappings a.s. (yet)
WARNING
---------------
This application needs superuser permissions!
You can find this app in Google Market. Search for "easyconnect"
BTW If anyone finds any bugs, or inability to connect a certain device, please let me know the details and I will work on a fix.
Thanx for sending logs, I fixed a number of issues:
- No longer scanning every 15 seconds. Instead it monitors connection state.
- Connection now is event driven. Device nearby will connect it.
- added notification of device connection
- Preventing Android from closing the service after a certain time.
Keep sending bug reports guys!
Compatible keyboard devices (from user comments):
- iGo Stowaway XTBT01
- CVDH-A66 Mini Bluetooth Keyboard for Smartphones, iPad, iPhone, PS3, More
- Apple Bluetooth keyboard
- Freedom i-Connex Mini
- Broadcom Keyboard Device (German keyboard with annoyingly positioned connect button which needs a toothpick to be pressed)
Latest update:
Finally got some time to work on stability.
Let me know if you have troubles getting it to work for you.
Working on keymaps ;-) as well
Fixed a FC on startup after installation
Greetz,
Mike
Wow this is perfect! Thanks so much!
Previously I had a shortcut to bluetooth settings on my home screen to try and connect as quick as possible, but this is 50 times better. I don't have to enter any stupid pins and make sure I press the pairing button at the right time.
I did have one little hang and lag which finished with a force close. But all good nonetheless.
I'm using a mini bluetooth keyboard with a N1 running CM6.1.1 btw which I typed this message with.
5 stars on the market
Edit: Wait, so as long as you're using this app, you dont need a ROM that supports Bluetooth HID devices? As long as your phone is rooted, anyone can use this?
If so, hats off to you.
For as far as I can see anyone can use this, because in a way, the bluetooth stack is actually available for Human Interface Devices in Android starting at 2.1 update 1 if I'm correct.
mikesomething98 said:
For as far as I can see anyone can use this, because in a way, the bluetooth stack is actually available for Human Interface Devices in Android starting at 2.1 update 1 if I'm correct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but i experienced something different. I just got my phone from a Samsung Repair center because i kinda bricked it while upgrading to froyo so i had them upgrade it. Since i was already in a mall, i decided to visit a powermac store to try out the apple bluetooth keyboard that is reported to be working with the Galaxy S froyo update. Unfortunately i was not able to detect the bluetooth keyboard, and made a fool of myself because the apple guy that was assisting me didn't believe at first that a mobile phone was able to use a bluetooth keyboard (yeah, he didn't know that the iphone 4 that they were selling was compatible with the bluetooth keyboard.. i didn't tell him though..)
so maybe this app might work.. im going to try it out when i return to that powermac store..
The code is there, but it's not complete. It doesn't connect hid devices by itself yet. My app takes care of that. good luck trying it.
I noticed some bug already, so there will be an update very soon.
I can't find this app on the marketplace when i search for easyconnect, how did you guys find it..?
Edit.,
Found it here., www appbrain.com/app/bluetooth-keyboard-easyconnect/net.mybesttools.btkbservice
Does this with with a Sense phone too?
thanks
This is phenomenal! Thanks so much. Using with a iGo/ThinkOutside Stowaway ultra-slim keyboard and it works great. I've used BlueKeyboard, but it has a number of issues: frequent force-close errors, easily-accidentally-triggered switches into Japanese mode. This is much easier and more reliable! Thank you!
Thanks its great
Thanks! But should really be supported by default in android and without root! Hopefully google will fix this in a new version of android.
hejhej.ac said:
Thanks! But should really be supported by default in android and without root! Hopefully google will fix this in a new version of android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vary ture.
I can't find it on the market ? Does it not work on 2.1?
Sent from my ComBadge
You'll have to test it to find out. ;-)
Latest update v0.3 :
- no longer scanning for bluetooth devices. Instead it checks for connectivity with the pheripheral device directly trough a socket connection.
mikesomething98 said:
,
I could pair it within Bluetooth settings, but it always shows "Paired but not connected".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Will this work with any Bluetooth device? I have the exact same problem with my cars head unit.
In Froyo it will connect if I either go into the bluetooth settings and press on the connection or if I turn bluetooth off and on.
In Gingerbread its the same as Froyo except for added annoyance it asks for the pin each time.
Thanks
Edit: Just tried it and it doesnt work, would it be hard to make a version for phone / media profiles?
A device as such is not a Human Input Device. As you can see A2DP is supported starting at cupcake. http://source.android.com/porting/bluetooth.html
If you want the ability to wirelessly stream music, the head unit must support Bluetooth A2DP. Currently, the majority of Bluetooth car stereos only support the Handsfree profile, which only allows you to make and receive phone calls via the head unit.
This post might be of help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=649059
It will not come up in the Market
That's all i get when i search for "Easyconnect"
A quote from Android Developers:
How Filters Work in Android Market
Android Market uses the filter restrictions described below to determine whether to show your application to a user who is browsing or searching for applications on a given device. When determining whether to display your app, Market checks the device's hardware and software capabilities, as well as it's carrier, location, and other characteristics. It then compares those against the restrictions and dependencies expressed by the application itself, in its manifest, .apk, and publishing details. If the application is compatible with the device according to the filter rules, Market displays the application to the user. Otherwise, Market hides your application from search results and category browsing.
You can use the filters described below to control whether Market shows or hides your application to users. You can request any combination of the available filters for your app — for example, you could set a minSdkVersion requirement of "4" and set smallScreens="false" in the app, then when uploading the app to Market you could target European countries (carriers) only. Android Market's filters would prevent the application from being visible on any device that did not match all three of these requirements.
A filtered app is not visible within Market, even if a user specifically requests the app by clicking a deep link that points directly to the app's ID within Market. All filtering restrictions are associated with an application's version and can change between versions. For example:
•If you publish a new version of your app with stricter restrictions, the app will not be visible to users for whom it is filtered, even if those users were able see the previous version.
•If a user has installed your application and you publish an upgrade that makes the app invisible to the user, the user will not see that an upgrade is available. So it means you have a device with a Android version which is not compatible.
I could lower the minimum version for you so you can at least try the app.
I cannot lower it any further then SDK version 5 because it lacks some needed functionality in the bluez stack.
I found this on appbrain and i see it says android 2.2 and up.
My Samsung Galaxy S Epic is running a stock 2.1 rom. Thanks for the offer but that's totally up to you if you want to let the app on to all the 2.1 phones. It just sounds cool and something useful to have installed. I don't have a bluetooth keyboard
mikesomething98 said:
If you want the ability to wirelessly stream music, the head unit must support Bluetooth A2DP. Currently, the majority of Bluetooth car stereos only support the Handsfree profile, which only allows you to make and receive phone calls via the head unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying, my head unit does support A2DP and it works fine once I manually initiate a connection. The problem is it doesn't connect automatically the same way your Bluetooth keyboard doesn't connect on its own.
[Updated version available]
Guys,
I just upped v0.5. Let me know your experiences.
The minSDK version is lowered to make it available to android versions 2.0 and up. I was not able to test that, so please let me know if it does/doesn't.
It doesn't seem to be working for me anymore.
The first version worked but drained battery like crazy.
With the newest version from the market, I turn BT on, put keyboard into discoverable and nothing happens.
0.1 would connect after both those steps...
Is there a way to go past the website's UA checks and always load their desktop versions instead of mobile? Asking because I already set in the preferences of all my phone browsers to always load the full desktop version and still, many websites somehow know I'm using a mobile device and force the mobile version.
Anyone found solution for Dolphin or Boat browsers? I've read about "about:debug" and "about:useragent" showing extra UA menu elements which in my case does nothing (android 6). I was also unable to find an user agent switching app that could always force Desktop parameters to the websites.
Even if there's no immefiate solution, I would like to know the principle websites choose which version to load irrespective to browser settings. Is it network/data/service provider settings, or specific browser/resolution signature? Thanks a lot for any ideas.
Menergy said:
Is there a way to go past the website's UA checks and always load their desktop versions instead of mobile? Asking because I already set in the preferences of all my phone browsers to always load the full desktop version and still, many websites somehow know I'm using a mobile device and force the mobile version.
Anyone found solution for Dolphin or Boat browsers? I've read about "about:debug" and "about:useragent" showing extra UA menu elements which in my case does nothing (android 6). I was also unable to find an user agent switching app that could always force Desktop parameters to the websites.
Even if there's no immefiate solution, I would like to know the principle websites choose which version to load irrespective to browser settings. Is it network/data/service provider settings, or specific browser/resolution signature? Thanks a lot for any ideas.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the problem is website's UA check, often you can choose an AdWay or something similar, on my phone i'm surprised to see as "auto check" some pop up, check and box.
But for what never stop working, that's need update every day...
There isn't much you can do in this case.
Sometimes in some browsers you've an option with whitelist or other but I do believe they can be related to the mobile display or desktop of a particular site.
Maybe there is an add-on xposed or plugin that I don't know
My problem is that some websites force the mobile version no matter what, as well as lack on services that I need in there, and you couldn't circumvent that in any way.
Yesterday I had to verify an email address and tried with all the browsers I have on my phone (like 5 different). They were all set to display the desktop version and all were forced into the mobile. But on the mobile you couldn't verify the link, probably on purpose (security if on mobile device), and I would not have access to laptop/desktop browser by the evening. The same is with many other features/missing services on forced mobile websites so I want to find a way to have full functionality when on the go.
Does AdWay have options for influencing data the browser notifies to the websites? Anything similar to Mozilla-code based Random Agent Spoofer browser add-on where you can basically force the browser to inject any incorrect data and prevent other data leaking while browsing? Any special cookie mechanisms inherent to mobile browsers only?
Alternatively, can I access browser settings with something like about:config/debug or else? Dolphin, Boat, others? I am sure the browser notifies the correct desktop user agent, there's something else, probably very simple, that tells websites the connection is from a portable device...
Menergy said:
My problem is that some websites force the mobile version no matter what, as well as lack on services that I need in there, and you couldn't circumvent that in any way.
Yesterday I had to verify an email address and tried with all the browsers I have on my phone (like 5 different). They were all set to display the desktop version and all were forced into the mobile. But on the mobile you couldn't verify the link, probably on purpose (security if on mobile device), and I would not have access to laptop/desktop browser by the evening. The same is with many other features/missing services on forced mobile websites so I want to find a way to have full functionality when on the go.
Does AdWay have options for influencing data the browser notifies to the websites? Anything similar to Mozilla-code based Random Agent Spoofer browser add-on where you can basically force the browser to inject any incorrect data and prevent other data leaking while browsing? Any special cookie mechanisms inherent to mobile browsers only?
Alternatively, can I access browser settings with something like about:config/debug or else? Dolphin, Boat, others? I am sure the browser notifies the correct desktop user agent, there's something else, probably very simple, that tells websites the connection is from a portable device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use "user agent switcher" for chrome and it always works. It requires root though.
Can you provide an example of a website that refuses to show the desktop version?
And additionally, your build.prop contains your device's information. The browser might be transmitting that information to the website.
Thank you, the build.prop info was very helpful. I am not rooted yet as I've got my new phone just less than a month ago so still exploring, but can't really find the file, even among the hidden files on the internal memory. I will explore more and see how it goes.
I am in the UK so for example one of the websites that always loads the limited mobile instead of desktop version is the one of my service provider, EE, ee. co. uk (apologies for the intervals, I'm otherwise not allowed to post it). This mobile version is too basic and 60% of what you could do on a desktop version is cut. I've been on Three Mobile and sometimes I could get their full website working, sometimes not. Other websites are let's say bbc. co. uk and other media/news/bank websites that know, no matter browser settings, you are accessing them from a portable device.
Unfortunately I do not trust Google and any of their products so avoid voluntarily and (un)intentionally handing any personal data over to them. I would have used Mozilla for Android if it was close to the functionality Boat and Dolphin browsers provide. I even contacted the Dolphin team having previously assisted them but have got no feedback whatsoever. There must be a way for editing these unusual browser settings, but as pointed out above, I suspect it has something to do will submitting device ID info from within system folders. Thus probably only browser developers could tell us how the problem could be circumvented (and hopefully at least for now, with no root).
Or the developers of addons such as the Random Agent Spoofer or the user agent switchers.
Menergy said:
Thank you, the build.prop info was very helpful. I am not rooted yet as I've got my new phone just less than a month ago so still exploring, but can't really find the file, even among the hidden files on the internal memory. I will explore more and see how it goes.
I am in the UK so for example one of the websites that always loads the limited mobile instead of desktop version is the one of my service provider, EE, ee. co. uk (apologies for the intervals, I'm otherwise not allowed to post it). This mobile version is too basic and 60% of what you could do on a desktop version is cut. I've been on Three Mobile and sometimes I could get their full website working, sometimes not. Other websites are let's say bbc. co. uk and other media/news/bank websites that know, no matter browser settings, you are accessing them from a portable device.
Unfortunately I do not trust Google and any of their products so avoid voluntarily and (un)intentionally handing any personal data over to them. I would have used Mozilla for Android if it was close to the functionality Boat and Dolphin browsers provide. I even contacted the Dolphin team having previously assisted them but have got no feedback whatsoever. There must be a way for editing these unusual browser settings, but as pointed out above, I suspect it has something to do will submitting device ID info from within system folders. Thus probably only browser developers could tell us how the problem could be circumvented (and hopefully at least for now, with no root).
Or the developers of addons such as the Random Agent Spoofer or the user agent switchers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The build.prop is a text file which should be located in system/ folder. And you usually can't view the contents of that folder without root, so that's why you haven't been able to find it.
I visited ee.co.uk using chrome, and I was able to switch between the mobile and desktop version of the site without any issues, even without using the UA changing app. All I did was select "request desktop site" from the side menu.
I tried using CM's stock browser though, and just like you experienced, the same website refused to load in desktop mode. I even went as far as changing the UA in its settings menu and even that didn't work.
So all that you wrote in the last two paragraphs have been confirmed.
Right now, it's either chrome or root until the devs fix/properly implement their UA changing feature.
I was testing other browsers the whole morning here and finally reluctantly tried Firefox. Somehow its Android version never impressed me or was too buggy for me when tested before. Probably because just before going for it I tried Pale Moon and have seen that I can readily edit just about everything via about:config. The Pale Moon's UI settings menu was however completely missing (probably a bug), along with no other controls, so I had to skip it.
So I am glad to report that using Firefox's "Request desktop website" option I finally was able to load desktop versions of websites that were forcing me to always have their mobile one instead. This means that Firefix for now becomes my main browser. As suggested by you, I tried first with Chrome but with no success (using its internal user agent options). There were a few Chrome user agent switchers in the market but although some of them did not explicitly require root, upon starting them they did so I had to uninstall them.
My question yet remains, what exactly tells websites not to load full version, even if browser's user agent reports the correct values. I will leave this to me as I go deeper into this. Glad to have got what I wanted
Thanks a lot for all your help.
Just to add for all having my problem and using Firefox for Android.
By default Firefox will always load the mobile website version and every time you will need to tick "Request desktop site" if you dislike it. As I do, there is an addon called "Desktop by Default" that will always keep the tick on for you. You may instead try creating a new string called "general.useragent.override" adding a desktop OS signature but it won't work (tested by me) for exactly the same websites I had issues with above, so do use the addon instead. It will however work for all other websites that don't have issues with Desktop mode on other browsers.
There is another string that I disabled also called general.useragent.site_specific_overrides.
Tweaking with the Chrome for Android settings seems to require root so Firefox in my case is a God bless. I hope this is helpful to all others with my issue...
I've been trying to log into Huawei's community forums for a while, but no matter what I try, it results in an error page. It's the most extraordinarily frustrating experience. I wonder if anyone else has any tips to getting logged in.
My main reason for wanting to log in, apart from having a general look for tips, etc, is to find out how to inform them of a bug in their OS. Does anyone have any recommendations for how best to do that?
In fact, I often log in the community forum as my mobile phone is a Huawei device. I would like to help you report the bug.
You may post your bug description here. You can write in English or in Chinese.
If it is in English, I will translate it by myself before submit to the forum .
James_Watson said:
In fact, I often log in the community forum as my mobile phone is a Huawei device. I would like to help you report the bug.
You may post your bug description here. You can write in English or in Chinese.
If it is in English, I will translate it by myself before submit to the forum .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's very civilised of you. I'll write in English, since that's the only language I know
Actually, I have three bugs - well, I think they're bugs, except, perhaps, for the first one.
1. This one isn't really a bug, but I bet the people on the Huawei forums can help.
FYI, I use a sim card from CMLink - SIM #1 [1], which piggy back off EE in the UK, and CMCC in China, and provide useful roaming plans for use between the two countries. They only provide data plans limited by the month, and I have signed up for their 22GB plan. To track usage, I have a P10 and have been trying to set it up to automatically calibrate the data usage measure on a daily basis. I think it does this by sending an SMS containing simply 'Check' to CMCC's service number '10086', and extracts the data from the response (not 100% sure about that, but hey). There seems to be a 'calibrate' button in the settings to do this manually (under the usage graph), but when I try I get the message 'Incorrect network provider. Reselect and try again.' I'd really like to get this going.
2. Related to above, I've set the setting to show the usage under the notifications when you drag down from the top of the screen. I've configured my plan information - ie 22GB per month, and starts on the 17th of each month. However, while the 'Today' seems to increase appropriately, the 'Left' is stuck at the maximum. I imagine the 'Total' is supposed to stay at 22GB. I expect the 'Left' to go down as I use it throughout the month.
3. This one is unrelated to above. If I open a browser and go to my web mail site, there is an option on the menu to 'Add to Home screen'. As expected, when I select that option, it does add an icon to the homescreen. Since it is something I want on every page of the homescreen, I drag that icon onto the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. I do that for a couple of web pages - my email and my calendar. At this point, it all works swimmingly. However, if I reboot the phone, then those icons seem to be moved back onto the homescreen, and also are 'greyed out' and placed under the clocks (the clock widget) I have placed there. So, that's not 'expected'.
What do you think?
Max.
Device info:
Model: VTR-AL00
Build number: 9.1.0.201 (C00E75R1P12patch02) GPU Turbo
EMUI version: 9.1.0
Android version: 9
Android security patch: 1 August 2019
Kernel version: 4.9.148
Network (I selected things that might be helpful):
SIM 1 (my UK CMLink SIM): China Mobile, LTE, SMS centre number - a UK number
SIM 2 (my Chinese CMCC SIM): China Mobile, EDGE, SMS centre number - a China number
[1] ...and also a 2nd one, SIM 2, which is a local SIM
James_Watson said:
In fact, I often log in the community forum as my mobile phone is a Huawei device. I would like to help you report the bug.
You may post your bug description here. You can write in English or in Chinese.
If it is in English, I will translate it by myself before submit to the forum .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could also, if you would be so kind, help me fix my problems logging into the Huawei community forums...
davidmaxwaterman said:
You could also, if you would be so kind, help me fix my problems logging into the Huawei community forums...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's your question about logging into that forum?
But as I found, it seems a community forum in Chinese. Almost all posts there are in Chinese. So, will you get any effective response even if you can log in it?
Maybe it's better to contact a local Huawei customer service center in order to get some helps. Do you think so?
---------- Post added at 04:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 AM ----------
davidmaxwaterman said:
Well, that's very civilised of you. I'll write in English, since that's the only language I know
Actually, I have three bugs - well, I think they're bugs, except, perhaps, for the first one.
1. This one isn't really a bug, but I bet the people on the Huawei forums can help.
FYI, I use a sim card from CMLink - SIM #1 [1], which piggy back off EE in the UK, and CMCC in China, and provide useful roaming plans for use between the two countries. They only provide data plans limited by the month, and I have signed up for their 22GB plan. To track usage, I have a P10 and have been trying to set it up to automatically calibrate the data usage measure on a daily basis. I think it does this by sending an SMS containing simply 'Check' to CMCC's service number '10086', and extracts the data from the response (not 100% sure about that, but hey). There seems to be a 'calibrate' button in the settings to do this manually (under the usage graph), but when I try I get the message 'Incorrect network provider. Reselect and try again.' I'd really like to get this going.
2. Related to above, I've set the setting to show the usage under the notifications when you drag down from the top of the screen. I've configured my plan information - ie 22GB per month, and starts on the 17th of each month. However, while the 'Today' seems to increase appropriately, the 'Left' is stuck at the maximum. I imagine the 'Total' is supposed to stay at 22GB. I expect the 'Left' to go down as I use it throughout the month.
3. This one is unrelated to above. If I open a browser and go to my web mail site, there is an option on the menu to 'Add to Home screen'. As expected, when I select that option, it does add an icon to the homescreen. Since it is something I want on every page of the homescreen, I drag that icon onto the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. I do that for a couple of web pages - my email and my calendar. At this point, it all works swimmingly. However, if I reboot the phone, then those icons seem to be moved back onto the homescreen, and also are 'greyed out' and placed under the clocks (the clock widget) I have placed there. So, that's not 'expected'.
What do you think?
Max.
Device info:
Model: VTR-AL00
Build number: 9.1.0.201 (C00E75R1P12patch02) GPU Turbo
EMUI version: 9.1.0
Android version: 9
Android security patch: 1 August 2019
Kernel version: 4.9.148
Network (I selected things that might be helpful):
SIM 1 (my UK CMLink SIM): China Mobile, LTE, SMS centre number - a UK number
SIM 2 (my Chinese CMCC SIM): China Mobile, EDGE, SMS centre number - a China number
[1] ...and also a 2nd one, SIM 2, which is a local SIM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your three question are really confused and difficult to understand for me as I never used a CMLink sim card.
But I will try my best to get to know your situations and help you as more as I can.
First, let's clarify your 3rd question.
On my Huawei phone, there are at most 5 icons on the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. Every icon here for apps on my device works fine even if I reboot my device. So, is it a defect of the couple of web pages - email and calendar?
Try to drag an icon of another app or widget there. Check if it will work well, please.
> I never used a CMLink sim card
I don't think there's anything special about the CMLink, except that it works in either country pretty much the same as the other. It is the same as any other SIM card with a monthly limited data plan. So, you could consider that it is the same as a Chinese SIM card, I suppose.
> So, is it a defect of the couple of web pages - email and calendar?
Well, I guess I don't know exactly what the problem is, of course. My impression is that they hadn't considered this use-case much at all - I notice the Huawei browser doesn't have this 'add to homescreen' functionality at all.
However, you prompted me to experiment a bit more, and it doesn't happen with all web pages. Previously, I had my email and calendar on there, and they both were moved back onto the homescreen underneath other icons/widgets and greyed out (and didn't actually work to launch the web pages). However, now, the calendar page does seem to stay on there, and works when I click it. I also have tried both Chrome and Brave, and they both seem to show the same problem. I can't really see how it could be a web page problem, since nothing is being launched. I suppose it could be a web *manifest* problem, since that is where the icons usually come from...though looking in chrome devtools, I see that it has no manifest, and so the icons must be taken from the <meta> in <head>. The calendar, which does seem to be staying on the quick launch bar, also doesn't have a manifest file - so not that then.
It's pretty easy to reproduce though:
1. open your browser (chrome, probably) on https://www.fastmail.fm/
2. click on the menu and select 'Add to homescreen'
3. 'Add' on the dialog
4. 'ADD on the next dialog
5. go to the homescreen and locate the shortcut
6. drag and drop it onto the quick launch bar.
7. restart
Well, that's frustrating - I was writing those down as I did them, and when I restarted, it looked fine :/ I wonder if it makes any difference which position the icons are in on...ah, yeah, it looks like it is more reproducible if the shortcut is the left-most. Arghh. This time I lost a *native* app I had on there too - WeChat of all things - you'd imagine they'd make sure that works fine. Actually, it wasn't the WeChat app I had on there, but a shortcut to one of the contacts - you can add a wechat contact from the menu on their item in the wechat contacts list - 'Add to Desktop' it is in English. Hrm I notice that, while the web page shortcuts get moved back onto the homescreen, the WeChat contact shortcut is just gone....and I can't even add it again from WeChat - it says it is, but nothing appears :/
Gosh, it's really a bit of a mess. Perhaps it's too broken and inconsistent to even bother filing any bug. I'm tempted to apply for a job there to try and help, but in any case, I can't see too many Westerners being happy with such issues I suppose Chinese people just don't do this sort of thing.
> What's your question about logging into that forum?
>
> But as I found, it seems a community forum in Chinese. Almost all posts there are in Chinese. So, will you get any effective response even if you can log in it?
> Maybe it's better to contact a local Huawei customer service center in order to get some helps. Do you think so?
Well, the question is where I can get help with logging in - but, if it is all in Chinese, I would modify my question to be: where can I find forums that are in English, and corresponding community support? Since there is a huge market for English speakers, I imagine they have somewhere for us to learn how to use it, and ask questions and report problems, etc?
davidmaxwaterman said:
> What's your question about logging into that forum?
>
> But as I found, it seems a community forum in Chinese. Almost all posts there are in Chinese. So, will you get any effective response even if you can log in it?
> Maybe it's better to contact a local Huawei customer service center in order to get some helps. Do you think so?
Well, the question is where I can get help with logging in - but, if it is all in Chinese, I would modify my question to be: where can I find forums that are in English, and corresponding community support? Since there is a huge market for English speakers, I imagine they have somewhere for us to learn how to use it, and ask questions and report problems, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, your requirement is very reasonable.
When I posted some questions about mobile phone usage here, there would be someone would replied to my thread and tried to get more detailed info to help me. They said they were the Huawei official staff.
I will post a thread about "where for you to ask questions and report problems in English" for you soon.
On the other hand, you can access the forum either via web application (mobile web as well as computer web) or via an official app. You can also try the app. If you need it and can not find the apk, I will show you the link.
James_Watson said:
Yes, your requirement is very reasonable.
When I posted some questions about mobile phone usage here, there would be someone would replied to my thread and tried to get more detailed info to help me. They said they were the Huawei official staff.
I will post a thread about "where for you to ask questions and report problems in English" for you soon.
On the other hand, you can access the forum either via web application (mobile web as well as computer web) or via an official app. You can also try the app. If you need it and can not find the apk, I will show you the link.
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Click to collapse
Thanks. I look forward to finding out if there is a forum for English language users somewhere. I do kind of feel like they could spend more attention to this requirement, unless, of course, I'm just not looking hard enough. I remember when I was using a ZTE phone - they were very popular due to having front-facing speakers, and so had a pretty good US based forum and it was very useful. [Side note - I wish Huawei would produce a phone with front-facing speakers].
I don't think an app will get me very far...I probably have it on my phone already - I see one called 'HiCare', for example, and there's the top line on the settings. It's all very unfamiliar and things so often don't seem to quite work as expected. I kind of wish the Huawei stores had 'help' sessions like they do (or did anyway) in Apple stores.
davidmaxwaterman said:
> I never used a CMLink sim card
I don't think there's anything special about the CMLink, except that it works in either country pretty much the same as the other. It is the same as any other SIM card with a monthly limited data plan. So, you could consider that it is the same as a Chinese SIM card, I suppose.
> So, is it a defect of the couple of web pages - email and calendar?
Well, I guess I don't know exactly what the problem is, of course. My impression is that they hadn't considered this use-case much at all - I notice the Huawei browser doesn't have this 'add to homescreen' functionality at all.
However, you prompted me to experiment a bit more, and it doesn't happen with all web pages. Previously, I had my email and calendar on there, and they both were moved back onto the homescreen underneath other icons/widgets and greyed out (and didn't actually work to launch the web pages). However, now, the calendar page does seem to stay on there, and works when I click it. I also have tried both Chrome and Brave, and they both seem to show the same problem. I can't really see how it could be a web page problem, since nothing is being launched. I suppose it could be a web *manifest* problem, since that is where the icons usually come from...though looking in chrome devtools, I see that it has no manifest, and so the icons must be taken from the <meta> in <head>. The calendar, which does seem to be staying on the quick launch bar, also doesn't have a manifest file - so not that then.
It's pretty easy to reproduce though:
1. open your browser (chrome, probably) on https://www.fastmail.fm/
2. click on the menu and select 'Add to homescreen'
3. 'Add' on the dialog
4. 'ADD on the next dialog
5. go to the homescreen and locate the shortcut
6. drag and drop it onto the quick launch bar.
7. restart
Well, that's frustrating - I was writing those down as I did them, and when I restarted, it looked fine :/ I wonder if it makes any difference which position the icons are in on...ah, yeah, it looks like it is more reproducible if the shortcut is the left-most. Arghh. This time I lost a *native* app I had on there too - WeChat of all things - you'd imagine they'd make sure that works fine. Actually, it wasn't the WeChat app I had on there, but a shortcut to one of the contacts - you can add a wechat contact from the menu on their item in the wechat contacts list - 'Add to Desktop' it is in English. Hrm I notice that, while the web page shortcuts get moved back onto the homescreen, the WeChat contact shortcut is just gone....and I can't even add it again from WeChat - it says it is, but nothing appears :/
Gosh, it's really a bit of a mess. Perhaps it's too broken and inconsistent to even bother filing any bug. I'm tempted to apply for a job there to try and help, but in any case, I can't see too many Westerners being happy with such issues I suppose Chinese people just don't do this sort of thing.
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Click to collapse
1. About CMLink, okay, I just posted a thread for you to Huawei community about how to report issue about Huawei phone usage for those speak English. Wait for their response, please.
2. Now I have gotten to know the feature 'Add to Home Screen'. In my Firefox Focus browser, I found it. I will have a try soon.
James_Watson said:
1. About CMLink, okay, I just posted a thread for you to Huawei community about how to report issue about Huawei phone usage for those speak English. Wait for their response, please.
2. Now I have gotten to know the feature 'Add to Home Screen'. In my Firefox Focus browser, I found it. I will have a try soon.
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Click to collapse
Awesome. That's very cool of you, thanks Maybe I'll try Firefox too...
Max.
davidmaxwaterman said:
Awesome. That's very cool of you, thanks Maybe I'll try Firefox too...
Max.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Firefox Focus just now.
When I opened a simple web page, then selected 'Add to Home screen' from the menu, entered some words for the icon title, tap 'Add' at last.
But it was so strange that then I couldn't find this icon on the home screen at all. It must be a bug of Huawei EMUI system. The QC engineers should ignore this use case.
Btw, it's time to home for me. I will try to help you tomorrow. Would you like to support my apps available on Google Play? Thanks in advance.
James_Watson said:
I tried Firefox Focus just now.
When I opened a simple web page, then select 'Add to Home screen' from the menu, entered some words for the icon title, tap 'Add' at last.
But it was so strange that then I couldn't find this icon on the home screen at all. It must be a bug of Huawei EMUI system. The QC engineers should ignore this use case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I hit this too. I suspect it is simply that you need to grant the app permissions to add to homescreen in the phone's settings in the Apps->permissions...or somewhere like that.
It's a bit odd that they don't get this automatically...I never had this issue with Google Android phones.
James_Watson said:
I tried Firefox Focus just now.
When I opened a simple web page, then selected 'Add to Home screen' from the menu, entered some words for the icon title, tap 'Add' at last.
But it was so strange that then I couldn't find this icon on the home screen at all. It must be a bug of Huawei EMUI system. The QC engineers should ignore this use case.
Btw, it's time to home for me. I will try to help you tomorrow. Would you like to support my apps available on Google Play? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right. I granted the app permission 'add to homescreen' to Firefox Focus, and then tried the feature again.
The function works well. Even after rebooting, the icon is still there on the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. So, I misunderstood that feature.
James_Watson said:
You are right. I granted the app permission 'add to homescreen' to Firefox Focus, and then tried the feature again.
The function works well. Even after rebooting, the icon is still there on the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. So, I misunderstood that feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. It seems like it might be working better for you than for me. I've not tried firefox yet, but chrome and brave both seem to lose any shortcuts on the quick launch bar, but not always. It is also quite curious what has happened to the shortcut from wechat...since that's a native android app :/
Perhaps you're on a more recent Android/EMUI version? What kind of phone are you using?
TBH, I'm seriously considering the P30 Pro 5G when I get back to the UK, and this is sort of a test run with a hand-me-down phone which I presume is very similar in UI/UX, so it is all 'influencing' my decision.
davidmaxwaterman said:
Cool. It seems like it might be working better for you than for me. I've not tried firefox yet, but chrome and brave both seem to lose any shortcuts on the quick launch bar, but not always. It is also quite curious what has happened to the shortcut from wechat...since that's a native android app :/
Perhaps you're on a more recent Android/EMUI version? What kind of phone are you using?
TBH, I'm seriously considering the P30 Pro 5G when I get back to the UK, and this is sort of a test run with a hand-me-down phone which I presume is very similar in UI/UX, so it is all 'influencing' my decision.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In fact, my phone is an old model, Mate 8 with EMUI/Android 8.0. I also have a wechat installed on my device.
Btw, would you like to leave a 5-star for my app which is available on Google Play? Thanks.
James_Watson said:
In fact, my phone is an old model, Mate 8 with EMUI/Android 8.0. I also have a wechat installed on my device.
Btw, would you like to leave a 5-star for my app which is available on Google Play? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, well I would be happy to, except I don't have Google Play on my phone...or Google anything, I think....except Chrome, of course. I'm a web app developer, so I prefer to use web apps than native android apps.
davidmaxwaterman said:
LOL, well I would be happy to, except I don't have Google Play on my phone...or Google anything, I think....except Chrome, of course. I'm a web app developer, so I prefer to use web apps than native android apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted a thread in that forum for you yesterday. https://club.huawei.com/thread-21560821-1-1.html
But till now, I have not gotten any response. So, I sent a PM to the ADMIN just now.
You may try to log in the web app or the native app for the community forum. There you might post a thread in English as your device language is English. Have a try, please. Good luck to you.
Yesterday, I managed to contact the CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu, through his social network account. But till now I have not gotten his reply to my PM.
I suggest you post your issues on the Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Huawei/ . Good luck to you.