• contacts

    From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 18:33:59
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 18:02:49
    Carlos E. R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    There are system contacts, which are visible to apps which have the contacts permission. You shouldn't need to install extra apps to use them.

    You can, however, have several contacts databases which can be accessed in different ways. Your phone's local contacts database, your Google contacts, your SIM card contacts, etc.

    That doesn't stop other vendors making their own contacts database
    completely outside of the Android contacts system. A few apps do that so
    they protect their own contacts from privacy-invading apps that want to read your system contacts and upload them to their server.

    However, I'm a bit surprised if Samsung is doing that. Are you sure you're
    not conflating your local contacts database with one stored on Google's
    server? You will need Google's contacts app to sync that. Perhaps the
    Samsung contacts app won't use the Google contacts database, only the local contacts?

    I find K-9 will only use Android contacts, rather than picking those up from recent emails, which is a bit annoying as I don't use them.

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 19:26:02
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    CU, J”rg

    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita" (Augustinus)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 19:30:34
    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on
    my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.


    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita" (Augustinus)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 20:08:49
    On 2026-07-09 19:02, Theo wrote:
    Carlos E. R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    There are system contacts, which are visible to apps which have the contacts permission. You shouldn't need to install extra apps to use them.

    You can, however, have several contacts databases which can be accessed in different ways. Your phone's local contacts database, your Google contacts, your SIM card contacts, etc.

    That doesn't stop other vendors making their own contacts database
    completely outside of the Android contacts system. A few apps do that so they protect their own contacts from privacy-invading apps that want to read your system contacts and upload them to their server.

    However, I'm a bit surprised if Samsung is doing that. Are you sure you're not conflating your local contacts database with one stored on Google's server? You will need Google's contacts app to sync that. Perhaps the Samsung contacts app won't use the Google contacts database, only the local contacts?

    I don't know for certain, as the phone is not mine. I know over email.


    I find K-9 will only use Android contacts, rather than picking those up from recent emails, which is a bit annoying as I don't use them.

    Yes, this is what he told me. And I understand that it would not work
    with the Samsung app, had to install the google one.

    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 20:10:04
    On 2026-07-09 19:30, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on
    my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.

    Because Samsung phones come with the Samsung contact app.

    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From s|b@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 22:17:00
    On Thu, 9 Jul 2026 18:33:59 +0200, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    This is why I detest Samsung: their need to use their own apps. In
    Belgium we use an app called Itsme to access government sites and
    netbanking. It simply doesn't work on a Samsung with Samsung Internet as default browser, but it works just fine on Firefox and Chrome (and
    probably every other browser besides Samsung Internet).

    --
    s|b

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 22:21:59
    On 09.07.26 20:10, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    On 2026-07-09 19:30, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install >>>> the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on
    my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.

    Because Samsung phones come with the Samsung contact app

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita" (Augustinus)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, July 09, 2026 22:22:52
    On 09.07.26 22:17, s|b wrote:
    On Thu, 9 Jul 2026 18:33:59 +0200, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    This is why I detest Samsung: their need to use their own apps. In
    Belgium we use an app called Itsme to access government sites and
    netbanking. It simply doesn't work on a Samsung with Samsung Internet as default browser, but it works just fine on Firefox and Chrome (and
    probably every other browser besides Samsung Internet).

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita" (Augustinus)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From s|b@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 11:12:51
    On Thu, 9 Jul 2026 22:22:52 +0200, J”rg Lorenz wrote:

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    I wonder that myself. I once had a Samsung Galaxy Mini and at times I
    just wanted to throw it against the wall. I switched to Nexus 5X and
    then Pixel (I know). Nexus was cheap at that time, but with the Pixel
    available Google upped their price. I know I can install Graphene OS,
    but I just cannot be bothered. I've turned off as much settings as I
    can, but I'm not 100% convinced it makes any difference to my privacy.

    --
    s|b

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 11:33:29
    Am 10.07.26 um 11:12 schrieb s|b:
    On Thu, 9 Jul 2026 22:22:52 +0200, J”rg Lorenz wrote:

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    I wonder that myself. I once had a Samsung Galaxy Mini and at times I
    just wanted to throw it against the wall. I switched to Nexus 5X and
    then Pixel (I know). Nexus was cheap at that time, but with the Pixel available Google upped their price. I know I can install Graphene OS,
    but I just cannot be bothered. I've turned off as much settings as I
    can, but I'm not 100% convinced it makes any difference to my privacy.

    Sounds very much like my own "Android-career".
    Started 2016 with a Nexus 5X and switched then to a Pixel 4 and later to
    a Pixel 7 which is still doing its job satisfactorily. Today I would
    only buy a Pixel and ignore the rest of the crowd. My primary smartphone
    is a iPhone 17 which explains perhaps my hardware strategy.

    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita."

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 11:26:48
    Carlos E. R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-07-09 19:02, Theo wrote:

    I find K-9 will only use Android contacts, rather than picking those up from
    recent emails, which is a bit annoying as I don't use them.

    Yes, this is what he told me. And I understand that it would not work
    with the Samsung app, had to install the google one.

    Does the user perhaps only have phone numbers in their contacts? In that
    case I think K-9 won't have any email addresses to work with. Maybe you
    needed the Google contacts app to sync email contacts from your gmail
    account? ie this sounds like he's in the Google 'ecosystem' and is
    complaining that the Samsung app isn't part of it.

    Personally I would never want to have any kind of list of contacts automatically scraped from my emails on my phone, because it would be full
    of noise and be a pain when I wanted to make phone calls.

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 12:49:40
    On 2026-07-10 12:26, Theo wrote:
    Carlos E. R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-07-09 19:02, Theo wrote:

    I find K-9 will only use Android contacts, rather than picking those up from
    recent emails, which is a bit annoying as I don't use them.

    Yes, this is what he told me. And I understand that it would not work
    with the Samsung app, had to install the google one.

    Does the user perhaps only have phone numbers in their contacts? In that case I think K-9 won't have any email addresses to work with. Maybe you needed the Google contacts app to sync email contacts from your gmail account? ie this sounds like he's in the Google 'ecosystem' and is complaining that the Samsung app isn't part of it.

    Personally I would never want to have any kind of list of contacts automatically scraped from my emails on my phone, because it would be full
    of noise and be a pain when I wanted to make phone calls.

    No, it is not a pain at all. The dialup app knows very well what kind of contacts to show.

    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 12:50:33
    On 2026-07-09 22:21, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 20:10, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    On 2026-07-09 19:30, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install >>>>> the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on
    my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.

    Because Samsung phones come with the Samsung contact app

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?


    Another Swiss :-P

    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 13:16:33
    J”rg Lorenz, 2026-07-09 19:26:

    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    No, vendor chaos! Samsung always behave different like they where Apple
    just with Android instead if iOS. Their smartwatches also do not provide
    all features with non-Samsung smartphones.

    Android itself has a well defined API which is also used bei
    K-9/Thunderbird and of course you can use your contacts there as well.
    It is just Samsung which use a broken custom version of Android which
    does not allow this by default.


    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 13:18:33
    J”rg Lorenz, 2026-07-09 19:30:

    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install >>> the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on
    my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.

    Any my TB on my Pixel does not even need a CardDAV server to access the contacts which are on the *PHONE* already. I use DAVx5 to sync all
    contacts with my CardDAV server, so *ALL* apps which need access to my
    contacts have them on the phone using the official API for that after I
    granted the permission.

    The problem is, that Samsungs *custom* Android version cripples the
    official APIs, so that only Samsung Apps work as expected. Blame Samsung
    for that, not Android.


    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 13:20:43
    J”rg Lorenz, 2026-07-09 22:22:

    On 09.07.26 22:17, s|b wrote:
    On Thu, 9 Jul 2026 18:33:59 +0200, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install >>> the google contacts app to provide the API.

    This is why I detest Samsung: their need to use their own apps. In
    Belgium we use an app called Itsme to access government sites and
    netbanking. It simply doesn't work on a Samsung with Samsung Internet as
    default browser, but it works just fine on Firefox and Chrome (and
    probably every other browser besides Samsung Internet).

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    Because Samsung has a big marketing department and people realize such
    problems only *after* they bought the phone.


    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 13:22:18
    J”rg Lorenz, 2026-07-10 11:33:

    Am 10.07.26 um 11:12 schrieb s|b:
    On Thu, 9 Jul 2026 22:22:52 +0200, J”rg Lorenz wrote:

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    I wonder that myself. I once had a Samsung Galaxy Mini and at times I
    just wanted to throw it against the wall. I switched to Nexus 5X and
    then Pixel (I know). Nexus was cheap at that time, but with the Pixel
    available Google upped their price. I know I can install Graphene OS,
    but I just cannot be bothered. I've turned off as much settings as I
    can, but I'm not 100% convinced it makes any difference to my privacy.

    Sounds very much like my own "Android-career".
    Started 2016 with a Nexus 5X and switched then to a Pixel 4 and later to
    a Pixel 7 which is still doing its job satisfactorily. Today I would
    only buy a Pixel and ignore the rest of the crowd. My primary smartphone
    is a iPhone 17 which explains perhaps my hardware strategy.

    And my primary smartphone is a Google Pixel 6a (which will once vy
    replaced by a Pixel 10 or whatever is the current version when the
    software supports ends for the 6a in 1-2 years). I don't need Apple
    devices at all.


    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 15:30:44
    On 10.07.26 12:26, Theo wrote:
    Personally I would never want to have any kind of list of contacts automatically scraped from my emails on my phone, because it would be full
    of noise and be a pain when I wanted to make phone calls.

    You seem not to understand how this really works in real life.
    But it is your choice.

    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita" (Augustinus)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 15:32:16
    On 10.07.26 12:50, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    On 2026-07-09 22:21, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 20:10, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    On 2026-07-09 19:30, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install >>>>>> the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on >>>> my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.

    Because Samsung phones come with the Samsung contact app

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?


    Another Swiss :-P

    The Spaniards are not very fluent in English.

    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita" (Augustinus)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Frank Slootweg@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 13:38:31
    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    [...]

    The problem is, that Samsungs *custom* Android version cripples the
    official APIs, so that only Samsung Apps work as expected. Blame Samsung
    for that, not Android.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with the Samsung 'Contacts' app (actually part of the 'Phone' app).

    For example the Contacts app handles WhatsApp contacts just fine. I
    think it's very unlikely that the Contacts app is special-coded for
    WhatsApp or vice versa, so if the Contacts app works with WhatsApp, I
    don't see wwhy it wouldn't work with K-9 Mail / 'Thunderbird'.

    Having said that, it seems that Samsung is slowly moving to Google
    apps instead of their own. For example the Messages app is now Google
    Messages.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 16:49:32
    Frank Slootweg, 2026-07-10 15:38:

    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    [...]

    The problem is, that Samsungs *custom* Android version cripples the
    official APIs, so that only Samsung Apps work as expected. Blame Samsung
    for that, not Android.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with the Samsung 'Contacts' app (actually part of the 'Phone' app).

    For example the Contacts app handles WhatsApp contacts just fine. I

    Well - Samsung and Meta are both big companies. They will have some
    agreement to get thinks working.

    think it's very unlikely that the Contacts app is special-coded for
    WhatsApp or vice versa, so if the Contacts app works with WhatsApp, I
    don't see wwhy it wouldn't work with K-9 Mail / 'Thunderbird'.

    Because K-9 / Thunderbird is free software and even the Mozilla
    Foundation is just a small player compared to Samsung and Meta.

    Having said that, it seems that Samsung is slowly moving to Google
    apps instead of their own. For example the Messages app is now Google Messages.

    Yes, because they don't want to develop and maintain their own messages
    app to support RCS and propably Google also demands using this app, if
    Samsung wants to get an official license for Google Play Services and
    device certification.


    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From s|b@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 17:53:49
    On Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:22:18 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote:

    And my primary smartphone is a Google Pixel 6a (which will once vy
    replaced by a Pixel 10 or whatever is the current version when the
    software supports ends for the 6a in 1-2 years). I don't need Apple
    devices at all.

    Nexus 5X > Pixel 3 > Pixel 6 > Pixel 10

    10 has 7 years support, but I still use 6 which has gone from A12 to A17
    and still running fine.

    --
    s|b

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 16:10:37
    On 7/9/26 1:22 PM, J”rg Lorenz wrote:

    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    Dunno about the new ones but my Samsung Galaxy S10+ will be 7 years old next
    month and is still on the original battery so I can't complain. Course my
    use is light so it's likely a YMMV thing. When the battery does finally
    quit I may just replace it for a whopping 36 bucks US. BTW I'm posting this
    using the phone. It's a handy way to kill time while the wife shops...



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 18:32:20
    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    Frank Slootweg, 2026-07-10 15:38:

    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    [...]

    The problem is, that Samsungs *custom* Android version cripples the
    official APIs, so that only Samsung Apps work as expected. Blame Samsung >> for that, not Android.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with the Samsung 'Contacts' app (actually part of the 'Phone' app).

    For example the Contacts app handles WhatsApp contacts just fine. I

    Well - Samsung and Meta are both big companies. They will have some
    agreement to get thinks working.

    Or perhaps the Samsung app uses the standard Android contacts system?
    That's how it's done on every Samsung I've had (admittedly the most recent
    one - which I still use - was released 2014).

    Samsung haven't done a deal with every single app provider that uses
    contacts. Apps which use contacts work normally on Samsung phones.

    think it's very unlikely that the Contacts app is special-coded for WhatsApp or vice versa, so if the Contacts app works with WhatsApp, I
    don't see wwhy it wouldn't work with K-9 Mail / 'Thunderbird'.

    Because K-9 / Thunderbird is free software and even the Mozilla
    Foundation is just a small player compared to Samsung and Meta.

    K-9 uses the standard Android contacts system too.

    But the standard contacts system won't sync with anything. You need an additional app for that, eg Google's app to sync with Google's contacts.

    Having said that, it seems that Samsung is slowly moving to Google
    apps instead of their own. For example the Messages app is now Google Messages.

    Yes, because they don't want to develop and maintain their own messages
    app to support RCS and propably Google also demands using this app, if Samsung wants to get an official license for Google Play Services and
    device certification.

    I think it's because they don't want to get involved with supporting RCS
    across all carriers/countries/etc and would rather leave that too Google.
    They can't rely on standard Android (AOSP) functionality for RCS as they can with SMS - Google's RCS is all locked up in their app.

    There's nothing to stop them shipping Samsung Messages as well as Google Messages, just like they do with the other apps. Only that it would be confusing for SMS to go the Samsung app and RCS to go to the Google app. So it's easier for them to just retire Samsung Messages.

    [One reaosn for this dual-app strategy is that it allows them to sell phones
    in markets which Google doesn't support, or where Google is banned. I think Google's reach has expanded such that there are few non-Google countries
    now, even if some features are limited to fewer markets]

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Frank Slootweg@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 18:05:12
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    Frank Slootweg, 2026-07-10 15:38:

    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    [...]

    The problem is, that Samsungs *custom* Android version cripples the
    official APIs, so that only Samsung Apps work as expected. Blame Samsung >> for that, not Android.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with the Samsung 'Contacts' app (actually part of the 'Phone' app).

    For example the Contacts app handles WhatsApp contacts just fine. I

    Well - Samsung and Meta are both big companies. They will have some agreement to get thinks working.

    [To Arno:]

    Well this Contacts <--> WhatsApp functionality already worked on old non-Samsung phones (Huawei (with Android 4/5) in my case)) and before
    Meta acquired WhatsApp, so it doesn't have anything to do with Samsung,
    nor with Meta, just with standard contacts functionality.

    Or perhaps the Samsung app uses the standard Android contacts system?
    That's how it's done on every Samsung I've had (admittedly the most recent one - which I still use - was released 2014).

    Samsung haven't done a deal with every single app provider that uses contacts. Apps which use contacts work normally on Samsung phones.

    Exactly! They would have to do that for every IM app, every email app,
    etc., etc., ad infinitum.

    [...]

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Dave Royal@3:633/10 to All on Friday, July 10, 2026 19:12:10
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> Wrote in message:

    But the standard contacts system won't sync with anything. You need an additional app for that, eg Google's app to sync with Google's contacts.

    On this Samsung tablet, Android 13, I use K9 and the default
    Contacts app plus CardDAV-sync free, which syncs to my contacts
    on NextCloud, which is also sync'd to my iPhone.

    As mentioned, K9 - and presumably TB on Android - does not
    automatically collect addresses you type in.
    --
    Remove numerics from my email address.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 11, 2026 08:50:23
    On 2026-07-09, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    On 2026-07-09 19:30, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install >>>> the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on
    my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.

    Because Samsung phones come with the Samsung contact app.

    Unless they have botched it, the user should be able to install another
    one and set it as default. With Android 15, I was able to install the
    Fossify one. That said, I wasn't impressed when, as soon as I opened the
    Google contacts app, I was presented with a "provide feedback" pop-up,
    or what it was, that seemed to be a covert way to agree with some terms
    of service or agreements...

    At least on this system version, what I see is that there are several
    stores, including "Phone storage" and "Phone storage (not visible by
    other apps)". On a much older system on a Samsung device, I had no
    trouble using the contacts defined on the Samsung contacts app from K-9
    mail. On this one, it must be on the not "not visible by other apps"
    phone storage (yes, I know, double negation is a no-no).

    Fossify apps don't seem to be that complete to me, and may lack some
    more basic features (I'm still baffled by how their Messages app lacks
    enough encoding support to send SMS messages with extended charset
    without halving the per message capacity), but at least they're free of
    nagging annoyances like that Google feedback popup, and seem to be lean
    enough.

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 11, 2026 12:25:58
    On 2026-07-11 09:50, Nuno Silva wrote:
    On 2026-07-09, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    On 2026-07-09 19:30, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 19:26, J”rg Lorenz wrote:
    On 09.07.26 18:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Ji,
    Just found out that Samsung has its own contacts app.

    And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install >>>>> the google contacts app to provide the API.

    Curious!

    Not at all!
    Typical Android-chaos.

    BTW: Why should anyone use proprietary software for contacts? My TB on
    my Pixel knows all contacts I have on my CardDAV-server at any time.

    Because Samsung phones come with the Samsung contact app.

    Unless they have botched it, the user should be able to install another
    one and set it as default. With Android 15, I was able to install the
    Fossify one.


    Of course you can. But if one buys a Samsung phone, which is a very
    successful brand that sells a lot of phones, and it comes with the
    Samsung Contacts app installed, one assumes that it has been tested and
    that it works, always. And if not, I expect to be told, not having to
    find out.




    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 11, 2026 18:37:58
    Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> wrote:
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> Wrote in message:

    But the standard contacts system won't sync with anything. You need an additional app for that, eg Google's app to sync with Google's contacts.

    On this Samsung tablet, Android 13, I use K9 and the default
    Contacts app plus CardDAV-sync free, which syncs to my contacts
    on NextCloud, which is also sync'd to my iPhone.

    Indeed. I think there is a actually a way you can access Google contacts via CardDAV without needing their app - you generate a special link that you can give to a CardDAV sync app. I do that for Google calendars using CalDAV.

    The way these sync apps work is they create a separate contacts or calendar database on the phone, so you can tell what's a synced contact and what's a local one. You can use them separately without having to merge them with
    your local database.

    As mentioned, K9 - and presumably TB on Android - does not
    automatically collect addresses you type in.

    I find the lack of contacts feature less annoying because email addresses
    are actually remembered by my keyboard. eg if I start typing 'bob@' then
    the autocorrect offers 'bob@example.com' as a completion. So as long as I
    know the first part of the email then I'm ok. If my contacts were things
    like 45949587@qq.com then that might be more annoying, but that's not a
    problem I have.

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 09:59:52
    Am 11.07.26 um 12:25 schrieb Carlos E. R.:
    On 2026-07-11 09:50, Nuno Silva wrote:
    On 2026-07-09, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    Because Samsung phones come with the Samsung contact app.

    Unless they have botched it, the user should be able to install another
    one and set it as default. With Android 15, I was able to install the
    Fossify one.


    Of course you can. But if one buys a Samsung phone, which is a very successful brand that sells a lot of phones, and it comes with the
    Samsung Contacts app installed, one assumes that it has been tested and
    that it works, always. And if not, I expect to be told, not having to
    find out.

    You should be always be very wary of proprietary software coming from a manufacturer of Google-phones. Especially when proven solutions already
    exist and are used by the rest of the Android-universe.

    --
    "Roma locuta, causa finita."

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 09:44:03
    On 2026-07-12, Stefan Ram wrote:

    Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote or quoted:
    The debilitating drawback of the Pixel, for me, is the lack of sd card but >>I understand that if I buy way too much storage, that isn't then an issue.

    I want an SD slot, too, but for a different reason: The SD
    card is my data storage. I buy a new phone, plug in the SD
    card from the old phone, and have all my data again!

    Yeah, that touches on the same thing that occurred to me: it's not
    merely another storage device and an upgradeable one (also one that can
    be replaced in case of wear, although I'd expect the internal one to
    meet much higher levels of resiliency for that to be an issue), it's
    also a way to move/copy files when needed.

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 09:53:08
    On 2026-07-12, Maria Sophia wrote:

    Arno Welzel wrote:
    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    Because Samsung has a big marketing department and people realize such
    problems only *after* they bought the phone.

    For some of us, the only Android brands to choose from are Pixel or
    Galaxy.

    *sigh* I recently was trying to choose one to buy, and I did have a
    tighter schedule for that (even though the previous phone still
    works). I was basically limited by what stores nearby had in stock,
    which was some stuff, but not really much. And once you target a price
    range, choice may be more limited.

    I wasn't able to get a small enough device, for example, because for
    some reason the decent models they had, meeting other criteria, were all bigger.

    As you know, when I was thinking of replacing my Samsung, I only looked at Pixel and Galaxy because there's a ton of customization documentation for both.

    The debilitating drawback of the Pixel, for me, is the lack of sd card but
    I understand that if I buy way too much storage, that isn't then an
    issue.

    I also discovered that there's another trend: DSDS phones where the æSD
    slot is one of the two nano-SIM slots... (That a lot of the dual SIM
    phones on offering were DSDS in itself was also a thing I noticed:
    there's no demand for DSDA, or is that only on higher price brackets?)

    Otherwise the answer to "Why buy a Samsung" is that many still have sd
    slots, which means you get portable storage for about 30 bucks a pop.

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 11:58:05
    Theo, 2026-07-10 19:32:

    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    Frank Slootweg, 2026-07-10 15:38:

    Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
    [...]

    The problem is, that Samsungs *custom* Android version cripples the
    official APIs, so that only Samsung Apps work as expected. Blame Samsung >>>> for that, not Android.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with the Samsung 'Contacts' app
    (actually part of the 'Phone' app).

    For example the Contacts app handles WhatsApp contacts just fine. I

    Well - Samsung and Meta are both big companies. They will have some
    agreement to get thinks working.

    Or perhaps the Samsung app uses the standard Android contacts system?

    If this is the case, the K-9 should work fine, because it also uses the standard Android contacts system.

    That's how it's done on every Samsung I've had (admittedly the most recent one - which I still use - was released 2014).

    Then the original post must be an error:

    "And if you want Thunderbird (K-9?) to use contacts, you have to install
    the google contacts app to provide the API."



    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 12:01:36
    Maria Sophia, 2026-07-12 06:03:

    Arno Welzel wrote:
    WTF should anyone buy a Samsung?

    Because Samsung has a big marketing department and people realize such
    problems only *after* they bought the phone.

    For some of us, the only Android brands to choose from are Pixel or Galaxy.

    As you know, when I was thinking of replacing my Samsung, I only looked at Pixel and Galaxy because there's a ton of customization documentation for both.

    The debilitating drawback of the Pixel, for me, is the lack of sd card but
    I understand that if I buy way too much storage, that isn't then an issue.

    So far the 128 GB in my Pixel 6a was always enough for me. And when I
    once have to switch to a Pixel 10 or 11, 256 GB is also available even
    in the cheaper "a" Models.



    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 12:04:19
    Stefan Ram, 2026-07-12 09:42:

    Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote or quoted:
    The debilitating drawback of the Pixel, for me, is the lack of sd card but >> I understand that if I buy way too much storage, that isn't then an issue.

    I want an SD slot, too, but for a different reason: The SD
    card is my data storage. I buy a new phone, plug in the SD
    card from the old phone, and have all my data again!

    My storage is my *server*. The phone is only a cache for it, not more.
    All new data on the phone (e.g. pictures taken with the camera) will immediately get synced to the server and older stuff will automatically
    get deleted, so the internal memory does not need to be more than 128 GB.

    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 13:49:18
    On 2026-07-12 10:44, Nuno Silva wrote:
    On 2026-07-12, Stefan Ram wrote:

    Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote or quoted:
    The debilitating drawback of the Pixel, for me, is the lack of sd card but >>> I understand that if I buy way too much storage, that isn't then an issue. >>
    I want an SD slot, too, but for a different reason: The SD
    card is my data storage. I buy a new phone, plug in the SD
    card from the old phone, and have all my data again!

    Yeah, that touches on the same thing that occurred to me: it's not
    merely another storage device and an upgradeable one (also one that can
    be replaced in case of wear, although I'd expect the internal one to
    meet much higher levels of resiliency for that to be an issue), it's
    also a way to move/copy files when needed.

    I tested a tablet recently, and bought a tablet from a different brand recently. Both said that the tablet had to be powered off before
    insertion of the card, and warned that the card could be formatted
    before use.

    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 16:18:41
    On 7/12/26 4:49 AM, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    I tested a tablet recently, and bought a tablet from a different brand >recently. Both said that the tablet had to be powered off before
    insertion of the card, and warned that the card could be formatted
    before use.

    Powered completely off? I don't remember about the formatting since I
    haven't bought a new card in years but I routinely plug in cards to my
    various Android toys while they are asleep and upon awakening they ask how
    I want to use the card and after I make my choice they say it's ready to
    go. No problems. I do get a warning if I do that while awake but so far
    (knocks on wood) even that indiscretion has caused me no problems. But then
    my cards contain mostly music and old apks (like my favorite Groundhog
    newsreader) so maybe other stuff would be damaged??

    Time to do some card experiments on your new toys and report back...


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Carlos E. R.@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 22:11:31
    On 2026-07-12 18:18, AJL wrote:
    On 7/12/26 4:49 AM, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    I tested a tablet recently, and bought a tablet from a different brand
    recently. Both said that the tablet had to be powered off before
    insertion of the card, and warned that the card could be formatted
    before use.

    Powered completely off?

    Yes. At least whatever the tablet can do when you push the power button
    and select power off. The battery can not be removed, after all.

    I don't remember about the formatting since I
    haven't bought a new card in years but I routinely plug in cards to my various Android toys while they are asleep and upon awakening they ask how
    I want to use the card and after I make my choice they say it's ready to
    go. No problems. I do get a warning if I do that while awake but so far (knocks on wood) even that indiscretion has caused me no problems. But then my cards contain mostly music and old apks (like my favorite Groundhog newsreader) so maybe other stuff would be damaged??

    Time to do some card experiments on your new toys and report back...

    In the past I introduced SIM cards or memory cards while fully on, no
    problem. The warning in the new tablet surprised me.

    My card was not formatted, but the warning is there. If the tablet
    doesn't like the card, I assume it will format it. I hope it asks first.


    --
    Cheers,
    Carlos E.R.
    ES??, EU??;

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, July 12, 2026 21:31:51
    On 7/12/26 1:11 PM, Carlos E. R. wrote:
    On 2026-07-12 18:18, AJL wrote:
    On 7/12/26 4:49 AM, Carlos E. R. wrote:

    I tested a tablet recently, and bought a tablet from a different brand
    recently. Both said that the tablet had to be powered off before
    insertion of the card, and warned that the card could be formatted
    before use.

    Powered completely off?

    Yes. At least whatever the tablet can do when you push the power button
    and select power off. The battery can not be removed, after all.

    Yep, that's what I meant. All my tabs and phone give 'power off' as an
    option when holding down the power button but of course we all know that's
    not technically true but then calling it semi power off might be worse...
    8-/

    I don't remember about the formatting since I
    haven't bought a new card in years but I routinely plug in cards to my
    various Android toys while they are asleep and upon awakening they ask how >> I want to use the card and after I make my choice they say it's ready to
    go. No problems. I do get a warning if I do that while awake but so far
    (knocks on wood) even that indiscretion has caused me no problems. But then >> my cards contain mostly music and old apks (like my favorite Groundhog
    newsreader) so maybe other stuff would be damaged??

    Time to do some card experiments on your new toys and report back...

    In the past I introduced SIM cards or memory cards while fully on, no >problem. The warning in the new tablet surprised me.

    I haven't stuck in a sim card in almost 7 years so dunno about that. But as
    I said when I've inserted a card with the device on, it just warned me with
    no apparent consequences.

    My card was not formatted, but the warning is there. If the tablet
    doesn't like the card, I assume it will format it. I hope it asks first.

    I have always used a card to transfer stuff to the tablet or to use as
    external storage (like my music collection for tablet listening - earphones
    of course as the speakers ain't so great...) so it has already been
    formatted and loaded beforehand. I'd try sticking in an unformatted card
    just to see what it would do but don't have any. My guess is just a failure
    warning. If you have an unformatted one sitting around give it a try on
    your new toys and let us know...



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 01:52:34
    On 7/12/26 6:05 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:
    AJL wrote:

    If you have an unformatted one sitting around

    I haven't tested it fully, but in the past I had a 32GB card for my 64GB >Galaxy and then when I put in a 64GB card which had a complete copy of the >file system, it didn't recognize everything (like app maps stored there).

    This Amazon Fire HD10 tablet I'm posting with will only accept up to a 32GB
    card. Anything larger won't work. Surprising for Amazon's latest tablet
    model. But then the Fire OS is a bit behind in the Android department also.
    Check my headers but last I looked my PhoNews newsreader thinks it's
    Android 11.

    But it's still my favorite (Android) tablet among all my toys. It's very
    light with rounded corners making it very comfortable to hold for extended
    periods with fat bezels for fat fingers, and a great FHD screen with
    reasonable speed. Course you have to install Google stuff on it as the
    Amazon AppStore sucks. But that's an easy mod, Google for details. Consider
    this a group recommendation as I doubt Maria would go for it... ;)


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 17:00:23
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    On 7/12/26 6:05 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:
    AJL wrote:

    If you have an unformatted one sitting around

    I haven't tested it fully, but in the past I had a 32GB card for my 64GB >Galaxy and then when I put in a 64GB card which had a complete copy of the >file system, it didn't recognize everything (like app maps stored there).

    This Amazon Fire HD10 tablet I'm posting with will only accept up to a 32GB
    card. Anything larger won't work. Surprising for Amazon's latest tablet
    model. But then the Fire OS is a bit behind in the Android department also.
    Check my headers but last I looked my PhoNews newsreader thinks it's
    Android 11.

    Try (on Windows/Mac/etc) reformatting your card to FAT32.

    'SDHC' cards up to 32GB are formatted FAT32, 'SDXC' cards above 32GB are
    exFAT - the only difference is the formatting it comes out of the box with, there's no hardware barrier at 32GB.

    Some devices don't support exFAT (either too old or they didn't want to pay
    a royalty to Microsoft). But FAT32 itself has no 32GB limit, so if you reformat it on Windows the tablet may be happy with it.

    (also be aware FAT32 has a 4GiB file size limit, so if you're storing long videos on the card that may be an issue)

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 16:50:22
    On 7/12/26 11:26 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:
    AJL wrote:


    This Amazon Fire HD10 tablet I'm posting with will only accept up to a 32GB

    It's good to know about your Amazone Fire and how you keep it working for >you. I'm also surprised at the sd card limitation. Seems unnatural to me.

    Fire HD 10 (2023) - supports microSDXC up to 1024 GB (1 TB)

    Interesting. That turned out to be right. Apparently this tablet didn't like
    my 64GB cards for some reason and I just assumed that it didn't take
    anything larger. You know the definition of ASSUME, right?

    I really don't need more than the installed 32GB card so won't change
    anything for now.

    I have a Samsung tablet that I got back after gifting it to an iPad owner >whom I didn't convert to Android, so I'm learning about Android 16 now.

    I'm down to 4 tablets (3 Fire tabs and a Lenovo Tab One) and a Chromebook.
    No Windows or iOS stuff, and getting along just fine (temporarily of
    course)...





    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 17:00:28
    On 7/13/26 9:00 AM, Theo wrote:
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    On 7/12/26 6:05 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:
    AJL wrote:

    If you have an unformatted one sitting around

    I haven't tested it fully, but in the past I had a 32GB card for my 64GB
    Galaxy and then when I put in a 64GB card which had a complete copy of the >> >file system, it didn't recognize everything (like app maps stored there). >>
    This Amazon Fire HD10 tablet I'm posting with will only accept up to a 32GB >> card. Anything larger won't work. Surprising for Amazon's latest tablet
    model. But then the Fire OS is a bit behind in the Android department also. >> Check my headers but last I looked my PhoNews newsreader thinks it's
    Android 11.

    Try (on Windows/Mac/etc) reformatting your card to FAT32.

    'SDHC' cards up to 32GB are formatted FAT32, 'SDXC' cards above 32GB are >exFAT - the only difference is the formatting it comes out of the box with, >there's no hardware barrier at 32GB.

    Some devices don't support exFAT (either too old or they didn't want to pay
    a royalty to Microsoft). But FAT32 itself has no 32GB limit, so if you >reformat it on Windows the tablet may be happy with it.

    (also be aware FAT32 has a 4GiB file size limit, so if you're storing long >videos on the card that may be an issue)

    Thanks. That may well be the problem. I'll give it a try when I need more
    card storage on this Fire HD10 tablet and acquire more toys that can
    accomplish the reformatting...



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 18:10:51
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    Thanks. That may well be the problem. I'll give it a try when I need more
    card storage on this Fire HD10 tablet and acquire more toys that can
    accomplish the reformatting...

    Your Chromebook can do it: https://support-en.sandisk.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/43506/~/instructions-to-format-a-usb-flash-drive-or-memory-card-on-chromebook

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 17:48:18
    On 7/13/26 10:10 AM, Theo wrote:
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    Thanks. That may well be the problem. I'll give it a try when I need more
    card storage on this Fire HD10 tablet and acquire more toys that can
    accomplish the reformatting...

    Your Chromebook can do it: >https://support-en.sandisk.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/43506/~/instructions-to-format-a-usb-flash-drive-or-memory-card-on-chromebook

    Ah. Didn't know that. Thanks...



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Frank Slootweg@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 19:57:00
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    [...]
    I have always used a card to transfer stuff to the tablet or to use as
    external storage (like my music collection for tablet listening - earphones
    of course as the speakers ain't so great...) so it has already been
    formatted and loaded beforehand. I'd try sticking in an unformatted card
    just to see what it would do but don't have any. My guess is just a failure
    warning. If you have an unformatted one sitting around give it a try on
    your new toys and let us know...

    Minor, but in this context important, nit: There is no such thing as
    "an unformatted card". An SD card can be formatted with the
    wrong/undesired filesystem or the formatting might be partly broken,
    etc., but it's not unformatted. I.e. when you buy one, it's already
    formatted.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Frank Slootweg@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 20:04:56
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    On 7/12/26 11:26 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:
    AJL wrote:

    This Amazon Fire HD10 tablet I'm posting with will only accept up to a 32GB

    It's good to know about your Amazone Fire and how you keep it working for >you. I'm also surprised at the sd card limitation. Seems unnatural to me.

    Fire HD 10 (2023) - supports microSDXC up to 1024 GB (1 TB)

    Interesting. That turned out to be right. Apparently this tablet didn't like
    my 64GB cards for some reason and I just assumed that it didn't take
    anything larger. You know the definition of ASSUME, right?

    If it's a rather old 64GB card, it might be a non-standard card.
    Before the SDXC (>32GB) standard, some manufacturer already made 64GB
    cards. These were non-standard and will give problems in devices which
    expect SDXC cards.

    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SD_card#Capacity_standards>

    I really don't need more than the installed 32GB card so won't change
    anything for now.

    [...]

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From AJL@3:633/10 to All on Monday, July 13, 2026 21:17:07
    On 7/13/26 1:04 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    On 7/12/26 11:26 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:

    This Amazon Fire HD10 tablet I'm posting with will only accept up to a 32GB

    It's good to know about your Amazon Fire and how you keep it working for >>> you. I'm also surprised at the sd card limitation. Seems unnatural to me. >>> Fire HD 10 (2023) - supports microSDXC up to 1024 GB (1 TB)

    Interesting. That turned out to be right. Apparently this tablet didn't like >> my 64GB cards for some reason and I just assumed that it didn't take
    anything larger. You know the definition of ASSUME, right?

    If it's a rather old 64GB card, it might be a non-standard card.
    Before the SDXC (>32GB) standard, some manufacturer already made 64GB
    cards. These were non-standard and will give problems in devices which
    expect SDXC cards.
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SD_card#Capacity_standards>

    The same 64GB card that my Amazon Fire HD10 tablet refused worked fine when
    I installed it in my Lenovo Tab One tablet. Perhaps that was why I thought
    the Fire tablet was limited. In any case all my current toys are working to
    my satisfaction so I think I'll just leave well enough alone. Thanks all...




    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 12:45:14
    Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> wrote:
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    [...]
    I have always used a card to transfer stuff to the tablet or to use as
    external storage (like my music collection for tablet listening - earphones
    of course as the speakers ain't so great...) so it has already been
    formatted and loaded beforehand. I'd try sticking in an unformatted card
    just to see what it would do but don't have any. My guess is just a failure
    warning. If you have an unformatted one sitting around give it a try on
    your new toys and let us know...

    Minor, but in this context important, nit: There is no such thing as
    "an unformatted card". An SD card can be formatted with the
    wrong/undesired filesystem or the formatting might be partly broken,
    etc., but it's not unformatted. I.e. when you buy one, it's already formatted.

    Not in the original sense of a floppy coming out of the factory without any magnetic data on the medium - 'formatting' meant creating the magnetic
    sector boundaries, checksums, etc something you had to do before you even thought about writing data into the sectors.

    But 'unformatted' has become a synonym for 'not having valid partition(s)'. That's what 'Format' in Windows will do - create a partition table and a partition with an empty filesystem on it. If you still have a floppy it
    will also write the sector boundaries, but once done it creates the
    filesystem just like any other device. The 'Format' tool (and the verb 'format') covers both operations, with modern media needing one but not the other.

    So it's outdated nit really. The term encompasses more than it previously
    did.

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arno Welzel@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 16:06:57
    Frank Slootweg, 2026-07-13 21:57:

    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    [...]
    I have always used a card to transfer stuff to the tablet or to use as
    external storage (like my music collection for tablet listening - earphones >> of course as the speakers ain't so great...) so it has already been
    formatted and loaded beforehand. I'd try sticking in an unformatted card
    just to see what it would do but don't have any. My guess is just a failure >> warning. If you have an unformatted one sitting around give it a try on
    your new toys and let us know...

    Minor, but in this context important, nit: There is no such thing as
    "an unformatted card". An SD card can be formatted with the
    wrong/undesired filesystem or the formatting might be partly broken,
    etc., but it's not unformatted. I.e. when you buy one, it's already formatted.

    To be precise: SD cards are flash media. And this kind of media is not "formatted" at all, it's just flash storage which can be completely
    empty or it contains a filesystem with data. But to write data or to
    create a new file system you don't have to "format" it.

    The concept of reak "formatting" a media comes from magnetic media like
    floppy disks or old very old MFM/RLL hard disks before we had IDE, which required to have sector information written to it, before you can create
    a file system on it - so the medium has a sector format. The procedure
    to format hard disks this was also called "low level format" in contrast
    to write a new file system. It is just MS-DOS which also used "format"
    as command, but formatting and creating a file system are two separate
    things. Microsoft once also used a special higher density format for the Windows 95 installation floppy disks which had more sectors per
    cylinder, so the disks could store a bit more data.

    A medium which needs formatting, before it can be used is also called
    "soft sectored" since the sector boundaries are not defined by the
    hardware but only by the sector identification written to the disk.
    Modern hard disks get the secore information written in the factory and
    they don't support "low level format" at all and just ignore this. On
    the other hand, if the sector data ever gets lost, the hard disk is not
    usable any longer.

    In Linux there are two separate tools to format floppy disks, like
    ufiformat and mkdosfs, but MS-DOS and Windows usually combined both in
    one single operation to write new sectors and create the file system afterwards.

    However, over the decades "formatting" a media became a synonym for
    creating a new empty file system.


    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Frank Slootweg@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 14:07:48
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
    Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> wrote:
    AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
    [...]
    I have always used a card to transfer stuff to the tablet or to
    use as external storage (like my music collection for tablet
    listening - earphones of course as the speakers ain't so great...)
    so it has already been formatted and loaded beforehand. I'd try
    sticking in an unformatted card just to see what it would do but
    don't have any. My guess is just a failure warning. If you have an unformatted one sitting around give it a try on your new toys and
    let us know...

    Minor, but in this context important, nit: There is no such thing as
    "an unformatted card". An SD card can be formatted with the
    wrong/undesired filesystem or the formatting might be partly broken,
    etc., but it's not unformatted. I.e. when you buy one, it's already formatted.

    Not in the original sense of a floppy coming out of the factory without any magnetic data on the medium - 'formatting' meant creating the magnetic
    sector boundaries, checksums, etc something you had to do before you even thought about writing data into the sectors.

    True, with the addition that for (3.5") *diskettes*, you could later
    buy them pre-formatted (with a FAT-filesystem).

    But 'unformatted' has become a synonym for 'not having valid partition(s)'. That's what 'Format' in Windows will do - create a partition table and a partition with an empty filesystem on it.

    These days, it's hardly possible to buy a storage medium/device 'not
    having valid partition(s)'. It might not have the partition(s) one
    *wants* or/and not the filesystems (in those partitions) one *wants*,
    but it *does* have a valid partition and a filesystem in that partition.

    If you still have a floppy it
    will also write the sector boundaries, but once done it creates the filesystem just like any other device. The 'Format' tool (and the verb 'format') covers both operations, with modern media needing one but not the other.

    So it's outdated nit really. The term encompasses more than it previously did.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 15:28:08
    Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> wrote:
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

    But 'unformatted' has become a synonym for 'not having valid partition(s)'.
    That's what 'Format' in Windows will do - create a partition table and a partition with an empty filesystem on it.

    These days, it's hardly possible to buy a storage medium/device 'not
    having valid partition(s)'. It might not have the partition(s) one
    *wants* or/and not the filesystems (in those partitions) one *wants*,
    but it *does* have a valid partition and a filesystem in that partition.

    You can 'wipe' a storage device by deleting its partition table, and then
    when you plug it in Windows gives you a message 'You need to format the disk
    in drive D: before you can use it'. Of course it's not a real wipe as data
    is still there to be recovered.

    It is common to do a full wipe with zeroes to make sure no data is hiding on
    a disk before giving it to someone else. If you hand it over without
    creating a new partition table, it's 'unformatted'.

    If you buy a SATA HDD or NVMe, it's common for them to be completely blank
    with no partition table. If you're installing an OS a existing partition
    table is just a hindrance you have to delete, otherwise the installer might
    get confused.

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Frank Slootweg@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 15:45:31
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
    [...]

    It is common to do a full wipe with zeroes to make sure no data is hiding on a disk before giving it to someone else. If you hand it over without creating a new partition table, it's 'unformatted'.

    I use diskpart's 'clean all' command for that purpose. Mainly to
    dispose of no longer useful laptops, in which case I run diskpart from a Macrium Reflect 'Rescue Media' USB memory-stick, so I can also wipe the
    C: partition without crashing the running OS.

    If you buy a SATA HDD or NVMe, it's common for them to be completely blank with no partition table. If you're installing an OS a existing partition table is just a hindrance you have to delete, otherwise the installer might get confused.

    Yes, that was probably the case for the 4TB SATA disk which I bought
    together with my 'empty' (Synology) NAS. I don't *know* if it was
    completely blank with no partition table, but it probably was.

    To put all of this back on topic: I used my Android phone to make pictures/videos of these wiping/installation procedures! :-)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 17:33:14
    On 2026-07-13, Maria Sophia wrote:

    Nuno Silva wrote:
    With Android 15, I was able to install the
    Fossify one. That said, I wasn't impressed when

    Caring about privacy, I installed OpenContacts which I think is better than the Fossify Contacts app, since OpenContacts ties to WhatsApp, Telegram & Signal, in addition to whatever your default SMS app is (mine is pulsesms).


    *Open Contacts*
    <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/opencontacts.open.com.opencontacts/>
    <https://gitlab.com/sultanahamer/OpenContacts>

    Below is a copy of what I wrote a few months ago on this newsgroup.

    Fossify Contacts is apparently a nice replacement UI for managing
    contacts. But apparently it still uses the standard Android
    ContactsProvider. That means it uses the system SQLite contacts
    database. Which means it uses the same storage model as the stock
    Contacts app.

    So if we add a contact in Fossify Contacts, it will appear in the
    system contacts DB and that means any app with contacts permission
    can read it.

    (What I get there is that I can add them to a store which isn't visible
    by other applications. Now I have no idea if this is an app feature, an
    Android feature or an Android modification by the phone manufacturer...)


    Sigh.

    The pre-2021 Simple Mobile Tools Simple Contacts Pro had a "local-only"
    mode that stored contacts in its own internal storage, and it also
    supported VCF import/export. But in my testing years ago, it worked
    only with some dialers, not all.
    [...]

    The only contacts apps that I've found that meet the privacy
    requirements are:
    1. DOpen Contacts (supports private storage + VCF import/export)
    2. Simple Contacts Pro (old version from before 2021)

    (Isn't Simple Mobile Tools Simple Contacts{, Pro} what Fossify Contacts
    was forked from?)

    If anyone knows of a modern FOSS contacts app that keeps everything
    out of the system provider and supports VCF import/export and integrates
    with dialer/SMS, I'd love to hear about it.

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Jörg Lorenz@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, July 25, 2026 07:49:49
    Am 10.07.2026 um 13:22 schrieb Arno Welzel:
    I don't need Apple
    devices at all.

    I use Apple devices because they are very superior to anything else in
    the market in terms of productivity, stability and user experience.
    But these facts are beyond you.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)