Further issues in the 3 th week of the NextCloudPi installation series of the MRIS

Last Updated on January 26, 2024 by pg@petergamma.org

The troubles with NextCloudPi we had in the third week.

  • We started in the first week in our attempts to sync data from an Android phone over a powered usb-c adapter with a wired ethernet adapter to a PC and back over a Pi with NextCloudPi.
  • We tested two adapters and four smartphones.
  • These where 3 Xiaomi Pocophone F1 and a Faiphone 3, all of these have usb – c connectors.
  • We managed to sync one file from our PC over a Pi running NextCloudPi and back. But we had to do it manually and we did not see it through complelet how it works with the folder association.
  • This worked with a Pocophone F 1 which was never used before and adapter two.
  • We decided to make a fresh install with new devices for a second attempt in the second week.
  • Next to one Pocophone F1 only the Fairphone 3 worked, but later on we failed to use it. The problem was data transmission. The phone charged but had not ethernet connection. This could be because of cables which are charge only, we only learned from Andreas Spiess that such trouble makers exist.
  • Then suddenly a second Pocophone F1 worked as well
  • But we always get an error message when we installed the NextCloudPi Android app and we do not know how to solve this problem.
  • We stuck at where the Android NextCloudPi app always wanted to update the Android System Webview. And when we wanted to update it, it says it will be updated later on but is was not updated later on.
  • We do not know if it did not work to log in because of it was not possible to update the above up, but we gave up our second Pocophone F1 and went back to the first Pocophone F1 where this worked without any issues.
  • There where so many error messages that we gave up this phone. The NextCloudPi android app feels like it was designed from a computer scientist for other computer scientist.
  • We now have also watched Andreas Spiess tutorial for usb-c since we had issues with usb-c:

USB-C Tutorial for Everybody (Connector, Cable, PD, Data Transfer, Devices)

We now know that red usb-c cables are better than cables which have another color, but we are physiologists and not electonics engineers and we coudn’t understand all the details after a first quick lock through the 26 min tutorial about usb-c.

  • We where not able to understand which details are relevant to solve our problem and which are not of the whole usb-c video. It contains a lot of information.
  • Logging in to the NextCloudPi Android app felt like logging in to the computational lab of the Swiss Federal Instititute of Technology in Zurich.
  • First a very long passwords is required.
  • Then logging in requested often to wait for 30 seconds since we tried to log in too often.
  • Or it says the server takes too long for an answer.
  • Our logging in ettempts just stuck and our patience has gone.
  • The Android NextCloudPi app always wanted to update the Android System Webview. And when we wanted to update it, it says it will be updated later on but is was not updated later on.
  • We had to give up the second Pocophone F1 since we failed to login to NextCloudPi with this devices
  • And when we managed to login and wanted to create a new user account on our first Pocophone F1 it was recected since we aleady have an aacount there, but we want to create a new one and we do not know how to solve this problem
  • We also learned from Andreas Spiess that thicker usb-c cables are better, but this is not relevant for our problem, since we do not own an iPhone 15 with high transfer speeds
  • From the Pinephone we know that cheaper adapters do not work, only those starting from around 50 USD, and the one we used where cheaper.
  • we learned also that there are usb-c charging only cable so we have to find this out and eventually have to replace all our usb-c cables since we need it for data transfer.
  • IF THERE IS NO INFORMATION THEN IT IS A CHARGING ONLY USB-C CABLE THIS VERY HELPFUL TO KNOW FROM ANDREAS SPIESS
  • We had a lot of issues with our adapters.
  • Adapter one worked for instance for charging of the Fairphone 3 but not for data transfer. This could eventually have to do something with the usb-c cable we have used.
  • Now almost at the end of the 3 th week of our NextCloudPi installation attempts we are there where we where with installing LibreOffice on the Pinephone:

See our struggle to install LibreOffice on the PinePhone

  • With LibreOffice we needed a supporter and a support forum.
  • With NextCloudPi we did not need it to this date.
  • But is similar time consuming.

We have given up LibreOffice and the Pinephone for the time being, but not NextCloudPi. The issue with it is that it is a very complex chain of devices and there are many possibilities where there are issues. Nobody seems to have used NextCloudPi for the purpose and as published and instruction how to do this. And that is who to synchronize data from an Android phone over a Pi running NextCloudPi to a PC and back. And we suppose the setup we described here can solve our problem and we will not give it up. The Pinephone we have given up for the time being but not NextCloudPi.

P.S.

  • Since the usb-c cables we use are only used for charging the phone it does not matter if the usb-c cable which is used for it is a charge only cable.
  • It eventually could be an issue of the adapters. But both of them worked at least once with one smartphone.
  • But an issue we have is reproducablity. For instance with adapter one charging and wired ethernet worked with a Pocophone F1 the first time, but then it did not work anymore, and we do not know why.
  • With the Fairphone 3 adapter 1 worked only for charging but not as a wired ethernet adapter.
  • Currently we know that adapter 2 worked with a Pocophone F1 which was never used before, but software installation is difficult and took time for us personally. We are in the 3 th week now trying to solve this problem working every day a little bit on it, until we loose our patience.
  • But we know now that the issue is not the hardware, and not the software either, it worked once but not to our satisfaction yet because we had to sync files manually.
  • So we decided to reinstall everything. But software installation and re-installation is difficult for us personally and takes time.