Threema on /e/OS : the not so instant messenger

Using /e/OS Applications
#1

Hi I decided to test Threema with e/OS and have encountered some issues which are causing some family members to revert back to whatsapp. Help!

I purchased one licence for myself and convinced my brother (on Iphone) to buy a licence, and now he is complaining to me his texts are not reaching me and some failed calls.

Perhaps some users can provide the best settings for use with /e/OS.

  1. Should i enable microG? is microG bad? as its off on my phone by default. I have not set polling within the Threema options as it says messages thru polling can be 5-15 minutes later if this is the case then i cannot say Threema is an instant messenger

  2. I have set it Threema always running in background and disabled power saver for it as recommened on the threema website.

  3. do i need to get my brother on iphone to change his settings? tho i think it is just problem with Threema and /e/OS.

Appreciate all advice thanks…

#2

Have purchased my licence yesterday, and threema’ed over to an iPhone, too. No settings reviewed whatsoever. Don’t even know exactly what microG is. The messages arrive in milliseconds, in either direction. (My phone was on WLAN, but the other is internet). Can’t complain so far. Good luck.

#3

How exactly do you expect Threema to receive your brothers messages if you do not enable cloud messaging / push notifications (through microG) and do not allow polling for new messages?

There is no chance to receive messages instantly in ANY messenger, if you do not allow cloud messaging and no chance to receive messages within a few minutes in ANY messenger, if you do not allow polling. Most messengers won’t even give you the choice.

So if you want to receive your brother’s notes instantly, enable microG and allow cloud messaging. As cloud messaging in microG relies on anonymized usage of Google Servers, this might not be acceptable for you. But then you will hardly find any messenger that will notify you instantly on new messages.

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#5

yes when the app is open it works fine, but when the app was closed, the text sent to me did not notfiy and did not arrive til i opened the app the next day, so keep an eye on that you may have to change some settings:)

#6

Thanks Manuel S, this is the information i was looking for! I was not too sure which settings to change as i do not usually mess with the /e/OS settings & have not used MicroG for anything so far.

I will enable MicroG for Threema and enable cloud messaging, as it is anonomous this should be fine.

I am curious as to what method whatsapp uses as i presume it uses it`s own push servers, if so it is a little disappointng that threema relies on google.

#7

Rely is not the correct word If I may jumb in, I also use Threema, simply download it to E using the Threema store, No one slave to google they may choose to use google but google is no ones master. :slight_smile:
You can choose whether or not you would like to use Google services for Threema’s push notifications: The option “Settings > About Threema > Troubleshooting > Activate Polling” allows you to use Threema without FCM. However, we don’t recommend this.

Stay away from Google store and use the alternatives :slight_smile: Q 10 has microSG up and running and all is private…

Cheers!

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#8

Thanks for the information!

#9

Perhaps your Threema works fine?

I had to do some steps which you may need to do.If yours is working fine dont worry about it; however ive put below what i had to do just in case you or anyone else encounter a similar issue.

I found this thread useful

  1. Searched phone setting for micro G, enabled google device registration (apparently MicroG anonomizes the use of the service), and then enabled cloud messaging.

  2. I had to download Push notification tester from the /e/OS app store

3.On running it i had a red cross next to “register for push notifications”

  1. i went into the phone dialer of the regular phone and entered *#*#CHECKIN#*#* the letters are actually numbers 2432546 be sure to pay attention to the stars, hashes, as after 6 (N) it is now hash, stars to enter.

5 ran the push notification tester and got all green ticks.

6 went into threema about>trouble shoot and reset push token

7 searched for MicroG in the phone`s /e/os settings and now see that the apps are registered.

hopefully now works:)

#10

More issues with THREEMA!!!

RIght now i cannot rely on threema, today all day i tried to make multiple calls and it was stuck on the worlds INITIALIZING…

I checked the Threema server status (thru one of those 3rd party sites where people report connectivity issues with various websites) it showed all was fine. I turned off the modem/router for 30 seconds, tried again still stuck on INITIALIZING…the person i was attempting to ring then tried contact me with threema, i accepted the incoming call only to have it fail, connection closed.

I have tried the Threema Troubleshooting test for connectivity for call thru the fuction"webRTC Diagnostics", no problems reported.

I was forced to use whatsapp in the end to make the calls which connected 1st time (Booooo !!! Hissss !!! ).

Threema text messaging works fine, and calls usually work fine up until today which is odd… On some occasions in the past it does sometimes stick on "initializing " longer than usual, but then i try again and it connects.

Anyone else been having issues with Threema?, i tried looking on the web but there was not much info about it other that it has also happened to others.

I should probably contact threema support, but thought i`s check here 1st, maybe they were just having an off day… perhaps it will be fine tommorrow…who knows.

Your messenger; which ever you opt to use must be reliable, that is a must!

#11

Threema would not be my first choice.

Maybe you should look at Signal (microG required) or Kontalk, Element (Matrix)?

#12

What kind of phone are you using e/OS on?

#13

Can someone explain me why Signal notifications and calls work perfectly fine on my e S9 with microG totally deactivated when Threema isn’t able to do the same?
I of course activated the polling thing with Threema but the messages delay is bothering not to mention that people simply can’t reach me at all when trying to call me and that is not acceptable.
Why Signal manages to provide even with microG fully deactivated and Threema relies on a sketchy solution?

#14

I don’t know the polling interval for Signal.
Threema only polls every five minutes (or even more rarely, see Threema settings).
And you maybe need to disable the Android Battery optimization for Threema.

Some other messengers like Conversations have their own TCP connection without polling. This may need even more battery than polling (also Battery optimization must be turned off too), but this way you can get messages and calls really instantly.