WeChat issues on /e/

Using /e/OS Troubleshooting
1

I have multiple, possibly linked issues using the Chinese messaging app WeChat with /e/.

  1. Links issue: On a FP3 with the current Android 9 based /e/ when I tap a link (such as to a news article sent to me or posted in WeChats “Moments”) it opens a screen to display the content, but the screen stays blank. I can see the usual buttons on the side of the screen e.g. for closing, but the app is effectively frozen. My only option to continue using it is to restart it. This prevents me from opening such links at all.

  2. Login issue: That’s bad enough, but when I just installed WeChat from the Apps app on an FP3+ with Android 10 based /e/, I couldn’t even log in. During the login process WeChat shows several screens regarding security/verification, the last of which stays completely black, preventing me from logging in at all. I’ve just tested it on another phone (iPhone), so it’s probably a screen looking a bit different from the usual menu screens, informing me that friends have to send me a code to verify it’s really me. Also, there’s a link “Unable to login?” on the login page, which when tapped will display the same behavior.

All issues seem to be related to WeChat opening special screens which are different from the normal menu screens. This makes me think it may expect something like Google’s Android WebView installed and can’t deal with microG’s implementation of it? Can I do anything in microG’s settings or developer settings to resolve the issue? How about installing Android WebView or anything else (ideally not phoning home to Google)? I’m using Blokada ad and tracking blocker on all phones, but turning ad blocking (via pseudo-VPN) and Blokada-DNS off doesn’t resolve the issue on either phone.

Please refrain from lecturing about the privacy issues of WeChat. I’m aware of them.

Edit: I have just installed WeChat from apkmirror, which has a version that’s a few months newer than the /e/ Apps app. It did not produce a black screen during the login process, but a white one and a “network error” message at the same point. I checked that Blokada is off, but in order to remove any possible obstacles I have also in Blokada explicitly allowed connections to various Tencent URLs (Tencent is the developer of WeChat). Then the network error disappeared and I was able to successfully login. That means Blokada’s UI is not 100% clear. Turning it “off” using the big turn off button does apparently not fully turn off the adblocking feature, even though the system shows the pseudo-VPN as off. I have no idea how that can be, since ad blocking is conducted through VPN… I’ll check the link problem next.

2

no good idea. The apk could be cracked and could spy much more than the original one.
If you really want just an spying app, why don’t download the original sources/akp via Aurora from f-droid ??

But please keep in mind: WeChat/Whatsapp and much more are collecting your data and send them back home. Your privacy is gone. So you really don’t need eOS when using Wechat

3

Also I’ve checked the apk with virustotal.

Regarding source for apk: If I can get just the apk from Aurora that’s fine, but I don’t want the whole store on my phone. I’ve been burned by Yalp. Installed it with high hopes back then and a few months later development stopped. /e/ Apps and F-Droid is enough for me.

4

Inconclusive as well. The FP3 still has the link problem even with Blokada uninstalled. And the FP3+ that had the login issue before doesn’t have the link issue in the first place, even with Blokada fully on. This suggests it may be a problem with /e/ and WeChat after all

5

??? It’s only a play store client. Same a e store is a cleanapk,org client. It has nothing to do with a “whole store”

6

An app on my phone just to install one app (WeChat), that communicates with Google servers (to download the apk) and at some point the developer just like with Yalp store and some other FOSS projects arbitrarily decides to stop supporting it (I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but this is inconvenient). I don’t know…

7

Lol, installing weChat which is spying as hell is OK, but a app which connects anonymus to google server is a no go. That’s really cool. :joy::joy::joy:

8

WeChat has just been updated to the newest version in the Apps store and opening links works. So link issue is resolved, login issue I couldn’t test.

9

I’m also facing issues with wechat from Applounge. Sometimes I cannot make calls sometimes I can’t even open it.
The workaround I’ve found is to download the APK from the official website but it’s maybe not RGPD compatible.

10

I have the same issue and use the same method to mitigate it. In case someone else wants to try: You’re able to install the WeChat downloaded from the official site over the not working one, i.e. no need to uninstall the not working one, because this may delete your chats.