8 Things to Do After Unboxing a Purism Librem 5
The Purism Librem 5 isn’t like most other smartphones. It runs traditional desktop Linux, shrunken down to fit in a mobile form factor. And as with any personal computer, there are certain things you want to do right after taking it out of the box.
1. Change the Default Encryption Password
The Librem 5 ships with encrypted internal storage. This is great since the phone is marketed asa private device like other Purism hardware. But the default password is the same for every Purism customer. That means you need to change this right away to have a degree of privacy.
Purism provides instructions in the instruction manual that came with the phone, but if you’ve misplaced it, no worries. Simply open Disks, and click on the 31GB drive at the top. Then click on the 31GB partition and tap the settings cog underneath. SelectChange Passphraseand enter something new.
You will need to enter this password every time you restart the device, without using a physical keyboard.
2. Change the Default User Password
Next, you will also want to change your user password. Just like with the encryption password, all Purism customers have the same PIN out of the box.
Changing your password is simpler. Just go toSettings > Users. Then tapPasswordand enter something new. Unlike on other mobile devices, you could’t set a 4-digit PIN. Your Librem 5 requires your password to consist of at least six characters.
3. Check Mobile Network Settings
If you’ve seen early reviews of the Librem 5, you may be surprised to hear that yes, the device is perfectly capable of placing calls. Depending on your carrier, calls come in reliably and the audio quality is clear. SMS messages, too, are dependable. MMS messages, however, may need some tweaking out of the box.
MMS messages are any texts that contain multimedia elements, such as picture messages. Group messages are also considered MMS. And your Librem 5 may not be configured to send or receive them correctly.
You can check this by going toSettings > Mobile. There you can view your mobile network settings. The most likely area that needs manual configuration isAccess Point Names.
To know what to put here, you may need to visit the relevant support pages for your carrier or checkPurism’s forumto see what you can find. Unfortunately, given the wide range of carriers all over the world, we can’t offer any more precise guidance than that.
4. Install Updates
The Librem 5 is a device that gets better with time. So while it’s generally good practice to install updates on any device to get the latest security fixes, the Librem 5 performs noticeably better after installing the latest updates. Battery life, for example, while still not great, has improved since Purism started shipping devices.
You can install updates by opening the PureOS Store and tapping theUpdatestab. A blue dot next toUpdatesindicates that new updates are available. You can then download updates, which you will need to restart your device to apply.
The PureOS Store doesn’t offer the most reliable experience. So if it isn’t working for you, turn to the terminal instead. You can revise your device with a very short command:
5. Add the Flathub Repository
While there are some curated apps available in the PureOS Store, the pickings are slim. If you stick to the default selection, you will miss out on the full range of apps that exist for mobile Linux. Most of those are hosted on Flathub.
Flathub is acentralized site for downloading Linux apps. These apps are available in a universal package format that works across many different versions of Linux, including the one on your Librem 5.
Once you add Flathub to your device, its selection of apps will appear in the PureOS Store alongside Purism’s curated software.
You can find the necessary instructionson the Flathub website.
6. Install Signal on Your Librem 5
Many Librem 5 customers want to use Signal since it’s one of the most private instant messaging options available. Unfortunately, Signal only officially provides mobile apps for Android and iOS. And the desktop Signal app isn’t available for the ARM architecture the Librem 5 utilizes.
The simplest option is to try your luck with a third-party client.Flareis a Signal client for GNOME, and it adapts decently well to mobile devices. Flare only does text messages, so you can’t place audio or video calls. Even with text, the experience can be hit or miss. Try it out and see if it works for you.
Another option isAxolotl, a client originally developed for Ubuntu Touch. This project has been around longer and is a bit more mature, though it looks less like a native app for the Librem 5.
If neither works, someone has preparedan ARM version of the official Signal appand made it available on their own personal repo. you may try your luck with that as well.
7. Learn How to Use the Camera
The Librem 5 has a decently capable camera, but it isn’t a point-and-shoot. Instead, think of it more as a DSLR. You have to manually adjust gain, exposure, balance, and focus to get decent shots (though this could change in future updates).
Gain refers to ISO. Adjust this setting when your screen is too dark. This is often necessary indoors. Outside on a sunny day, you want to leave this setting as low as possible, since a high ISO can lead to grainy images.
Exposure refers to the amount of light the camera lets in. Like ISO, this can help when images are too dark. But setting exposure too high can result in washed-out photos.
Balance is short for color balance. If an image appears too red, move the toggle in the other direction. If the image becomes too blue, reverse course. You want to land somewhere in the middle.
Focus is pretty straightforward. If your subject is not in focus, adjust the slider. Unlike with a DSLR, you don’t need to be precise to get a sharp image. The toggle seems to switch instead between whether to focus on the foreground or the background.
This process can feel tedious at first, but with practice, you may find you’re able to take acceptable shots quickly enough.
8. Install the adw-gtk3 Theme
The Librem 5ships with PureOS, which is based on Debian. This means you get a relatively outdated version of GNOME. The default apps use the version of the Adwaita theme that was replaced in GNOME 42. Newer GTK4 apps utilizing the newer libadwaita library have a flatter look, but GTK3 apps still default to the old style.
With the adw-gtk3 theme, which is in use in all but one of the screenshots above, you can bring the look of GTK4 apps to GTK3 apps. This can help bring a consistent experience to the Librem 5 by making preinstalled apps match the newer apps you may install from Flathub.
Fortunately, this is a pretty simple process, even on the Librem 5. Simply head to theadw-gtk3 theme’s GitHub pageand follow the installation instructions. You can then set the default light theme by entering the following command into the terminal:
For the dark theme:
To revert to the default theme:
If you’re familiar with desktop GNOME, you may think tochange your theme using GNOME Tweaksinstead. That app can do the job, but it doesn’t scale to a mobile form factor. So only go that route if you have a dock.
Your Librem 5 Is Good to Go, Mostly
By this point, you’re all set for the most pleasant experience your Librem 5 can offer. If you’ve made it this far, hopefully, you already have a good gauge of whether the phone does what you need for day-to-day use.
The Librem 5 needs continued development, but it’s come far enough to serve as an everyday phone for people who are passionate or patient enough to make the effort.
The Librem 5 by Purism is a smartphone powered by the Linux kernel. Is it good enough to replace Android or iOS as a daily driver smartphone?
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