FAQ#
Can I run Android apps?#
We welcome you to see how Android applications are run in PureOS here.
How easy will it be for me to switch from Android or iOS to the Librem 5?#
We welcome you to read this guide.
Can I transfer my photos, files, downloads from Android or iOS to the Librem 5?#
Yes, you will be able to use the phone as a storage device, that can show up on your computer by just plugging in the USB cable and viewing the folders. This will allow you to import or export files, photos, documents, with ease. With the Librem 5 there is no proprietary software that locks your files into proprietary formats, allowing easy sharing of the content you want to share.
Will I be able to communicate from my Librem 5 to other phones?#
Yes, you will be able to make regular unencrypted phone calls to any phone number. You will also be able to communicate securely by using the phone dialing application and messaging application, that can run on the Librem 5 phone, Android based phones, and iOS based phones, and any computing device.
Will communicating from my Librem 5 to other phones compromise my privacy or security?#
The Librem 5 will be the most secure when communicating with another Librem 5 phone, communicating via an encrypted app on a Librem 5 to an Android or iOS encrypted app is the second best option available.
Will my existing SIM card work? What countries and networks will be supported?#
Please refer to the Librem 5’s supported networks.
Will I be able to use emergency services (e.g. 911 or 999)?#
The Librem 5 will work with most carriers using the 3G/4G data+voice modem. Carriers provide technological support for dialing emergency services.
Are all hardware components running completely free software with source code available?#
Based on our testing: the CPU, GPU, Bootloader and all software will run free software. We are still evaluating and testing the WiFi and Bluetooth chips and their firmware. The mobile baseband will most likely use ROM loaded firmware, but a free software kernel driver. We intend to invest time and money toward freeing any non-free firmware.
Can I connect the Librem phone to a monitor/keyboard/mouse?#
Yes, the Librem phones support DP-alt-mode. Using a USB-C adapter which supports DisplayPort or HDMI out and at least two spare USB ports, you can connect a monitor, wired keyboard and mouse at the same time to your Librem Phone. Depending on the adapter, the Librem phone may be simultaneously charged.
Can the Librem phones run Windows, iOS, or OS/2…?#
Not likely, and we will not expend resources to test this.
Will the phone continue to receive updates?#
Yes. All hardware Purism releases gets regular security and performance updates within PureOS.
Will Twitter, Fandango, My Bank, etc. work on a Librem phone?#
Yes, any web based app will work through the browser. Over time, these sites will either use progressive web applications, or could have a native app.
What apps are available?#
PureOS on Librem 5 already has a lot of apps, as almost everything that can run on a desktop computer can be run on Librem 5 as well. However, just a number of them are really usable on a phone sized screen. Check PureOS wiki pages to see:
The lists are constantly updated as more and more software is being adapted to scale nicely on phone.
Will I be able to open Word or Excel documents sent via email?#
We plan to eventually support the reader or renderer for these proprietary formats. LibreOffice is a great alternative to the Microsoft Office suite, and may be used to open most of these files.
Will the Librem phone run coreboot and have the Intel ME neutralized?#
No. The Librem 5 is not Intel-based; it is based on an i.MX 8M chipset, so neither coreboot nor the Intel Management Engine are used. The chipset will be completely free software without any binaries whatsoever.
Why don’t you build a free UI ontop of Sailfish OS? Or resurrect Firefox OS? Or insert-name-here?#
We want to promote a pure and unified stack, not have a separate mobile OS with proprietary bits or a completely different middleware stack. We want to support the community efforts of GNOME, KDE and UBPorts, and allow for any GNU+Linux to work out-of-the-box providing mainline improvements that work not just on mobile but across the device spectrum. The Librem phone is a new approach to use a regular Linux system and adopt it to mobile use-cases instead of creating a completely new system. We do not create a walled garden, instead we tear down these walls, creating an open utopia. A fully standards-based freedom-oriented system, based on Debian and many other upstream projects, has never been done before; we will be the first to seriously attempt this.
You can also learn more about our position on GNOME and KDE further below in this FAQ.
Will you be running GNOME, Plasma, or your own custom UI?#
We will be working with GNOME/GTK, KDE/Plasma and Ubuntu Touch communities, and have partnered with the foundations behind them for the middleware layer. PureOS currently is GNOME-based and look forward to working with GNOME as an upstream as well as GNOME’s OS and design-centric development model; however we will also test, support, and develop with KDE and the KDE community, and of course we will support Qt for application development.
Learn more about the rationale behind this approach:
Will the phone have a fingerprint reader or other biometric access?#
No, the Librem 5 will not be shipped with any biometric hardware. Single access via biometrics does not prevent access to your phone the same way a security code or lock does. The US Supreme Court has alluded to biometric access not protecting you the same way that a security code from memory (a security code) does. You can say “no” to a passphrase, or security code, but you cannot say “no” to biometric (physical) information). If future models of the Librem phone do include biometric hardware, we will be double-locking it with a security code to have the best possible security story for users.
To learn more about why biometric access is not good you can read NYT: Fingerprint security.
Will the Librem phone have dual SIM capability?#
We are investigating implementation in a future model of the Librem phones.
Will the Librem phone have NFC technology?#
Not for version 1 of the Librem phones. We wanted to have a metal case and that is already a challenge with the three other antenna systems that we have to support: Cellular, WiFi/BT and GNSS. NFC Antennas, likewise wireless charging, are pretty large. Last but not least, they add another radio emitter which can cause additional EMC interference. This may be solved in the future models.
Will the phone support 5G networks?#
4G modem support is only officailly supported at this time, but we are evaluating options for 5G modems. Librem phones use a m.2 slot for the baseband module, so there is potential for “upgrade” (with an additional antennae upgrade).
What are your plans for tamper-proofing the Librem 5?#
We hope to have a version of PureBoot available for the Librem 5 for users who want to verify it with a Librem Key. We cannot commit to it being available at launch but it is a goal.
Can I get a refund on my Librem 5 campaign order?#
There was some confusion related to our Librem 5 refund policy; this FAQ should help clarify.
Purism had an overwhelmingly successful crowdfunding campaign raising well over the $1.5M goal within days after launching. Like most campaigns, we continued to offer the opportunity to invest in the Librem 5, PureOS, and the creation of an alternative to Android/iOS from our website all while releasing our dev kit, early versions of the phone, and through the five iterations toward mass production. The purpose of the campaign and all pre-mass-production funds was to invest in free software for the benefit of the general public aligned with Purism’s Social Purpose, and we did that. The phone was a possible (but not a guaranteed) reward for participation in the campaign before holding stock.
A small amount of early supporters assumed our previously published regular in-stock product refund policy applies to them. While we disagree with this position because the entire intent of early backing is to fund the research and development with the goal of product delivery, we do understand the source of the confusion and in a few instances agreed to honor a the refund requests which were approved by us in the past. Any refunds hurt the forward momentum of the project. Since then, we changed our refund policy for the Librem 5 project and our general product refund policy and do not accept any new refund requests. Refunds are not applicable to crowdfunding campaigns nor pre-orders related to them and therefore we view them as a rare exception. All the money raised during those campaigns was invested into component hardware to manufacture the phones and into free software development and the Linux ecosystem that we have developed and released, which is currently available for all and is widely used by the Linux community.
We cannot withdraw money from the fully released software that has been published. This means that any Librem 5 refund requests that we have previously approved, will be funded by our other business in the future.
As we currently have all liquid funds allocated to physical assets and to hardware we are unable to process any remaining previously approved refund requests at this time. However, we do offer two alternative options to those early supporters who requested refunds that we made the exception to approve:
The Librem 5 phone, running PureOS (with all the latest investments and enhancements) which they have backed and we are now delivering.
A store credit equal to the amount of their investment + 20% courtesy increase which allows an exchange for any other product at shop.puri.sm.
We have your phone, and we will ship all the phones to those who have confirmed their mailing address, with the store credit available to the rest.
We would like to apologize for any inconsistent messaging or any confusion around our refund practices.
Crowdfunding innovations are an immense challenge and Purism has consistently delivered on revolutionary inventions, and we appreciate everyone who supports us. We will keep delivering products which are available to all and we firmly stand behind our values. We exist to fulfill our mission to create hardware, software, and services that respect people’s privacy, security, and freedom. We sincerely thank everyone who shares this journey with us.