Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I was wondering, is there any way to buy sailfish os devices in the United States? I am trying to get my hands on a smartphone with Sailfish preinstalled and so far I can only find devices with after market installs. I would like to try it out at some point.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

There havn't been devices with SFOS preinstalled for a long time (in fact, the Jolla 1 was the one and only). After that, there was only the Aqua Fish which was available only in India and the few devices re-branded as Jolla C (as community device) which were impossible to get a hold of.
After that, Jolla switched to selling only licenses for SFOS which you can install on certain Sony devices.

So to get a smartphone with SFOS, you'd have to get a supported Sony device (most likely an Xperia X, Model F5121 or 5122). Then, you'll need to buy a license from the Jolla Store (although it is only available inside the EU, you can simply use e.g. a VPN based there to purchase it) and flash it yourself.

Note that there are also "community versions" for quite some devices. Those are versions that community members build for the specific device and do not have any support from Jolla. If you want a quick and cheap way to test SFOS, they may be a good start. But please check the status of the version for your chosen device first as it may be outdated (the current version of SFOS is 2.2.0.29) or have severe bugs or limitations. Also, the community versions come with some features missing (text input prediction and Android support) since those are licensed by Jolla from third parties which do not allow to redistribute them.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

This Jolla JP1301 for sale on eBay says it will ship to the USA;

https://www.ebay.es/itm/Jolla-1-16GB...QAAOSwNLJbR-yf

If I recall correctly, you may have problems with the network bands, I'm sure there are/were US users who complained that they couldn't use 3G or 4G (I don't recall all the details), so do some homework before purchasing so you are not stuck with a smartphone you cannot use.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Waaaay overpriced :O if you ask me; for that money get a used xperia x and a sfos license!

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Right. Jolla Phone in the US is limited to 2G as American telecoms use different frequency for 3G/4G than other countries.
Additionally, Jolla 1 is a GSM phone. For 2G, this means it only works with GSM carriers, i.e. AT&T and T-Mobile. (Verizon and Sprint are CDMA.) As AT&T is shutting down its 2G network, this means your only choice left is T-Mobile.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

The license cannot be purchased while in the US, thus this thread.

I've attached an image of what you get while in the US (North America) geolocation and hit up the https://shop.jolla.com website.

The problem will continue to exist unless a third party that's willing to ship to the US is listed. As an American (USA) resident, I have a tablet and Jolla C. The Jolla C does not have the proper 3G/4G/LTE channels to connect. Best I've gotten was 2G in a few cities (I think) but nothing in the more rural area that I presently live in.

The Xperia X does have the right GSM radios but as stated above, obtaining the license is not available for the North America market for purchase.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

you can use opera browser (portable) with buildin vpn option and than you can select germany gateway.

I have done this the same way, because i was in canada in the time of sailfish x release to flash my device which i already had.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Curious. Billing information doesn't count against you?

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I dont think it does block you technically. Maybe you may fail at the paywall that some US credit cards are not accepted, but I doubt that as well.
And just out of curiosity, why do you need any proper billing,.... warranty is not really something I would count on,...

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I bought it through the Opera VPN using US billing information and a US credit card.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I live in Chicago and use T-Mobile prepaid. Bought my Xperia X from B&H Photo and Video and bought my Sailfish license using an American credit card and a PIA VPN to Finland.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I used Opera and a Travelex prepaid card.

Glad to see the continued North American presence here. I wonder if Jolla Ltd knows we are alive and spending money. Presumably they do, but presumably we are too small potatoes for them to care one way or another.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Sailfish is a Niche product, why further limit the user base?

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

railroadmaster - I also live in the greater Chicagoland area. I am nowhere near the skill level of the people who post on here. I read the instructions people and Jolla posted for getting the Xperia X flashed and installed. They were really thorough and worked flawlessly. I also purchased our Xperia X phones from B&H Photo, per deprecated's recommendation.

I saw the Opera+VPN recommended and had to download Opera explicitly for that functionality. I used my U.S.-based Chase debit card and was able to purchase the software licenses from Jolla and install five phones now.

I'm basically saying - the community is so awesome that if I can get this done, I'm sure you'll be able to do it.

Despite various issues with Sailfish, I really enjoy using it every day. I believe it is worth the effort and you may even feel a sense of accomplishment doing something that most probably none of your friends, family or acquaintances would ever dream of doing. And if you run into problems, there is a great community to assist, even if Jolla doesn't officially support the devices here.

I also use T-Mobile. There is a message thread about the settings you may have to manually put in to get proper phone functionality on the U.S. T-Mobile network. Again, easy peasy, but it is something to be aware of.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Yes! How do those users dare to spend money :D
They should be punished! No more updates! Err..

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

My suspicion is that it's to do with software patents in the US.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Have to agree with mrsellout. US pattent landsape is terribly toxic. Besides I suspect that some FCA or other regulations may be too rigid/complicated for Jolla to work whith at current level of manpower. They didn´t manage it for J1 once where they had way more financial power and larger staff.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I thought that was to do with the hardware certification and the difficulties of entering the market dominated by carriers. To be honest, I was also baffled by the seemingly arbitrary limitation on Sailfish X licensing. But whatever it is, there seem to be ways around it, judging by the above posts.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

my suspcion is that it's to do with certain three-letter-agencies

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

BTW, looking at the global statistics from Open Repos it looks like the Sailfish OS community in US is pretty big, if not one the biggest one:
https://openrepos.net/statistics/global

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

This is remarkable since neither Nokia's N9 or Sailfish was/is directly made available or supported in US. Of course the exception being the Jolla tablet, which a US citizen could participate in the crowd sourcing...

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Which is also remarkable given that I bought my first N9 on eBay from a US seller.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Ha ha. Well, it wasn't me. I still have mine.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I know I imported at least 33 of them. Sold all but 2 of them - mainly through this forum for little to no profit, just wanted to share the awesomeness of the Nokia N9.

They were relatively easy to get.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Mine was the Singapore variant.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I bought my first N9 from Amazon here in the US. And it worked great with T-Mobile on 3g.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I as well am using Sailfish in the United States. My wife uses the Xperia X and I have Moto G4 Plus as hobby/developer device.

Concerning the N9 subject I bought one from eBay seller located in US. Later on at some point I was surprised to find it on sale at at Fry's Electronics...

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Back when Sailfish X went live, I automatically assumed that anybody could download and install it. I finally made a Jolla login a couple weeks ago (the Together server login still fails; hope the developer returns from vacation soon...) and was shocked that it still excludes most anyone outside Europe. Thanks for the reassurance that the process is still do-able.

But to other USA users, does the current state of the OS leave anything out geographically or linguistically? Is there a USA keyboard? Is text completion in British English? Are there any problems with maps or with the weather, err, widget? I assume that acquiring OS updates doesn't need a VPN?

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

There is only one English keyboard (not that it matters, it's not like there is some standard for mobile keyboards anyway) but in the Language settings there are options for English (UK) and English (US). I assume those are for UI strings as well as text completion. Weather recognizes American locations just fine. I have not tried Maps since it's pants ("garbage" for you Amies) anyway, I use WhoGo instead. As for the updates, I do not know but I see no reason why.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

As long as the phone connects to a server for the updates it should be ok. My N9 that I purchased from Amazon.com here in the US connected to a server and it updated to Hartman 1.2 and I received all the updates for the apps I had on the phone.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

You're exactly right. NSA/CIA arbitration is nasty, and Jolla would never put their limited weight behind it.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I use it as my only phone, and I manage about a week of battery on it in good coverage areas. The English keyboard works great, symbols and input are as expected. Text prediction works as expected, I haven't had any issues with it trying to use British predictions instead of American. Maps are just fine (especially if you still use the old maps rpm from the Jolla 1), GPS lock is near-instant, weather updates accordingly. Only major cities listed for timezones, but shouldn't matter as long as you know your GMT offset. OS updates don't need a VPN - though they do seem to be ratelimited or throttled when using a US connection. I often fire up a Finland VPN before pulling updates because it just goes so much faster. Let me know if there are any other use cases you're concerned with, and I'll be glad to check them out and report back.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Thanks for all the replies! Yes, I guess the keyboard question was dumb. Must have been thinking of physical keyboards that choose between the US dollar, pound, euro, etc. Thanks for the VPN tip. It's an odd arrangement, but when downloading hundreds of MB's every little bit helps.

I have a few other questions, but not related to locale, so will consider starting another thread.

I'm a long time Anglophile, so no need to translate. :)

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Does anyone have more recent experience with flashing sailfish to a sony? I want to do so, probably with a Xperia xa2. Has anyone built one with the X beta version. Are there instructions as straightforward as they claim? I am looking for any help or advice on how to get a clean build. Thanks:)

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

I noticed a few people in this thread are in the Chicago area. I am also near Chicago, Northwest burbs. And I am looking for help or getting together with someone to flash Sailfish on to my Moto Z Play.
I know nothing about flashing firmware on to a phone, but in the past I have installed custom Linux firmware on to Linksys wireless routers.
If interested for a possible meetup please private message me.
Thank you and I am sorry for going off topic.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

Would like to know this as well! I thought about buying a Xperia X on eBay, but I heard that you have to pay Jolla for the Sailfish OS. I do not know if that is true or not.

Re: Sailfish Devices in The United States
 

You only need to pay Jolla if you want the official version, the main benefits of which are the android compatibility, the predictive text input, and (I think) some MS exchange stuff.