I am alaraajavamma and let’s start with this. I do not work for or receive any compensation from Furilabs. I am just a satisfied customer and Linux phone enthusiast who desperately wants to see linux mobile succeed. This is the fourth chapter in my Linux mobile journey.

Having learned the hard lessons from Planet Computers – that amazing hardware is useless without an open OS – my gaze turned to Purism. When they introduced the Librem 5, it was more than just a product announcement; it was a philosophical stake in the ground. It answered every question and fulfilled the ideological hunger for a true, ethical pocket PC.

I cannot praise Purism enough for the enormous, foundational work they undertook. They didn’t just re-purpose an existing system; they had to build the ecosystem from the ground up. They worked relentlessly on drivers, kernel mainlining, and the user interface (Phosh) to ensure true convergence and FOSS integrity. They are pioneers who drove the entire Linux mobile landscape forward and it is easy to say that without Purism we would never had this big linux mobile community.

Writing this blog is not easy for me. Since I know that this might hurt some great people who have put thousands of hours of work, their blood, tears and souls to it. I have mad respect for all who have worked to make Linux running better on phones. How ever I still try to stay honest.

The Ultimate FOSS and Privacy Pledge

The promises were everything the community had demanded:

• Mainline Linux: Running an unmodified Linux kernel, avoiding the proprietary driver dependence of Halium and Android. This guaranteed the same robust tools and applications I use on my desktop.
• Physical Kill Switches: A revolutionary commitment to user control, allowing hardware disconnection of the camera, mic, and wireless communications.
• Software-First Convergence: Designing the OS to adapt fluidly from mobile to a full desktop experience when connected to an external display.

I backed it, fully aware that supporting a project of this magnitude meant committing to the journey, not just the destination.

The Reality of Revolutionary Hardware

I think it was 2021 when my first Librem 5 finally arrived, the reality of using a revolutionary FOSS device became my new daily challenge. The device was, and in many respects still is, more like a hacker pocket PDA than a reliable consumer phone. I still love the device and weekly boot it to see where the progress is and sometimes just play with it because the concept is so neat.

The Convergence Crucible

Connecting the Librem 5 to an external screen confirmed the ideological win: a full, real linux with the same awesome apps as in my laptop appeared. The convergence dream was realized in software. However, the hardware often struggled under the demands of dual-screen operation.

The biggest immediate roadblock was heat. When plugged in to charge and driving an external display in convergence mode, the Librem 5 would become so hot that it would often shut down spontaneously within minutes. This was a major setback to true usability, transforming the convergence feature into little more than a proof-of-concept. I actually tested this again for this blog with three different docks, two chargers and two displays and unfortunately it is still an issue.

The Communcations Challenge

Furthermore, the core function of being a phone remained persistently challenging:

• Poor Battery Life: Even today, the battery life is severely limited, often requiring charging multiple times per day. Or well you can fully suspend it most of the time and not use it and then it will survive something like 16-20 hours.
• Modem Instability: The modem would frequently drop entirely from the system – meaning all call, SMS, and data functions simply vanished, requiring a reboot or substantial troubleshooting. Some people have reported this is not an issue anymore. To be noted that I have the EU modem and I also tested this for this blog again and the issue is still there – not as major as early days but when using suspend and actually using Librem 5 as phone the modem will drop for me 3-5 times a day. Also sometimes the modem connection gets stuck with no visible traces so you just silently miss data, calls and sms.
• GPS and Cameras: I know there have been progress on both but the experience on both is still… well rough

The Librem 5 demanded patience. It was a testament to the fact that while Purism absolutely nailed the philosophical foundation and the high-level convergence logic, the necessary optimizations for reliability, thermal management, and power consumption were a brutal climb.

The device was an essential, brilliant step towards the ultimate goal. It proved that Mainline Linux mobile was possible, but it was clear that the road to making it a daily driver for the average person – or even a consistently reliable convergence device for the enthusiast – was still long. Please notice that Librem 5 still gets lot of love and care and it is going to be better and better over time and because of Purism concept all linux mobile communities will benefit from this because they try to upstream everything they can.

The excitement, however, was infectious, and the challenges only fueled the broader open-source community. I never completely ditched the Librem 5 and I still hope that it will eventually be awesome device but back then I still contiuned my search and I decided that it was time for a group effort…

Last words… remember to support your favorite Linux mobile project using whatever method suits you best! Since I am quite bad at coding, I try to put my money where my mouth is, so I have personally supported every project I write about financially.
I can also proudly encourage you to buy my current daily driver FLX1s – please feel free to ask me questions about it if you are curious. 2026 will be the year of Linux mobile, so jump in and enjoy the ride!