But I guess you can install a custom messaging app that would sync the messages? (If there’s one that still supports such an old version of Android)
[1]: like this: https://img.joomcdn.net/ea91b4418997d83d802339fad0bbcf878b9d...
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Aside, but it appears some MSM8916-based dongles run Android UI despite having no display: https://github.com/u0d7i/uz801#screenshots
So... so cursed.
[ro.build.description]: [msm8916_32_512-userdebug 4.4.4 KTU84P eng.huanghonghuan.20250226 test-keys]
[ro.build.sw.custom.version]: [UFI003S_V03_ZX_DD_250226]My biggest tip is to carefully back up every partition of the original firmware - there are many many seemingly identical variants and if you hose your particular baseband components you will lose your cellular functionality.
[1] https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Zhihe_series_LTE_dongles_...
Pouches can be made to have better volumetric density than cylindrical cells quite easily, which is why laptops aren't generally full of cylinder cells anymore; the challenge is just providing them enough external support/compression and swelling allowance, which can be accomplished through chassis design.
While using a pouch cell keeps the profile much more slim, portable, still has opportunities for really high capacity in watt hours, and allows for a more robust case design that doesn't have the structural weakness of a battery door.
And if you put the pouch cell on a set of wires with a small pluggable connector to the main PCB (and a case that can screw open/shut) it's still an item the user can replace with 5 minutes and a screwdriver if it wears out from many cycles over a period of years.
True, and you could even enclose it in a quick swap hard shell case with contacts, like the old Nokia cell phone batteries. (Those are actually still good for some uses, I have a gadget that uses them.)
We’re fortunate to live in an era of battery abundance.
It's got less than 512GB of RAM, no package manager, and virtually no storage.
Is there a guide for cheap MSM8916 platforms you would recommend? There is a hkfuertes repo, but the one I found is archived. Not to say it doesn't work, but that doesn't instill much confidence.
So you don't need a messaging app that still runs on Android 4.x. If the device exposes an AT port, AT+CMGF=1 then AT+CMGL="ALL" dumps everything, and AT+CPMS picks which store you're reading. On the Qualcomm ones that keep the AT port hidden behind QMI, libqmi reaches the same thing through the WMS service.