KDE Connect is up high on my list of my favourite open source apps, because it makes transferring files between devices (PC / Steam Deck / Mobile) and more real easy. It's been around for a while now and the good news is that it's going to keep getting better.
Writing in a blog post, developer Albert Vaca announced they've been given a grant from the NLnet foundation as part of the NGI Assure fund, which will enable them to work on it full time.
Some of what they have planned includes adding in a mDNS backend for KDE Connect on all supported platforms, to improve device discovery and connections. Beefing up the security is going to be another area they're focusing on with dropping older encryption (that was used for older Android), upgrading various dependencies and ensuring all the latest security patches are in.
Plus they're also going to be looking at accessibility, to ensure the interface is as easy to use as possible.
Overall it sounds like the future of KDE Connect is looking great.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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8 comments
File transfer ist okish for me at the moment - device discovery is not even that. More like hit and miss. And it's still a favourite of mine. Looking forward for the improvements!
Last edited by Eike on 13 April 2023 at 6:29 am UTC
Last edited by Eike on 13 April 2023 at 6:29 am UTC
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Great tool, I've been using it for various phone-to-PC interactions for years. However I recently bought a new phone, and I was happy to find that I could use KDE Connect to copy files (mostly termux scripts) directly from my old phone to my new one. I didn't expect that, I assumed either host or client would need to be running KDE, but apparently not!
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no_information_here Apr 12, 2023
I use it a fair bit on the iPhone. Works quite well as long as you don't try to transfer too many photos at once.
Impressive project, really.
Impressive project, really.
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Quoting: EikeFile transfer ist okish for me at the moment - device discovery is not even that. More like hot and miss. And it's still a favourite of mine. Looking forward for the improvements!
Device discovery has been a joke. When I had problems and asked why I had to readd my phone after each restart the IRC channel told me it must be how my network was configured, which was clearly just an opt out of knowing anything (typical IRC). Glad this will finally be fixed (ideally).
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InhaleOblivion Apr 13, 2023
Nice functionality. I'll make sure to check this out.
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Quoting: itscalledrealityQuoting: EikeFile transfer ist okish for me at the moment - device discovery is not even that. More like hot and miss. And it's still a favourite of mine. Looking forward for the improvements!
Device discovery has been a joke. When I had problems and asked why I had to readd my phone after each restart the IRC channel told me it must be how my network was configured, which was clearly just an opt out of knowing anything (typical IRC). Glad this will finally be fixed (ideally).
recent enough Android phones default to a randomized MAC address when connecting to WiFi
if KDE Connect uses MAC Addresses to identify the device,rebooting the phone (and maybe even disconnecting and reconnecting only after a while or after going to other connections) might rotate the address and make it appear as a new device
you can change this behaviour for specific memorized wifis on the phone, maybe worth trying for you home network
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Quoting: Marlockyou can change this behaviour for specific memorized wifis on the phone, maybe worth trying for you home network
I don't even got a connection, just yesterday, when I asked the phone app to please look for a PC and the PC program to please look for a phone.
Last edited by Eike on 13 April 2023 at 12:22 pm UTC
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Quoting: MarlockQuoting: itscalledrealityQuoting: EikeFile transfer ist okish for me at the moment - device discovery is not even that. More like hot and miss. And it's still a favourite of mine. Looking forward for the improvements!
Device discovery has been a joke. When I had problems and asked why I had to readd my phone after each restart the IRC channel told me it must be how my network was configured, which was clearly just an opt out of knowing anything (typical IRC). Glad this will finally be fixed (ideally).
recent enough Android phones default to a randomized MAC address when connecting to WiFi
if KDE Connect uses MAC Addresses to identify the device,rebooting the phone (and maybe even disconnecting and reconnecting only after a while or after going to other connections) might rotate the address and make it appear as a new device
you can change this behaviour for specific memorized wifis on the phone, maybe worth trying for you home network
I don't think it has anything to do with MACs. Most likely there is a bridge or router on that network, filtering out broadcast packets. Could be the Wi-Fi access point, possibl with a "client isolation" feature if both devices are connected via Wi-Fi.
As a stable workaround, assign static IPs (either on each device, or from the router's DHCP options). Add these IPs in the Android app, so it will always try them out. The new mDNS implementation will probably help out with that issue.
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A better solution would be to maintain a VPN between devices, like tailscale (and headscale) does. Similar to hamachi. It would be nice if such a feature would be integrated in KDE Connect.
They should also leverage UnifiedPush on both sides to deliver small packets of data, and help with discovery.
Finally, I wish KDE Connect would do more to support other local communication features. It could advertise via BLE to allow Wi-Fi P2P connections, for instance. Or use the newfangled Wi-Fi Aware (NAN), though not many devices support that yet.
Last edited by MayeulC on 21 April 2023 at 11:31 am UTC
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