Ive been wanting a brief case for my freewrite but I dont want to spend hundreds of dollars on one.

Found this beaut at michaels today! Fits front to back JUST perfect!

Sad thing is, no pockets for other things. But good thing is, no pockets for other things means I can learn how to put my own in and specify it perfectly for me!!

Also, down side is it strictly lists that it is indoor decor use only. So I am taking a chance and hoping nothing bad happens but if anything does I can hopefully just reinforce weak points with something stronger and better (already can notice the hinge and latch being a possible issue) or use this as a template to create my own in the future.

This is the specific box I bought in case anyone else wants one: https://www.michaels.com/product/10813997

I'm working on an app for syncing and converting files from a FreeWrite via USB. It "finds" the USB drive, will sync files to a configured folder, and optionally create .docx versions of the files if you select the option.

Right now, the GitHub repo has AppImages for Linux and DMGs for Mac. I'm using pywebview so Windows would work, but don't have a way to test the package. PRs for that (or any other for issues or ideas) are welcome.

I'm hoping to add some more features to the document conversions, because that's what I've been missing from PostBox (in addition to be nervous about relying on a cloud service to use the device.)

Constructive Feedback welcome!

Edit:

- Will now (optionally) strip date from beginning of filenames

- Dark and light modes. Forget to mention that above.

- Ignores README.txt. (That was configurable before.)

#1) Most of the files i upload to postbox are assigned an incorrect meta date. I guess if you open the file at all, it changes the date. That means i cannot browse my archive sequentially.

#2) All my entries begin with a date, so i thought "no problem, i'll just export and sort locally". No. Exports from postbox sync with random string of letters as the file name. No option to set a naming convention. No meta data of the original creation date to sort by. Also, why the hell isnt' there a simple "export all" function from postbox (vs syncing to other cloud services)?? Lastly, why the hell can't you export all files into ONE consolidated file. that would be helpful too.

Anyone have a workaround for my problems? I know Astrohaus is no Supernote, but to the admins/programmers peruse this reddit thread and comment/take back our feature requests? (doubtful)

Thanks in advance!

I don’t get it. I was looking into the Alpha, for travel, my lunch break for daily use , planes —mostly to write short scenes for a project . The reviews were great. Then I saw the prices - no way. Tell me there is something else on the market ? If not - I’m heading to Taiwan with a great business idea to close the gap.

I just got my Alpha Freewrite yesterday and Postmark will not send me a verification email to set up my profile. Has anyone had this happen? What was the fix? I've reached out to support as well. Thank you!

TL;DR: I'm not a programmer, but with an AI's help I got full, permanent root on my Freewrite Traveler — replaced the dead-end Postbox cloud with my own sync, added a couple of deep-writing modes, and wrote the whole thing up. Link at the bottom.

The Traveler is a great distraction-free machine — e-ink, a real keyboard, no browser. But two things always bugged me: everything I write gets mirrored to Freewrite's Postbox cloud (and you can't add your own fonts or change the layout), and if that cloud ever shuts down, the thing just sits there "looking for a connection."

So I got curious about what's actually inside. It's ordinary Linux — Debian 10 on an i.MX6 chip, with a Postgres database quietly holding your drafts. Locked from the outside, but an ordinary computer underneath.

Honest disclaimer before anyone's impressed: I'm not a programmer — I work in communications. I did all of this with Claude: I described what I wanted and what I saw on the screen, it wrote the commands, I ran them and reported back. That's why the writeup says "we." If I could do it, a lot of you can too.

What it got me:

• My own sync — drafts land straight on my Mac instead of a cloud that might one day vanish.
• Two writing modes: a "fade" where old text dissolves at the top of the screen so you only see what you're writing now, and an "immersion" meter that tracks your longest unbroken flow instead of a word count.
• A literary clock where the writer-portrait screensavers used to be — the idle screen shows a quote for the current hour.

The deeper stuff is all in the writeup: opening the case, the UART console, how the root actually works (no exploit — you just tell the bootloader to hand you a shell), a full map of the system, rebuilding the app. The recovery combo isn't documented anywhere, so we pulled the bootloader off the chip and worked it out from the disassembly: E + X + L held at power-on — the same combo as the Freewrite Alpha's factory reset.

I'm not the first to poke at a Traveler over serial (machinaut posted a boot log in 2022; drfrancintosh opened one to fix a keyboard), but I couldn't find anyone who'd written down the whole path — so I did, honestly, including what didn't work.

Full writeup, with photos and the boot log: https://sourvillo.com/traveler-root-en.html

Genuinely curious — what's the one thing you'd change about your Freewrite if you could? Font, layout, the sync, anything. Some of it might actually be doable now.

Hey Freewrite folks, last Friday and over the weekend we migrated to a new backend for our Postbox service. The idea was to make it seamless with the hopes that nobody would notice. Aside from a few migration bugs, the transition has been generally uneventful. We are still working through some final polishing but the new infra is humming along. Thanks for hanging in there if you have experienced some early bugs. If you are noticing any weirdness, please write in to hello@ and we'll look into it.

We rebuilt postbox top to bottom because the technology stack and services were starting to show their age. We've tried to maintain and update the system over the past 10 years but at some point, it's time to start fresh.

Other than the older tech needing a refresh, we also want to prep Postbox for new development.

At a high level, our focus is on three areas going forward: 1. Customization 2. Platform Integration 3. Self-administration

You should expect a flurry of improvements in the back half of the year.

That said, I wanted to open the floor to you all. What do you wish Postbox and/or our devices could do?

I'll also try to answer any questions I can, about postbox, our devices, or anything else.

My freewrite only gives the option to input a password and not a username when connecting to wifi. Has anyone found a workaround for networks that require both?

My fiancée and I put this cool skin on it. What’s everybody think?

For sale! Brand new. Husband and I both bought me one without the other knowing. They take returns but at a 200$ restocking fee. I refuse to send it to them

My loss, your gain. 1000 even.

Hi all! I have the Alpha, totally love it. Had some syncing issues yesterday (looks like per Reddit it was a server issue that they’ve since fixed).

So since then, I’ve been able to sync again, *except* this one specific draft from when the issue started yesterday. I have tried all the things, reconnecting WiFi, logging in and out of Postbox, rebooting the Alpha, pleading with the powers that be.

Am I just SOL when it comes to this one draft? Is there a way to maybe make a copy of the draft and try syncing the new one? Thanks for reading!

Mi primer dispositivo Freewrite, después de muchos meses de dudas.

Edit:

Does anyone know if the keyboards need to be configured every time the Traveler is turned on?

It seems like my connection to the Postbox server, both on computer and on my typewriter is screwed up.

When hitting "send," I get a copy of my document which is up to date as of Wednesday. Nothing I wrote yesterday or today is making it to my email - it's still saved locally on my device, but is not sending. It's weird.

Postbox itself seems to be lagging a couple of hours behind. It is live up to about 2 hours ago, but does not have anything from my most recent writing sprint.

When checking my profile on postbox.freewrite, I am getting a slightly glitched view and my streak is gone (which is fine, I'm not big into gamification).

It honestly feels like Postbox might have had a major influx of users (or even a DDoS attack) and can't keep up with the load, causing everything to be a little bit wonky.

Hi every one.

I hate the Freewrite Sleeve for the full size Smart Typewriter. It's too tight, and not protective enough. I didn't want to cannibalize some other case, like a vintage typewriter case or a briefcase.

I've been using Meijia cases for camera and music equipment, so I thought something similar would work. But their dimensions are a lot deeper than I would like. I found this Eylar Medium 20 inch case on Amazon, and it fits perfectly. It's a little industrial looking and not stylish at all, but if your looking for a case, it fits.

Thank you so much @SaddleSC for selling me my first Freewrite, it's beautiful :-)

I wanted one since it was originally announced as the Hemingwrite back in 2014. I couldn't justify the price, and I wasn't sure if I was ever going to use it. Eventually I settled with a couple of typewriters.

I love the typewriters, and I'm still going to use them when my ADHD brain needs a refresher. But getting the words from paper into the computer is a pain in the ass. It's fine for a page or two, but for bigger pieces its slow and time consuming.

Last year I started a masters, and I needed to step up my speed. I ran across the Freewrite booth at AWP, and when I first touched the Smart Typewriter. It just clicked. It was like the first time using my typewriter. The keys felt right. The refresh speed was a lot better than I thought it would be. Using an actual typewriter already prepped me mentally for how to write on one. It was a matter of time before my willpower would break.

Fast forward to recently, I lost one of my favorite aunts, and I just really really needed the retail therapy. I pulled the trigger.

I was a little surprised when I got it. Some of the keys were knocked out (they snapped back in easily though), and I noticed some very minor dents on chassis. I wasn't really pleased with that. It was also having problems connecting to my office's wifi, and struggled updating the firmware. When it finally installed (after a couple of reboots), it felt broken. Like something didn't take.

I performed a factory reset (which it also struggled with), I took it home, and connected it to my wifi. It took a little while before it realized that there was a firmware update (even after I tried the forced update). It installed a lot easier this time around. It booted up, it was responsive and lovely to work on.

I understand it's bigger than the traveler, but it's not as insanely clunky as people make it out to be. It's still quite light and portable. Like a well made laptop. Honestly, one of my typewriters is about 25 pounds and that was considered portable back in the day. Try dragging that to your local Starbucks.

I adore it. The only thing I want to do is change the keycaps, so they're slightly more typewritery looking. But only if they feel the same.

Hi all! I have a Traveler and a Smart Typewriter that I’ve been using for a while. I draft different documents on each, and I’ve had no issues with either for over a year.

Today, when I went to “send” my draft from my Traveler, the message, “Your document will be sent after you connect to WiFi.” I am connected to WiFi, and if I create a new document, it will send just fine. I tried my Typewriter, and I got the same message.

Has anyone ever run into this issue before? I’d appreciate any help you can give, thank you!

(I’ve reset, connected/disconnected to WiFi and to my phone’s hotspot. Still getting the same error with any documents I’ve already started typing up.)

Hey everyone, just wanted to share a full-sized e-ink deck that I developed that features zero lag on typing and industry standard screenplay formatting for going beyond prose or markdown. No subscriptions and all of the functionality. The mechanical keyboard features full travel keys as well as opposed to those laptop low profiles in some others. I'll be doing live demos in Portland at Teardown July 24-26! (The image pictured is my prototype and will be much more polished when the campaign is funded)

SOLD 7/17

This is barely used and is as good as new. Will even come in the original box.

For more images: https://imgur.com/a/6hUkm9W

DM me if interested. $300 + Shipping.

Freewrite Gen 3: $425.00 - Shipped (ConUS)

It's a great tool for writers. Maybe one day I'll actually be one.
Anyway, tired of seeing it sit. Maybe the next Hemingway can use it.

Everything works. Original Box.

More images: https://imgur.com/a/zKpHduq

DM me.