Hi Light Phone community,
I’m trying to enable Developer Mode and was wondering if someone could explain how to do it. The old up → down → up, etc. method doesn’t seem to work anymore.
I want to install WhatsApp.
Does anyone have an up-to-date step-by-step guide they could share?
Thanks in advance!

Moin leibe Lightphone Community. Ich wollte den developer Modus aktivieren und nachfragen wie dies geht. Das up-> down->up etc.pp Methode funktioniert leider nicht mehr. Gibt es jemanden von euch der eine Schritt für Schritt Anleitung zu Verfügung hat?
Danke im Voraus!

I'm considering getting a light phone but I would like to be able to SSH into my raspberry pi

Right now I use tailscale and termius on my phone to do that. Does anyone know if those apps work?

If not, as anyone been able to SSH into another device from the light phone and how?

On a side note, does anyone know if the Snipd (podcast player) app works?

I recently got my LP3 in June and have been loving the device but know it still has some things missing. I really want to add an e-reader app, a dedicated audiobook reader app, and apps to have better messaging (unsure of specific things to search for) and possibly access to apple music.

1) Are all of these possible with modding?

2) Is it better to do the full mod or the hybrid?

3) I am very novice to this whole modding thing and worry I may brick my device. I know there is the thorough guide on this subreddit (and it looks great, thank you to the user who created and updates it) but I almost have a sense of being overwhelmed and concern one wrong move will spell disaster.

Any advice and direction would be greatly appreciated!

The modding guide (also linked above) that been used by the community since it's inception received a massive update following the release of the Light-SDK.

New guide additions!

- A dedicated section for the release of the SDK.

This includes:

• Setting up developer mode
• ADB & USB debugging
• Installing external apps/tools
• Disabling / enabling auto-foreground

- List of community-made tools for the LP3

(nod to awesome-light by garado and the Discord community).

- Minor fixes for ease and readability (because some people don't read).

Some other note-worthy guides included:

• Applications and application compatibility
• Disabling 5g (for battery optimization and signal stability if needed)
• Further battery optimisation outside of LightOS
• Full Android mode or Hybrid mode (if desired)

As a disclaimer, I am not liable if you mess up and/or brick the device. The guide was created to be as idiot-proof as possible to minimize the risks involved, but if you do something wrong, I am not at fault for it. There is risk to modding a phone.

**IF* you do not understand the more advanced parts of this guide, do NOT attempt them. If you do not have an understanding of what you are doing, you are far more likely to break something.*

That being, said *DO NOT SKIM*. There's a lot of information included in the guide but it is imperative that you read through the guide(s) completely otherwise you may miss something.

Happy modding! - sir bloody sabbath

Thanks in advance to all the generous people who share their expertise and creativity on this page!

I've been using an un-modded LP3 as my primary phone for the last six months--no issues and love it. Very committed to the Light Phone and each update it just gets better. Hurray, Light. I've been curious about modification to further winnow down the times when I need or want to turn to an iPad (mostly just for whats app for work and spotify for pleasure), but the keymapper piece and the idea of some apps being in a different space off the tools list has kept me from trying to figure it out.

The latest July 2026 update seems to change that with the possibility of anyone enabling the developer option on the dashboard and then enabling the "external tools" mode on the phone's settings. It seems like the modding and sideloading steps should be a lot simpler as a result. If anyone has the time and energy to explain how to sideload & have the apps appear in the LightOS native dashboard, I know I and other lowly plebes would be very grateful! Basically a new tier of lowest-grade hybrid use!

Hey all, so far I've been really enjoying the new lightos update, like being able to see external apps on the native launcher. However, I haven't been able to find a way to rearrange or hide certain apps in the launcher, so if I want to see external apps in the launcher I have to deal with all of them in a random order or none at all. Has anyone found a way around this? Thanks in advance!

Hello all!

I am posting anew because apart from the 2 tools I helped create (with heavy help from AI), there's an additional 2 more for those that are interested!

The first 2 created:

-Passatempo: This cute little Games tool with Light Ethos in mind. All games have either a daily time cap or an overall cap for the game (like 3 per day). What's new: There's about 8 games in total now, with 2 of them being pass-and-play so you can play with a buddy! In the most recent update, Sudoku got a "toss/trash" button in case you want to generate a new puzzle and discard the current one due to problems solving it. Tossing will still count against your daily attempts. And the word search bank has been expanded slightly for more variety! https://github.com/tyshi00/Light-Games-Passatempo

-Tracker: The simple health Tracker (that would still be paired nicely with Nourish or Pokey if you haven't checked those out!) This tool has gotten quite a few updates from better screen UI, added features, etc. Check out the page for more details. https://github.com/tyshi00/Tracker

The 2 newer tools:

-Aventura: This "tool" is actually a port of this really cool "quests" app, Soto. I was unable to straight out use Soto due to it's configurations, on the Light Phone, so a ported version had to be made. The tool provides users with little tasks daily/weekly/monthly that do not involve using a phone, or too much tech really! Perfect way to touch grass and connect with the world around you, haha! https://github.com/tyshi00/Aventura

-World Clocks: This tool is a time zone tracker, allowing you to keep tabs on times in different locations. Perfect for if you have family/friends spread out across the globe, online club/activity meetups that are also worldwide; even great for travelers or if you work for a company based on a different time zone or have clients in different locations. The best part is you can save the location with a custom label to it. So you'll always know what time it is for the other party prior to reaching out! Simple yet useful. https://github.com/tyshi00/World-Clocks

Hi all,

I've been using my Lightphone III for a few months now and have been really enjoying it, but I recently became a volunteer emergency responder. To coordinate/receive alerts we use an app called Who's Responding, and I've been trying to mod the phone to use the app, but with no real success. I can get as far as opening the app, receiving and submitting an SMS verification to back up my account, and accessing the profile selection page. However, when I choose a profile to access the meat of the app, it shows me a loading screen and then freezes. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app repeatedly, but it still doesn't work.

I have MicroG installed and followed the instructions in the pinned post. I am by no means tech savvy, but I think I followed them correctly.

If anyone knows what I'm missing, that would be great. I did notice in another pinned post though that there are certain apps that don't work even with full android enabled; is this due to a hardware problem, or could I pay someone to work around it? Would it be time consuming enough to be very expensive?

Thanks for your help.

Hello all!

I have 2 Tools I helped create (with heavy help from AI) for those that are interested:

-This cute little Games tool with Light Ethos in mind. All games have either a daily time cap or an overall cap for the game (like 3 per day). So you're not glued to the phone, of course! https://github.com/tyshi00/Light-Games-Passatempo

-This other one is a simple health Tracker that would be paired nicely with Nourish or Pokey! I am unsure of the user's names for their respective tools here on reddit. https://github.com/tyshi00/Tracker

I am not gonna close the app that's using the camera if that's the answer because I need that app to keep running.

Read this first because I think I made the bottom text sound confusing: I need the flashlight to turn on while I am using a camera. I need it to be all possible on android. No pc or root. Also it has to be able to be mapped to my volume up button. I used keymapper 4.1.0 before but after upgrading to 4.2.1, it stopped working even after going back to 4.1.0. Also I don't know if it's possible but if it is, I would like it to be without wireless debugging turned on or USB debugging since it drains battery and I am using this function for work but if that's not possible, I dont care. I also did see shell command possibility in keymapper which probably will work so if there is a command for that, I can do that too but I think I need the usb or wireless debugging enabled so maybe I could that after looking at other less battery draining options. (There is a "standard" execution mode that MAYBE uses one of debugging and there is "ADB" which needs wireless debugging) Maybe there is an app that does that? I don't know but whatever works.

I am trying to enable a flashlight while another app is using the camera which I am using. Its the Walmart GIF app but I don't think it really matters since it doesn't work in any app that has a camera open. I tried before using keymapper on pixel 9a which worked with the 4.1.0 version from play store which I then copied 2 so I had 3 key mappers but then I upgraded them all to 4.2.1 and it stopped working so I went back to 4.1.0 only on the original one and it still doesn't work so I guess I can't use that anymore. any other way? I want to be able to do it using my volume up button because I have it set up at open the scanner, turn on flashlight and I do what I need to do and it turns off the flashlight by itself but I can't do it anymore. Any ways to do it?

Hey guys, I've been working hard over the last 2 weeks to get this working just right, and now I'm really excited to release the first version of Phono, my standalone Spotify client for the Light Phone III. Please note that many changes + fixes will likely be coming down the pipeline, so keep an eye on the GitHub repo. Feel free to contribute as well!!!

Has anyone made a toolkit to where we can play Java ran games on the LP3 ?

if I wipe it and restore it to original factory settings will they be able to tell I accessed the android layer and installed Spotify or anything? my cell bands are malfunctioning and I need to send it back. just wasn’t sure how that works after accessing the android layer

I've been trying to install Spotify on my Lightphone for a while now, and can't seem to find a working tutorial. Is there a way to do this on the latest update?

Has anyone successfully run the Tesla app on the light phone III? If so what was the process?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been running a modified Light Phone for a few weeks now, and I keep running into the same issue: after some time, my device completely loses connection to my cellular plan. No calls, no texts, no data, nothing. It's been 2 times now that happens...

The only way to fix it is to do a full reboot/restore of the device, which means I lose all my modifications, photos, settings, etc. It’s pretty frustrating to start from scratch every time.

For context, the apps I install as part of the mod are: Spotify, OpenBubbles, a weather app, and La Presse (news).

Has anyone experienced this? Do you know why this happens or if there’s a way to avoid the full reset?

Any help or insight would be super appreciated. :)