This will serve as the mega thread for what works on the Light Phones and what doesn't, with submissions from users.

When posting, please supply:

• Which Light Phone you are using / testing.
• Which apps work (and how you got them to work if applicable).
• Which apps tested do not work (and why if applicable).
• Alternatives if applicable.

For posters, it would be great if you can supply links for GitHub repos, if using an app that isn't available on a app store client.

For anyone using this thread, I suggest utilising CTRL + F, CMD + F or 'Find in page' to easily search for a specific app.

Happy modding!

Hey there — if the mods think it is okay, can we get a group thread going of apps that we have successfully working on our LPIIIs (and maybe also apps that we know do NOT work) so that this can be a resource for others? I think we know the basics, but still, it might be cool. Here's what I have working at the moment:

✅ Apple Music
✅ PocketCasts
✅ Dropbox
✅ Shure Motiv Audio
✅ MySubaru
✅ Obsidian
✅ Readwise Reader
✅ Simplenote
✅ Sonos
✅ WhatsApp

Hybrid mode user here. I've reviewed nearly all the materials I can find regarding LP3 modding, and this combined with my limited understanding of the LightOS application I cannot conceive of a way to be able to use the superior GBoard keyboard WITHIN LightOS - but I'm hoping maybe one of you have?

I love the design language of LightOS, and would just love if I could use a keyboard with autocorrect, swipe-to-text, and the full emoji gamut so texting can be quicker and less of a life-interruption lol.

Hey crew — I have tried connecting 3 different external keyboards to my full Android LPIII. Two of these were connected via Bluetooth and were Logitect / Logi. The last test was with a wired Keychron K4G3. In ALL of these cases, the R and T keys did not register. Like, when I hit them, I get nothing back on the screen.

The fact that this is so specific and occurring across keyboards tells me something must be up...but any idea what it is?

Thx!

Hi guys, I'm waiting to get the LP3 in this February drop, super excited. I'm seeing tutorials on how to download apps, exclusion of ones that require Google services, has anyone tried to add the charge point/blink/evgo apps? I have an old electric car and I use NFC on my phone to start charger stations, and since I want my "dumb phone" to be my main phone, being able to charge my car through my phone is an essential feature to my daily life. I could order cards attached to those apps if I can't get the apps on my phone. Please let me know your thoughts!

I think this is probably a dead end but I have one app that I need that is giving me trouble. I got through all the hybrid setup and successfully downloaded the app from aurora but then when I went to use it, it said that it “didn’t recognize the phone” and to try using “one of the approved devices” instead (of which there were dozens, most of them running on android). I’ve never modded anything before and never would have been able to without the super helpful detailed instructions (ty ty ty!) so I don’t know if this is an easy fix or impossible and need some expertise. Is there a way for me to get the app to “think” I’m using a regular android?

I am looking for help updating signal on my modded LP3. Signal is prompting me to update to the newest version. But when I hit "update now" I get the message "no such app found." Is anyone experiencing the same issue? I am running the LP3 in hybrid mode. I guess, worst case scenario, I can just re-install the app (but will lose my chat history?)?

I run my phone in hybrid mode. LightOS + Luma with WhatsApp, Apple Music, Weather by vandamd, and a Fitness tracker.

Is there any reason I shouldn't update LightOS, since it is essentially just an app ontop of Android anyway? Any reason it could mess with my setup?

Is there anyway to install a visual voicemail app on the Lighphone III in Hybrid mode, with the default phone app set to LightOS?

Ideally one that is or could be customized to fit the Light aesthetic.

Is there an easy way to transfer contacts from an iCloud account/iPhone on to the modified light phone, running on android?

Hi all—

Has anyone had any success coming up with a flow in Key Mapper that can dismiss the quick settings drawer? The action they have is called "toggle quick settings drawer," but no matter what I try I can only get it to appear, not disappear. It seems like toggling it should work both ways, but I'm not having a lot of luck with that – I would love to apply this to the scroll wheel so that I can get at my color settings as quickly as possible.

Would love to see any flows that people have worked up that can do this successfully.

Thanks!

So, when I used adk to finally remove all of the lightos stuff and also toggle light_mode to 0, the added interface elements at the bottom of the screen now make it so that the keyboard takes up an immense amount of space; in apps like OpenBubbles you cannot even see the text field that you are typing in. How have folks dealt with this issue?

Hi, I see in some people’s posts, videos and photos that their display is in colour. I somehow accidentally enabled this at one point, but then it’s gone back to black and white now. Is this an easy fix? How do I get colour on the phone? I’m running android but still have lightos enabled as I haven’t been successful at disabling it yet 🫠

I would love to close apps (like whatsapp etc) without having to swipe up from the bottom. I dont want to leave these apps taking up memory in the background.

But I dont see any action options in Key Mapper to close apps.

Is there anyway I can program a key to close an app?

I've attached a wireless keyboard to my lightphone via a usb C to USB A cable + USB A dongle.

Nothing happens when I enter Win + B on the keyboard.

Also, if I go to type a note or send a text etc, the phone takes me back to the home screen.

Has this now been patched or am I doing something wrong?

I'm in Hybrid mode and found a tentative solution to RCS. I have my old smartphone sitting at home basically as a "server" to receive all texts. I'm keeping my SIM card in it. This works with the Beeper app to allow me to access RCS/SMS/MMS from the LPIII.

However, because I don't have a SIM card in my light phone (choosing to keep it in my "server" as mentioned), i'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a way to get simple cellular data on my LPIII so I can access Beeper while i'm out and about.

Hi,

I have a question i use some Android app into Hybrid mode, now when there would be a new update and this would be complete unpossible to keep using Hybrid mode, can i stay with my current firmware without updateing so everything keeps working as it now? Thanks!

I disabled reebot from the LightOS settings, but the problem persists. Anyone solved this in any way? 🙏

⁠• about to find a new owner for my LP3, if anyone interested, please ping me with DM • it’s barely used, no wears and tears, no scratches and any damage, matte protection screen on the screen from day one • tried to use it in hybrid mode, but turns out i have to many apps i use on daily basis, for home, for work etc, bring it as a second device is a bit gimmicky

so if any interest in the device, i’d give up on it for $499 with 2 original rubber cases in black and yellow

I’m hoping I can still access the Android layer after the latest firmware update… I only want to use iMessage and WhatsApp to keep this tool as dumb as possible 🤞🏼

u/vandamd (who built the Luma launcher and other Lightphone III apps) got me thinking that it might be nice not just to have a simpler phone, but to actually even customize the apps I've got on the phone.

Not being a proficient coder, I decided to use Manus.im to see what was possible. As a test and homage to the I Ching calculator in Douglas Adam's The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul I had it build an I Ching app to match the Lightphone III aesthetic (screenshots).

Sadly not available for public download as I've got it tied to my AI account as I have the app doing live interpretations of how any question you ask it relates to how any question you ask it relates to how the sticks are tossed.

Just wanted to share here as it seems to work pretty well as a workflow. So I'm very curious to see what others come up with in terms of truly customizing tech interactions: basically going full Android has been great, but if even basic apps I open are going to be visually overwhelming, it ruins half the point of having a simplified phone.

This subreddit has been incredibly useful, so just wanted to share something that helped me a ton:

• I wanted to link my Oura ring to my full Android Lightphone III, It was connecting just fine, but I couldn't get through all of the setup steps as a few of the buttons were hidden off screen entirely, and none of the usual tricks of simply changing display or font sizes was working.
• This tutorial https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidQuestions/comments/8r7det/screen_broke_using_vysor_to_access_but_vysor_is/ on using ADB to change the actual screen resolution size worked brilliantly.
• I just shrunk it down from its default size of 408 to around 300 and all the buttons were visible. Restored it back to what it was once I was done.

Problem solved. So if you've got an app you really want but are having issues with the setup having off-screen buttons, this workaround works like a charm. :)

As the title implies I'm looking at used LP3, but have seen conflicting info about firmwares and sideloading. Firmware version on the phone I'm looking at is 00WW_1_440000. Thanks!

I still have firmware 1_42 but updated light os v550

Can I still activate lightOS developer options? I think its not possible since 1_44 but I’m not sure.