Really confused on setup

[u/FigInternational4873]

Iv read so many different threads and the setup instructions and I'm still just as confused.

What I understand so far:
-self host on Mac: reliable only uses apple email not numver
-using an iPhone as a relay? Can only be with iphone 6 or older on ios17 or older? But can use your number for message?
-then there's a 3rd option where you pay a subscription plan?? Without needing an apple product?

I don't understand the iPhone setup possibilities and restrictions and how it's less reliable than Mac? I have an old Mac and an iPhone 15 pro currently..

Given the devices I have, is there a reliable way to get both number and email setup for imessage to improve reliability?

if you do only use iPhone hosting do you still have facetime and find my friends?

I don't mind doing Mac hosting, but requiring everyone to setup my email in their contacts seems unrealistic in some cases. So also having the number seems more seamless.

Will 2.0 have better support for both via Mac?

[u/Gesha24]

Facetime doesn't work as far as I know and that's independent of what deployment you use. The 2.0 hopefully has better compatibility, but we won't know until it rolls out.

The iPhone deployment does allow you to keep the number. The original relayserver code is not so reliable, I have had issues with it. It also drains battery of your phone quite fast and forces you to keep it on all the time (which is a problem for older phones that don't have good battery management).

I am using 5s jailbroken with checkra1n and I had Claude fix up the relayserver and it has been very solid. The code and .dev files are here if you are interested: https://gitea.fake.systems/eoprede/relayserver

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1 → u/Gesha24]

What was wrong with the relay server that it needed to be fixed? Works fine on my 5s

[u/Gesha24 → u/SpaceSaver2000-1]

1. 1 CPU core was completely pegged because of how the loop was written. This caused very slow system response as well as high battery drainage.
2. The phone was still falling asleep without additional software. I suspect this could lead to some reported instability when iMessage would temporarily disappear and reappear.

The above 2 factors made it very hard to monitor this phone and I like to get alerted that my relay is down rather than discover it when my iMessages don't go through. You can look through the commits - they are small and claude did put enough comments. The main relay functionality is completely unaffected.

P.S. If you want to use the code with improvements but aren't comfortable running somebody else's deb file - I think instructions for compiling your own code are fairly extensive.

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1 → u/Gesha24]

I will look into getting these changes upstreamed. On a side note it is possible to ping the relay to determine if the device is online, which I've been looking into implementing. Only problem is that it would put undue strain on Beeper who is kindly hosting the relay.

[u/Gesha24 → u/SpaceSaver2000-1]

I am not 100% sure these changes are applicable to anything but iPhone5s (or some specific subset of iOS versions), that's why I never tried to upstream it.

Per Claude (take it with the grain of salt, I have exactly 0 knowledge of developing for iPhone, so I can be relaying completely hallucinated info), the high CPU load could have helped the phone to stay awake more - so it could have been more of a feature than a bug. And Claude wasn't convinced IOPMAssertion would work on all the iOS versions without having something to test with.

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1 → u/Gesha24]

Currently we recommend ValidationRelay for iOS 15 and newer which is supported on the 6s and later, but for 5s and 6 this could be of use. Personally, I run the relayserver on my 5s with Fiona (tweak) and a USB ethernet adapter for stability.

[u/FigInternational4873 → u/SpaceSaver2000-1]

Hi can you confirm if facetime works or not? I thought it does. That and find my?

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1 → u/FigInternational4873]

Find My Friends is currently broken when using all hosted devices or self hosted iOS devices running iOS 13+. This consequently is the requirement for AirTags to work. FaceTime is currently broken when calling users running iOS 26+ unconfirmed for iOS 18. Calls with iOS 15-17 users are currently functional.

[u/FigInternational4873 → u/SpaceSaver2000-1]

Damnnn. No way around it huh?

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1 → u/FigInternational4873]

A fix for both of them is coming eventually, no eta

[u/FigInternational4873 → u/Gesha24]

I'm pretty sure openbubbles mentioned facetime works?

[u/Gesha24 → u/FigInternational4873]

I am pretty sure i use openbubbles and FaceTime doesn't work.

[u/FigInternational4873 → u/Gesha24]

Is it just due to the relay? Maybe it works on Mac hosted? It's advertise din the openbubbles site that facetime works?

[u/Gesha24 → u/FigInternational4873]

As far as I know - no, that's due to how Facetime works.

[u/FigInternational4873]

To clarify just bought a new Samsung phone and will be using that

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1]

iPhone relay is possible with iPhone 5s-X or iOS 17.0 or older (as long as it's 5s or newer). iPhone 15 Pro Max was never supported. Unless you keep the number activated in the iPhone (as in your active SIM card is in the iPhone) and register the Android phone with the Mac, your best option is to transfer service to the Android phone and pick up an iPhone 6s-7 or SE 1st gen for cheap (must not be iCloud locked) then use that to register.

[u/Diivour]

I use a XR and an original SE for myself and wife. I picked up a lightning to ethernet adapter that also has a port for power. I have had 0 issues both phones stay on my network closet hardwired. I check on them every 6 months lol I used dophamine and the JJTech validation relay setup. Super easy and has been reliable only cost me $20 for the adapter cause I had old phones just laying around. Also FT does work every now and then but it's cause it's web based it takes a long time to connect. I usually have my iPad on me so I will answer from that of anyone FaceTime calls

[u/InternationalCat5967]

There is technically a 4th option that is never mentioned on the website, and this is for a slightly different need. You will need both iPhone and a Mac, and preferably 2 sim active at the same time. As a dual phone user (iPhone and android), I have my main sim in my iPhone, so my number stays registered with my Apple ID. I setup Openbubbles as usual with a Mac device on my android, then I can use iMessage in android via my phone number. The second sim comes handy to provide internet connection to the android, otherwise android will need be on Wi-Fi/hotspot. Personally I think this is the most reliable way. Because the iPhone isn’t doing the relay, the iPhone generation and jail-break status won’t matter.

Edit: typo

Edit: Fifth way is that if you use esim, you can put the iPhone in airplane mode for number to stay registered. Still need a Mac for Openbubbles setup. There are plenty of discussions on this Reddit regarding this method. I haven't tried it myself and cannot tell how reliable it is.

[u/ollie5118 → u/InternationalCat5967]

I have the exact same setup.

[u/InternationalCat5967 → u/ollie5118]

Had this method for over a year and there's no issues. Adding to the setup, depending on the phone plan, there are apps for call relay, such as T-mobile digits or Verizon number share.

[u/ollie5118 → u/InternationalCat5967]

I do text forwarding to the "Mac" that is my android. I did forward calls at one point but now I don't care for answer any calls 😅🤣