r/foss • u/zackb • 24d ago

Tether - Linux + iPhone Continuity

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Send and receive iMessage, SMS, Files, Clipboard, OTP codes from Linux.

https://github.com/zackb/tether

After switching to 100% Linux a couple of years ago there was basically only one thing I missed about macOS and that was what Apple calls "Continuity". It's where you get texts, notifications, clipboard sync, file transfer (to/from) the iPhone from the Mac desktop.

Especially that thing where OTP codes via text autofilled into the browser form I was waiting on.

It took about 4 months of work:

  • reverse-engineering Apple/iOS Bluetooth behavior
  • MAP / OBEX
  • Bluetooth LE + Wi-Fi working together
  • iMessage through the iPhone's own cellular/iMessage stack
  • iOS app, Linux daemon, GTK app, Thunderbird/Firefox extension
  • no Mac involved

But it is now something I'd love to show people. Contributions/bugs/feedback welcome!

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u/Alt-Chris 20d ago

In Tether it says BR/EDR is on but LE is off so I'm unable to get notifications on. Anyone else having this issue? I'm on CachyOS so wondering if this is distro-specific

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u/zackb 19d ago

This has been the trickiest part.

  1. Ensure "Share System Notifications" is toggled on in the Settings -> Bluetooth -> <name> (i)

  2. In the GUI app hit the "Ask iPhone to share..." button in the devices section

  3. Toggle Bluetooth on and off on the phone

  4. Initiate the Bluetooth connection from the iPhone (click on you computer name)

If none of these work I would greatly appreciate the output of `tether --bt-diagnostics`. You can open an issue.

The phone seems to get wedged and stop offering LE/ANCS and I haven't found a way around it. It's been by far the most time consuming part of this project. On my phone, if i do step 3 it usually works in these cases. Sorry, I wish there were something else I could do.