Molly and Battery Drain

DeletedUser119

Hey all,

With the new Molly update is anyone noticing the battery drain I have read about? Also, do I still need to do the extra leg work of using my own mollysocket server or is it just a download and your good to go? Is it best to get the app right from the accrescent store?

Thanks!

Probably9857

DeletedUser119

No battery drain for me

DeletedUser119 Also is it best to get the app right from the accrescent store?

Yes

Probably9857

DeletedUser119 do I still need to do the extra leg work of using my own mollysocket server or is it just a download and your good to go?

I'm not doing anything like that. Whether you "need" to will depend in your objectives.

Alltern

DeletedUser119 dont use unified push

Eagle_Owl

DeletedUser119
Hey @DeletedUser119,
I am using Molly-FOSS daily since September (always on GrapheneOS) and I have not noticed any increase in energy consumption even with the current version 7.26.1-1-FOSS.

However, I have been using Molly-FOSS with UnifiedPush since 30 November 2024, as it was finally integrated into the main version on that day.

I am using Obtainium to obtain all my F(L)OSS apps recently (see Reference down below).

But for fun, I also use the original Signal app on one of my three Pixel phones to be able to compare. And I would have noticed an increase in energy consumption there too, as the code base of both apps is relatively identical.

Energy consumption during standby periods: 1% per hour

UnifiedPush

If you cannot self-host MollySocket, you can use the service of notify.sh (commercial version) or the free service of adminforge.de (financed by donations, based in Germany, I also use it myself).
Setup is very simple: download the ntfy app from GitHub, set https://ntfy.adminforge.de as “Standard-Server” in the settings menu of this little app, maybe set the storage time of the notifications shorter as default, e.g. 3 days if you wish. And may set dark mode. That's it in that app.
Thereafter you can go into settings of Molly-FOSS, Notifications.
Here you can now change Delivery Service from WebSocket to UnifiefPush!
And then you can scan the QR code from the Website https://molly.adminforge.de
That's it!

Reference

https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android
https://adminforge.de/services/mollysocket/ (German-language, but easy to understand or translate with DeepL)
https://www.deepl.com/en/translator
https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium
https://github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy-android

DeletedUser119

Probably9857 Thanks!

DeletedUser119

Probably9857 And you get push notifications?

yore

Probably9857 spoken8072 Also is it best to get the app right from the accrescent store?

Yes

Not necessarily. Accrescent only has Molly's FOSS variant which uses more battery due to websocket's contant connection (unless you've set up UnifiedPush). Personally, I use the Molly F-Droid repository and rely on Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). Of course, it depends on the user's needs and threat model but it isn't correct to say Accrescent is the best store for Molly as of yet, and the user is free to decide.

DeletedUser119

Probably9857 Okay that is good to know. I just went to the mollysocket link on github and it was quite overwhelming!

Probably9857

DeletedUser119

Of course. You will need to allow Unrestricted background usage, but even with that I don't see any significant drain. I have seen some complaints though, so YMMV.

DeletedUser119

Probably9857 Okay for sure. Thank you for the help!

Eagle_Owl

Probably9857
No, you don't really need „Unrestricted background usage”!

For Signal Android app and Molly app these permissions are sufficient (also to get voice calls!):
Tap long on the Molly app icon to see the context menu “App Info” (same with Signal app):
Select “Battery usage of the app”, then select “Optimised”.

Second important tip (useful for the most apps there!):
Select “Mobile Data Usage” and switch off “Background data”.

DeletedUser119

Alltern Oh? What should I use?

Probably9857

DeletedUser119

Mollysocket is one way to do Unified Push. Ntfy is another. It can be somewhat complicated to get working, and you will only benefit if you have multiple apps using it.

DeletedUser119

Probably9857 Oh I see. What is the most user-friendly way?

Eagle_Owl

Probably9857
Sorry, how you can use MollySocket for UnifiedPush without an app like ntfy on your Pixel phone?
You need both to get push notifications without the need of WebSocket protocol, which then is used as fallback only, if UnifiedPush (MollySocket) doesn't work.

After my setup (see Eagle_Owl) I have one entry “MollySocket” in my Molly-FOSS menu “Coupled devices” (maybe “Paired devices” in English version of Molly?).
And this hosting service for MollySocket needs the ntfy app for working properly.
It's not “MollySocket or ntfy”. It needs both.
But it is very easy to setup, if you know the right service. ;-)

Probably9857

DeletedUser119

Just install the app and use it

DeletedUser119

Probably9857 Appreciate the help! Don't currently have a pixel or anything yet. Asking these questions are helpful to see if it will fit my workflow.

SerenityNow

Switched from Molly to Molly-FOSS recently. No change batterywise.

rufus

Eagle_Owl BTW: Nowadays, almost nobody makes phone calls anymore, not even via Messenger…

Please note that not everybody is "almost nobody".

Eagle_Owl So only on the caller's 2nd or 3rd attempt.

This only happens if you restrict molly the way like you wrote (see following quote). Without these restrictions, the call function with molly is working fine and without delay.

Eagle_Owl No, you don't really need „Unrestricted background usage”!

For Signal Android app and Molly app these permissions are sufficient (also to get voice calls!):
Tap long on the Molly app icon to see the context menu “App Info” (same with Signal app):
Select “Battery usage of the app”, then select “Optimised”.

Second important tip (useful for the most apps there!):
Select “Mobile Data Usage” and switch off “Background data”.

Eagle_Owl The difference is the energy consumption, which is a little less by using UnifiedPush protocol.

It makes no sense at all to use ntfy for molly only. There is no measurable difference and no "a little less" energy consumption.

DeletedUser119

Probably9857

Eagle_Owl thank you for the explanation! And that will give me instant push notifications?

Probably9857

Eagle_Owl Sorry, how you can use MollySocket for UnifiedPush without an app like ntfy on your Pixel phone?

Sorry, I misunderstood how it works. I don't use those things myself. My point for the OP was that Molly works fine without all that.