Unable to sign into Pocket account in EinkBro on new Android Bigme eInk device

[CottonEvoker]

Hi Daniel,

I just got a Bigme B751 BW tablet, EinkBro one of the first app installs.

Encountering something strange though: For the first time on EinkBro I'm unable to sign in to the Pocket 'read it later' website, despite that site working fine for me in EinkBro on every other device I use EinkBro on, and also being able to log into it fine on other browsers (for example Samsung Internet) on the same Bigme B751 tablet.

I'll describe first what happens when I sign successfully into Pocket on Samsung Internet browser on the B751 (and on EinkBro on all devices other than the B751).

• I go to the browser login page (https://getpocket.com/login).
• I input my email address and click Next and complete the Capcha.
• I'm then taken to a screen "Enter your email, Continue to Pocket" to 'Sign up or sign in'.
• I enter my email and password & 2-factor on the next screens.
• I'm then successfully logged in.

But on EinkBro on the B751, login doesn't complete. Instead, I'm taken to my Mozilla account and unable to reach the web version of Pocket.

• I again go to the browser login page (https://getpocket.com/login).
• I input my email address and click Next.
• This time though, instead of "Enter your email, Continue to Pocket" to 'Sign up or sign in', I'm on a screen that says "Sign in / Continue to account settings".
• I tap "Sign in" and enter password & 2-factor on the next screens.
• But after login, I'm not in Pocket but on my Mozilla account settings page (https://accounts.firefox.com).
• If I tap on the icon at the top right of the page to take me to the Mozilla product/site I want to visit (i.e. Pocket), it takes me to the Play Store page for the Pocket app.
• If I then revisit in EinkBro the Pocket home page (https://getpocket.com), I don't even show as being logged in.

My settings in EinkBro on the B751 are no different, as far as I can tell, to those I use in EinkBro on all my other devices.

I understand why a company like Mozilla might take steps to encourage people on Android to use the Pocket app rather than the browser version of Pocket. But logging into the Pocket site in EinkBro on all my other devices (and on Samsung Internet on the B751) works fine. I even tested it just now. So it clearly isn't the case that Mozilla is trying to prevent me from accessing Pcoket via an Android browser,

I attach a screenshots PDF each for the two above test login processes I did for browsers on the B751: One for the successful login on Samsung Internet and one for the unsuccessful login process on EinkBro.

Have you any idea what's going on here?

Thanks.

Oliver Logging into Pocket on Samsung Internet (successful).pdf Logging into Pocket on EinkBro (unsuccessful).pdf

[plateaukao]

Samsung is a complete browser, similar to Chrome or Firefox. You may need to try if it works on xBrowser, or Via Browser. These two are using System WebView component as well as EinkBro.

If any of these two browsers can't login Pocket either, then it's a problem of Bigme device's System WebView version. You may need to ask Bigme wether it's possible to update it.

On my BOOX device, the version of Android System WebView is 129.0.6668.82

[CottonEvoker]

Thank you for the ever speedy reply.

I can confirm unfortunately that I get exactly the same thing on both xBrowser & Via Browser.

The version of Android System WebView on my B751 is 94.0.4606.85. I will approach Bigme to ask them about the possibility of updating it.

Thank you.

[plateaukao]

@CottonEvoker It looks like Bigme B751 has Google Play Store app too. If so, you could also try to search for "Android System WebView" in it, and see if you could update the version by Google Play Store app.

[CottonEvoker]

It's interesting you should mention this, because after your first reply I spotted an 'Android System WebView Beta' on the Bigme's Play Store...

... and I was very close to asking in the last reply if installing that might help.

I don't have even a micro-fraction of the knowledge you do of the Android operating system.

So can you tell me please, would installing that Android System WebView have the effect of replacing the pre-installed Android System WebView on the device?

And (in your view) would installing the Play Store be likely to lead to any unexpected side effects on the device?

Don't worry: Needless to say, no-one but me will be responsible for any effect of installing it on my device, and I won't hold you responsible.

I am more than willing to try it, in the hope of being able to use EinkBro on the Bigme as on all my other Android devices.

Thanks.

[CottonEvoker]

My concern too is that, per the screenshot I sent in the last post, the B751's Play Store is offering to "Install" the version of Android System WebView available there, not to "Update" it. This would cause me to assume that, were I to proceed with installing it, then a standalone, possibly parallel, separate version of Android System WebView would be installed. If so, wouldn't EinkBro just continue using the pre-installed apparently outdated version of Android System WebView on the Bigme rather than the more up-to-date version I install?

[plateaukao]

What you need to install is "Android System WebView", not others (with postfix Beta, Canary, Dev). It looks like Bigme use their own version, that's why you can't see an update version for pure Android System WebView.

If you install those you found on Google Play Store, there won't be any impact on your current EinkBro usage. (since you haven't "activate" them yet).

If you wanna try Android System WebView "Beta" or "Canary" or "Dev", you can install them first, and follow instructions below to configure Bigme device to use it too. If you succeeds, the obvious impact is your current several login information will be gone, you have to re-login. That's all. https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/HEAD/android_webview/docs/prerelease.md

I tried similar behavior on other China brand devices (e.g., iReader), it just blocks the WebView configuration. it was not changeable. I'm not sure how it goes on Bigme, you can try and see (if you do know how to follow the instructions in the link)