My perspective on compact after first month (hard user)

Mudita Products
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ok, so I had kompact for a month now, and I would like to share some of my impressions.
so firstly I would like to say where I’m coming from, so maybe my expectations or issues are in context. I have switched to ios last year after usin android flagships since htc hero for the intuitive, deeply implemented ecosys from the getgo. I was tired with having to find a workaround or an app for most of the things (and pixel 7 was such a disappointment for me…)

after a year it was increasinly problemtic for me and my family that my average daily screentime was close to 9h.

We got a mudita alarmclock as a wedding gift and i loved it from the first sight. I wanted a device thet is well designed and well made with the intention of reducing the constant inflow of notifications and stimuli. kompact felt natural to me and i had really high hopes for it.

I came up with the idea, I’ll have my bare minimum on kompact, and do the rest on the no sim ipad (with kompact as emergency hotspot if necessary), that is just too large to get it out in an elevator, or over the urinal.

I’ve went thru with it and here are some of my observations:

I really like how it’s made.
the size, the weight, the colour and feel of the bumper rubber, tones.
I particularly appreciate how unattractive the screen is. After the update it feels way more responsive btw.

I will not dwell on the things that have been solved with the recent updates of the os and the center, I’ll just say they have greatly improved my experience and I’m very grateful.

About the things I either do not know how to use to the fullest or I’m not perfectly happy with the way they are:

  • Ebook fadeout: I can’t for the life of mine understand why bookreader app doesn’t keep the screen on. especially that the energy consuming process is the changing of the state of the screen, right? the backlight could respond to the available light (at best as an option placed next to font size), but please, let me contemplate with what I’m reading, let me slowly struggle with new vocab, let me enjoy reading without changing the time before the screen locking. or request fingerscan/pin if i’ve been on the same page for too long.

  • bluetooth: I haven’t expected a problem in this area, because I’ve never experienced one before. but yes, I’ve paired it with the car and 3 pairs of buds and I hasn’t been great. at most cases the device disappear from the list after one use, can’t be paired again, can’t be removed, it just sinks in some limbo, not to be seen again, or to start autoplay at an unexpected moment.

  • the sim management: I have family and friends in two EU countries, and I have specifically made sure the phone will support 2 sims. But I have never realised a 2 sim experience without online communicators (that I specifically don’t want to have on the device) can be so problematic. I know there is a possibility to set preferred sim for data, calls and texts, but, and it’s a big but, the setting is global. I have either rediscover it every single time or give up on responding to one of two countries. the calls and texts are always replied from the preferred sim, no matter where they originate from. it’s not a problem when on vacation and having the spare sime just for local data, but not in my case. I would be absolutely happy just with the option of responding to the text or call via the sim it came to and an option to choose with wich one i want to make a new call or send new text.

  • calendar: this is critical to me. i just cant get around without a calendar constantly lined to the cloud. similar with notes, no option to sync them.

  • pictures over sms: some get thru. some don’t no idea why, what is the reason or a common denominator.

  • maps: can I save locations? create some sort of a list? don’t know.

I would also love to know quite some things, for example how to permit my sideloaded medication reminder, because if I don’t remember my forgetfulness pills the world becomes a much more hostile place.

I understand that Mudita claims no responsibility over any sideloads, and thats perfectly fine, but for me as a person who doesn’t want to use this phone 5 days a year at some retreat, but have it as my main device, I need a reliable way to access:

  • cloud synced calendar (& preferably notepad)
  • reminders who work (and are not just blown off like the alarm clock)
  • streamed music/podcasts/audiobooks

I have some sideloaded apps, I’m eager to customise. I don’t want to need a phD for minor twitches.

I like my overall experience. I just feel I would like it SO MUCH more if I could cover more angles, if I could secure my key needs with this device.

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Welcome to the Mudita Forum @tymonique
I’m so happy to see you here :slight_smile:
Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a thoughtful and detailed review of your month with Mudita Kompakt. We’re genuinely happy to hear that the design, build quality, and overall feel of the device have resonated with you, and that recent updates have noticeably improved your experience. It’s also wonderful to know that your journey with Mudita began with our alarm clock and has continued into the Kompakt.

We truly appreciate your honest feedback on the areas where you’d like to see improvements. Some of the points you’ve raised are already on our radar & your comments help us better understand how they impact daily use.
I’ll make sure to pass your feedback to our team.
Thank you again for your support and for being part of the Mudita community.
We’re SUPER excited to continue improving Kompakt so it can serve you even better in the future.

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@tymonique Thank you, this is an honest review, I’m not all the same in opinion. But what I feel you saying is, we all come from a different perspective on this minimalist idea and that is the real challenge here. I also love the potential here, yet I have my needs. It is a really admiring endeavor the Mudita team is trying to pull of. I also feel they know that and are working strategically towards some common goal. And yeah offcourse they need their financials in order and stuff, hey thats life! One thing I do know is, this product makes me feel excited!

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sim issue resolved, thanks to @gezimos turns out i had a preference for sim 1 set by default, and had to undo it to choose which sim i actually wanna use for each call and text. Texts remember the preference, which is cool, calling does not jet, that would be a nice perk, but it’s completely a minor thing.

ATM I’m pondering why some apps that claim to need gfs do run without it and some do not. Got some leads from the wonderful people here, I’ll update when I find out if they solve this inconvenience.

But yeah, I can only imagine how deep one has to dig to weed out all the bloatware, toxic stuff, spyware and what not. I know my screen time got halved since I got my kompakt and I feel way better know I remain connected to the few I care bout, but not hooked to anything that is out there. And that absolutely makes me ok with the things that are not like what I got used to or still require some improvement. Plus, I really consider this forum and the support it provides a huge plus.

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Ok babies, I’m done. I have no words to describe my disappointment. It’s not that I want my iPhone back so bad. No, I’m happy I no longer lose 9h a day on the screen, I’m just not willing to struggle with a product the feels like a dead end beta.

I have no clue who writes the system for nudity, but it feels like it’s sabotaged on purpose. Ive never had an issue with Bluetooth like here. I’ve never had an issue with texts, and I’m no longer able to text with the one person I actually have texted with, because the app freezes.

At best kompakt can serve as an overpriced hotspot with pathetic battery life. I’m not only certain it was written by people who don’t use this phone them selves, I’m also rather certain they have very limited understanding of how ring screen functions, or have never tested anything past the napkin concept stage.

I’m super bitter and upset, because I was so invested in the idea, and I wanted it to be good so bad. I’m not gonna give it any more chances, I’m not gonna hope someone will fix it to a point where I don’t need to ask people to spell me the thing over the phone so I can write them down, because I can’t open a bloody sms conversation. I’m not willing to dedicate time and attention to connect my earbuds every time.

If it’s a phone for hobbyists, it feels like opening a padlock with a Bobby pin while submerged under water. I’m an expired nerd, I could do bit more complicated stuff, so I hoped I’ll read some manual and bypass a thing or two, but it’s honestly too much. I have no clue what else could malfunction.

If it was supposed to be a premium product for the people who value their time and attention then I honestly don’t know what to say. Even as an alternative device for a weekend getaway it feels like a mayor failure. Can’t even rely on a damn alarm clock.

I’m so furious I was waiting for the “big update” past my 14 day return period. Like seriously, I hope that all the people who are involved with the project will be forced to use this disgrace of a phone for months with no alternative, and step on a lego.

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Just want to point that there are solutions to those problems:

  • sideload a calendar app (I did it with proton calendar but, indeed, you will miss notifications)
  • reminders will work once battery optimisation has been removed for the alarm app (explained on the forum)
  • streamed music works with a sideloaded app (I have bandcamp, it works great). Besides, that’s clearly not the job of Mudita to provide streamed music

Of course, I’m not talking about the other problems you have (and that I don’t have myself)

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I disagree with this one. I find the Maps app particularly elegant. It does one thing and it does it quite well. Adding features like list of places will completely break the spirit of the app. If you really want something else, you can sideload Comaps or another app.

But reading you, I think that you are part of the people seduced by minimalism but which didn’t understand that it comes with sacrifices.
Your Iphone is addictive because it does everything all the time.
You can’t have a addictive-less phone that does everything you want because, by definition, it would be addictive.
I don’t judge you : it’s a long and hard process. It takes year. You probably can’t go cold turkey from 9h a day of iPhone to Mudita. It took me years myself, removing app, switching to a e-ink phone full of apps then removing them one by one, finding offline solutions, ditching online todo for an offline solution then for a cork board in my office. There were relapses.
This is a journey. For me, it looks like the kompakt is the perfect tool at the good time. But it might not be for everyone.
Sure, some problems you point should be solved by the dev. Those are bugs. But some of your remarks are more about yourself not being ready for the Kompakt.
Maybe you could do it like me and first switch to a Hisense A9 (I had the A5). It is a full fledged Android phone but with eink screen.
Good luck and I wish you the best in your journey!

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My thoughts stick with it and solve each issue you are having and try to avoid becoming frustrated, see it as a problem to solve. Use the forum and log a support case. You will have teething issues and the solution maybe different to what you use to do. But it is worth it in the end. Best of luck.

SMS images some come through others don’t.
SMS images work fine for me. My suggestion would be to check is the problem receiving or sending. If it only sometimes or all the time. If you are receiving images and not some it could be from the sender.

If receiving images check especially for iOS devices that they sending jpegs they using compatible mode and not sending heic files. My partner has an iPhone and I receive their images fine although not instantly.

Car Bluetooth, multiple devices
My car Bluetooth works fine I actually prefer it to my old iPhone. But car Bluetooth is a mess these days and often a result of the car information system. My suggestion would be to re-pair your phone. See if it works better… In terms of Bluetooth headset generally you need to manually disconnect and re-connect again… If you are using Apple Bluetooth headphones remember Apple designs their products to be incompatible or less reliable with other devices so you buy their products. Although I don’t use Bluetooth headset precisely because I prefer wired headphones as the music quality is higher. Why I chose the Mudita as it has a headphone jack.

Like others suggest sideline an app to get what is missing.
Good luck.

Note my use case is very similar to yours I had an iPhone 13 mini. I moved to the Mudita and have sideload anything I can’t use on the Mudita to an iPad mini. I kept it stock and only loaded Qobuz app for music because the stock music app isn’t there yet, it needs playlists and folders. Once it does I use it.

Lastly raise a support ticket or a forum post with the specific details of each individual issue you are having. Someone else may know how to solve it, you document the problem for others and it gets addressed.

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Ok, some things I have not made clear. I’m not fed up because of problems with side loading or side loaded apps. I embrace the concept, I believe I have understood the rtb mudita had came up with. But the fact such fundamental basics like bt support, backlight, messaging or ability to write up locations doesn’t work has nothing to do with being ready for minimalism, whatever you mean by that. It’s just ill prepared and there is no way around that. We haven’t had issues with texts even on Nokias 3210, it would let you know when there was too much, not freeze and block access to any change. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could defend this. I got mudita so I could dedicate less attention to all this stuff, instead I end up worrying because more and more features prove to be disfunctional. Again, I didn’t sign up for a riddle or a fidget, so no detailed instruction on how to sacrifice a unicorn by drowning it at the full moon to rub its last breath into the 3,5mm jack solve my fundamental issue. I’m writing not because I don’t care, to the contrary I do and I’m just severely disappointed.

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I do not disagree with you, but I have a different perspective. In my opinion the simpler something is supposed to be the less margin of error it provides. It’s like with food: if the dish is complicated enough you can hide a dead cat in it and it will be hard to find, but making a dish with 3 ingredients is either good or not. And in the case of kompakt it really feels to me like it hasn’t been tested by anyone as the only or even main device. I might have a super faulty item, but the “loud speaker” isn’t loud enough to use it in the car, and with broken Bluetooth makes it impossible to drive and have a conversation. Backlight setting is so absurd, there is a long thread about it. I have no clue how many units were sold, and what part of users log in. I assume since mudita is so privacy oriented we will not get to see any stats, but from the people who got so much hate after the farsical release of CP 2077 I’d really expect a better understanding of the significance of impressions and reputation.

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I get your point — the simpler something is, the less room for error it has. I can see you’ve had a frustrating experience with the Mudita, and it’s never fun when a device doesn’t work the way you hoped. From what you describe, I’m starting to think your unit may even be faulty.

My suggestion would be to raise a support ticket and work through each issue: is it a configuration problem, a hardware fault, or simply a case of “working as designed” but not meeting your needs? That way you’ll know whether it’s something that can be fixed, or if the Mudita just isn’t the right fit for you.

The issues you mentioned — Bluetooth, texting, images, backlight, and loudspeaker — all work fine for me, and I haven’t seen other reports of widespread problems. That’s why I suspect it could be a configuration issue. For example, I mostly keep the backlight off, Bluetooth is stable, and the loudspeaker is plenty loud in my use.

If your goal is to resolve these problems, Mudita (and the community here) will need details: step-by-step what you tried, and what exactly happens. Otherwise, it’s hard to help. If your aim is just to express disappointment, that’s also fair — but most people here will tune out, as we’d rather focus on solutions.

We all want the Mudita to improve, and constructive feedback is valuable. The clearer you can be about what’s going wrong, the easier it is for everyone to respond in a way that makes a difference.

For many of us, the Mudita is a near-perfect fit. If it doesn’t work for you, that’s okay too — sometimes a product just isn’t the right match. But saying an old Nokia is a better device doesn’t really capture what Mudita is trying to do here.

Good luck with what you decide — whether that’s working through the issues, or moving on to something that fits you better. Either way, it’s fine.

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