I’d like to discuss a small enhancement to the T-Echo Companion firmware before attempting a PR.
Motivation
The current Companion firmware correctly assumes that a phone or desktop client is available to read messages over BLE.
However, there are situations where the radio itself is still operational while the companion device is unavailable, for example:
- the phone battery is dead,
- the phone is lost or damaged,
- the radio is handed to another person who doesn’t have the paired phone,
- emergency or field situations where only the T-Echo remains available.
In these cases the display already indicates that unread messages exist (e.g. MSG: 2), but there is currently no way to view them.
Proposal
Add a very minimal read-only message viewer to the T-Echo Companion firmware.
The goal is not to make the T-Echo a standalone messaging device or duplicate the Ultra firmware. It would only expose functionality that is useful when no companion client is available.
Possible interaction:
- Long press on the status screen enters a message viewing mode (only if unread messages are available).
- Single press advances to the next unread message.
- Long press exits the message viewer and returns to the normal status pages.
- Messages remain unread; the companion app can continue to manage read state later.
This reuses the existing interaction model, where single press already advances through the normal pages and double press is reserved for sleep/hibernation.
Optional extension
A possible follow-up feature could be sending one of a few predefined canned replies, for example:
- ACK
- Received
- Unable to reply
- OK
This would provide a way to acknowledge receipt without requiring a text-entry UI. I see this as optional and independent from the read-only viewer.
Why this seems to fit the Companion model
This doesn’t attempt to replace the companion application. Features like conversation history, composing arbitrary messages, contact management, etc. would remain in the app.
Instead, it provides a minimal fallback capability for situations where the radio is the only device still available.
I’d appreciate feedback on whether this fits the intended scope of the Companion firmware before spending time implementing a PR.
I’d like to discuss a small enhancement to the T-Echo Companion firmware before attempting a PR.
Motivation
The current Companion firmware correctly assumes that a phone or desktop client is available to read messages over BLE.
However, there are situations where the radio itself is still operational while the companion device is unavailable, for example:
In these cases the display already indicates that unread messages exist (e.g. MSG: 2), but there is currently no way to view them.
Proposal
Add a very minimal read-only message viewer to the T-Echo Companion firmware.
The goal is not to make the T-Echo a standalone messaging device or duplicate the Ultra firmware. It would only expose functionality that is useful when no companion client is available.
Possible interaction:
This reuses the existing interaction model, where single press already advances through the normal pages and double press is reserved for sleep/hibernation.
Optional extension
A possible follow-up feature could be sending one of a few predefined canned replies, for example:
This would provide a way to acknowledge receipt without requiring a text-entry UI. I see this as optional and independent from the read-only viewer.
Why this seems to fit the Companion model
This doesn’t attempt to replace the companion application. Features like conversation history, composing arbitrary messages, contact management, etc. would remain in the app.
Instead, it provides a minimal fallback capability for situations where the radio is the only device still available.
I’d appreciate feedback on whether this fits the intended scope of the Companion firmware before spending time implementing a PR.