Signal Android and Desktop app does not sync messages

[Twoflower2]

• I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates

---

Bug Description

Signal Android and Desktop app does not sync messages

Steps to Reproduce

Open Desktop app and msgs from Android app not there.

Actual Result:

Open Desktop app and msgs from Android app not there.

Expected Result:

Open Desktop app and msgs from Android app should be the same and sending on Desktop the Android app should have those msgs.

Screenshots

Platform Info

Signal Version:

1.28

Operating System:
Desktop: Linux openSUSE

Linked Device Version:

Android: 9

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

Please provide a debug log, and more history of this device, and generally more detail about what you're doing and expecting.

Are you perhaps expecting old messages to show up on Signal Desktop when you link? (only new messages are sync'd)

Or are you perhaps expecting SMS messages sent from Android to show up? (only SIgnal messages are sync'd)

[Twoflower2]

Like on WhatsApp; any/all WhatsApp msgs on Android are visible on WhatsApp web and vice versa.

So I would expect any/all Signal msgs on Android to be visible in Signal-desktop app and vice versa. (and with this I mean all permanent msgs of cause). This means whatever device you are on, the native Signal msgs are all the same, thus in sync.

There is good motivation for this:

• Devices can be used interchangeability eg. sending on one, reading replying etc. on another..

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

Thanks for the context. New messages will be sync'd, and it is expected that your primary and linked desktop devices can be used interchangeably. Except for the two exceptions I listed above.

I'm going to close this, as we already have a feature request for 'syncing complete message history on link' #1651

[Twoflower2]

#1651 is not the same really. I mean msgs should always during the life time of the Signal-desktop app be in sync, not only during installation time.

There should be no exceptions for native Signal msgs.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

We already sync new messages, so if we sync old messages on install, you'll have all messages.

You can see the feature request for supporting SMS messages in desktop here: #3225

[Twoflower2]

We already sync new messages, so if we sync old messages on install, you'll have all messages.

• I sent Signal msgs in the Signal Android app and I do not see these in the Signal-desktop app.
• What is old? As soon as you send a msg its old, right?

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

I sent Signal msgs in the Signal Android app and I do not see these in the Signal-desktop app.

If you'd like us to investigate this, please provide a debug log. View -> Debug Log.

Old = Sent before you linked the desktop device. New = Sent after you linked the desktop device. We will sync new messages, but not old messages.

[Twoflower2]

See https://debuglogs.org/ec775e2b7d6d3db6114a06b5f6b5cd8a82d32d895adbc078656633977c93ca62

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

Looks like you installed Signal Desktop in a non-standard way:

ERROR 2019-11-23T16:12:23.908Z Error pulling attached files before send TypeError: this.cellSizeCache.clearPlus is not a function

Please contact the people who maintain your install mechanism, and tell them they need to properly apply our node module patches with patch-package.

[Twoflower2]

Is this not what they have done in line 24 here: https://build.opensuse.org/package/view_file/network:im:signal/signal-desktop/prepare.sh?expand=1

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

Looks like the line is there, yes. But it doesn't seem to have worked!