788688 - Android Sync should allow you to change the Device Name

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox for Android Graveyard :: Android Sync, defect, P3)

Description

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

Desktop allows you to change the "client name" (referred to as the "Device Name") in the Sync Settings pref box.  Android should support something similar.

Comment 1

[Richard Newman [:rnewman]]

My general preference on this is to get a little closer to faaborg's notions: when you're setting up your centralized account on the device, you get to give it a name, and maybe even a color or an icon.

I can see this happening with a Persona account.

Comment 2

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

Filing this bug for desktop parity, but also to spur discussion about multiple Fennec and prefs, for example as in Bug 753878.

At the moment, we have a per-Account space for Sync Settings.  This is the natural place to put "Change Device Name", but the actual options Activity can only write to the Account user data or one App's shared prefs.  This does not play well with multiple Fennecs installed.

Ideas:

1) move Sync prefs into Fennec prefs -- then each Fennec can write it's own shared prefs.

2) write to Account user data, possibly prefixed per-App.  We moved away from this but we could move back.  Problem is that as more things need configuring, we keep moving things away from shared prefs and into the Account object.

3) give up on multiple Fennecs sharing the same Account type.  We're only supporting two Fennecs on one Account type anyway (rather than all 5 or so), so why not just go one Fennec to one Account type and be done with it?

Comment 3

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

This one should be a good first bug, after Bug 753878 lands.  Talk to liuche as well.

Comment 4

[saran]

Hi. I would like to help. Could you guide me where to start ? 
Thanks
Saran

Comment 5

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

(In reply to saran from comment #4)
> Hi. I would like to help. Could you guide me where to start ? 

Hi Saran, sorry for the delayed reply.  Contributing to Android Sync is a bit of a process at the moment, but we're trying to make it easier.  For now, try to follow the directions at

https://wiki.mozilla.org/Services/NativeSync

(If you have skills with Vagrant and Puppet, I am trying to make this setup easier and would love contributions.  You can see a work in progress git branch at https://github.com/mozilla-services/android-sync/tree/nalexander/getting-started/ that gets an Android Sync developer virtual machine environment basically up and running.)

You will want to clone the class `SelectEnginesActivity` and modify it to set the client name.  The client name is stored in the Android SharedPreference `SyncConfiguration.PREF_CLIENT_NAME`.  It may take some work in `SyncClientsEngineStage` to actually have the changed preference be recognized and uploaded to the server.

Please direct your questions to the services-dev mailing list at

https://mail.mozilla.org/listinfo/services-dev

You'll get a bigger audience there!

Comment 6

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

I was prodded about this recently, and it's not a good first bug.  It's a thing we might want, however; I'm happy to mentor this, and update it for FxAccounts if need be.

Comment 7

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

Attachment: Link to Github pull-request: https://github.com/mozilla-services/android-sync/pull/460

My morning warm-up ticket ended up being involved.  Funny, that.

Comment 8

[Richard Newman [:rnewman]]

Comment on attachment 8431208 [details] [review]
Link to Github pull-request: https://github.com/mozilla-services/android-sync/pull/460

Needs tablet testing!

Comment 9

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/fx-team/rev/ceb42698005e

Comment 10

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

Hello QA!

This is a little tricky to test, since it's hard to force syncs forcefully enough.  FxA + Sync only.  Two devices required, or use edwong's nifty https://github.com/edmoz/fxa-sync-client.

1. Set up FxA+Sync on both devices.
2. Open some tabs on both devices.
3. Go to remote tabs on both devices, pull-to-refresh.
4. Force sync both devices so you're in good state (pull-to-refresh is sadly not enough -- fix coming soon).
5. Go to Fennec Settings > Sync, and tap "Device name".  Change it on both devices.
6. Force sync both devices.
7. Force sync both devices again.  (One force sync isn't enough to get the new records both directions.)
8. Return to Fennec, go to remote tabs on both devices, pull-to-refresh.
9. Device names should have updated.

Comment 11

[Carsten Book [:Tomcat]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/ceb42698005e