Trying to be patient. Aside from the inability to connect to wifi still, I have also found problems with json and vcf files. I tried to import these files from a Pixel 4a on android 11 and can’t do it. The contact app on Brax3 will import vcard 3.0, but not 4.0, so now I have to convert that apparently. It won’t import the json file from messages. I haven’t figured that out yet. I could not find any threads concerning json and vcf. Every basic step with this phone so far has been a problem. Appreciate any help you may have for these problems, thanks.
Are we talking about contacts, If so i would imagine converting to csv would be a easy solution. VCF makes it seem like contacts to me, although i havent heard of using json for contacts.
vcf - contacts, json - messages
Yeah so convert your contacts, that will be easy.
Idk about the messages, i wouldn’t spend anytime to move those.
I was able to export contacts from a Pixel 7’s Contacts app (android 16) and import them into a BraX3 successfully - vcf format.
I couldn’t find an option to to directly export messages via the Messaging app on the pixel to test if the import in BraX3 will work. What I did was I installed fossify messages on Pixel 7 and then exported the messages in json, successfully imported in BraX3 after.
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Thanks plamen. I tried that, but I’m on a Pixel 4a and Android 11, and I got the same problem. Fossify complains about the .json file when I try to import my messages (with it installed on the Pixel 4a). So I didn’t get as far as the Brax3. It has been really difficult, so far, to find any good info to troubleshoot the .json file problem.
I did get my contacts transferred as I found an option on the Pixel4 contacts app to backup in .vcf 3.0, not 4.0 (surprised to find that setting, didn’t know it was there).
I transferred my files including vcf using a usbc thumb drive. Worked fine for everything except SMS messages. Not too worried. Bought drive with reversible USB-C USB-A connector so could also dump on laptop.
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Please install “SMS Import / Export” from F-Droid to export SMS / MMS from your old phone, and then use the same tool to import on the brax3. Especially for group messages it is better than trying the built-in import feature of Fossify messages (the default messaging app).
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For some reason iode/(Brax?) elected to include Fossify Messages as the default SMS text app, but went with only the AOSP Contacts app instead of the corresponding Fossify Contacts app. IIRC the AOSP Contacts app (and Google’s closed fork) is still stuck on vCard version 2, while iPhone moved to version 3 a long time ago.
The good news is that the Fossify Contacts app will import/export vCard version 4 format (and earlier versions). This also comes in handy when you want to transfer contacts from Thunderbird/Betterbird to your phone, as Mozilla upgraded the Address Book vCard import/export format from v2 to v4 awhile ago.
The Fossify app suite as a whole also interoperates better with all its own messaging-related apps installed …
So if you need to import native vCard format v4 then install Fossify Contacts and import the cards from there. It Just Works – though some differences between v2 & v4 mean that you may need to recategorize some of your imported phone numbers and other contact info.
You won’t need to use Fossify Contacts as your default app for Contacts. But if you want to do that then you will probably also want to install the Fossify Phone app and make it the default Phone app as well.
(I’ve done all this on other custom ROMs but I’m still waiting for the Wi-Fi issues to be ironed out on the BraX3 before I make any changes to the installed apps.)
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I edited my previous reply for some spelling and grammar mistakes. I’ll also add here that I should have been more precise with the version numbers I mentioned previously. Here’s what my limited research and testing a few years ago revealed:
vCard version 2.1 - AOSP, Google & Samsung forks, etc.
vCard version 3.0 - Apple iOS and Outlook.com
vCard version 4.0 - Thunderbird (initially with the CardBook add-on and now in-app)
Fossify Contacts seems to have no problem importing v4.0 and earlier formats from various sources. However the vCard formats themselves do a poor job of mapping some values across versions. Also, different vendor implementations of the same vCard version also give less-than-perfect import results. Also (AFAIK) none of the vendor-specific implementations actually store data in vCard format natively; instead they must perform internal-DB-to-vCard (and vice versa) conversions to move data in and out of their contact apps.
As a result of all this, you may find some imported contact fields labeled with the wrong (or missing) attributes. This can happen even when just exporting and importing vCards from within the same contact app (e.g. on Android). In which case you’ll need to manually select the default Phone or Email address, switch a field label from “Home” to “Work”, etc. Still, being able to import v4 and v3 vCards via Fossify Contacts should solve most of your import headaches.
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If/when I finally get around to making BraX3 my daily driver ( “Come on, Wi-Fi !” 
) I plan to try and import my contact data via Seedvault backup & restore. Since Seedvault backs up the contacts DB natively, hopefully nothing will be lost on restore. We’ll see…
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