Apps on phone and computer

Module 7: Collaborating, apps and security · Reading time: 10 minutes

Learning objective: After this lesson, you'll be able to move all your organisation's computers and phones to the new service, in the right order, and remove the old apps so that nothing is duplicated or lost.

Key concepts: desktop sync app, synchronising, virtual files, selective sync, network drive (WebDAV), mobile app, automatic photo upload, app password, cloud address, certificate, duplicate synchronisation, device management

Where the switch is really felt

For most people, "the cloud" isn't a website, but a folder on the laptop, a calendar on the phone, and photos that go somewhere automatically. If those things stop working after the switch, the switch has failed for them, no matter how well the migration went on the server.

At Bakkerij De Korrel, that's 12 people with a combined 9 laptops, 2 computers in the shop, 12 phones and a tablet in the bakery for the recipes. Every device currently has apps from Google or Microsoft: Google Drive for desktop or OneDrive, the Gmail or Outlook app, the calendar and contacts from the Google or Microsoft account, and Google Photos or OneDrive camera upload. All of those apps need to change, and the old ones need to go.

Three ways to reach your files from your computer

The desktop sync app is usually the best choice. In Nextcloud it's called Nextcloud Files; other European services have similar apps. The virtual files setting is important here: you see all your folders and files, but a file is only downloaded once you open it. That way, a 200 GB cloud fits on a laptop with a 128 GB drive. With selective sync, you instead choose which folders are fully stored on the computer.

Watch out for one thing that catches people out: with virtual files, "delete" really does mean delete in the cloud too. If you just want to free up space, choose Free up space (or whatever it's called in your app), not Delete.

The golden rule: never two sync apps on the same folder

The biggest mistake when switching is running the old and new sync app at the same time, or letting the new app sync to the old app's folder. Then you have two programs that both think they're in charge of the same files. The result: duplicate files, conflict copies, and in the worst case, files that one program deletes because the other has moved them.

The order is therefore:

1. The files have already been moved on the server (lesson 6.1) and checked.
2. Turn off the old sync app (Google Drive for desktop, OneDrive, Dropbox): log out or pause synchronisation, and then remove it. The files in the old folder stay on the computer, but are no longer updated.
3. Install the new app and let it use a new, dedicated folder.
4. Check that the files are in the new folder.
5. Rename the old folder (for example OneDrive-OLD-do-not-use) and delete it after a few weeks, once nobody is missing anything.

Not throwing that old folder away straight away is your safety net: if something was on the laptop that never made it to the cloud, you'll still find it there.

Phones and tablets

On a phone, it usually comes down to four things:

There's a pitfall with photos. If you've already moved the old photos via a migration (lesson 6.1), and you then also let the new app upload "all existing photos", they'll end up there twice. So when turning on automatic upload, choose whether the app uploads everything, or only from a certain date. And never turn on the option to delete photos from the phone after uploading, especially not in the first few weeks.

On iPhone, iOS gives apps little time in the background. Uploading then often only continues once the app is open. That's not a fault of the service; open the app now and then while it's charging on wifi.

Logging in: normal login or app password

Because your new service uses two-factor authentication (lesson 7.3), some apps can't log in with your normal password. They can't enter the extra code. There are two kinds of apps:

• Apps that show a login screen from the service, such as the desktop app and the mobile app of Nextcloud. You log in just as you would in the browser, with the code. The app then arranges its own access key.
• Apps that can only fill in a username and password, such as the iPhone's built-in calendar and contacts, Thunderbird or a network drive. For these, you create an app password: a separate, long password for just that one app on that one device.

Give each app password a name like Calendar iPhone Anne. If Anne loses her phone, you only need to revoke that one password.

The cloud address and the certificate

Every device needs to be given the right address for your cloud. Use the final address from the start, preferably on your own domain (cloud.example.com). If you start with a temporary address from the provider and switch to your own domain later, you'll have to go through every device again.

The address must work over https with a valid certificate. If an app shows a certificate warning, never click past it. That's exactly the warning you should get if someone is trying to intercept your traffic. Have it resolved first. In exercise A7.2, you'll check this automatically.

Device management and remote wipe

Larger organisations use device management (MDM): a system that lets the administrator install apps and wipe a lost phone. For an organisation like De Korrel, that's usually overkill. What is important: in your new service, you can see which devices are logged in and revoke a device. Some services can remotely wipe the files of their own app as soon as the device comes back online. That only works for that app, not for the rest of the phone.

In practice: what it looks like with a provider

In a WebOké Nextcloud installation, you install Nextcloud Files on the computer (Windows, Mac or Linux). When adding your account, the app opens a browser window where you log in with your code; you then choose a folder and whether you want virtual files. On the phone, you use the official Nextcloud app from Nextcloud GmbH; there's no separate WebOké app. In it, you enter the address of your Nextcloud. Calendar and contacts go through the iPhone's built-in account or through DAVx5 on Android, with an app password.

With other European providers it works in a similar way: a desktop app, a mobile app, and for calendar and contacts the CalDAV and CardDAV standards.

Summary

• Users notice the switch on their devices. Plan that step just as carefully as the migration on the server.
• Never two sync apps on the same folder: turn off the old one first, then set up the new one in its own folder, and only remove the old folder after a few weeks.
• Virtual files save space; deleting really does mean deleting.
• Prevent duplicate photos: choose a start date for automatic upload.
• Use the final cloud address with a valid certificate from the start, and app passwords for apps without a login screen.

Quiz

Exercise

Exercise A7.2: Checking your cloud address. Enter the address of your new cloud (for example cloud.example.com). The program checks the certificate, the redirect from http to https, the HSTS setting and, for Nextcloud, whether the installation is reachable and supported.

Exercise E7.2: Device list and switch order. Make a list of all the devices in your organisation, showing which apps are currently syncing on each one, and set out the steps for each device in the right order: old off, new on, check, old removed.

Further reading

The steps in these articles apply to WebOké's services; with other providers it works in a similar way.

• Nextcloud manual 7.1: Why the desktop app? Browser, app or network drive
• Nextcloud manual 7.2: Installing Nextcloud Files on Windows
• Nextcloud manual 7.3: Installing Nextcloud Files on Mac (File Provider)
• Nextcloud manual 7.5: Virtual files: see everything, only download what you open
• Nextcloud manual 8.1: Which apps do you need on your phone and tablet?
• Nextcloud manual 8.4: Automatically uploading photos
• Nextcloud manual 16.18: Moving your Nextcloud to your own domain: what do you need to update in apps afterwards?
• Nextcloud manual 15.7: Certificate warning or insecure connection