Getting Online — Older Devices

This page is for devices running older than webOS 2.2.4: the webOS 1.x line (Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi), and any Veer or Pre 2 still on its original 2.2.0 / 2.1.0 firmware. On webOS 2.2.4 or 3.0.5 — any TouchPad, and Pre3, Veer or Pre 2 that's been upgraded — use Modern TLS Updates instead. It replaces everything on this page.

This section assumes you've completed the previous steps to activate your device, and install Preware.
It also assumes you've joined a WiFi network using the built-in Settings, that your WiFi network has Internet access, and that you've set the date and time.

First: Can You Upgrade Instead?

If you have a Veer or a Pre 2, the single best thing you can do is get it to webOS 2.2.4. That isn't just a version number — it's the point where native modern TLS becomes available, and everything on this page stops being necessary.

The upgrade is done with an unofficial Super Doctor, and many have already been built and archived, so in most cases it's a download-and-run rather than a build-it-yourself job. See Call the Doctor for where to find the right one for your device and carrier, and how to run it. (If nothing archived matches your carrier, a Super Doctor can still be built from meta-doctor.)

A Pre3 already ships with 2.2.4, so it should go straight to Modern TLS Updates.

For the webOS 1.x devices (Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi) there's no upgrade path, and the rest of this page is for you. The built-in web browser is dated, and has some real limitations, but with a little help there's still a lot you can do online!

What to Expect

Modern TLS isn't available below 2.2.4, and neither is the proxy work-around — the API a proxy switcher needs wasn't added to webOS until 2.2.4 (2.2.0 on the Pre3). In practice that means these devices are limited to what they can reach over plain HTTP, plus whatever older HTTPS a site still accepts after a certificate update.

That's more than it sounds like. Plenty of the retro-friendly web is still reachable, and several of the things to try work fine over HTTP.

Updating Certificates

The root certificates used to establish trust on the Internet are out-of-date in webOS and need to be updated. Fortunately, the community has made it really easy to solve this problem!

  • On your device, launch Preware, and wait for it to update sources.
  • Search for "Certs" using Preware's built-in search tool
    • On a phone, just start typing
    • On a TouchPad, use the Search icon in the toolbar at the top of the main scene
  • Find the app "Root Certs Update" in the search results, tap on it
  • Hit the Install button, and wait while it installs and runs the necessary scripts (this process takes a few minutes!)

Dealing with Encryption

Since webOS was released, encryption standards have changed, and some sites and services have become inaccessible.

You can partially improve the situation by installing a SSL update. This is discussed on the Forums, but for brevity, downloading and installing OpenSSL Updater for webOS via webOS Quick Install is all you need. It won't get you to the modern web, but it widens what still connects.

Without a proxy or modern TLS, your access to the web is significantly limited — and so is your access to some Preware files, since many have moved to HTTPS. This can result in errors during install. As a work-around for Preware issues, look at the end of the error message for the URL of the file -- you can then download that on your computer, and use webOS Quick Install to "sideload" to your device. Community member Nomad84 also maintains HTTP-only Preware feeds that avoid the problem entirely.

If your device is a Pre3 on 2.2.0, you are able to run a proxy — but upgrading to 2.2.4 and running the TLS Updates is a better use of the effort.

For the earliest webOS devices, you can run the Opera Mini browser in Classic to get around encryption problems on web pages.

With or without modern encryption, there's still lots of interesting things you can do with your devices...

Hot Spot Detection

When you join (or re-join) a WiFi network, webOS may incorrectly notify you that a Hot Spot has been detected and ask you to log-in. The captive portal detection webOS used depended on a server that's long gone. Modifying your hosts file eliminates these notifications on any device. (If you happen to be running the self-host proxy, it handles this for you.)

What Next

Now that you're online, check out a few of the things you can do with your webOS device.

Alternate Instructions

This documentation attempts to update and simplify information available from older, archived sources. You may find that material to be useful as reference: