Leave a Review Monal
Best XMPP Client for iPhone
This app is the most feature filled XMPP client for iOS. I’ve tried almost all of them and Monal is a cut above the rest. It certainly deserves more 5-star reviews which is why I am penning this one. Aside from one minor glitch, the app is stable , well integrated into the iOS ecosystem ie can share/send image files etc - it is a highly capable app and highly recommended.Show lessnepacsman
Great utility! Lots of development activity; high hopes!
It seems to me Monal has come a long way since release. Some devs just release their app and never work on it again - but not Monal! The Monal devs are reasonably active with maintenance & bugfixes. They’ve put together a very useful, feature-rich, easy-to-use XMPP client while keeping a minimalist feel.
Monal crashes occasionally, but not so much as to impede my usecase. I just close/reopen the app, or ignore the crash warning, and pick up where I left off. (To devs: I’ll have to remember to send you the crash report next time. I think I tried once and it said my phone wasn’t set up to send emails? I dunno. I’ll try.)
Overall, the app works great and has all the necessities. Works flawlessly with my cheap low-end VPS running ejabberd. Calls connect fast, voice is clear, no lag. OMEMO works; but I did have some issues with it early on where my recipient couldn’t read msgs (or vice versa) even though we had confirmed each other’s keys. To be fair this could have also been a user error. This was eventually resolved.
I would like to see additional privacy options. OMEMO is fine. I would like to see PGP implemented (for example, I believe the Linux XMPP client “Dino” has the ability to use PGP as well as OMEMO)
Perhaps even encrypted voice calls (assuming they are not already encrypted)Show lesszfkdnop
Developer Response
First of all you are using a very outdated iOS version. Please update at least to iOS 14.7. If you still have the problem after updating your iOS version please open a ticket or send us a mail so that we can debug the problem.Excellent app
Use jabber? Have iOS? Use monal p e r i o d. Recent iOS versions probably work extremely well. iOS: 16 does have a couple quirks, I think. Haven't zeroed it in. yet. Devs: I know I am using an ancient iOS version but my contacts and I have extreme trouble getting video calls to connect sometimes and they will drop randomly. It's likely a network issue, but we notice that if we use wired or no headsets, symptoms seem to subside and dissappear or, at very least, seem to help with initial connection speed and success rate. Not sure if we will ever upgrade from 16. not a big deal.Show lessElkenfugel
Robust v 6.4.0
Wow Monal for iOS has come a long way. Years ago it wasn’t my first choice. Neither were there any viable alternatives to be honest. Monal 6.4.0 performs really well for me. Kudos! Obviously apple being apple I don’t get notifications if I didn’t touch the app for a while. This is something all third party apps have to contend with on iOS.Show lessSocialBandwidth
Certicate/Connection Error
Monal should give me the option to accept a self-signed certificate. This has always been a fail.
All error notifications flash repeatedly OVER the settings where I need to go to disable an account where there is a mistyped account data. This makes Monal practically unusable.
These issues have been the same every time I’ve come back to see if a newer version fixed anything. I’m tired of trying. I give up.Show lesspostmaster
XMPP on iOS is great
I had a mistaken view that there were no good XMPP options on iOS. Perhaps that was true before, but now it’s false. Additionally, the XMPP standards have added a lot of things to make the protocol very usable on mobile devices.
Monal is good, usable, and actively developed. There are some minor UI issues but they are fixable, and a small trade off for a communications channel you actually have control over. This is one app I’ll be pushing my friends to use.
Monal is open source which means you can have confidence that it can continue being updated for many years. I would consider this a significant strength for any software, but even more so on iOS which breaks apps once they are too old (guessing half of the iOS apps I’ve paid for don’t work/can’t be install anymore?)Show lessbdksbdjen
Connects Using SSLv3 (obsolete) Versus TLS 1.3
UPDATE: Thank you for your reply. I guess my feature request is for Monal to be allowed to accept self-signed certificates. (Host has non globally routable IP.)
My XMPP host won’t let Monal connect because it’s using an obsolete encryption protocol. I see in prosody logs other clients connecting with TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3 but when Monal tries to connect it’s rejected. Log message: “Client disconnected: sslv3 alert bad certificate.” This app looks great and I want to try it and recommend it, so hopefully this is just a minor bump in the road.Show lessttkis1k
Developer Response
You received the error because your certificate is bad. Ensure that your certificate is signed by a CA supported by apple. Please note that Monal only supports TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3. If you want to find out how to use self signed certificates visit our wiki/faq on github.Connects Using SSLv3 (obsolete) Versus TLS 1.3
My XMPP host won’t let Monal connect because it’s using an obsolete encryption protocol.
I see in prosody logs other clients connecting with TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3 but when Monal tries to connect it’s rejected. Log message: “Client disconnected: sslv3 alert bad certificate.”
This app looks great and I want to try it and recommend it, so hopefully this is just a minor bump in the road.Show lessDeveloper Response
You received the error because your certificate is bad. Ensure that your certificate is signed by a CA supported by apple. Please note that Monal only supports TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3.Monal works great but....
It no longer works. I’m running iOS 14.1 and I refuse to update. I want to give a better rating because Monal seems to have the most compatibility and functionality with my server but I can’t use the app anymore.... Please fix the app and I will fix my rating :/Developer Response
First of all you are using a very outdated iOS version. Please update at least to iOS 14.7. If you still have the problem after updating your iOS version please open a ticket or send us a mail so that we can debug the problem.Security concerns
This app automatically creates a file folder in the phone, this might leads to leakage of files shared in conversations when phones are compromised or inspected by government authoritiessffghgffgg
