Hello Linux Geeksters. As you may know, Viber is a popular instang messaging application running on Android. Like WhatsApp, Viber has video calling fuctions and allows the users to easily send text messages and photos, without needing to register. The developers have decided to make the application available for desktop operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
The latest version available is Viber 4.2, which caught up all the features that are already integrated into the Windows version. The following changes/fixes have been implemented:
- support for video messaging so that you can stream videos sent to you on your desktop;
- increased group capacity to 100 participants and automatic group sync from mobile;
- “Seen” delivery status lets you know when your messages have been viewed;
- view descriptions sent with photo and video files;
- sync all of your stickers from mobile;
- support for dragging and dropping photos into conversation window;
- support for Viber Out calls to all land lines and mobiles (a feature released in December 2013 which allows users to call mobile and landline numbers and thus, people not using the Viber application – note that you need Viber Out credit to be able to use it). I didn’t test this feature though;
- new conversation feed;
- dockable sticker menu;
- improved video quality and performance;
- see participants in each of your groups right at the top of the screen;
- one-on-one conversations from within a group;
- play voice messages;
- “Last online” status lets users know when their contacts are online.
For now Viber works only on 64 bit Linux systems. On 32 bit systems, we can install the Viber Client for Windows, via Wine. The Linux version is still Beta, so don’t expect it to be bugless.
If you already use Viber on your mobile phone, setting everything up is easy. All you have to do is enter your mobile number into the application, type in the authentication code you get to your mobile app and you’ll get all your Viber contacts available in the Linux client.
In this article I will show you how to install Viber on both 32 bit and 64 bit Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr, Linux Mint 17 Qiana, Pinguy OS 14.04, Elementary OS 0.3 Freya, Deepin 2014, LXLE 14.04, Linux Lite 2.0, Peppermint Five and other Ubuntu 14.04 derivative systems.
How to install Viber 4.2 on 32 bit Ubuntu 14.04, Linux Mint 17, Pinguy OS 14.04, Deepin 2014, LXLE, Linux Lite, Peppermint Five and Elementary OS 0.3 via Wine:
Because there is no Viber package for 32 bit systems, we can only install the Windows version of Viber, via Wine.
$ sudo apt-get install wine
Download the Viber installer for Windows and install it, on Wine:
$ wget http://download.cdn.viber.com/cdn/desktop/windows/ViberSetup.exe
$ wine ViberSetup.exe
How to install Viber 4.2 on 64 bit Ubuntu 14.04, Linux Mint 17, Pinguy OS 14.04, Deepin 2014, LXLE, Linux Lite, Peppermint Five and Elementary OS 0.3:
Viber is available for 64 bit (amd64) systems as a deb package, so installing it is easy. All you have to do is download the deb package from the official site:
$ wget download.cdn.viber.com/cdn/desktop/Linux/viber.deb
And install it via command-line. I prefer gdebi over dpkg due to the fact that it also handles dependencies:
$ sudo apt-get install gdebi
$ sudo gdebi viber.deb