Testing Dehydrated Devices

Enabling Dehydrated Devices Support

To enable the dehydrated devices feature Element Server Suite, follow these steps.

Access the Admin Console

1. Run the ESS Installer:
   • ./element-enterprise-graphical-installer-YYYY-MM.VERSION-gui.bin
   • Access the installer GUI from the link outputted by the installer to the console.

Enable the Experimental Feature in Synapse

1. Navigate to the Additional config from the Synapse Section:
   • In the installer GUI, access the Synapse section, expand Advanced and find the Additional config section.
     
     
2. Enable the Experimental Feature:

   • Add or modify the configuration to include:

     experimental_features:
       msc3814_enabled: true
       msc2697_enabled: false
     

     
     
     

3. Save your changes:
   • Save the changes in the installer GUI.

Configure the .well-known Endpoint

1. Navigate to the Additional Client Configuration config from the .Well-Known Section:
   • In the installer GUI, access the Well-Known section of the installer from the Integrations section.
     
     
     
     
2. Add the .well-known Key:

   • Add the following key-value pair:

     {
       "org.matrix.msc3814": "true"
     }
     

     
     
     

3. Save and Apply Changes:
   • Save the changes in the installer GUI.

Deploy your ESS changes

1. Click Deploy and wait for reconcilliation to complete:
   • Your Synapse and Well-Known pods should be recreated with the updated configuration.
     
     

Testing Dehydrated Devices

Enable the Feature via Element Web (per User)

1. Navigate to Element Web and sign-in:
   • Go to the Element Web client and sign-in as the user you wish to test dehydrated devices on.
     
     
2. Enable Dehydrated Devices:
   • Go to Settings then Security & Privacy, then enable dehydrated devices for your account.

Test the Configuration

1. Log in to Account A:
   • Ensure Account A has only one active web session.
   • Ensure you have enabled device dehydration.
   • Log out of Account A.
     
     
2. Send a Message from Account B to Account A:
   • Using Account B, send a message to Account A.
     
     
3. Log Back into Account A and Verify:
   • Log in to Account A again.
   • Verify the account using the recovery key.

Account A should be able to read the message sent by Account B, despite having no logged-in sessions when the message was sent.

Additional Notes

• Web Client and iOS Only:
  • The dehydrated devices feature works only on Element Web and iOS. Ensure you are using one of these clients to test the feature.