Phones with only open drivers - AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III

So I'm back to Android after a few years, and I read that the stock ROM is now the most stable choice on most phones due to closed source proprietary drivers being used.
This sucks. Stock sucks. Are there any phones that are all open source drivers, so one can flash ROMs without immediately sacrificing stability no matter how well the ROM is designed?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-source_mobile_phones ?

Alexandre-P said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-source_mobile_phones ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I didn't see you had responded. It says in that article that android devices aren't included because of heavy use of proprietary drivers and applications so I'm guessing that an android phone shipping with open source drivers doesn't actually exist?

An Android phone that can only rely on open-source drivers? not that I know of. From what I've quickly read, the main obstacles to a full open-source Android phone are the radio and the graphic drivers, which are not opensorced and only available as binary blobs.

Alexandre-P said:
An Android phone that can only rely on open-source drivers? not that I know of. From what I've quickly read, the main obstacles to a full open-source Android phone are the radio and the graphic drivers, which are not opensorced and only available as binary blobs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's all I've seen too, was hoping there was a manufacturer making one somewhere that I hadn't found

Related

A100 Vanilla ICS Kernel

I have built many linux boxes and have done some kernel development on the PC but I am quite new to linux on the embedded platform. I have an A100 and the built in apps that you cant remove are annoying as well as the fact their is no USB host mode even though the controller is capable and ready for it it seems Acer went out the their way to remove it so you where forced to choose the A500 for host mode.
I their any tutorials on how to build your own android distro and get it onto your device? Even if Its not for the A100 it would be a good learning experience to read through.
Are their any reasons their is not a vanilla ICS rom yet? I'm guessing its because Acer has their source locked up and we do not have compatible drivers yet?
Thanks!
uminded said:
I have built many linux boxes and have done some kernel development on the PC but I am quite new to linux on the embedded platform. I have an A100 and the built in apps that you cant remove are annoying as well as the fact their is no USB host mode even though the controller is capable and ready for it it seems Acer went out the their way to remove it so you where forced to choose the A500 for host mode.
I their any tutorials on how to build your own android distro and get it onto your device? Even if Its not for the A100 it would be a good learning experience to read through.
Are their any reasons their is not a vanilla ICS rom yet? I'm guessing its because Acer has their source locked up and we do not have compatible drivers yet?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest reading some of the links in my signature to become more familiar with the tablet itself as well as some more universal information in the Guide, the CM9 building writeup will also help you understand about building a ROM for this (or any) device. Acer released kernel source already, ezterry will be the one to talk to about kernels, as he does build kernels for the Ax00 series of devices, based on Acer source.
I believe what you are asking for is an AOSP ROM, which no, there isn't any. Closest is the CM9 builds, also available in my signature. AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is pure google android, nothing added. CM9 is generally AOSP, but there are changes. The Acer roms, aside from their added apps, is a mostly untouched android as well, it isn't themed or anything like that, just bloated with apps and low on other functionality compared to other company's ROMs.
To remove the apps you dislike, you will need to root the device. Then you can remove whatever you want and gain system r/w. A step further will be to unlock the bootloader and install a custom recovery which will allow access to more tools, and flashing custom ROMs such as CM9, or any of the Acer based ROMs, such as Green and Flex Reaper.
We don't have much development here, however the A500 has a ton of development, and may be worth your visit to gleam information as it is much more active, and your questions may already be answered, or answered more readily then here. Alot of the development we have here are by A500 owners, who don't own the A100 at all. Besides me, but I'm not a developer.
Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on the new A100! Make yourself at home and enjoy your time with your device.
pio_masaki said:
I would suggest reading some of the links in my signature to become more familiar with the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow your a one stop shop for the A100 world! My tablet is now rooted and I am looking into alternative firmwares but I do not see any with built in USB host yet. This would be a HUGE bonus to add for me as I use the tablet for work and all you can find are crappy micro bluetooth keyboards.
Thanks for the help!
uminded said:
Wow your a one stop shop for the A100 world! My tablet is now rooted and I am looking into alternative firmwares but I do not see any with built in USB host yet. This would be a HUGE bonus to add for me as I use the tablet for work and all you can find are crappy micro bluetooth keyboards.
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
USB host is disabled hardware wise, so it will most likely never be available on the a100. Its available on the tegra2 soc but is likely just not hooked up. If it ever shows up it will be a hardware hack.
Tapatalked from my Galaxy S II - CM10

Compiling a ROM - Replacing Kernel drivers

How do you compile a ROM for a device (in this case the Tab S)?
Do Samsung provide a development kit to developers to allow you to build a ROM?
If yes, do Samsung update those kits, say with newer drivers for their hardware?
Samsung provide absolutely nothing for building roms. All that is accomplished with open source software.
Samsungs drivers are closed source.
Rom building is an involved process using different tools. Its not a simple case of just making a few clicks and there you go.
So in the process of building a newer/different kernel, how do you incorporate the Samsung drivers? Do you simply use the existing ones which Samsung has originally shipped? Something like using Windows 7 drivers in Windows 10?
Zilliman said:
So in the process of building a newer/different kernel, how do you incorporate the Samsung drivers? Do you simply use the existing ones which Samsung has originally shipped? Something like using Windows 7 drivers in Windows 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If we are talking about modules then they can built with the kernel, either built as part of the kernel or as stand alone loadable modules.
Anything proprietary will be closed source, I. E. the baseband.
I thought I had replied but I cannot see the reply. So again:
I had hoped that similar to Windows, one could download new/improved drivers for the hardware on the tablet, and update them as they come out. For example on my laptop I have been getting so many NVidia drivers it is like one new driver every few weeks.

Resurrection Remix and Oreo

Ive been enjoying Resurrection Remix [Unofficial] rom and was wondering if they or any other rom for the Xperia Z5 P will support Oreo?
There is no kernel so unfortunately no
tset351 said:
There is no kernel so unfortunately no
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
???
zacharias.maladroit said:
???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well there are no kernel sources nor binaries, blobs etc. so I guess there will no custom rom be available anytime soon but please correct me if I'm wrong. I would be glad to have Oreo on my Z5P.
tset351 said:
Well there are no kernel sources nor binaries, blobs etc. so I guess there will no custom rom be available anytime soon but please correct me if I'm wrong. I would be glad to have Oreo on my Z5P.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The developer seems to be busy so allow me to answer (though I'm not that experienced). I'm pretty sure that Sony always releases it's phone's kernel sources. Phone hardware doesn't change from an update so when the sources are released they can be used to create a kernel for any android version (basically developers need access to unique hardware). Blobs are like closed-source kernel modules. They're provided with the kernel source but the manufacturer doesn't want them to be copyrighted or tampered with. So I'm sure that Oreo will be available on your device, just give the developers some time. And please don't answer questions if you don't know what you're talking about (at least write that you're inexperienced).
Nik0laTesla said:
The developer seems to be busy so allow me to answer (though I'm not that experienced). I'm pretty sure that Sony always releases it's phone's kernel sources. Phone hardware doesn't change from an update so when the sources are released they can be used to create a kernel for any android version (basically developers need access to unique hardware). Blobs are like closed-source kernel modules. They're provided with the kernel source but the manufacturer doesn't want them to be copyrighted or tampered with. So I'm sure that Oreo will be available on your device, just give the developers some time. And please don't answer questions if you don't know what you're talking about (at least write that you're inexperienced).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a very inexperienced person.
For MSM8994 platform there is only 3.10 kernel sources available, at least on sony's developer page. On open devices resource list, there are binaries for Z5 premium for 5.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0 and 7.1 but unfortunately no 8.0 or 8.1. And well, developers can take their time - as long as they want because I don't use that cell phone anymore and I won't expect any custom Rom changes anytime soon especially for a 2015 Device which had very less development going on since its launch.
But once again, I am very inexperienced.
Nik0laTesla said:
The developer seems to be busy so allow me to answer (though I'm not that experienced). I'm pretty sure that Sony always releases it's phone's kernel sources. Phone hardware doesn't change from an update so when the sources are released they can be used to create a kernel for any android version (basically developers need access to unique hardware). Blobs are like closed-source kernel modules. They're provided with the kernel source but the manufacturer doesn't want them to be copyrighted or tampered with. So I'm sure that Oreo will be available on your device, just give the developers some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, sorry I got a bit mixed up in the devices :laugh:. Either way Snapdragon provides up to date documentation on their SOC's (which is the most important hardware component on the device) so developers should still be able to provide Oreo. And you are right the Z5 premium is an old device and support usually drops as soon as the developer gets rid of that device. But it's weird how much attention different devices get. For example I have a Oneplus X (SD801, I know it's ancient) (didn't even get Nougat) and there are multiple Oreo 8.1 ROMs available.

Questions about the new project Treble on Android

Hi guys.
I have some questions about the new android treble feature.
The way it is advertised, it seems to be the END of the fragmentation problem on android. But i dont know if it is over advertised.
1) "The A/B partition system is only for seamless update."
I've read this on the internet and the only difference between A and A/B is that A will update like older androids while A/B will be with the phone turned on with only a reboot being necessary. This shouldn't be something that will make treble more or less useful for the end-users.
2) Why I dont see people talking about system repartitioning the phone to enable A/B partition? Most phones have 32GB, with most being over 20GB in /data. Why not just repartition 1GB to enable A/B partition?
3) "The treble updates will still be released by the phone's manufaturer."
Really? I dont know if the updates are comming from google or phone manufacturer. Can someone confirm?
It does not make any sense to try to stop the fragmentation issue by still leaving the update task on the manufacturer's side...
After some time they will stop updating anyway.
4) "Android treble will be useless if the phone does not come with native treble support."
I really don't understand this. Ive read this in reddit I believe. But installing a custom treble supported rom wouldn't be easier to perform updates on the custom rom?
My thoughts are that the updates are going to be handled by google. By doing so, we could install any custom rom and forget it because "google will update it from now on". This makes sense to me. If treble is not heading to this, then they are doing it wrong...
IMO, I think that treble would be great if users could perform:
Get your old android phone's manufaturer proprietary files;
Save those files in a vendor folder;
Execute them in android 8 and on;
Leading every android device to the latest android version.
(This in a perfect world. I know this option is a dream.)
BUT, I believe this could be an option at least for the devices that received the oreo update (because they received the "updated proprietary files" that would work for the new android treble and by consequence, on all new android versions.
If so is true, the best that could happen is for custom rom devs, create their roms by packing the vendor files, integrating with AOSP and linking the updates from the google server. Done, phone will be "forever updated".
Any comments on those, please?
Thank you.
facsi2 said:
Hi guys.
I have some questions about the new android treble feature.
The way it is advertised, it seems to be the END of the fragmentation problem on android. But i dont know if it is over advertised.
1) "The A/B partition system is only for seamless update."
I've read this on the internet and the only difference between A and A/B is that A will update like older androids while A/B will be with the phone turned on with only a reboot being necessary. This shouldn't be something that will make treble more or less useful for the end-users.
2) Why I dont see people talking about system repartitioning the phone to enable A/B partition? Most phones have 32GB, with most being over 20GB in /data. Why not just repartition 1GB to enable A/B partition?
3) "The treble updates will still be released by the phone's manufaturer."
Really? I dont know if the updates are comming from google or phone manufacturer. Can someone confirm?
It does not make any sense to try to stop the fragmentation issue by still leaving the update task on the manufacturer's side...
After some time they will stop updating anyway.
4) "Android treble will be useless if the phone does not come with native treble support."
I really don't understand this. Ive read this in reddit I believe. But installing a custom treble supported rom wouldn't be easier to perform updates on the custom rom?
My thoughts are that the updates are going to be handled by google. By doing so, we could install any custom rom and forget it because "google will update it from now on". This makes sense to me. If treble is not heading to this, then they are doing it wrong...
IMO, I think that treble would be great if users could perform:
Get your old android phone's manufaturer proprietary files;
Save those files in a vendor folder;
Execute them in android 8 and on;
Leading every android device to the latest android version.
(This in a perfect world. I know this option is a dream.)
BUT, I believe this could be an option at least for the devices that received the oreo update (because they received the "updated proprietary files" that would work for the new android treble and by consequence, on all new android versions.
If so is true, the best that could happen is for custom rom devs, create their roms by packing the vendor files, integrating with AOSP and linking the updates from the google server. Done, phone will be "forever updated".
Any comments on those, please?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) A/B devices also have a thing called "skip_initfs". In older devices, which is indeed A-only, we have the kernel ramdisk in boot partition. But in A/B devices, the boot ramdisk is only for recovery - when booting the system, the system actually contains the initramfs instead and it gets mounted to / (rootfs) instead of /system.
In short, A/B devices have init and ramdisk all in the system partition. This means Treble ROM's for A/B devices can easily have their own initfs, which makes things a little easier.
2) It also needs bootloader (either SBL or ABOOT, can't remember) support for AB, and these are almost never open source.
3) Treble allows OEM's (the hardware, e.g. Qualcomm) and the ODM (the brand, e.g. Xiaomi) to work independently. Treble provides a contract that the ODM and OEM must each pass verification black-box style, allowing independent development without reliance on the other. Best analogy I can think of is how drivers for Windows work - they don't need to know about what edition of Windows or model of PC it is; they just need to follow standards when making their hardware drivers - and if they do they can be sure that it should work with any other software.
Theoretically, Android P GSI should work straight away on a Treble-enabled Oreo phone. Maybe only with minimal changes - still too early to say. But this is the idea of it.
4) Not entirely true. Unofficial Treble (e.g. like we did for Mi A1) allows us to use GSI's thanks to Phh's work. And unlike many other official Treble devices, we have 100% compatibility with GSI's thanks to the fact that that we can fix GSI stuff on our own end. Many Treble devices are not properly "GSI-ready" vendor implementations, a common theme is that they still put essential Camera stuff in their system ROM instead of vendor (Treble verification I guess doesn't care about Camera support, sadly).
Updates from Google directly is a different program entirely; that's only for devices in Android One program.
Treble support with blobs from before Oreo is practically impossible. They need to be either modified and recompiled with the VNDK standards, or a very smart person needs to shim them. Don't ever expect a pre-Oreo device without source code to be Treble compatible - it's a monumental task that basically requires reverse-engineering the proprietary blobs. If you don't find that useful, then those are the breaks - this stuff was only introduced relatively recently. Treble is not a time machine
But again: Treble does NOT mean "updates directly from Google". That's only for official Android One devices.
Maybe one day Google will have an official thing akin to GSI. But not today. As it is, GSI - generic Treble ROM's - are the love child of Phh, there is no such thing as official updates directly from Google outside of Android One (and Pixel ofc).
As for your other speculation, it's mostly redundant - apparently, all devices that launch with Android P are required to have Treble. If I remember correctly. If the pre-P device is popular and open enough, then yeah you will get unofficial Treble (like we did with Mi A1). But that's all up to the device community. But just to reiterate one more time - this does NOT mean updates will come directly from Google.
In case you're wondering why the updates won't come directly from Google (and I predict that this will never be the case, outside of Android One program devices) - simple fact is because Android != Google. Google will never force Android vendors to use Google servers or update channel because Android itself is a very open platform; Treble is an architectural change regarding HAL abstraction - not an enforcement of Google doctrine. It'd be absurd if they did pull a stunt like that; would be like GNU saying "hey Ubuntu, Debian, and all you other guys - you have to use GNU update servers now, all your own servers are not allowed".
Many thanks, Dan. The smart thing to do is hope a new good phone gets released with latest android. Then we can keep if for a longer time thanks to treble. Planned obsolescence sucks.
Just for the curiosity, I own a moto z play and a galaxy s5 (just because of the IR blaster).
facsi2 said:
Many thanks, Dan. The smart thing to do is hope a new good phone gets released with latest android. Then we can keep if for a longer time thanks to treble. Planned obsolescence sucks.
Just for the curiosity, I own a moto z play and a galaxy s5 (just because of the IR blaster).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to say I am very glad I got the Mi A1. They did take a while to release the source code, but being an Android One device it was already "Treble-ready" - the HAL and vendor files were already binderized, as per requirements for Treble (that's the most difficult part in getting a Treble device).
My next device may be the A2, or a Pixel, it really depends on how long I keep this device (probably a while yet, since it's definitely getting P officially even).
And yeah, being a Xiaomi, they always have IR
CosmicDan said:
In case you're wondering why the updates won't come directly from Google (and I predict that this will never be the case, outside of Android One program devices) - simple fact is because Android != Google. Google will never force Android vendors to use Google servers or update channel because Android itself is a very open platform; Treble is an architectural change regarding HAL abstraction - not an enforcement of Google doctrine. It'd be absurd if they did pull a stunt like that; would be like GNU saying "hey Ubuntu, Debian, and all you other guys - you have to use GNU update servers now, all your own servers are not allowed".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think in google (Android) updates being sent by google itself as it is the one who releases android security patches.
I took a look on Mi A1. it only misses NFC. I might wait another year to change my phone.
thanks
facsi2 said:
I think in google (Android) updates being sent by google itself as it is the one who releases android security patches.
I took a look on Mi A1. it only misses NFC. I might wait another year to change my phone.
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean? Security updates can't be sent directly from Google, because every device is different and usually heavily modified at the source code level.
The whole point of Android One is that they are relatively pure, bit they still need to compile seperate security updates for different devices.
In short, there's no such thing as generic firmware, every firmware and therefore every update is still device-specific. Excluding GSI of course, which is not an official thing remember.
True about NFC, I never used it so forgot.
CosmicDan said:
What do you mean? Security updates can't be sent directly from Google, because every device is different and usually heavily modified at the source code level.
The whole point of Android One is that they are relatively pure, bit they still need to compile seperate security updates for different devices.
In short, there's no such thing as generic firmware, every firmware and therefore every update is still device-specific. Excluding GSI of course, which is not an official thing remember.
True about NFC, I never used it so forgot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isnt google responsible for those security updates in a general ROM and then manufacturers have to port that update for their devices?
https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/
What I meant was with treble, we could update our android directly from google, without having to wait for the manufacturer. Pretty much as how windows update work.
facsi2 said:
Isnt google responsible for those security updates in a general ROM and then manufacturers have to port that update for their devices?
https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/
What I meant was with treble, we could update our android directly from google, without having to wait for the manufacturer. Pretty much as how windows update work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's how they work.
But no, we cannot. As I said multiple times already - there is no such thing as a generic device to Google. GSI is created by Phh. Generic updates simply do not exist.
If Google ever makes an official GSI of some sort, or Phh works with someone to make an OTA system for his GSI's, then it could happen. But I wouldn't hold my breath for either of those things - the first one I already explained why it isn't feasible yet, and the second one costs too much money.
CosmicDan said:
Yes, that's how they work.
But no, we cannot. As I said multiple times already - there is no such thing as a generic device to Google. GSI is created by Phh. Generic updates simply do not exist.
If Google ever makes an official GSI of some sort, or Phh works with someone to make an OTA system for his GSI's, then it could happen. But I wouldn't hold my breath for either of those things - the first one I already explained why it isn't feasible yet, and the second one costs too much money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am confused. What is android AOSP rom then?
facsi2 said:
I am confused. What is android AOSP rom then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#AOSP
Read the "Development" paragraph. The following "Update schedule" section goes on the explain the history and situation of how updates work, basically the same as what I've already said.
got it. Many thanks.
Treble will be really useful for the users.
Btw, do you know if the source code released for moto z play the "same code" available for mi a1? I wonder if it is possible to do the same update you did on A1 on the ZP...
facsi2 said:
got it. Many thanks.
Treble will be really useful for the users.
Btw, do you know if the source code released for moto z play the "same code" available for mi a1? I wonder if it is possible to do the same update you did on A1 on the ZP...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Useful for users and developers!
I don't know what you mean by that question. By "same update" do you mean repartition for Treble?
CosmicDan said:
Useful for users and developers!
I don't know what you mean by that question. By "same update" do you mean repartition for Treble?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up editing the phrase before sending it and I didn't fully checked it:
Do you know if the source code released for moto z play IS the "same code" available for mi a1? I wonder if it is possible to do the same update you did on A1 on the ZP
What I am asking is if the source code available for Moto z play have the contents to be able to port treble as you did on mi a1. I don't know by looking the contents on GitHub, if the code available is complete for that job.
Thanks
facsi2 said:
I ended up editing the phrase before sending it and I didn't fully checked it:
Do you know if the source code released for moto z play IS the "same code" available for mi a1? I wonder if it is possible to do the same update you did on A1 on the ZP
What I am asking is if the source code available for Moto z play have the contents to be able to port treble as you did on mi a1. I don't know by looking the contents on GitHub, if the code available is complete for that job.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To port Treble to a device, these things are needed:
1) All the source code required to build standard AOSP, e.g. device tree and kernel. If you already have custom ROM's working f well for you device, this will likely be true.
2) Binderized vendor HAL. If you have *official* Oreo update from Motorola, this MAY be true. Manual inspection of compatibility_matrix.xml is required here, if everything in there matches the Treble requirements as listed on Android Developers then chances are it is ready.
3) An unused partition of ~500MB or more for Vendor, or the ability to repartition the device (many Qualcomm devices are standard GPT partitioned eMMC these days, if it is then it's possible).
That's a summary of the requirements. Obviously some technical investigation is required. Forward that info to any device developers who are interested in the project.
I read somewhere that device to be even updated to Pie have to have enabled Treble? Oreo required it only for launched devices and Pie require it from ALL devices.
Is it right or not? Unfortunately I cannot find it again
CosmicDan said:
To port Treble to a device, these things are needed:
1) All the source code required to build standard AOSP, e.g. device tree and kernel. If you already have custom ROM's working f well for you device, this will likely be true.
2) Binderized vendor HAL. If you have *official* Oreo update from Motorola, this MAY be true. Manual inspection of compatibility_matrix.xml is required here, if everything in there matches the Treble requirements as listed on Android Developers then chances are it is ready.
3) An unused partition of ~500MB or more for Vendor, or the ability to repartition the device (many Qualcomm devices are standard GPT partitioned eMMC these days, if it is then it's possible).
That's a summary of the requirements. Obviously some technical investigation is required. Forward that info to any device developers who are interested in the project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About re-partitioning android device, is there a tool, command or anything universal to all the phones, like how in linux you can re-partition what and how you want. For example, I never saw a re-partition "mod" for samsung devices (ex. to give more space on /system). There is only one reason I can think of.
If samsung "download mode" is stored on a read-only pre-programmed chip, then re-partition should be no problem. If anything goes wrong, just flash stock firmware with CSC or flash official .PIT file.
If that is the case then there are no risks in re-partitioning a device.
There is a tool that can edit .PIT files, but what if someone wipes the bootloader partition?
Would "download mode" still be there for a roll-back, or would the device be permenantly bricked?
Is re-partition-ing safe?
If it is, then why doesn't any 3rd party recovery have an option for that, kinda like GPARTED. Is it impossible or what?
And if bootloader gets wiped, is there a way to re-program the device to the working order?
Sry for so many questions. Already tried to search but never got a straight-forward answer.
Shadow7107 said:
About re-partitioning android device, is there a tool, command or anything universal to all the phones, like how in linux you can re-partition what and how you want. For example, I never saw a re-partition "mod" for samsung devices (ex. to give more space on /system). There is only one reason I can think of.
If samsung "download mode" is stored on a read-only pre-programmed chip, then re-partition should be no problem. If anything goes wrong, just flash stock firmware with CSC or flash official .PIT file.
If that is the case then there are no risks in re-partitioning a device.
There is a tool that can edit .PIT files, but what if someone wipes the bootloader partition?
Would "download mode" still be there for a roll-back, or would the device be permenantly bricked?
Is re-partition-ing safe?
If it is, then why doesn't any 3rd party recovery have an option for that, kinda like GPARTED. Is it impossible or what?
And if bootloader gets wiped, is there a way to re-program the device to the working order?
Sry for so many questions. Already tried to search but never got a straight-forward answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, nothing is standard when it comes to embedded systems (which our devices are). By "standard on Linux", you must mean "Standard on x86-based Linux" - which is mostly all MBR or GPT (but even then there are other less-common standards)
But as I said - many Qualcomm devices are in fact standard GPT, you can just use gdisk (a fork of fdisk which is better choice for GPT partition maps).
Repartitioning is relatively safe on SOME devices because they have an emergency bootloader/downloader which is on it's own EEPROM and not the eMMC or whatever. You will have to research the device for yourself to see if it has any "unbrick" capability. Again, many qualcomm devices have what is called "EDL mode" - EDL mode is still possible even if you "cat /dev/null > /dev/block/mmcblk0" for example - albeit you may need to disassemble the device to access test point to get it to be kicked into there.

difference between hardware binaries & kernel?

so what is the difference between hardware binaries & kernels?
i saw that the pixel hardware binaries are provided directly by google, & the kernel for the z2 play is on the motorola github
are the hardware binaries the same thing, or part of the kernel?
if not, where can I go to get the hardware binaries for the moto z2 play?
(new to development, but familiar w/ programming)
The "hardware binaries" are basically drivers that are part of the kernel. They should be included in the kernel source code of Motorola
The kernel itself it what manages interaction between software and hardware, so drivers are part of it, but the kernel is much more
Artim_96 said:
The "hardware binaries" are basically drivers that are part of the kernel. They should be included in the kernel source code of Motorola
The kernel itself it what manages interaction between software and hardware, so drivers are part of it, but the kernel is much more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
awesome, thanks!
so would it be possible to build aosp from source (vanilla) with these binaries?
rivalDevYP said:
awesome, thanks!
so would it be possible to build aosp from source (vanilla) with these binaries?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Partially. But I doubt it's that easy
Artim_96 said:
Partially. But I doubt it's that easy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other than the hardware binaries and a proper build environment
What else do you think I would need?
rivalDevYP said:
Other than the hardware binaries and a proper build environment
What else do you think I would need?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at the existing ROMs. If it would be that easy we would be running Pie for month. In theory those should be enough, but you still need a lot of work to get it right so it actually works

Categories

Resources