Installing Android x86 on a generic Intel tablet: improvements and issues

[Diego Restrepo]

I own a generic (cheap) tablet with a 64-bit Intel processor (Intel Atom Z3736F Quad Core 2.16GHz Bay Trail), it came with dual boot Windows 10 - Android 4.4 (2016 model). I don't use it in regular basis, but I have some interest in using it for driving purposes (Waze and music player), but Android 4.4 is not a good OS anymore, many apps are no longer supported. I decided to delete both, Windows 10 and Android 4.4 and try with Android distributions, as Android x64 and Lineage OS.

I have tried several distributions, and Android x86 64bit v8.1 has been the best fit so far (touch screen is very responsive, Bluetooth adapter works fine, screen brightness is fully adjustable, USB and SD Card ports work fine), but it has a couple of critical flaws: WiFi adapter doesn't work at all and screen cannot be turned on after manual or automatic turn off. Automatic rotation is not working, but is not an urgent problem (yet).

Is there any solution to these critical issues?

Thanks for your support.

[Chih-Wei Huang]

Diego Restrepo <m.diego....@gmail.com> 於 2019年8月16日 週五 上午11:02寫道：

>
> I own a generic (cheap) tablet with a 64-bit Intel processor (Intel Atom Z3736F Quad Core 2.16GHz Bay Trail), it came with dual boot Windows 10 - Android 4.4 (2016 model). I don't use it in regular basis, but I have some interest in using it for driving purposes (Waze and music player), but Android 4.4 is not a good OS anymore, many apps are no longer supported. I decided to delete both, Windows 10 and Android 4.4 and try with Android distributions, as Android x64 and Lineage OS.
>
> I have tried several distributions, and Android x86 64bit v8.1 has been the best fit so far (touch screen is very responsive, Bluetooth adapter works fine, screen brightness is fully adjustable, USB and SD Card ports work fine), but it has a couple of critical flaws: WiFi adapter doesn't work at all and screen cannot be turned on after manual or automatic turn off. Automatic rotation is not working, but is not an urgent problem (yet).
>
> Is there any solution to these critical issues?

The simplest solution is to buy a Wifi USB dongle
which is supported by Android-x86.
Otherwise you have to figure out what driver
is suitable for your wifi chipset and try to add it.


--
Chih-Wei
Android-x86 project
http://www.android-x86.org

[Diego Restrepo]

Chih-Wei, thanks for the suggestions.

The WIFI hardware is a Broadcom 802.11n Wireless SDIO Adapter, drivers for Windows 10 are easy to find and download, but I have no idea how to try to fit the driver to Android x86.

[Diego Restrepo]

I have compared the name of the Broadcom wireless adapter drivers for Windows with the Broadcom drivers for Android located in /lib/firmware/brcm (Android x86 64bit v8.1), and the files with the number 43438 are missing in Android. I have searched for Android drivers with this number, but I haven't found anything so far. Does anyone know where to find these files?

Thanks a lot.

[Antony Stone]

On Friday 16 August 2019 at 05:02:43, Diego Restrepo wrote:

> I own a generic (cheap) tablet with a 64-bit Intel processor (Intel Atom
> Z3736F Quad Core 2.16GHz Bay Trail), it came with dual boot Windows 10 -
> Android 4.4 (2016 model).

Do you mind sharing the actual make / model with us?


Antony.

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- Ken Olsen, President of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC, later consumed
by Compaq, later merged with HP)

Please reply to the list;
please *don't* CC me.

[Diego Restrepo]

I forgot to mention sound and volume buttons are working perfectly. The offscreen "Home" button (originally intended for Windows, but also working in Android) is also working fine. Android x86 64bit v8.1 is definitely a step forward in terms of functionality for tablets regarding other versions.

I hope you can provide solutions to the other issues we have (WiFi adapter and turning on screen after it goes to sleep, in my case), because your hard work is paying off.

Thanks.

[Diego Restrepo]

Sure, it is a "Chuwi Hi8" but it is identified by Android as an "ilife S806" (seems it is the same model but with a different name).

Here you have the full spec list: https://www.pdevice.com/product/chuwi-hi8-price-specs

Thanks.

[Antony Stone]

On Thursday 22 August 2019 at 21:31:09, Diego Restrepo wrote:

> Sure, it is a "Chuwi Hi8" but it is identified by Android as an "ilife
> S806" (seems it is the same model but with a different name).
>
> Here you have the full spec list:
> https://www.pdevice.com/product/chuwi-hi8-price-specs

Thank you.

How did you get Android-x86 installed onto it?

I assume you've copied it into the 32Gb ROM somehow?


Antony.

--
The Magic Words are Squeamish Ossifrage.

[Diego Restrepo]

I installed it with an USB stick, I previously deleted the partition for Windows/Android and used the "full" internal size (about 30GB) for Android x86.

[Antony Stone]

On Thursday 22 August 2019 at 21:45:52, Diego Restrepo wrote:

> I installed it with an USB stick, I previously deleted the partition for
> Windows/Android and used the "full" internal size (about 30GB) for Android
> x86.

Nice. Interesting that a device like this lets you boot from a USB stick.

I also notice that Chuwi themselves have released a newer version running
Android 8.0 :)


Antony.

--
Perfection in design is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but
rather when there is nothing left to take away.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[Diego Restrepo]

Where did you find this information? I have checked regularly for updates, but this is the kind of manufacturer who doesn't take care on updating firmware for old devices, and only focus on new devices. Android 4.4.4 is the last and only version they launched for this device.

Thanks.

[Antony Stone]

On Thursday 22 August 2019 at 21:59:50, Diego Restrepo wrote:

> Where did you find this information?

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07JBVYSC8 for example.

> I have checked regularly for updates, but this is the kind of manufacturer
> who doesn't take care on updating firmware for old devices, and only focus on
> new devices. Android 4.4.4 is the last and only version they launched for
> this device.

I'm not saying you can update *your* machine to Chuwi's Android 8 - there
might be some hardware differences, but it's still a Hi8 with 2Gb RAM and 32Gb
ROM...

> On Thursday, August 22, 2019 at 2:54:00 PM UTC-5, Antony Stone wrote:
> > I also notice that Chuwi themselves have released a newer version running

> > Android 8 :)


Antony.

--
My life is going completely according to plan.

I do sometimes wish it had been *my* plan, though.

[Antony Stone]

On Thursday 22 August 2019 at 23:33:03, Antony Stone wrote:

> On Thursday 22 August 2019 at 21:59:50, Diego Restrepo wrote:
> > Where did you find this information?
>
> https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07JBVYSC8 for example.

> I'm not saying you can update *your* machine to Chuwi's Android 8 - there
> might be some hardware differences, but it's still a Hi8 with 2Gb RAM and
> 32Gb ROM...

I've just realised there is a fundamental difference between your Hi8 and this
Hi8 - yours has an Intel Atom x86 CPU, this one's an ARMv8...


Antony.

--
This email was created using 100% recycled electrons.

[Diego Restrepo]

Yes, there are other most recent Hi8 versions but their hardware is different, so in principle I can't use the firmware they have.

Thanks.

[Diego Restrepo]

I hope this screen could provide some information about the WiFi adapter issue:

[Jose Luis s]

Hope this can help.

I have the same tablet and is working.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/android-x86/brcmfmac|sort:date/android-x86/B3DXdkwLP-Q/YyT-dmFqDQAJ

[Diego Restrepo]

Many thanks Jose Luis.

Could you please explain how did you use this information? They mention a "CLM file", above there is some code and I'm not sure if this must be edited within a particular file or be executed in Terminal Emulator.

By the way, do you have issues turning on the screen after it goes to sleep? Does your horizontal mode work?

Regards.

[Diego Restrepo]

Does anybody know how should I apply this patch to solve the issue with the WiFi adapter? So far I have no clue about it.

https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/10164873/

diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/brcm80211/brcmfmac/common.c b/drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/brcm80211/brcmfmac/common.c
index 6a59d0609d30..0c67ba6ae135 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/brcm80211/brcmfmac/common.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/brcm80211/brcmfmac/common.c
@@ -278,12 +278,8 @@  int brcmf_c_preinit_dcmds(struct brcmf_if *ifp)
 	}
 	ri->result = err;
 
-	/* Do any CLM downloading */
-	err = brcmf_c_process_clm_blob(ifp);
-	if (err < 0) {
-		brcmf_err("download CLM blob file failed, %d\n", err);
-		goto done;
-	}
+	/* Do any optional CLM downloading */
+	brcmf_c_process_clm_blob(ifp);
 
 	/* query for 'ver' to get version info from firmware */
 	memset(buf, 0, sizeof(buf));

[Mauro Rossi]

Hi,

Download the .patch file clicking on Download patch mbox [mbox] tab

and save it to kernel folder then use these commands:

git am brcmfmac-Make-sure-CLM-downloading-is-optional.patch

 

[Diego Restrepo]

Thanks a lot.

[Diego Restrepo]

I copied this file to /sys/kernel, opened Terminal Emulator, and did this:

x86_64:/ $ cd sys/kernel/

x86_64:/sys/kernel/ $ git am brcmfmac-Make-sure-CLM-downloading-is-optional.patch

Result:

/system/bin/sh: git: not found

Am I doing something wrong? Must this be done other way?

Thanks.

On Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 12:45:41 PM UTC-5, Mauro Rossi wrote:

[Jon West]

This all likely needs to be done from within the build environment on a Linux box. Not from within the compiled OS its self :)

[Diego Restrepo]

It's getting complicated for me. Once on a while I run a Linux distro in a virtual machine but I haven't used it for connecting it to external devices. Is there any guide to do this procedure?

Thanks.

[Chih-Wei Huang]

Diego Restrepo <m.diego....@gmail.com> 於 2019年8月28日 週三 上午10:31寫道：

>
> It's getting complicated for me. Once on a while I run a Linux distro in a virtual machine but I haven't used it for connecting it to external devices. Is there any guide to do this procedure?

That's for developer only.
If you're interested, read the Get Source and Customize Kernel
pages in our website.

BTW, why do you think that patch will fix your problem as
you are not a developer (know nothing about compiling kernel)?
That patch was not accepted by the upstream.

[Diego Restrepo]

Another member had the same problem as me with the same device (Chuwi Hi8), he said he ran that patch and it solved the issue. I just want to run the patch, but as Android doesn't have GIT included, another member suggested to run it in a Linux machine. Seems like the way for solving the issue becomes very difficult for someone who's not a developer like me.

I've read some other posts about problems with Broadcom drivers. Do you plan to fix this for future releases?

Thanks.

On Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 9:59:34 PM UTC-5, Chih-Wei Huang wrote:

Diego Restrepo <m.diego...@gmail.com> 於 2019年8月28日 週三 上午10:31寫道：

[Chih-Wei Huang]

Diego Restrepo <m.diego....@gmail.com> 於 2019年8月28日 週三 上午11:10寫道：

>
> Another member had the same problem as me with the same device (Chuwi Hi8), he said he ran that patch and it solved the issue. I just want to run the patch, but as Android doesn't have GIT included, another member suggested to run it in a Linux machine. Seems like the way for solving the issue becomes very difficult for someone who's not a developer like me.
>
> I've read some other posts about problems with Broadcom drivers. Do you plan to fix this for future releases?

We don't have your device to test and debug.
How can we actively fix it?

The correct way is, you provide a workable patch,
and we apply it.

The patch you mentioned was not accepted by upstream.
So there is a risk to apply it.
If you can confirm it works, I can consider it.


--
Chih-Wei
Android-x86 project
http://www.android-x86.org

[Diego Restrepo]

"Jose Luis s" posted the issue and his solution using the patch some months ago in this thread: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/android-x86/brcmfmac%7Csort:date/android-x86/B3DXdkwLP-Q/YyT-dmFqDQAJ

On Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 10:50:40 PM UTC-5, Chih-Wei Huang wrote:

Diego Restrepo <m.diego...@gmail.com> 於 2019年8月28日 週三 上午11:10寫道：

[Chih-Wei Huang]

Diego Restrepo <m.diego....@gmail.com> 於 2019年8月28日 週三 下午12:02寫道：

>
> "Jose Luis s" posted the issue and his solution using the patch some months ago in this thread: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/android-x86/brcmfmac%7Csort:date/android-x86/B3DXdkwLP-Q/YyT-dmFqDQAJ

OK. That's an old thread before we upgraded to kernel 4.19.

I've applied it to kernel-4.19 branch.
You can sync to test.

[Diego Restrepo]

Already downloaded and installed the 8.1 R1 release - Kernel 4.19.15 (not easy to find since R2 replaced it at OSDN and Fusshub), and WiFi adapter still doesn't work. I'm not sure if the patch should be modified a little, since the conflicting driver is 43430a0 instead of 80211. It would be nice to have some words from Jose Luis s about what he really did to solve this issue.

Many thanks for your help.

On Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 11:41:54 PM UTC-5, Chih-Wei Huang wrote:

Diego Restrepo <m.diego...@gmail.com> 於 2019年8月28日 週三 下午12:02寫道：

[Diego Restrepo]

I attach full dmesg text, just in case anybody could take a look and find what could be done.

Thanks.

[Diego Restrepo]

I'm following some guides in order to replace Android x86 kernel with a newer version (as per Jose Luis s comments), but when I try to connect the tablet to the computer, I cannot make it turn into MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), it constantly shows the same error message. Attach screens and dmesg (not sure if this is useful in this case). Any suggestions?

Thanks.