BQ Aquaris X5 (bq-paella)

Contributors

 * Lazzardo

Maintainer(s)

 * Lazzardo

How to enter flash mode
The device is available in two variants: The normal edition from BQ and a special Cyanogen Edition that runs CyanogenOS. The hardware seems to be identical, but the firmware is different. How to enter Fastboot/Recovery mode depends on the firmware that is currently installed.

BQ bootloader

 * Recovery: Power on the device with both  and   buttons.
 * Fastboot: Power on the device with both  and   buttons.

Cyanogen bootloader

 * Recovery: Power on the device with both  and   buttons.
 * Stock fastboot: Power on the device with both  and   buttons.
 * lk2nd Fastboot: Power on the device. After it vibrates, hold.

Installation
pojntfx made a video tutorial which follows the steps below:



Unlock bootloader
To unlock your bootloader boot into Android, enable Developer Options from the settings and enable "Allow OEM unlock". Then boot into Fastboot and use. You might need to use. (Note: All your data will be erased!)

Firmware
It is recommended to flash to latest firmware from BQ before using postmarketOS. You can download it here: 5.2.0_20180228-1305-picmt-user-637-Fastboot-FW.zip 5.2.0_20180228-1305-picmt-user-637-Fastboot-FW.zip.

First flash the early boot firmware:

$ fastboot flash sbl1 sbl1.mbn $ fastboot flash sbl1bak sbl1.mbn $ fastboot flash tz tz.mbn $ fastboot flash tzbak tz.mbn $ fastboot flash hyp hyp.mbn $ fastboot flash hypbak hyp.mbn $ fastboot flash rpm rpm.mbn $ fastboot flash rpmbak rpm.mbn $ fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin

As a next step you also need to flash a Linux/Android bootloader. There are two different versions available:


 * BQ bootloader: Can only boot downstream kernel
 * Cyanogen bootloader: Can boot both downstream and mainline kernel

Therefore, you should flash the Cyanogen bootloader for postmarketOS. You can download it here: cm-13.1.4-ZNH2KAS5FE-paella-signed-fastboot-a6851b4fbe.zip cm-13.1.4-ZNH2KAS5FE-paella-signed-fastboot-a6851b4fbe.zip

$ fastboot flash aboot emmc_appsboot.mbn $ fastboot flash splash splash.img

The bootloader has a splash screen with black background.

postmarketOS
The mainline kernel depends on an alternative bootloader (lk2nd). It does not replace the stock bootloader, but provides its own Fastboot interface. When using the mainline kernel you should always use lk2nd for flashing, not the stock Fastboot mode.


 * 1) Install lk2nd. (Just needed the first time).
 * 2) * Warning: lk2nd is installed to the  partition, not the   partition you flashed earlier!

When you have lk2nd installed and running, follow Qualcomm_Snapdragon_410/412_(MSM8916).

Downstream
There is an alternative device port using the downstream kernel,. It can be selected by entering the name in.

Using as a daily driver
Audio routing seems to work properly now, so you can make a call without switching anything in settings. You need to watch battery drain as this soc, has no working CPU suspend mode.

Make sure you have checked bq-paella issues and fully read Qualcomm_Snapdragon_410/412_(MSM8916), as it contains information about important bugs related generally to this SoC (they are not mentioned directly here).

Cellular networking requires the package  and setting   to , this will automatically detect a sim card in one of the slots and activate it.