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Acer Iconia Tab A500 (acer-picasso)

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Revision as of 04:52, 21 July 2020 by Worldblender (talk | contribs) (Fix typo in build instructions)
Acer Iconia Tab A500
Manufacturer Acer
Name Iconia Tab A500
Codename acer-picasso
Released 2011
Hardware
Chipset Nvidia Tegra 2 T20
CPU Dual-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A9
GPU ULP GeForce
Display 800x1280
Storage 16/32 GB
Memory 1 GB
Architecture armv7
Software
Original software Android 3.0 - 4.0
postmarketOS
Category testing
Pre-built images no
Mainline yes
Features
Flashing
Works
USB Networking
Works
Internal storage
No data
SD card
No data
Battery
Works
Screen
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
No data
Audio
Works
Camera
No data
Camera Flash
No data
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
Works
GPS
No data
NFC
No data
Modem
Calls
No data
SMS
No data
Mobile data
No data
Miscellaneous
FDE
No data
USB OTG
No data
HDMI/DP
No data
Sensors
Accelerometer
Works
Magnetometer
No data
Ambient Light
No data
Proximity
No data
Hall Effect
No data
Haptics
No data
Barometer
No data


Contributors

  • Worldblender

Maintainer(s)

  • Worldblender

Users owning this device


How to enter flash mode (requires a custom bootloader)

See https://forum.xda-developers.com/iconia-a500/a500-2019-2020-t4039271 for a through explanation of how to go from stock to fully modded.

Installation

From https://forum.xda-developers.com/iconia-a500/linux-acer-iconia-tab-a500-2020-edition-t4136023: Check out the git repository at https://gitlab.com/Worldblender/pmaports, as this device is not yet included in upstream as of this writing. Switch to the branch 'device/acer-picasso'. This repository can also be added as a secondary remote if pmaports from upstream is already cloned.

Follow the Installation_guide as usual, where theses specifics have to be specified when requested:

  • Vendor: acer
  • Device code-name: picasso
  • Kernel flavor: mainline
  • Install non-free Wi-Fi + Bluetooth firmware: y

The user interface may be freely selected, as long as it is not one that requires 3D acceleration. To use KDE Plasma 5, add these lines to /etc/security/pam_env.conf:

QT_IM_MODULE=qtvirtualkeyboard QT_QUICK_BACKEND=software LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

Next, run the following commands in succession, after each one finishes, assuming the working directory contains the pmbootstrap.py script: > ./pmbootstrap.py build device-acer-picasso > ./pmbootstrap.py build firmware-acer-picasso > ./pmbootstrap.py build linux-postmarketos-grate

From here on out, the generated chroot can be either installed to the eMMC, or a microSD card that must be inserted at or before boot time (the latter method allows for dual-booting Android already installed to the eMMC, although it can be directly accessed from the Linux system). The boot partition always has to be flashed to the eMMC in fastboot mode, as it is not possible to boot directly off of a microSD card. If installing to the eMMC, run

> ./pmbootstrap.py install > ./pmbootstrap.py flasher flash_kernel --partition secboot > ./pmbootstrap.py flasher flash_rootfs (optional) > ./pmbootstrap.py flasher boot

If installing to a microSD card, run

> ./pmbootstrap.py install --sdcard [path to the device for installation] > ./pmbootstrap.py flasher flash_kernel --partition secboot


Depending on what user interface was chosen earlier in the installation process, there may not be enough packages installed to get a fully-loaded GUI. Besides the built-in Wi-Fi, it is also possible to use a USB ethernet adapter, or connect to another computer with a micro-USB cable and get RNDIS access that enables using SSH to the tablet.

After installation to either a microSD card or the eMMC, the screen should look like:

See also

- External branch containing build files

- grate kernel