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BQ Aquaris X5 (bq-paella)

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Revision as of 09:20, 9 February 2021 by TipzTeam (talk | contribs)
BQ Aquaris X5
BQ Aquaris X5 Cyanogen Edition running Plasma Mobile on postmarketOS mainline
BQ Aquaris X5 Cyanogen Edition running Plasma Mobile on postmarketOS mainline
Manufacturer BQ
Name Aquaris X5
Codename bq-picmt, bq-paella
Released 2015
Hardware
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8916v2 Snapdragon 412
CPU Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Adreno 306
Display 720 x 1280 (IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors)
Storage 16GB / 32GB
Memory 2GB / 3GB
Architecture aarch64
Software
Original software Android 7.1.2, CyanogenOS 12.1
postmarketOS
Category community
Pre-built images yes
postmarketOS kernel Mainline (for bq-paella)
Features
Flashing
Works
USB Networking
Works
Internal storage
No data
SD card
No data
Battery
No data
Screen
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Works
Audio
Works
Camera
No data
Camera Flash
No data
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
Works
GPS
No data
NFC
No data
Modem
Calls
Works
SMS
Works
Mobile data
Works
Miscellaneous
FDE
Works
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

Maintainer(s)

Users owning this device


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 Power and Volume Up buttons.
  • Fastboot: Power on the device with both Power and Volume Down buttons.

Cyanogen bootloader

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

Installation

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 fastboot oem unlock. You might need to use fastboot oem unlock-go. (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.

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 (aboot). This depends if you want to run downstream (bq-picmt in postmarketOS) or mainline (bq-paella in postmarketOS).

Downstream

You can use the bootloader from the BQ firmware you downloaded before:

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

The bootloader has a splash screen with white/black background (likely depending on the color of your device).

Mainline/Downstream

The BQ bootloader is unable to boot lk2nd, therefore you need to flash the bootloader from the Cyanogen firmware. 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.

Note Note: After flashing a new bootloader you should reboot the device to make sure the new bootloader is running.

postmarketOS

Downstream

Choose bq-picmt and follow the Installation guide.

Mainline

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).
    • Warning: lk2nd is installed to the boot partition, not the aboot partition you flashed earlier!
  2. Choose bq-paella and follow the Installation guide (flash from lk2nd, not the Cyanogen fastboot).

Audio

See Qualcomm_Snapdragon_410_(MSM8916)#Audio.

Modem

See Qualcomm_Snapdragon_410_(MSM8916)#Modem.

Status

Currently work is separated based on firmware installed, if you installed the Cyanogen Edition firmware will be referred as bq-paella, if you installed the BQ Android firmware it will be referred as bq-picmt. So here is a summary for both:

bq-picmt: runs on downstream kernel

Works: USB Network, WiFi, Display, weston, weston-calibrator, Modem (somewhat)

Buggy: ts_calibrate: to make screen get touches I incrementally have to touch screen with one finger and then with that finger on screen touch the crosshair, then for the second two fingers and crosshair, for the third three fingers and crosshair...don't know why but it started happening when I replaced my broken screen with a new one, if someone has this device with original screen can check if the same issue is present or not

bq-paella: runs on mainline kernel

Works: USB Network, WiFi, Bluetooth, Display, Touchscreen, Volume buttons, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Touchkeys backlight, Audio (Headphones, Earpiece, Speaker, MIC), Voice calls, SMS, Mobile Internet

Pictures

See also