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Dell venue 8 pro

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Dell Venue 8 pro (3845)
Manufacturer Dell
Name Venue 8 pro (3845)
Codename generic-x86_64
Released 2014
Type tablet
Hardware
Chipset Intel Bay Trail T Z3735
CPU Intel® Atom™ CPU Z3735 @ 1.832GHz (Quad-Core)
GPU Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx Series Graphics & Display
Display 8" 800x1280 IPS LCD
Storage 32 GB + sdcard reader
Memory 1 GB
Architecture x86_64
Software
Original software Windows
Original version
The version the device was shipped with.
8.1
FOSS bootloader yes
postmarketOS
Category testing
Pre-built images
Whether pre-built images are available here.
no
Mainline
Instead of a Linux kernel fork, it is possible to run (Close to) Mainline.
yes
pmOS kernel
The kernel version that runs on the device's port.
Latest edge
Features
USB Networking
After connecting the device with USB to your PC, you can connect to it via telnet (initramfs) or SSH (booted system).
Untested
Battery
Charging and battery level reporting works
Partial
Screen
Display works. Ideally with sleep mode and brightness control.
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Works
Audio
Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons.
Works
Camera
Broken
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
Broken
Miscellaneous
FDE
Full disk encryption and unlocking with unl0kr.
Untested
USB-A
Full-sized USB-A port works (Usually applicable to SBCs and laptops).
Works
USB OTG
USB On-The-Go or USB-C Role switching
Works
Sensors
Accelerometer
Auto screen rotation works in desktops e.g. Phosh or Plasma Mobile
Untested
Magnetometer
Sensor to measure magnetism
Untested
Ambient Light
Untested
Proximity
Untested
Hall Effect
Also known as flip cover sensor
Untested
Barometer
Sensor to measure air pressure
Untested
Power Sensor
Sensor to monitor current, voltage and power. Not fuel gauge!
Untested


Contributors

Users owning this device


Information

  • This tablet is essentially a small 32bit UEFI computer, suffers from 32bit UEFI with 64bit CPU
  • Holding down the Windows button (above volume) holds the boot process, allowing you to:
    • Enter bios (volume down)
    • Select a boot device (volume up)
    • Continue normal boot (wait or press windows button again)
  • This tablet has no ability to flash via a computer, therefore installing has to be done manually on the tablet

Installation

Preparation

  • Ensure secure boot is turned off
  • Make the bootable usb
    • Use pmbootstrap to make the usb, Use the generic-x86_64 codename and everything else is preference.

Flashing To Internal Storage

  • Boot the flashed usb
    • Hold down the windows button as before, power on the device, press volume up
    • Then select the usb in the boot menu, reading what is on the screen
  • Ensure you have an internet connection
  • Re-run pmbootstrap:
    • Install pmbootstrap and rerun the init process, then install with --disk=<DISK>
- The internal disk can be found with lsblk

Hardware status

Bluetooth

Bluetooth support is available in other distros such as fedora, this means it will likely work in the future but no promises. likely configuration or driver related.

Camera

No Camera support in any known linux distros. Hopeful future support.

Battery

Battery charges and discharges as expected, however normally it does not report the %, it has been reported to work however. More investigation is needed

USB-A

There is no usb port on this tablet, however there is a microusb port which when paired with an adapter works just like a normal usb port. Hence why it is labeled as Works

Software issues

Audio Playback

If you experience issues with audio, or weird things like video playback hanging and an audible beep being emitted from the speaker, this is likely due to a misconfigured Sound OpenFirmware (SOF) setup. There are two different workarounds for this:

  • Disable SOF, by unsetting CONFIG_SND_INTEL_BYT_PREFER_SOF in the kernel or blacklisting the module(s) for it.
  • Keep SOF and force a specific DSP driver when SOF loads:
$ echo "options snd-intel-dspcfg dsp_driver=2" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/byt-sof.conf

Tested DE

Gnome-mobile

Good, rare but possible lock-ups, assuming ram issue.

xfce4

Good, no complaints.

plasma-mobile

Works better with more recent updates, on the slow side but that should be expected with this device.

See also