Jump to content

Google Nexus 10 (samsung-manta)

From postmarketOS Wiki
Google (Samsung) Nexus 10
Google Nexus 10
Google Nexus 10
Manufacturer Google (Samsung)
Name Nexus 10
Codename samsung-manta
Released 2012
Type tablet
Hardware
Chipset Samsung Exynos 5250
CPU 1.7 GHz Dual-core Cortex-A15
GPU Mali T604
Display 2560x1600 IPS
Storage 16/32 GB
Memory 2 GB
Architecture armv7
Software
Original software
The software and version the device was shipped with.
Android 4.2.2 (Linux 3.0)
Extended version
The most recent supported version from the manufacturer.
Android
postmarketOS
Category community
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.
Mainline
Unixbench score
Unixbench Whetstone/Dhrystone score. See Unixbench.
956.9
Device package device-samsung-manta
Kernel package linux-postmarketos-exynos5
Features
Flashing
Whether it is possible to flash the device with pmbootstrap flasher.
Works
USB Networking
After connecting the device with USB to your PC, you can connect to it via telnet (initramfs) or SSH (booted system).
Works
Internal storage
eMMC, SD cards, UFS...
Works
Battery
Whether charging and battery level reporting work.
Works
Screen
Whether the display works; ideally with sleep mode and brightness control.
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Works
Audio
Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons.
Partial
Camera
Broken
Camera Flash
Broken
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
Works
GPS
Broken
NFC
Near Field Communication
Broken
Miscellaneous
FDE
Full disk encryption and unlocking with unl0kr.
Works
USB OTG
USB On-The-Go or USB-C Role switching.
Works
HDMI/DP
Video and audio output with HDMI or DisplayPort.
Works
Sensors
Accelerometer
Handles automatic screen rotation in many interfaces.
Works
Magnetometer
Sensor to measure the Earth's magnetism
Works
Ambient Light
Measures the light level; used for automatic screen dimming in many interfaces.
Works
Haptics
Broken
Barometer
Sensor to measure air pressure
Works
U-Boot
Secondary Bootloader
Whether it is possible to chainload U-Boot from stock bootloader.
Works
Mainline
Whether latest upstream versions of U-Boot are not broken and it is possible to use them.
Works
Internal Storage
Whether it is possible to boot from internal storage (e.g. eMMC or UFS).
Works
USB Host
Whether it is possible to boot from a USB storage or connect a keyboard.
Broken
USB Peripheral
Whether it is possible to use device as a peripheral in U-Boot, e.g. for fastboot mode.
Broken
Display
Broken
Buttons
Whether it is possible to navigate in boot menu or grub with volume and power buttons.
Broken

Users owning this device


The Google Nexus 10 is an old tablet with a very outdated android version making it nearly unusable for any kind of task. Multiple people worked on mainline linux support since at least 2023. The device runs postmarketOS quite well.

However it's age means less performance compared to other devices. Therefore choosing a lightweight desktop environment like phosh is adviseable.

How to enter flash mode

fastboot

  • Connect a USB cable
  • Power the device off
  • Hold power + volume up + volume down
  • You should get a bootloader screen0

heimdall

  • Connect a USB cable
  • Power the device off
  • Hold power + volume down
  • You should get a bootloader screen saying "Downloading... Do not turn off target !!"

Installation

U-Boot

Note U-Boot currently does not automatically boot from any partition other than userdata!
Note Currently, U-Boot requires up to 10 seconds to boot an EFI file. During that time, the screen remains black. Please be patient when booting up the device!

The device requires U-Boot to gain UEFI support and boot newer versions of postmarketOS. Ready to use binaries can be found here. The source code is also available. The U-Boot port is still in early development and therefore has a limited feature set.

  1. Download an image from https://gitlab.com/LaT3St/u-boot-binaries/-/tree/main/master
  2. Uncompress, e.g.:
    • xz -d u-boot-master-samsung-manta.img.xz
  3. Then flash with fastboot:
    • fastboot flash boot u-boot-master-samsung-manta.img

postmarketOS

Note The tablet sometimes needs a lot of time to extract larger package sizes. Be patient when flashing large images.

See Installation guide. Flashing can be done using Fastboot (preferred) or Heimdall.

From a prebuilt image

  1. Download an image from https://images.postmarketos.org/bpo/edge/samsung-manta/
  2. Uncompress, e.g.:
    • xz -d 20240222-1756-postmarketOS-edge-phosh-22.3-samsung-manta.img.xz
  3. Then flash with fastboot:
    • fastboot flash userdata -S 512M 20240222-1756-postmarketOS-edge-phosh-22.3-samsung-manta.img
  4. Reboot

From pmbootstrap

fastboot

pmbootstrap flasher flash_rootfs

pmbootstrap currently does not support setting the fastboot package size. If a rootfs partition is bigger than 1 GiB, it has to be exported and flashed manually:

pmbootstrap export
cd /tmp/postmarketOS-export
fastboot flash -S 512M userdata samsung-manta.img

heimdall

pmbootstrap flasher --method heimdall-bootimg flash_rootfs --partition userdata

Info

Naming

As of November 2025 the device name samsung-manta might be obsolete soon, as this initial linux kernel patch changes the vendor to Google in order to better fit naming conventions.

Booting

The stock bootloader is called S-Boot and it's shell can be accessed via UART. As the device originally shipped as an Android tablet, it lacks essential features. Therefore a U-Boot port was developed and is used as a secondary bootloader to provide important functionality like UEFI. Using this bootloader to it's fullest potential also requires UART at the moment, as U-Boot still lacks support for the display. U-Boot needs to be flashed to the boot partition of the device in order to work.

UART

Nexus Debug Cable

For development and testing purposes, a serial debug cable can be built comparatively easy. The tablet uses a TRRS connector as a headphone jack with mic capabilities. Providing -3.3V to the mic input selects a special serial mode with 1.8V logic levels at a baudrate of 115200. More information on Nexus debug cables can be found at Serial debugging/Cable schematics#Nexus_debug_cable. Aquiring serial connection through the headphone jack is non intrusive and poses minimal risk to the device and is therefore recommended.

Mainboard UART

UART can also be found at a 12 pin connector close to edge of mainboard. The same connector is used for many Samsung devices, but it's pinout varies, see Serial_debugging#Main_board_UART_on_exynos_devices. Pad number 1 where the tiny triangle is pointing, and TX (from manta's perspective) is then pad 10, and RX pad 12. The device uses 1.8 V signal strength here.

GPU Acceleration

The Google Nexus 10 has a Mali T604 GPU which originally shipped with quite old binary drivers. These don't work in postmarketOS and cannot be maintained anyway. Mesa provides the panfrost driver, which is an open source reimplementation.

The open source driver is lacking support for newer OpenGL versions, therefore forcing some applications into software rendering. This cripples performance in tasks like web browsing. Using Chromium instead of Firefox might help. Also the driver has some issues in particular with the framebuffer. Expect some flickering.

Battery

The device has aged considerably. Batteries in these devices have a good chance of being nearly unusable or completely dead. To make matters worse, buying replacements from well-known vendors seems impossible. There are some cheap no-name brands available on import vendors.

Display

The display works quite nicely. Ambient light dependent brightness also works. Currently, some error messages might pop up in the kernel log files when turning the display on and off with the power button. There are no functional problems known.

The touchpanel is working flawlessly but there is no haptic feedback at the moment.

Rear panel

The Nexus 10 shipped with a soft touch coating on the rear. The material is prone to degradation and will get sticky.

Audio

Audio support is quite new in the kernel and not perfect. The kernel message buffer might be spammed by FIFO-errors regarding the wm1811 audio codec. This is a known issue. Also there is crackling when locking and unlocking the device.

If there is seemingly no sound, setting the output device to internal speakers and increasing the volume should resolve the issue.

Charging

Charging the device seems to work well. Phosh sometimes shows no charging icon as if the tablet got unplugged. This happens when the device uses more current than is available via the micro-USB port.

Sleep

Currently, there are issues with the kernel going to sleep and not waking up anymore. This can partially be mitigated by disabling sleep altogether. Turning the tablet off or leaving it plugged in is advisable when not in use, especially when the device has a weak battery. Sometimes the kernel seems to go to sleep regardless of energy options. This happens with flip covers too. A hard reset might be needed to reboot. To peform a hard reset, hold down the power button for a longer amount of time. The device should vibrate, indicating a successful boot.

Dock Connector

The Nexus 10 had a dock available. It got connected by magnets and pogo-pins and might offered faster charging and probably USB capabilities. There are some 3D printable versions available for use with an adapter cable. Sadly, no such cables can be bought anymore rendering the dock connector unusable.

HDMI Out

The device provides HDMI output on the opposite edge to it's micro-USB connector. A micro-HDMI adapter is necessary.

Links