Jump to content

Samsung Chromebook Plus (google-kevin)

From postmarketOS Wiki
Note This device is supported as part of a generic port. Refer to Google Gru Chromebook (google-gru) for installation instructions and more information.
Samsung Chromebook Plus
Manufacturer Samsung
Name Chromebook Plus
Codename google-kevin
Released 2017
Type convertible
Hardware
Chipset Rockchip RK3399
CPU 4x 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53
2x 2Ghz Cortex-A72
GPU Mali-T860 MP4
Display 2600x1400 IPS
Storage 32 GB
Memory 4 GB
Architecture aarch64
Software
Original software
The software and version the device was shipped with.
ChromeOS
Extended version
The most recent supported version from the manufacturer.
ChromeOS
FOSS bootloader yes
postmarketOS
Category community
Mainline
Instead of a Linux kernel fork, it is possible to run (Close to) Mainline.
yes
Generic port Google Gru Chromebook (google-gru)
Device package device-google-gru
Kernel package linux-postmarketos-rockchip
Features
Internal storage
eMMC, SD cards, UFS...
Works
SD card
Also includes other external storage cards.
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
Keyboard
Whether the built-in physical keyboard works.
Works
Touchpad
Whether the built-in touchpad works.
Works
Stylus
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Works
Audio
Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons.
Works
Camera
Works
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
Works
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.
Partial
Sensors
Accelerometer
Handles automatic screen rotation in many interfaces.
Works
Hall Effect
Measures magnetic fields; usually used as a flip cover sensor
Works
U-Boot
Primary Bootloader
Whether it is possible to replace stock bootloader with U-Boot.
Works
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
SD card
Whether it is possible to boot from SD card.
Works
USB Host
Whether it is possible to boot from a USB storage or connect a keyboard.
Works
Display
Works
Keyboard
Works
Buttons
Whether it is possible to navigate in boot menu or grub with volume and power buttons.
Broken

Users owning this device

  • Anh0516 (Notes: Librebooted)
  • Dragon788 (Notes: several board only systems to build a dev cluster (someday), batteries for a few and a keyboard and screen to attach for initially getting into Dev Mode)
  • Jenneron (Notes: no battery)
  • Owen


U-Boot

See https://github.com/alpernebbi/u-boot/wiki.

Libreboot

https://libreboot.org/docs/install/chromebooks.html

Installing Libreboot will make it easy to install any ARM64 Linux distro; theoretically any sufficiently RK3399-compatible ARM64 UEFI OS should be possible (except Windows, because Windows wants ACPI and not DeviceTree). If using Linux, manually install alsa-ucm-conf-cros and alsa-ucm-conf-google-gru. Without this, audio will not work when resuming from suspend until a reboot.

Make sure to install Libreboot 20241206, and not 25.06. PCIe is broken on 25.06, and therefore WiFi is too. https://codeberg.org/libreboot/lbmk/issues/353 Everything else works, so downgrading isn't a problem if 25.06 was accidentally flashed.

U-Boot's XHCI drivers are buggy and incomplete. As a result, booting from USB may not work. Use a microSD card in the microSD card slot instead.

WiFi performance

The original Marvel 88W8997 firmware seems to perform a little better than the upstream firmware. If desired, it can be copied from lib/firmware/mrvl/pcieusb8997_combo_v4.bin in the 3rd partiton of the stock recovery image, which can be obtained from https://cros.tech.

Overclocking

Overclocking is possible with a device tree overlay. This one increases the maximum clock speed from 2.0GHz/1.5GHz to 2.1GHz/1.7GHz, with an undervolt to compensate, and is mostly stable except under heavy load. However, battery life will likely still be negatively impacted, as the bottom of the chassis gets mildly warm, indicating increased power consumption.