Samsung Galaxy A3 2015 (samsung-a3)
This page is about the dedicated port of this device. There is also an optional generic port available for this device - see Generic MSM8916 (qcom-msm8916). |
![]() Samsung Galaxy A3 (2015) running Plasma Mobile on mainline with hardware accelerated graphics | |
Manufacturer | Samsung |
---|---|
Name | Galaxy A3 (2015) |
Codename | samsung-a3 |
Released | 2014 |
Type | handset |
Hardware | |
Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) |
CPU | 1.2 GHz Quad ARM Cortex-A53 |
GPU | Adreno A306 |
Display | 540x960 AMOLED (AMS452EF01 panel with a S6E88A0 controller) |
Storage |
8GB (All variants except A300FU) 16 GB (A300FU) |
Memory |
1GB (All variants except A300FU) 1.5 GB (A300FU) |
Architecture | aarch64 |
Software | |
Original software The software and version the device was shipped with. |
Android 4.4 |
Extended version The most recent supported version from the manufacturer. |
Android 6.0.1 |
postmarketOS | |
Category | community |
Pre-built images Whether pre-built images are available from the postmarketOS Installation page. |
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. |
Mainline |
Unixbench score Unixbench Whetstone/Dhrystone score. See Unixbench. |
1033.5 |
Optional Generic Port | Generic MSM8916 (qcom-msm8916) |
Device package |
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Kernel package |
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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
|
Battery Whether charging and battery level reporting work. |
Works
|
Screen Whether the display works; ideally with sleep mode and brightness control. |
Partial
|
Touchscreen |
Works
|
Multimedia | |
3D Acceleration |
Works
|
Audio Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons. |
Works
|
Camera |
Untested
|
Connectivity | |
WiFi |
Works
|
Bluetooth |
Works
|
GPS |
Works
|
NFC Near Field Communication |
Works
|
Modem | |
Calls |
Works
|
SMS |
Works
|
Mobile data |
Works
|
Miscellaneous | |
FDE Full disk encryption and unlocking with unl0kr. |
Works
|
USB OTG USB On-The-Go or USB-C Role switching. |
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. |
Broken
|
Proximity |
Broken
|
Hall Effect Measures magnetic fields; usually used as a flip cover sensor |
Works
|
This device is based on the Snapdragon 410. See the SoC page for common tips, guides and troubleshooting steps |
Contributors
Users owning this device
- 0 (Notes: aftermarket screen)
- Bastindo (Notes: works)
- Chappo (Notes: WORKS, Model SM-A300Y Australia, Phosh/Edge Installed)
- Colaur (Notes: Works with pmOS edge and Phosh)
- GloomyJD (Notes: Works, cracked glass)
- Gregorni (Notes: Runs postmarketOS, available for testing)
- Imre (Notes: pmos on sdcard, can't reliably flash internal ROM)
- KenOokamiHoro (Notes: SM-A3000 (China), Dual boot with LineageOS 17.1)
- Lm2 (Notes: postmarket works almost well, testing the operatin'system)
- Maccraft123 (Notes: broken screen :()
- Mis012 (Notes: contributor)
- MMK21 (Notes: Running pmOS Edge + Plasma Mobile)
- PL (Notes: pmOS with Plasma Mobile. Working fine.)
- Siken (Notes: Plasma mobile on stable)
- TravMurav (Notes: SM-A300F, no display)
- WonderfulShrineMaidenOfParadise
Firmware
Architecture
Some variants are released with Kitkat 4.4, which doesn't boot arm64 kernel, so upgrade to Lollipop 5.0 or later first.
Outdated firmware
According to GSMArena, some variants received a build of Android 7.0 Nougat. Needs investigation. Also see #Specifications, #Firmware builds.
Boot modes
Fastboot (lk2nd menu) - hold $ fastboot reboot bootloader
on a connected USB host, or (also lk2nd) - select it on the bootloader menu by pressing or three times, then confirm using
Recovery (using lk2nd) - hold
during boot, or - enter Fastboot mode and select it on the bootloader menu by pressing twice, confirm usingRecovery (using Samsung bootloader) - hold $ adb reboot recovery
on a connected USB host
DFU (Odin/Download) mode - hold $ adb reboot download
on a connected USB host
Hard reset - hold
+Installation
WARNING: Be careful when testing undocumented variants! Remember, we are dealing with Samsung here. |
lk2nd is a secondary bootloader that provides a standard fastboot interface, which can be used to boot postmarketOS without Android boot
flashed or pmbootstrap flasher flash_kernel
.
- Download lk2nd-msm8916.img from Releases page on Github.
- Boot your phone to bootloader (Odin/Download) mode by holding and while powering up.
- Follow lk2nd instructions to install lk2nd. Basically flash it to the boot partition (
heimdall flash --BOOT lk2nd-msm8916.img
) - Follow Qualcomm_Snapdragon_410/412_(MSM8916)#Installation to install postmarketOS.
Note: Enter lk2nd fastboot mode by pressing only | + (without ). Pressing additionally will bring you to the Samsung Download mode.
Desktop environments
GNOME
Currently unusable due to GPU driver/graphics crashes. Includes the mobile version. Should work fine on the edge channel. Has a software #Brightness extension (Soft Brightness Plus) availible through GNOME Extensions.
Phosh
Works. No notable issues. Compositor scaling tool in Mobile Settings is very useful, can also be set using dconf. No #Brightness solution?
Plasma Desktop
Untested? Likely partial. Kirigami Apps may flicker and show a distorted UI! Should work fine on the edge channel. Landscape (horizontal) mode is recommended. Likely to have a software #Brightness solution. Needs testing.
Plasma Mobile
Partial. Plasma works smoothly, but there are some graphical glitches sometimes. Kirigami apps may flicker and show a distorted UI! Should work fine on the edge channel. Includes software #Brightness (overlay dimming effect)!
Works on A5 2015, you should set custom scaling factor to 2. Should be in display settings.
kscreen-doctor output.1.scale.2
should work.
To run this command from ssh session add the following env variables to the above command:
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/10000 QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland kscreen-doctor output.1.scale.2
SXMO
- Sway - Works.
- DWM - Untested? Likely to work.
Has deviceprofile for A5. More should be added.
XFCE
Untested? Likely to work. It runs on almost anything from the last decades. Likely to have a software #Brightness solution. Needs testing.
Audio
Only PulseAudio is working. Automatic device switching is unreliable when using it. See Qualcomm Snapdragon 410/412 (MSM8916)#Audio for instructions. Also see Systemd/audio for more details on PulseAudio.
Note: Playback issues may occur when playing FLAC files at high bitrates. Needs more testing/investigation. |
Audio input devices
- Primary Microphone (Mic1) - Works. (?)
- Secondary Microphone (Mic2) - Works. (?)
- Headset input (AUX) - Works. (?)
Audio output devices
- Earpiece playback - Works.
- Speaker playback - Works.
- Headphones output (AUX) - Works. (?)
Note that the pop up volume bar is always empty in phosh. Could be a UI bug.
WARNING: The speakers are rather loud on 100% volume and may produce distorted sound that may damage your speakers after long use. Please make sure to use reasonable volumes - your ears and your speaker will thank you! |
Bluetooth Audio
Works. Supports A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, and HSP.
Note: Headset microphones may not work below #Bluetooth 5.x. |
DSP
See Qualcomm_Snapdragon_410/412 (MSM8916)#Switching rproc mode for instructions.
Display
Partial. While displaying the UI works fine, adjusting the brightness doesn't work.
Brightness
Currently unsupported. Needs a driver.
WARNING: Beware "burn in" when using an (AM)OLED display on high brightness! Permanent discoloration can occur after consistent long use. Especially on some low quality OLEDs. |
Touch keys
Partial. Should fully work on most variants. See Tm2-touchkey for instructions.
WARNING: Touch keys may not work on Duos variants. Confimed not to be working on SM-A5000. Needs testing. |
Camera
Currently unsupported. You are welcome to try it!
The camera subsystem requires a lot of work. Needs more investigation. |
Flash LED
Currently WIP. It can be controlled with SG Micro SGM3140 charge pump LED driver[1].
Note: Driver seems to be abandoned as of 2025. Needs to be completed. |
Image sensors
Needs more research.
ISP
See Qualcomm Snapdragon 410/412 (MSM8916)#Camera.
WiFi
If your WiFi connection is unstable, consider disabling Bluetooth.
# rfkill block bluetooth
Ambient Light/Proximity Sensor
The driver for cm36652
ambient light/proximity sensor is not available.
Hardware details (hwtest
) for SM-A300F
Category | Model | Path | Status | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
framebuffer | msm | /sys/class/graphics/fb0 | Working | U:540x960p-0 |
drm | /sys/class/drm/card0-DSI-1 | Working | 540x960 | |
magnetometer | bmc150_magn | /sys/bus/iio/devices/iio:device2 | Working | 0.4, -0.52, -0.78 gauss |
accelerometer | bmc150_accel | /sys/bus/iio/devices/iio:device1 | Working | -8.89, -0.94, -4.25 g |
temperature | bmc150_accel | /sys/bus/iio/devices/iio:device1 | Working | 20.5 deg C |
vibrator | pwm-vibrator | /dev/input/event6 | Working | |
input | samsung-a2015 Headset Jack | /dev/input/event7 | Working | |
input | tm2-touchkey | /dev/input/event5 | Working | |
input | Zinitix Capacitive TouchScreen | /dev/input/event4 | Working | |
input | GPIO Hall Effect Sensor | /dev/input/event3 | Working | |
input | GPIO Buttons | /dev/input/event2 | Working | |
input | pm8941_resin | /dev/input/event1 | Working | |
input | pm8941_pwrkey | /dev/input/event0 | Working |
Note: this SM-A300F scored whet_dhry = 915.5,
comparable to other Snapdragon 410.
See also
- Samsung Galaxy A5 2015 (samsung-a5)
- Samsung Galaxy A7 2015 (samsung-a7)
- near-mainline linux fork with device-specific patches
- secondary bootloader based on qcom's/codeaurora's ugly lk fork. Provides fastboot