Samsung Galaxy Core Prime VE LTE (samsung-coreprimevelte)

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Note This is one specific Galaxy Core Prime hardware revision. For an overview, see Samsung Galaxy Core Prime
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime VE LTE
Manufacturer Samsung
Name Galaxy Core Prime VE LTE
Codename samsung-coreprimevelte
Released 2014
Category testing
Original software Android 5.1.1 on Linux 3.14.27
postmarketOS kernel 3.14.27
Hardware
Chipset Marvell PXA1908
CPU Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Vivante GC7000UL
Display 480x800
Storage 8 GB
Memory 1 GB
Architecture aarch64
Features
USB Networking
Works
Flashing
Broken
Touchscreen
Works
Display
Works
WiFi
Broken
FDE
Mainline
Partial
Battery
3D Acceleration
Audio
Bluetooth
Camera
GPS
Mobile data
SMS
Calls
USB OTG
NFC
Sensors
Accelerometer
Magnetometer
Ambient Light
Proximity
Hall Effect
Barometer
Power Sensor
Misc
Camera Flash
Keyboard
Touchpad
USB-A
HDMI/DP
Ir TX
Unavailable
Ir RX
Stylus
Haptics
Ethernet
FOSS bootloader



This device is based on the Marvell PXA1908.
See the SoC page for common tips, guides and troubleshooting steps

Users owning this device


Mainline

Kernel tree with very basic support is available here.

Trying (and failing) to boot initramfs

Apparently, the PXA1908 chipset is also known as IAP140, as you can see here.

Downstream

It's possible to compile the Samsung-provided downstream kernel with some config changes (arch/arm64/configs/pxa1908_coreprimevelte_eur_defconfig should be used as a defconfig):

CONFIG_CRYPTO_XTS should be set, and CONFIG_ANDROID_PARANOID_NETWORK should be unset. These are required by postmarketOS.

CONFIG_OPTIMIZE_FOR_SIZE should be set, or the boot image will be too big for the partition.

The concatenated dtb blob should be generated with https://github.com/osm0sis/pxa-mkbootimg, because the G361F's chipset is a bit different.

Flashing

The device can be put in flashing mode by powering it on while pressing the POWER + HOME + VOLUME DOWN buttons simultaneously, and answering the appearing question by pressing VOLUME UP.

As of now, pmbootstrap flasher flash_kernel works correctly, but flash_rootfs errors out with Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!. As some Samsung devices seem to check whether the flashed payload is valid, it's possible that the device denies the image because of the "weird" partitioning scheme (the system image is partitioned into two filesystems).

Flashing via recovery zip works.

Booting

The SM-G361F uses the Marvell PXA1908 chipset, which uses a nonstandard boot.img and dtb format, handled by pxa-mkbootimg.

Additionally, the device requires a legacy U-Boot kernel image as the kernel in boot.img, with a quirk: the image name must be exactly pxa1928dkb linux. With this parameter overridden, the device boots successfully into the postmarketOS kernel, and USB networking is available, however it automatically reboots after around 3-4 minutes of uptime. This is yet to be investigated.

UART

UART over the microUSB connector can be enabled by putting a 150K or 619K resistor between the ID and GND pins. The device TX will be on the D- pin, and RX will be on the D+ pin. A 619K will power on the device as soon as the UART cable is connected, while a 150K won't. Signal level is 1.8V.

See also