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Samsung Galaxy Note II (samsung-t03g)

From postmarketOS Wiki
Samsung Galaxy Note II
Samsung Galaxy Note II running Phosh
Samsung Galaxy Note II running Phosh
Manufacturer Samsung
Name Galaxy Note II
Codename samsung-t03g
Model N7100
Released 2012
Type handset
Hardware
Chipset Samsung Exynos 4412 Quad
CPU Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9
GPU Mali-400 MP4
Display 720x1280 AMOLED
Storage 16/32/64 GB
Memory 2 GB
Architecture armv7
Software
Original software Android
Original version
The version the device was shipped with.
4.1.1
Extended version
The most recent supported version from the manufacturer.
4.4.2
FOSS bootloader partial
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.
6.4.2
Unixbench score
Unixbench Whetstone/Dhrystone score. See Unixbench.
890
Features
Flashing
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
Charging and battery level reporting works
Works
Screen
Display works. Ideally with sleep mode and brightness control.
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Stylus
Broken
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Works
Audio
Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons.
Works
Camera
Untested
Camera Flash
Works
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
Partial
GPS
Broken
NFC
Near Field Communication
Untested
Modem
Calls
Broken
SMS
Broken
Mobile data
Broken
Miscellaneous
FDE
Full disk encryption and unlocking with unl0kr.
Works
USB OTG
USB On-The-Go or USB-C Role switching
Partial
HDMI/DP
Video and audio output with HDMI or Display Port works.
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
Haptics
Works
Barometer
Sensor to measure air pressure
Untested
U-Boot
Primary Bootloader
It is possible to replace stock bootloader with U-Boot.
Works
Secondary Bootloader
It is possible to chainload U-Boot from stock bootloader.
Works
Internal Storage
It is possible to boot from internal storage (e.g. eMMC or UFS).
Works
SD card
It is possible to boot from SD card.
Works
USB Host
It is possible to boot from a USB storage or connect a keyboard.
Untested
USB Peripheral
It is possible to use device as a peripheral in U-Boot, e.g. for fastboot mode.
Works
Display
Works
Buttons
It is possible to navigate in boot menu or grub with volume and power buttons.
Works


Contributors

  • Bloo
  • Frost_I7 (I'll try to keep the wiki page up-to-date with the available info when I'm active.)

Users owning this device


Information

Code name of the device is Midas.

For the LTE variant, see this page.

See the Samsung Galaxy S III page for more information.

How to enter flash mode

Hold Power + Volume Down + Home. When prompted, release all buttons and click Volume Up.

How to enter recovery mode

Hold Power + Volume Up + Home. When the Samsung logo appears, release all buttons.

Installation

System Image

You can install the system to an SD card or make a recovery zip (probably won't fit in the partition size).

Note Be warned, the SD card will be formatted.

To install the system to an SD card, use:

$ pmbootstrap install --sdcard=/dev/mmcblk

Kernel Image

Boot into flash mode, then flash the kernel:

$ pmbootstrap flasher flash_kernel

If you have done everything correctly, your Note II should reboot and you should see the Samsung logo. All that remains is to wait for the pmOS splash to appear.

U-Boot

According to this blog, there is a working U-Boot port for the Midas devices. Build it from this repository.

Installation

This manual describes the installation on the SD card as a secondary bootloader.

Clone the repository:

$ git clone https://github.com/fourkbomb/u-boot
$ cd u-boot

Optionally, apply patches made by ave4:

$ git am 000*

Set up the toolchain:

$ export ARCH=arm
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-eabi-

Build U-Boot:

$ make midas_defconfig && make -jN
$ ./create_4412_sd_image.sh u-boot.image

Install pmOS the usual way to the SD card and then flash U-Boot on top of it:

$ dd if=u-boot.image of=/dev/mmcblkN bs=512 skip=1 seek=1

Hardware

Display

Note II has two variants of the display panel. S6EVR02 and EA8061. To find out which panel yours has, run dmesg | grep 'panel driver' in TWRP or in a rooted Android shell (immediately after booting, otherwise the logs will have time to rotate and you won't see this message). Output will be similar to:

<6>[    3.177303] lcd panel: ea8061 lcd panel driver has been probed.

TWRP dmesg is rather verbose. If no result, tap the power button to turn the display on (or off), and try dmesg | grep panel

<6>[  106.148463] c0 lcd panel: s6evr02_check_fb, fb0

eMMC

Partitions

Note This will vary from device to device.
$ sudo parted /dev/mmcblk2 print
Model: MMC VTU00M (sd/mmc)
Disk /dev/mmcblk2: 15.8GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

N7100XXSFQA1 firmware:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 4194kB 8389kB 4194kB BOTA0 msftdata
2 8389kB 12.6MB 4194kB BOTA1 msftdata
3 12.6MB 33.6MB 21.0MB ext4 EFS msftdata
4 33.6MB 37.7MB 4194kB m9kefs1 msftdata
5 37.7MB 41.9MB 4194kB m9kefs2 msftdata
6 41.9MB 46.1MB 4194kB m9kefs3 msftdata
7 46.1MB 54.5MB 8389kB PARAM msftdata
8 54.5MB 62.9MB 8389kB BOOT msftdata
9 62.9MB 71.3MB 8389kB RECOVERY msftdata
10 71.3MB 164MB 92.3MB RADIO msftdata
11 164MB 168MB 4194kB TOMBSTONES msftdata
12 168MB 1602MB 1434MB ext4 CACHE msftdata
13 1602MB 3750MB 2147MB ext4 SYSTEM msftdata
14 3750MB 4337MB 587MB ext4 HIDDEN msftdata
15 4337MB 4345MB 8389kB OTA msftdata
16 4345MB 15.8GB 11.4GB ext4 USERDATA msftdata

USB

OTG

USB OTG only works in the host mode, which requires changing "dr_mode" from "peripheral" to "host" in the device tree.

Notes: Device itself can be charged in the host mode, but you'll need to have an external power source to power the USB device.

Downstream

Note This section is left for informational purposes only.

Original kernel version: 3.0.31

LineageOS kernel version: 3.0.101

S Pen

To get the S Pen working, you may need to do the following:

  • Put the following lines to /etc/udev/hwdb.d/60-evdev.hwdb:
evdev:name:*e-pen*
EVDEV_ABS_00=::300
EVDEV_ABS_01=::300
  • Possibly update the hwdb:
$ sudo udevadm hwdb --update
  • Restart the phone.

Gallery

Other

TWRP

Note Only if you still have Android installed. Make sure to boot into recovery mode at least once after flashing it, otherwise it will be overwritten by the default recovery.

Using Heimdall:

$ heimdall flash --RECOVERY TWRP.img --no-reboot

Recommendations

Issues

  • The display brightness is too high when the display turns on.
    • Solution: Change the brightness so it changes to the correct value.
  • The sound output is distorted.
    • Note: It's based on the CPU load.
  • USB OTG doesn't switch modes automatically.
  • Default CPU frequency is only 1.4GHz.
    • Solution: Modify the device tree and add required frequencies.
    • Warning: Do not touch it unless you know what you're doing!

See also