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Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (WiFi) (samsung-v1awifi)

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Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (WiFi)
v1awifi with the xfce GUI
v1awifi with the xfce GUI
Manufacturer Samsung
Name Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (WiFi)
Codename samsung-v1awifi
Released 2014
Type tablet
Hardware
Chipset Samsung Exynos 5420
CPU 4x1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 and 4x1.3 GHz Cortex-A7
GPU Mali-T628 MP6
Display 2560x1600
Storage 32/64 GB
Memory 3 GB
Architecture armv7
Software
Original software
The software and version the device was shipped with.
Android 5.1.1
Extended version
The most recent supported version from the manufacturer.
Android
FOSS bootloader partial
postmarketOS
Category testing
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.
6.12.63
Unixbench score
Unixbench Whetstone/Dhrystone score. See Unixbench.
1956.5
Device package device-samsung-v1awifi
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
SD card
Also includes other external storage cards.
Works
Battery
Whether charging and battery level reporting work.
Partial
Screen
Whether the display works; ideally with sleep mode and brightness control.
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Stylus
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Partial
Audio
Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons.
Broken
Camera
Broken
IR TX
Broken
IR RX
Broken
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
Partial
GPS
Broken
Miscellaneous
FDE
Full disk encryption and unlocking with unl0kr.
Works
USB OTG
USB On-The-Go or USB-C Role switching.
Broken
HDMI/DP
Video and audio output with HDMI or DisplayPort.
Broken
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
Hall Effect
Measures magnetic fields; usually used as a flip cover sensor
Works
Haptics
Broken
Power Sensor
Sensor to monitor current, voltage and power. Not fuel gauge!
Works
U-Boot
Primary Bootloader
Whether it is possible to replace stock bootloader with U-Boot.
Broken
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.
Broken
USB Peripheral
Whether it is possible to use device as a peripheral in U-Boot, e.g. for fastboot mode.
Broken
Display
Works
Buttons
Whether it is possible to navigate in boot menu or grub with volume and power buttons.
Works

Contributors

  • Grimler
  • AAT596

Maintainer(s)

  • AAT596
  • Grimler

Requirements

The device needs to have an unlocked bootloader (OEM unlock state).

The device also needs to have TWRP installed (tested with version 3.4.0).

Users owning this device

  • Ayaan( HaxDroid)


How to enter flash mode

Press and hold Power + Volume Down + Home. Press Volume Up when prompted.

Mainline information

Installation

U-Boot

Note U-Boot currently can only boot automatically from USERDATA partition or sd-card!
Note The sd-card has a higher boot priority than the USERDATA partition
Note Currently, U-Boot requires up to 1 minute to boot an EFI file. During that time, the screen remains on the boot screen. 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 the image for your device from https://gitlab.com/exynos5-mainline/u-boot/-/releases
  2. Then flash with heimdall:
    • heimdall flash --BOOT u-boot-samsung-v1a-wifi.img

A simple boot menu can be entered through holding Volume Down after power up.

U-Boot can be updated through the use of the update-u-boot script that's part of the u-boot-exynos5420 package.

postmarketOS

Follow the instructions on Installation/Using pmbootstrap to install it either on sdcard or the USERDATA partition.

Hardware status

Status for Mainline (M) kernel:

Based on deviceinfohw.ru:

Status (M) Hardware Info (M)
Y Booting boot.img has restriction of approx 8MB, which is /boot partition size.
Y USB Networking The device is recognized by the computer if it's connected by USB.
Y Panel Samsung INH_LSL122DL01 for panel is used.
Y Touchscreen Atmel MXT1664S panel for touchscreen is used.
Y SD Card MicroSD card recognition.
Y eMMC Samsung BWBC3R for eMMC is used.
N GPS
Y WiFi Broadcom BCM4339 for WiFi is used.
P Bluetooth Broadcom BCM4339 for Bluetooth is used.
Y GPIO keys
N Battery and Charger Charger sec-fuelgauge is used.
P PMIC Maxim 77802 (max77802) and Maxim 77803 (max77803) for PMIC are used.
N Sound ASoC: arizona for audio is used.
N Voice processor
Y Thermal sensor
Y Color sensor Capella Micro CM3323 for color sensor is used (Color Sensor with I2C Interface).
Y Accelerometer Bosch Sensortec BMA255 for accelerometer is used.
Y Magnetometer Asahi Kasei Microsystems AK8963C for magnetometer is used.
Y Gyroscope Bosch Sensortec BMG160 for gyroscope is used.
N Front/rear camera Samsung S5K6B2, Sony IMX134 and I2C S5K6B2YX 2M camera sensor are used.
P GPU ARM Mali-T628 MP6 for GPU is used.
Accessories Hardware Info (M)
N NotePRO 12.2/TabPRO 12.2 Galaxy Keyboard Cover Model EE-CP905UBEGUJ
Y Galaxy TabPro Pen Model EJ-PW700CBEGUJ

Downstream information

What does not work

  • KDE Plasma (boots into black screen)
  • Any DE that uses Wayland
  • Stylus
  • Touchscreen stops working after some minutes of uptime and after reboot

Installation

Create TWRP flashable zip:

$ pmbootstrap install --android-recovery-zip
$ pmbootstrap export

Run adb push /tmp/postmarketOS-export/pmos-samsung-v1awifi.zip to copy zip to the device, reboot to twrp and install the zip and then reboot to system.

Some detailed observations

Booting XFCE UI:

  • Booting is extremely slow. It stays in the Samsung splash screen for a minute and a half and then starts booting pmOS. However, if I connect the charger when the tablet is powered off, it displays the charging icon as usual, and then starts booting pmOS immediately.
  • Sometimes the screen goes black for a split second and then it returns to normal.
  • Cannot boot into weston somehow. Seems that the interface does not work here. It seems common between other devices that share the same kernel (any DE that uses Wayland).
  • Create a file called /etc/X11/Xwrapper.config with the line `needs_root_rights=yes` to get X working.
  • The tablet freezes when the device is powered off or rebooted (from terminal and from XFCE UI).
  • After a couple of minutes (if using XFCE UI), the tablet is frozen entirely.
  • SSH does not work. If the command `sudo service sshd status` is executed on terminal, system tells me that SSH is currently loaded and functioning. However, it does not seem to work from USB (172.16.42.1) nor from WiFi. Nevertheless, telnet works.
  • I see slightly wrong colors on images.

Booting with MATE makes some differences:

  • The UI does not freeze after a couple of minutes.
  • Reboot/Shutdown works (only via UI).

Additional info

Unixbench results

========================================================================
   BYTE UNIX Benchmarks (Version 6.0.0)

   System: samsung-v1awifi: Linux
   OS: Linux -- 7.0.7-postmarketos-exynos5 -- #145 SMP PREEMPT Fri May 15 08:28:54 UTC 2026
   Machine: armv7l (unknown)
   Language: en_US.utf8 (charmap="UTF-8", collate=)
   CPU 0: ARMv7 Processor rev 3 (v7l) (108.0 bogomips)
          
   CPU 1: ARMv7 Processor rev 3 (v7l) (108.0 bogomips)
          
   CPU 2: ARMv7 Processor rev 3 (v7l) (108.0 bogomips)
          
   CPU 3: ARMv7 Processor rev 3 (v7l) (108.0 bogomips)
          
   18:47:50 up 3 min,  0 users,  load average: 1.74, 1.53, 0.67; runlevel 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark Run: Fri May 15 2026 18:47:50 - 18:52:32
4 CPUs in system; running 1 parallel copy of tests

Dhrystone 2 using register variables        7510362.1 lps   (10.0 s, 7 samples)
Double-Precision Whetstone                     2528.1 MWIPS (9.8 s, 7 samples)

System Benchmarks Partial Index              BASELINE       RESULT    INDEX
Dhrystone 2 using register variables         116700.0    7510362.1    643.6
Double-Precision Whetstone                       55.0       2528.1    459.6
                                                                   ========
System Benchmarks Index Score (Partial Only)                          543.9

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark Run: Fri May 15 2026 18:52:32 - 18:57:30
4 CPUs in system; running 4 parallel copies of tests

Dhrystone 2 using register variables       25740519.8 lps   (10.0 s, 7 samples)
Double-Precision Whetstone                     9545.0 MWIPS (10.3 s, 7 samples)

System Benchmarks Partial Index              BASELINE       RESULT    INDEX
Dhrystone 2 using register variables         116700.0   25740519.8   2205.7
Double-Precision Whetstone                       55.0       9545.0   1735.5
                                                                   ========
System Benchmarks Index Score (Partial Only)                         1956.5

See also