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Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016)

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Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016)
Running XFCE4 on SM-T580
Running XFCE4 on SM-T580
Manufacturer Samsung
Name Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016)
Codename samsung-gtaxl/samsung-gtanotexl
Model SM-T580
SM-T585
SM-P580
SM-P585
Released 2016
Type tablet
Hardware
Chipset Samsung Exynos 7870 Octa
CPU 4x1.6 GHz Cortex-A53
4x1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Mali-T830 MP1
Display 1200 x 1920 PLS LCD @ 60 Hz, 10.1"
Storage 16/32GB
Memory 2/3GB
Architecture aarch64
Software
Original software
The software and version the device was shipped with.
Android 6
(TouchWiz Essence 2.0)
Extended version
The most recent supported version from the manufacturer.
Android 8.1
(Samsung Experience 9.5)
postmarketOS
Category downstream
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.
no
pmOS kernel
The kernel version that runs on the device's port.
3.18.140
Device package device-samsung-gtaxlwifi
Kernel package linux-samsung-gtaxlwifi
Features
Flashing
Whether it is possible to flash the device with pmbootstrap flasher.
Untested
USB Networking
After connecting the device with USB to your PC, you can connect to it via telnet (initramfs) or SSH (booted system).
Untested
Internal storage
eMMC, SD cards, UFS...
Untested
SD card
Also includes other external storage cards.
Untested
Battery
Whether charging and battery level reporting work.
Untested
Screen
Whether the display works; ideally with sleep mode and brightness control.
Untested
Touchscreen
Untested
Stylus
Untested
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Untested
Audio
Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons.
Untested
Camera
Untested
Connectivity
WiFi
Untested
Bluetooth
Untested
GPS
Untested
Modem
Calls
Untested
SMS
Untested
Mobile data
Untested
Miscellaneous
FDE
Full disk encryption and unlocking with unl0kr.
Untested
USB OTG
USB On-The-Go or USB-C Role switching.
Untested
Sensors
Accelerometer
Handles automatic screen rotation in many interfaces.
Untested
Ambient Light
Measures the light level; used for automatic screen dimming in many interfaces.
Untested
Hall Effect
Measures magnetic fields; usually used as a flip cover sensor
Untested

Contributors

Maintainers

Users owning this device

  • BlackEyedSquid (Notes: SM-P580 WiFi + S-Pen variant)
  • N4vsk1d (Notes: SM-T580, Unlocked)
  • Shokifrend77 (Notes: SM-T580, may or may not have given up on mainlineing it)

Variants

Model Number Codename Feature
T580 gtaxlwifi WiFi
T585 gtaxllte LTE
P580 gtanotexlwifi WiFi + S-Pen
P585 gtanotexllte LTE + S-Pen

Status

Features
Component Model The driver is available? Notes
Charging controller ? ?
Screen ? ?
Touchscreen ? ?
Touchkeys ? ?
Stylus ? ?
Audio
Speakers ? ?
Microphone ? ?
Camera sensors ? ? Main
? ? Front
Accelerometer ? ?
Ambient Light ? ?

Install TWRP

  • Dowload the TWRP image
  • Press Volume down + home + power to enter Download mode
  • Flash the Recovery
 $ heimdall flash --RECOVERY twrp-version_branch-codename.img

To boot into TWRP press Volume up + home + power

Installation

Note Flashing with heimdall gets stuck, so adb sideloading has to be used.

Install from the recovery zip installer

  • Install TWRP on your device
  • Configure the image
Note Weston and Plasma-Mobile does not launch, XFCE4 work
Note If a UI is used the following additional package has to be added during pmbootstrap init msm-fb-refresher
 $ pmbootstrap init
  • Prepare the installation
 $ pmbootstrap install --android-recovery-zip
  • In TWRP go to Advanced->Sideload and flash the image on the tablet
 $ pmbootstrap flasher --method=adb sideload

Issues

Stuck on "Starting...", screen frozen

The screen might get stuck on the pmOS loading screen with the logo and frozen circles in the middle and the text Starting... below, just before opening LightDM.

To fix this, one can add/change the following in /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf as described in CanGraphical issue on Display_manager:

 logind-check-graphical=false

Red and Blue are swapped

As you can see in the Screenshot, the color format is wrong. The xfce4 theme color is blue by default instead of yellow as can be seen here. This could probably be fixed by following Display/Troubleshooting.

Long boot time

User:Shokifrend77's xfce4 installation spends 3min10sec in the Starting... phase, which seems rather long considering the smoothness of the actual xfce4 desktop. If this is just normal with these sorts of device, please remove this section, but the time is consistently just above 3 minutes, which seems like a default timeout duration or something.

LCD controller warming up

(On User:Shokifrend77's device at least) the bottom half of the device, where the LCD PCB is located, gets noticeably warm after just a few minutes of usage. I'm pretty sure that was not the case with LineageOS running on the same device, but if you can run your device for some time without the bottom half heating up, then it must be just a hardware defect of my device, please remove this section in that case.

LCD not working / Black screen

These tablets have a very loose LCD cable that can end up misaligned very easily, causing the LCD to stop working.

It is recommended to open the device (see iFixit for guides) to make sure the connector is aligned properly, and to add some tape so it won't move.

Serial Port

There is a 12-pin connector like the one described in the Mainboard UART on Exynos devices section on the Serial debugging page. If you look at the device from the back with the microUSB port at the top, the top-right pin is the RX (data going into the device) and the pin left of that is TX (data going out of the device). It operates at 1.8v logic levels, 115200 baud and default format (8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity).

The mainboard with wires attached to the serial bus on the bottom-left. (covered by epoxy for protection)

See also