Samsung Galaxy Tab E 7.0 (SM-T116) (samsung-goyave3g)
| This device has been tested with postmarketOS, but its device package has not yet been added to the postmarketOS repositories. This means that it cannot be selected in pmbootstrap. Status: Kernel compiles, boots | 
|  Galaxy Tab E 7.0 running XFCE4 | |
| Manufacturer | Samsung | 
|---|---|
| Name | Galaxy Tab E 7.0 Galaxy Tab 3V Lite | 
| Codename | samsung-goyave3g | 
| Model | SM-T116BU | 
| Released | 2015 | 
| Type | tablet | 
| Hardware | |
| Chipset | Spreadtrum SC8830 | 
| CPU | 4x 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 | 
| GPU | Mali-400MP | 
| Display | 600x1024 TFT | 
| Storage | 8GB | 
| Memory | 1GB | 
| Architecture | armv7 | 
| Software | |
| Original software The software and version the device was shipped with. | Android (TouchWiz) 4.4.4 | 
| Extended version The most recent supported version from the manufacturer. | Android (TouchWiz) | 
| FOSS bootloader | no | 
| postmarketOS | |
| Category | downstream | 
| 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. | 3.10.17 | 
| Unixbench score Unixbench Whetstone/Dhrystone score. See Unixbench. | 793.6 | 
| Flashing Whether it is possible to flash the device with  pmbootstrap flasher. | 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. | Works | 
| Screen Whether the display works; ideally with sleep mode and brightness control. | Partial | 
| Touchscreen | Partial | 
| Multimedia | |
| 3D Acceleration | Broken | 
| Audio Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons. | Partial | 
| Camera | Broken | 
| Connectivity | |
| WiFi | Partial | 
| Bluetooth | Broken | 
| 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 | 
| Power Sensor Sensor to monitor current, voltage and power. Not fuel gauge! | Untested | 
Contributors
Users owning this device
- JoseskVolpe (Notes: Running stock ROM, testing PostMarketOS)
How to enter flash mode
- Download mode: + +
- Recovery mode: + +
Installation
$ pmbootstrap flasher flash_rootfs  # to install system
$ pmbootstrap flasher flash_kernel  # to install kernel
Boot
Boot screen is broken after Spreadtrum video patches are applied, but system boots normally.
Display
- Needs this and this patch for Xorg to work properly.
- After applying sprdfb-fix-swapped-colors.patch the boot screen breaks. Xorg works after system is booted. (plymouth)
- Using msm-fb-refresher
- Adjusting screen brightness works.
Touchscreen
Touchscreen goes to opposite locations.
SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{phys}=="1-0048/input0", ENV{LIBINPUT_CALIBRATION_MATRIX}="0 1 0 -1 0 1"
adding this to /etc/udev/rules.d/00-touchscreen-dev.rules maybe work.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Needs proprietary firmware (BCM43438).
Current status: Firmware loads, wlan0 shows up and networks are identified, but module crashes while attempting to connect to any network.
nmcli throws:
Error: Connection activation failed: The device could not be readied for configuration.
Findings
- The kernel doesn't requires modules, but requires 4 files to be extracted: bcmdhd_sta.bin, nvram_net.txt, nvram_mfg_DCXO.txt, nvram_net_DCXO.txt.
- Needs to change CONFIG_BCMDHD_FW_PATH and CONFIG_BCMDHD_NVRAM_PATH on config files to PostmarketOS' relative path.
- Kernel's files in arch/arm/boot/dts/ needs to be patched to use PostmarketOS' relative paths for nv_path and nv_mfg_path
- There are 2 proprietary binary files relative to BCM4343 in Android stock ROM at /system/vendor/firmware, but they don't seem to be needed: BCM43430A1_001.002.009.0013.0017_ORC_Goya_VE_37_4MHz.hcd and goyave3gREV02/BCM43430A1_001.002.009.0013.0015_ORC_Goya_VE.hcd
- Building driver as module and loading on boot gives this error:
dhd_module_init in [ 11.043701] [c3] no wifi platform data, skip [ 11.043731] [c3] DHD wifi platform data is required for Android build
Camera
Needs proprietary firmware.
Audio
- Needs soc-sprd-audio-sc8830
- Back speaker works
- Headphone works
- Frontal speaker not tested
- Microphone works (both handset and headset), but is really low.
- Sometimes audio won't work, specially after booting the device. Connecting headphone and disconnecting fixes that
PulseAudio
Edit default ALSA card and device in /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf, then reboot
defaults.ctl.card sprdphone defaults.pcm.card sprdphone defaults.pcm.device sprdphone
Alternatively, you may also add these lines at /etc/asound.conf instead:
defaults.ctl.card 1 defaults.pcm.card 1 defaults.pcm.device 1
After that, PulseAudio successfully connects to Spreadtrum audio card. However, playing sounds freezes the audio buffer, playing a continuous buzz. Microphone doesn't works either. To fix that, find the following line in /etc/pulse/default.pa and disable timer-based schedulling:
load-module module-udev-detect tsched=0
3D Acceleration
Needs proprietary Mali driver, or attempt to setup open-source Lima driver on this good old manufacturer kernel.
Additional notes
- Contributor is currently unable to upstream due to issues about GitLab requesting sensitive information.
- Firewall doesn't works: Downstream kernel doesn't supports nftables