EXOTIC SILICON
“Putting a BSD system in your pocket”
Crystal installs OpenBSD on the Pinephone
OpenBSD on the Pinephone
Installing OpenBSD on the Pinephone might seem straightforward, as the hardware is essentially just an arm-based SBC with a built in screen and modem. The Allwinner A64 SoC is supported by the OpenBSD kernel, so we can at least expect it to boot.
However, no specific support for the Pinephone hardware is included in the most recent OpenBSD release at the time of writing, making it unlikely that we'll get much beyond output via the serial terminal.
Furthermore, unlike many SBCs, the Pinephone doesn't have an on-board ethernet connection. This will make the installation slightly more complicated, as we can't install the base packages from a local network server.
Nevertheless, if OpenBSD is ever going to run in a usable fashion on the Pinephone we need to start somewhere.
WARNING
The information presented on these pages is NOT intended to be followed as a guide to installing OpenBSD on your own Pinephone device, and must not be used for this purpose.
Unlike most SBCs, the Pinephone contains a rechargeable battery intended to power the device. Correct configuration of the charging circuits, including various safety features such as thermal protection will not be enabled by the current OpenBSD kernel as of the time of writing.
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Part 1
Building the installation media and installing.
Part 2
Booting the completed installation and information gathering.
Part 3
Starting to debug USB issues.
Part 4
Investigating errors from sxirsb.
Part 5
Controlling the LEDs and vibration motor.
Part 6
PMIC and battery charging.
Part 7
External keyboard battery.