Difference between revisions of "PinePhone Installation Instructions"

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# Download your chosen image from [[PinePhone Software Releases]]
# Download your chosen image from [[PinePhone Software Releases]]
# Extract the compressed file
# Extract the compressed file
# Write the image to your SD card, see below
# Write the image to your microSD card, see below
# Plug SD card into phone (make sure to use the top slot. NOT the bottom one)
# Plug microSD card into phone (make sure to use the top slot. NOT the bottom one)
# Boot phone
# Boot phone


If you need step-by-step instructions for writing an image to an SD card, check [[NOOB#Step-by-Step_Instructions_to_Flashing_MicroSD_Cards|the NOOB guide]], then return to this page.
If you need step-by-step instructions for writing an image to an microSD card, check [[NOOB#Step-by-Step_Instructions_to_Flashing_MicroSD_Cards|the NOOB guide]], then return to this page.


=== Flashing the microSD ===
=== Flashing the microSD ===
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The internal eMMC flash storage can be flashed using the Jumpdrive utility by Danct12 and Martijn from postmarketOS.
The internal eMMC flash storage can be flashed using the Jumpdrive utility by Danct12 and Martijn from postmarketOS.
This utility boots from micro SD and exposes the internal eMMC flash storage when the PinePhone is connected to a computer.
This utility boots from micro SD and exposes the internal eMMC flash storage when the PinePhone is connected to a computer.
The process of flashing an OS to the exposed and mounted eMMC is identical to that of any other storage medium - e.g. a SD card. You can use the <i>dd</i> command or a utility such as Etcher or Gnome Disks, etc.
The process of flashing an OS to the exposed and mounted eMMC is identical to that of any other storage medium - e.g. a microSD card. You can use the <i>dd</i> command or a utility such as Etcher or Gnome Disks, etc.


Latest Jumpdrive can be found [https://github.com/dreemurrs-embedded/Jumpdrive/releases/ here].
Latest Jumpdrive can be found [https://github.com/dreemurrs-embedded/Jumpdrive/releases/ here].


# Download and extract [https://github.com/dreemurrs-embedded/Jumpdrive/releases the Jumpdrive image]
# Download and extract [https://github.com/dreemurrs-embedded/Jumpdrive/releases the Jumpdrive image]
# Flash the Jumpdrive image to a micro SD card
# Flash the Jumpdrive image to a microSD card
# Boot the PinePhone from the Jumpdrive micro SD card
# Boot the PinePhone from the Jumpdrive microSD card
# Connect the PinePhone to your computer using USB-A -> USB-C cable
# Connect the PinePhone to your computer using USB-A -> USB-C cable
# Flash the exposed PinePhone drive (e.g. /dev/mm..., check for the right device in dmesg, GNOME disks, or similar, and make sure it's unmounted) with your chosen OS image
# Flash the exposed PinePhone drive (e.g. /dev/mm..., check for the right device in dmesg, GNOME disks, or similar, and make sure it's unmounted) with your chosen OS image
# Once the flashing process is complete, disconnect the PinePhone from your PC, power it down and remove the Jumpdrive SD card
# Once the flashing process is complete, disconnect the PinePhone from your PC, power it down and remove the Jumpdrive microSD card
# The process is now finished, and you can boot from eMMC
# The process is now finished, and you can boot from eMMC


The Jumpdrive image is smaller than 50MB. You can keep an SD card specifically for using Jumpdrive, and there are 64MB micro SD cards sold cheaply that will suffice. Jumpdrive also acts as a rescue image in case if you messed up your installation. To do so, you can telnet to '''172.16.42.1''', mount rootfs and fix it!
The Jumpdrive image is smaller than 50MB. You can keep an microSD card specifically for using Jumpdrive, and there are 64MB microSD cards sold cheaply that will suffice. Jumpdrive also acts as a rescue image in case if you messed up your installation. To do so, you can telnet to '''172.16.42.1''', mount rootfs and fix it!


=== From the booted microSD OS ===
=== From the booted microSD OS ===


# Flash an OS to the SD card (and optionally resize the partition, see below)
# Flash an OS to the microSD card (and optionally resize the partition, see below)
# Insert SD card and boot the phone
# Insert microSD card and boot the phone
# Download the desired OS' image on the booted OS or transfer it to the SD card
# Download the desired OS' image on the booted OS or transfer it to the microSD card
# Extract the image file if it is archived
# Extract the image file if it is archived
# Flash the image file to eMMC using <code>dd if=new-pinephone-image.img of=/dev/mmcblkX bs=1M status=progress conv=fsync</code> where X is the number label of the eMMC (of the disk, not the partition!). Use the command ''lsblk'' to check your devices: typically with the current kernel the SD card is /dev/mmcblk0 and the eMMC is /dev/mmcblk2 but as always with ''dd'' be extremely cautious to get the devices correct.  
# Flash the image file to eMMC using <code>dd if=new-pinephone-image.img of=/dev/mmcblkX bs=1M status=progress conv=fsync</code> where X is the number label of the eMMC (of the disk, not the partition!). Use the command ''lsblk'' to check your devices: typically with the current kernel the microSD card is /dev/mmcblk0 and the eMMC is /dev/mmcblk2 but as always with ''dd'' be extremely cautious to get the devices correct.  
# Turn off phone, remove SD card and then turn on the phone.
# Turn off phone, remove microSD card and then turn on the phone.


=== From the booted microSD OS (risky) ===
=== From the booted microSD OS (risky) ===
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{{Warning|This copies a mounted filesystem, which can lead to instability, erratic behavior, and data corruption.}}
{{Warning|This copies a mounted filesystem, which can lead to instability, erratic behavior, and data corruption.}}


# Prepare a new SD card, flash desired OS to the SD card
# Prepare a new microSD card, flash desired OS to the microSD card
# Boot the phone with your new SD card image
# Boot the phone with your new microSD card image
# Within the booted OS, flash/clone the running OS to eMMC, e.g. using dd. It will take about 15 minutes (depending on the speed of your card), and in the end it may show an error about not enough space - just ignore it.
# Within the booted OS, flash/clone the running OS to eMMC, e.g. using dd. It will take about 15 minutes (depending on the speed of your card), and in the end it may show an error about not enough space - just ignore it.
# Turn off phone, take out SD card, and try booting the phone which should load up the new OS from eMMC.
# Turn off phone, take out microSD card, and try booting the phone which should load up the new OS from eMMC.
# Open terminal and resize partition to fill up entire disk (see below).
# Open terminal and resize partition to fill up entire disk (see below).


=== SD to eMMC via installer ===
=== SD to eMMC via installer ===


postmarketOS installer images booted from SD card will simply ask the user, if they want to install to eMMC. The feature lives in the distro-agnostic calamares-extensions repository (see [https://github.com/calamares/calamares-extensions/pull/7 calamares-extensions#7]), so other distributions might adopt this in the future.
postmarketOS installer images booted from microSD card will simply ask the user, if they want to install to eMMC. The feature lives in the distro-agnostic calamares-extensions repository (see [https://github.com/calamares/calamares-extensions/pull/7 calamares-extensions#7]), so other distributions might adopt this in the future.


== Resize partition to fit disk space ==
== Resize partition to fit disk space ==
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{{Hint|Many OSes already include a script, which is resizing the partition on first boot, where this step is not required.}}
{{Hint|Many OSes already include a script, which is resizing the partition on first boot, where this step is not required.}}


Once you've flashed the OS to your SD card or eMMC storage, you may also need to expand the partition to fill all the available space.
Once you've flashed the OS to your microSD card or eMMC storage, you may also need to expand the partition to fill all the available space.


=== Resize SD card's partition using computer ===
=== Resize SD card's partition using computer ===


For SD cards, insert the SD card and resize the partitions through the computer. For eMMC, insert the phone cable and use Jumpdrive to access the eMMC directly, and resize the partition after flashing the image. To do the flashing you have two options:
For microSD cards, insert the microSD card and resize the partitions through the computer. For eMMC, insert the phone cable and use Jumpdrive to access the eMMC directly, and resize the partition after flashing the image. To do the flashing you have two options:


====Using Growpart ====
====Using Growpart ====
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====Using Parted ====
====Using Parted ====


Parted's interactive mode and resize work well together. Do this before you put your SD card into the PinePhone for the first time for best results.
Parted's interactive mode and resize work well together. Do this before you put your microSD card into the PinePhone for the first time for best results.


  sudo parted /dev/<your_sd_card_device>
  sudo parted /dev/<your_sd_card_device>
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=== Resize from within PinePhone ===
=== Resize from within PinePhone ===


eMMC: you would need to resize the partition on eMMC (flashed with the operating system) by booting another image from the SD card: that way, the eMMC will be unmounted. It is '''not recommended''' to resize eMMC while booted from eMMC! Resizing a currently mounted partition can have weird results. If you booted from the SD card, you can follow the above guidelines on how to resize from a computer.  
eMMC: you would need to resize the partition on eMMC (flashed with the operating system) by booting another image from the microSD card: that way, the eMMC will be unmounted. It is '''not recommended''' to resize eMMC while booted from eMMC! Resizing a currently mounted partition can have weird results. If you booted from the microSD card, you can follow the above guidelines on how to resize from a computer.  


SD card: It is generally not possible to boot from eMMC to partition the unmounted SD card, because of the boot order - you would have to write the image to the empty SD card first, then resize partition, all without rebooting. It is also '''not recommended''' to resize the SD card while booted from SD card! Resizing a currently mounted partition can have weird results.
MicroSD card: It is generally not possible to boot from eMMC to partition the unmounted microSD card, because of the boot order - you would have to write the image to the empty microSD card first, then resize partition, all without rebooting. It is also '''not recommended''' to resize the microSD card while booted from microSD card! Resizing a currently mounted partition can have weird results.


== Reuse SD card for data storage on system booting from eMMC==
== Reuse SD card for data storage on system booting from eMMC==
Once you have installed your release of choice to eMMC, you may wish to use an SD card for data storage. If you choose to re-use a card you have previously used to boot from, you will find your phone will not boot if you just reformat the card and insert it. This is because the Allwinner firmware in the PinePhone uses some (normally) unused space at the front of the SD card to store boot software, which you need to clear.
Once you have installed your release of choice to eMMC, you may wish to use an microSD card for data storage. If you choose to re-use a card you have previously used to boot from, you will find your phone will not boot if you just reformat the card and insert it. This is because the Allwinner firmware in the PinePhone uses some (normally) unused space at the front of the microSD card to store boot software, which you need to clear.


This can be done as follows on any linux system:
This can be done as follows on any linux system:
  lsblk
  lsblk
to check the device of your SD card – as an example lets assume it is /dev/mmcblk0
to check the device of your microSD card – as an example lets assume it is /dev/mmcblk0
then
then
  sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<your_sd_card_device> bs=8k seek=1 count=4
  sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<your_sd_card_device> bs=8k seek=1 count=4