First steps with my Google Nexus-4

First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Sedat Dilek]

Hi,

I just checked the MAINTAINERS file in Linus tree and writing as a
newbie in concerns of ARM architectures.
So that's why I CCed people from whom I think I can get a helpful answer.

Dunno how long my "lifetime-battery" will hold and it looks like such
a cool Nexus-4 can make my life more happy.

Getting older and wiser I want to use "stable" versions of whatever I
use on any computer-systems, now.
one of my next projects is to get a more modern Linux-kernel running
on this beast.
Linux v4.4.y LTS is currently my (stable) base on Ubuntu/precise AMD64.
But I have no experiences with Linux on ARM.

[ First steps ]

First of all, I have updated my first smartphone a Google Nexus-4
(LG-E960 with 16Gbyte) with all available software-updates.
AFAICS there is no more support than Android v5.1.1.
Latest build is "lmy48t" and the codename "mako".

[ Alternatives? ]

Before flashing an alternative OS like CyanogenMod (CM) I wanted to
get familiar with vanilla Android.

[ A real alternative? ]

I gasped at CM Git and there is a "cm-13.0" development branch for
Android 6 "marshmallow" kernel.
So there is a big pull-request where I looked into - it is still based
on Linux v3.4.

[ First questions ]

Where moved "arch/arm/mach-msm" (don't see it in Linus Git)?
Has Linux v4.4.y support for all the devices? Is it a solid base?
Need a more modern Linux-version.
( I have not looked into the official tarballs from Google in [1] ).

The CM-wiki says ARM-SoC is Qualcomm APQ8064 and GPU is Adreno 320.

I guess I need a cross-toolchain for AMD64.

As said I am new to all this.
If you have any cool hints...

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
- Sedat Dilek -

[1] https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/drivers#makolmy48t
[2] https://github.com/CyanogenMod/android_kernel_google_msm/commit/75628e6af1410a769476c8845dbdc444269a97ae
[3] https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Mako_Info

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Arnd Bergmann]

On Thursday, July 14, 2016 12:25:51 PM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:

> [ First questions ]
> 
> Where moved "arch/arm/mach-msm" (don't see it in Linus Git)?
> Has Linux v4.4.y support for all the devices? Is it a solid base?
> Need a more modern Linux-version.
> ( I have not looked into the official tarballs from Google in [1] ).

mach-msm never supported any of the modern parts on a mainline kernel
and was suffering from bitrot to the point where we ended up removing it.

> The CM-wiki says ARM-SoC is Qualcomm APQ8064 and GPU is Adreno 320.

I think you are lucky here: this is the same chip as Nexus 7, which
is one of the few Android devices that have a high degree of upstream
support.

https://lwn.net/Articles/680109/ has done some work on which you
can probably build here. Without that, your chance of success would
be fairly minimal.

Just start with this kernel tree and add what you need:
https://git.linaro.org/people/john.stultz/flo.git/shortlog/refs/heads/flo-WIP
If you compare the original android sources for Nexus 7 (2013) and
Nexus 4, you can probably figure out what is missing.

I'm guessing that working Modem support is the biggest challenge here,
if you don't absolutely need to make phone calls you should be able
to get it working.

> I guess I need a cross-toolchain for AMD64.
> 
> As said I am new to all this.
> If you have any cool hints...

The prepackaged cross toolchain for Debian and Ubuntu normally
works great, see
https://packages.debian.org/sid/devel/gcc-5-arm-linux-gnueabihf

	Arnd

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Sedat Dilek]

On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 1:03 PM, Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de> wrote:
> On Thursday, July 14, 2016 12:25:51 PM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:
>
>> [ First questions ]
>>
>> Where moved "arch/arm/mach-msm" (don't see it in Linus Git)?
>> Has Linux v4.4.y support for all the devices? Is it a solid base?
>> Need a more modern Linux-version.
>> ( I have not looked into the official tarballs from Google in [1] ).
>
> mach-msm never supported any of the modern parts on a mainline kernel
> and was suffering from bitrot to the point where we ended up removing it.
>
>> The CM-wiki says ARM-SoC is Qualcomm APQ8064 and GPU is Adreno 320.
>
> I think you are lucky here: this is the same chip as Nexus 7, which
> is one of the few Android devices that have a high degree of upstream
> support.
>
> https://lwn.net/Articles/680109/ has done some work on which you
> can probably build here. Without that, your chance of success would
> be fairly minimal.
>
> Just start with this kernel tree and add what you need:
> https://git.linaro.org/people/john.stultz/flo.git/shortlog/refs/heads/flo-WIP
> If you compare the original android sources for Nexus 7 (2013) and
> Nexus 4, you can probably figure out what is missing.
>
> I'm guessing that working Modem support is the biggest challenge here,
> if you don't absolutely need to make phone calls you should be able
> to get it working.
>
>> I guess I need a cross-toolchain for AMD64.
>>
>> As said I am new to all this.
>> If you have any cool hints...
>
> The prepackaged cross toolchain for Debian and Ubuntu normally
> works great, see
> https://packages.debian.org/sid/devel/gcc-5-arm-linux-gnueabihf
>

Hi Arnd,

OK, thanks for the 1st impressions - as said 1st steps and 1st smartphone.
Looks like a bit abandonned by Google itself.

I will have a look into Nexus-7 sources and play in the meantime with
CyanogenMod and make my own experiences.
Looks like a "CM 13.0 Release 2" is coming soon.

As this is a Linux-system and with the original recovery images I can
switch back.

Sunshine greetings from The French Quarter here in Tuebingen,
- Sedat -

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Sedat Dilek]

On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 1:03 PM, Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de> wrote:
> On Thursday, July 14, 2016 12:25:51 PM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:
>
>> [ First questions ]
>>
>> Where moved "arch/arm/mach-msm" (don't see it in Linus Git)?
>> Has Linux v4.4.y support for all the devices? Is it a solid base?
>> Need a more modern Linux-version.
>> ( I have not looked into the official tarballs from Google in [1] ).
>
> mach-msm never supported any of the modern parts on a mainline kernel
> and was suffering from bitrot to the point where we ended up removing it.
>
>> The CM-wiki says ARM-SoC is Qualcomm APQ8064 and GPU is Adreno 320.
>
> I think you are lucky here: this is the same chip as Nexus 7, which
> is one of the few Android devices that have a high degree of upstream
> support.
>
> https://lwn.net/Articles/680109/ has done some work on which you
> can probably build here. Without that, your chance of success would
> be fairly minimal.
>
> Just start with this kernel tree and add what you need:
> https://git.linaro.org/people/john.stultz/flo.git/shortlog/refs/heads/flo-WIP
> If you compare the original android sources for Nexus 7 (2013) and
> Nexus 4, you can probably figure out what is missing.
>
> I'm guessing that working Modem support is the biggest challenge here,
> if you don't absolutely need to make phone calls you should be able
> to get it working.
>

[ Björn moved to Linaro ]

Hi John,

what is the base for your flo-WIP Git branch?
Linus tree? Linux-next? An ARM Git tree "for-next"?

What "OS" are you running in that video (LWN article, see above)?

FYI:
I downloaded "flo-lmy48t" (Nexus-7) to compare with "occam-lmy48t"
(Nexus-4) - both for Android v5.1.1 and the same build-nummer.

Let's see...

Regards,
- Sedat -

[1] https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/drivers#flo
[2] https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images#razor
[3] https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/razor-lmy48t-factory-b6a844f2.tgz

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[John Stultz]

On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 4:51 AM, Sedat Dilek <sedat.dilek@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> what is the base for your flo-WIP Git branch?
> Linus tree? Linux-next? An ARM Git tree "for-next"?

I'm usually rebasing flo-WIP against Linus' tree weekly (I try to hit
each -rc release, but sometimes I get busy with other things, and that
first -rc can sometimes take a bit to get things working again).

> What "OS" are you running in that video (LWN article, see above)?

AOSP Marshmallow. I try to use the latest stable tag when I build the
userspace, but I tinker with the userspace less often so I end up
skipping some of the monthly updates.

thanks
-john

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Arnd Bergmann]

On Thursday, July 14, 2016 1:51:28 PM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:
> 
> what is the base for your flo-WIP Git branch?
> Linus tree? Linux-next? An ARM Git tree "for-next"?
> 
> What "OS" are you running in that video (LWN article, see above)?
> 
> FYI:
> I downloaded "flo-lmy48t" (Nexus-7) to compare with "occam-lmy48t"
> (Nexus-4) - both for Android v5.1.1 and the same build-nummer.
> 
> 

One more thing: you will absolutely need a Nexus debug cable, there should
be several descriptions of that on the web.

Also, if you like, you can come visit me here in Dettenhausen so we can
look at the code together.

	Arnd

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Bjorn Andersson]

On Thu 14 Jul 04:03 PDT 2016, Arnd Bergmann wrote:

[..]
> I'm guessing that working Modem support is the biggest challenge here,
> if you don't absolutely need to make phone calls you should be able
> to get it working.
> 

We have HSIC support on the way in, so I do expect to be able to bring
up the modem rather soon. It's been a while since I worked on 8064, but
I believe that with some userspace tinkering (like making libqmi talk
PF_QIPCRTR) this would be good enough to camp on a network and send text
messages.

We will need a version of the rmnet driver (there's 5 different variants
in CAF) to do data based on this.

To get an audio call running we will have to figure out how to do DSP
based Audio, something we have punted on until now. But with new
requirements from DB820c we have to tackle this and I expect this to
benefit 8064 as well. We do know how to load the DSP firmware, so that
should be enough for the modem firmware not to go belly-up from the
get-go :)

Regards,
Bjorn

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Sedat Dilek]

On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 7:26 PM, Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de> wrote:
> On Thursday, July 14, 2016 1:51:28 PM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:
>>
>> what is the base for your flo-WIP Git branch?
>> Linus tree? Linux-next? An ARM Git tree "for-next"?
>>
>> What "OS" are you running in that video (LWN article, see above)?
>>
>> FYI:
>> I downloaded "flo-lmy48t" (Nexus-7) to compare with "occam-lmy48t"
>> (Nexus-4) - both for Android v5.1.1 and the same build-nummer.
>>
>>
>
> One more thing: you will absolutely need a Nexus debug cable, there should
> be several descriptions of that on the web.
>

Hi Arnd,

Hmm, I asked aunt G00gle "nexus 4 uart debug cable" and [1] has the
official description and [2] might be helpful in debugging.

[3] sounds somehow funny "audio jack console cable".

I know there is here in Tübingen near to Metropol car park a lab
offering 3d printing, electronic workshops etc.
It is definitely not [4], but looks interesting.
Maybe they can borrow or help in brazing/soldering such a cable.

> Also, if you like, you can come visit me here in Dettenhausen so we can
> look at the code together.
>

Hey cool, thanks for this offer.
I just looked at the monthly meetings of Linux User Group Tuebingen,
it is next Tuesday (July, 19th).
Will you come?

Regards,
- Sedat -

[1] https://android.googlesource.com/device/google/debugcable/
[2] http://www.contextis.com/resources/blog/kgdb-android-debugging-kernel-boss/
[3] http://www.pabr.org/consolejack/consolejack.en.html
[4] http://www.offene-werkstaetten.org/werkstatt/fablab-neckar-alb-e-v
[5] http://tuebingen.linux.de/

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Arnd Bergmann]

On Saturday, July 16, 2016 8:31:19 AM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 7:26 PM, Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de> wrote:
> > On Thursday, July 14, 2016 1:51:28 PM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:
> >>
> >> what is the base for your flo-WIP Git branch?
> >> Linus tree? Linux-next? An ARM Git tree "for-next"?
> >>
> >> What "OS" are you running in that video (LWN article, see above)?
> >>
> >> FYI:
> >> I downloaded "flo-lmy48t" (Nexus-7) to compare with "occam-lmy48t"
> >> (Nexus-4) - both for Android v5.1.1 and the same build-nummer.
> >>
> >>
> >
> > One more thing: you will absolutely need a Nexus debug cable, there should
> > be several descriptions of that on the web.
> >
> 
> Hi Arnd,
> 
> Hmm, I asked aunt G00gle "nexus 4 uart debug cable" and [1] has the
> official description and [2] might be helpful in debugging.
> 
> [3] sounds somehow funny "audio jack console cable".

Right, that's the cable. I think most people don't even use kgdb,
but use whatever works for you.

> I know there is here in Tübingen near to Metropol car park a lab
> offering 3d printing, electronic workshops etc.
> It is definitely not [4], but looks interesting.
> Maybe they can borrow or help in brazing/soldering such a cable

Interesting, I used to live in that street, never knew it was there.

> > Also, if you like, you can come visit me here in Dettenhausen so we can
> > look at the code together.
> 
> Hey cool, thanks for this offer.
> I just looked at the monthly meetings of Linux User Group Tuebingen,
> it is next Tuesday (July, 19th).
> Will you come?

Sorry, my evenings are usually booked entertaining two small kids.

	Arnd

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Jeremy McNicoll]

On 2016-07-15 11:31 PM, Sedat Dilek wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 7:26 PM, Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de> wrote:
>> On Thursday, July 14, 2016 1:51:28 PM CEST Sedat Dilek wrote:
>>>
>>> what is the base for your flo-WIP Git branch?
>>> Linus tree? Linux-next? An ARM Git tree "for-next"?
>>>
>>> What "OS" are you running in that video (LWN article, see above)?
>>>
>>> FYI:
>>> I downloaded "flo-lmy48t" (Nexus-7) to compare with "occam-lmy48t"
>>> (Nexus-4) - both for Android v5.1.1 and the same build-nummer.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> One more thing: you will absolutely need a Nexus debug cable, there should
>> be several descriptions of that on the web.
>>
>
> Hi Arnd,
>
> Hmm, I asked aunt G00gle "nexus 4 uart debug cable" and [1] has the
> official description and [2] might be helpful in debugging.
>
> [3] sounds somehow funny "audio jack console cable".
>
> I know there is here in Tübingen near to Metropol car park a lab
> offering 3d printing, electronic workshops etc.
> It is definitely not [4], but looks interesting.
> Maybe they can borrow or help in brazing/soldering such a cable.
>
>> Also, if you like, you can come visit me here in Dettenhausen so we can
>> look at the code together.
>>
>
> Hey cool, thanks for this offer.
> I just looked at the monthly meetings of Linux User Group Tuebingen,
> it is next Tuesday (July, 19th).
> Will you come?
>
> Regards,
> - Sedat -
>
> [1] https://android.googlesource.com/device/google/debugcable/
> [2] http://www.contextis.com/resources/blog/kgdb-android-debugging-kernel-boss/
> [3] http://www.pabr.org/consolejack/consolejack.en.html
> [4] http://www.offene-werkstaetten.org/werkstatt/fablab-neckar-alb-e-v
> [5] http://tuebingen.linux.de/

[6] http://people.redhat.com/jmcnicol/nexus_debug/

No soldering needed, as its a skill I do not have.  ;-)

-jeremy

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Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Arnd Bergmann]

On Monday, July 18, 2016 7:06:49 PM CEST Jeremy McNicoll wrote:
> >
> > [1] https://android.googlesource.com/device/google/debugcable/
> > [2] http://www.contextis.com/resources/blog/kgdb-android-debugging-kernel-boss/
> > [3] http://www.pabr.org/consolejack/consolejack.en.html
> > [4] http://www.offene-werkstaetten.org/werkstatt/fablab-neckar-alb-e-v
> > [5] http://tuebingen.linux.de/
> 
> [6] http://people.redhat.com/jmcnicol/nexus_debug/
> 
> No soldering needed, as its a skill I do not have.  ;-)

That sounds like it would grill the rx line, as the FTDI breakout
board you use supplies 3.3v while the expected input is 1.8v.

As I understand it, you want to supply 3.3v to the microphone line
for detection but then run the rx/tx lines at 1.8v. I have not built
one of those cables myself yet, so I'm not sure. It probably works
using 3.3v, at least for a while, but there is a significant risk
of damaging the hw.

	Arnd

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Jeremy McNicoll]

On 2016-07-19 12:47 AM, Arnd Bergmann wrote:
> On Monday, July 18, 2016 7:06:49 PM CEST Jeremy McNicoll wrote:
>>>
>>> [1] https://android.googlesource.com/device/google/debugcable/
>>> [2] http://www.contextis.com/resources/blog/kgdb-android-debugging-kernel-boss/
>>> [3] http://www.pabr.org/consolejack/consolejack.en.html
>>> [4] http://www.offene-werkstaetten.org/werkstatt/fablab-neckar-alb-e-v
>>> [5] http://tuebingen.linux.de/
>>
>> [6] http://people.redhat.com/jmcnicol/nexus_debug/
>>
>> No soldering needed, as its a skill I do not have.  ;-)
>
> That sounds like it would grill the rx line, as the FTDI breakout
> board you use supplies 3.3v while the expected input is 1.8v.
>
> As I understand it, you want to supply 3.3v to the microphone line
> for detection but then run the rx/tx lines at 1.8v. I have not built
> one of those cables myself yet, so I'm not sure. It probably works
> using 3.3v, at least for a while, but there is a significant risk
> of damaging the hw.

I have been running this setup for a while without any issues, so too
the Linaro folks in their lab.  From what they tell me there have not
been any issues thus far.

/me is just a SW dude who fondles bits ;-) and not electricity.


-jeremy

Re: First steps with my Google Nexus-4

[Bhushan Shah]

On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 03:52:25AM -0700, Jeremy McNicoll wrote:
> 
> I have been running this setup for a while without any issues, so too
> the Linaro folks in their lab.  From what they tell me there have not
> been any issues thus far.
> 
> /me is just a SW dude who fondles bits ;-) and not electricity.
> 

My impression from reading various articles on internet is you are likely
to damage the host computer and/or device if something gets shorted, also
if you are just using it to read kernel messages don't connect TX with
adaptar at all because thats what needs voltage divider.

Thats trick I am using currently. But if you want to use kgdb and or
shell, I highly suggest using the resistor.

Thanks

--
Bhushan Shah

http://bhush9.github.io
IRC Nick : bshah on Freenode