Group: Hardware/Computers/Laptops/Freeable laptops/Pinebook PRO
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(flash chip is 16MiB (128Mbit) according to the citation, referring to it as 128M is misleading and inconsistent) |
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== Storage == | == Storage == | ||
| − | * | + | * 16MiB flash chip: can be used for the bootloader<ref name="Pinebook_Pro_SPI">https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=Pinebook_Pro_SPI</ref>: This way you could encrypt fully the other storage which have internal nonfree firmwares. |
* Removable eMMC (64G or 128G available at the time of writing) | * Removable eMMC (64G or 128G available at the time of writing) | ||
* MicroSD (SD3.0, MMC 4.5, up to 50MB/s) | * MicroSD (SD3.0, MMC 4.5, up to 50MB/s) | ||
Latest revision as of 13:16, 3 July 2024
Contents
Introduction
This page research if it's possible to replace a Libreboot Thinkpad with a Pinebook PRO and how much freedom issue the Pinebook PRO has.
Research
Nonfree firwmares:
- Internal WiFi / Bluetooth [1] => Use another WiFi / Bluetooth adapter on another bus (USB, PCIe, etc).
- dptx.bin: The internal display works without it but the external displays won't work without it.
There might be other too like video decoding offload (which can be avoided by decoding videos with the CPU) but if they are they are not very visible: users will probably not notice any lack of functionality.
WiFi
An adapter [2] exists to enable to connect NGFF A/E key WiFi cards.
Thinkpenguin also seems to have some potentially compatible cards that use the ath9k driver:
- The TPE-M2NCRD is an "E keyed card" and looks shorter
- The TPE-M2NCRD2 TPE-M2NCRD2 is an "A & E keyed card" and looks longer
I don't know if the length match or if you an E only keyed cards works with an A/E NGFF adapter.
Alternatively it's possible to use external USB WiFi cards, but they will be limited to 2.4GHz and there is a tradeoff to make between the range and the key size.
Some more research might be needed to understand if it's possible to easily mount an USB WiFi card inside that laptop.
Storage
- 16MiB flash chip: can be used for the bootloader[3]: This way you could encrypt fully the other storage which have internal nonfree firmwares.
- Removable eMMC (64G or 128G available at the time of writing)
- MicroSD (SD3.0, MMC 4.5, up to 50MB/s)
- Adding an NVMe is also possible but this has some downsides:
- This occupies the PCIe connector. It might be a better idea to try to find a way to connect an ath9k compatible card on that connector.
- The NVMe has an internal nonfree firmware and probably has DMA access to your RAM
Status
According to the "Pinebook Pro no longer WIP" thread on the guix-devel mailing list, the Pinebook PRO seems to have some of the basic functionality working and it doesn't seem to need any extra patches on top of linux-libre.
Other differences with a Libreboot Thinkpad
| Libreboot Thinkpad | Pinebook PRO | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture |
|
See distribution compatibility for more infos. |
| Embedded controller firmware | Nonfree
Handles:
|
Unsure if it's free software.
probably handles similar things. |
| RAM | 4G, 8G possible with specific RAM DIMMs. | 4G soldered |
| Ethernet | Integrated | Through USB adapter |
| Display | Mate, good enough for working. | Mate, more recent / better? |
| Debug |
|
|
References
- ↑ https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=11136
- ↑ https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=9727
- ↑ https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=Pinebook_Pro_SPI
- ↑ It of course depends on people's skills, flash programmer speeds and so on but it's not uncommon to spend ~8h to disassemble and reassemble a Thinkpad T400 when doing it the first time, while it probably takes less than 10 minutes for a Thinkpad X200. Doing that is needed to install Libreboot or reinstall it if the computer doesn't boot anymore.
