Group: Hardware/Computers/Laptops/Freeable laptops/Pinebook PRO
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.
=> TODO: Look if ath9k compatible cards exist in that form factor.
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.
=> TODO: look if it's possible to put the USB WiFi card inside the laptop.
Storage
- 128M 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
Other differences with a Libreboot Thinkpad
Libreboot Thinkpad | Pinebook PRO | |
---|---|---|
Architecture |
|
See distribution compatibility for more infos. |
Embedded controller firmware | Nonfree
Handles:
|
Probably 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 |
|
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