I am a new Linux user. I installed Mint on my desktop last week to become familiar with Linux. Today I received my Pinebook Pro. I was a little apprehensive about setting up my new computer because of reading about others problems setting theirs up. First boot was much like installing Mint. I accidentally set my default language to a language I do not speak. But now after a little effort I have a computer that speaks my language. Making the fonts larger for my old eyes was a breeze. I do not know any Linux code and was worried I would need too to make this computer work. I did not. I think my track pad has a extra piece of plastic film over it which is not really any problem. No dead pixels on screen. My initial impression of the computer is positive. Everyone involved in creating this machine "Well Done".
Some problems as of 06/20/20
No battery charge icon any longer.
Sometimes I have audio output sometimes I do not.
Computer sometimes can recognize USB/External hard drives/ Micro SD cards.Sometimes not.
Crazy crazy crazy scene flicker when machine is plugged in to AC power.
When in sleep mode battery drains.
As of 06/21/20
I am not a track pad fan of this or any other. I purchased a wireless mouse as planned. It works in both USB-A and C ports. When I have crazy screen flicker when plugged in to the mains my wireless mouse is plugged in to USB-C port. This could just be a coincidence. I am rather reluctant to reproduce the behavior. I purchased a USB non powered hub and so far is working with no problems. I learned in settings you have to allow the computer to read external USB's and hard drives to be able to use them. I seem to consistently have audio output now. So some wins. ***I miss spoke about the USB ports. I meant to write USB A ports 2.0 and 3.0. The flicker happens when using the port on the left side of the computer.***
As of 06/24/20
I realized that if I wanted to run the latest version of Manjaro Arm 64 on my PBP I had to install it myself and not just check the package manager for the latest version. Well I am halfway there. I created a live micro SD card with Manjaro 20.06 on it. The computer boots from it just fine. The machine runs much faster now. I have a battery icon once more. Later I will find out if the sleep function uses less battery power. I feel much better about my Pinebook now. I would like to have the 20.06 version installed on the internal emmc but have not a clue how to do it.
As of 07/08/20
Not able to install Manjaro 20.06 to the internal eMMC even with lots of help from others. Screen just goes blank for a second or two randomly. Display looks like an old analog screen of static at random times . Machine locks up from 10 seconds - 2 minutes before unlocking. Sometimes a reboot is the only thing that will unlock it. Drops Wi-Fi randomly. Latest updates fixed battery icon and sleeping issues. When running an OS from a micro SD card machine can read USB flashdrives and external harddrives with no problems. Hardrives have to be pluged into a powered USB hub. Installed OS can not mount external harddrives and sometimes can not even read USB flashdrives. No codic to watch Amazon Prime Videos. I am still impressed with the machine but I think better componets should have been chosen in the design. I would have been happy to pay $100 more for a more reliable machine that could have run Mint and had much fewer bugs imho.
Some problems as of 06/20/20
No battery charge icon any longer.
Sometimes I have audio output sometimes I do not.
Computer sometimes can recognize USB/External hard drives/ Micro SD cards.Sometimes not.
Crazy crazy crazy scene flicker when machine is plugged in to AC power.
When in sleep mode battery drains.
As of 06/21/20
I am not a track pad fan of this or any other. I purchased a wireless mouse as planned. It works in both USB-A and C ports. When I have crazy screen flicker when plugged in to the mains my wireless mouse is plugged in to USB-C port. This could just be a coincidence. I am rather reluctant to reproduce the behavior. I purchased a USB non powered hub and so far is working with no problems. I learned in settings you have to allow the computer to read external USB's and hard drives to be able to use them. I seem to consistently have audio output now. So some wins. ***I miss spoke about the USB ports. I meant to write USB A ports 2.0 and 3.0. The flicker happens when using the port on the left side of the computer.***
As of 06/24/20
I realized that if I wanted to run the latest version of Manjaro Arm 64 on my PBP I had to install it myself and not just check the package manager for the latest version. Well I am halfway there. I created a live micro SD card with Manjaro 20.06 on it. The computer boots from it just fine. The machine runs much faster now. I have a battery icon once more. Later I will find out if the sleep function uses less battery power. I feel much better about my Pinebook now. I would like to have the 20.06 version installed on the internal emmc but have not a clue how to do it.
As of 07/08/20
Not able to install Manjaro 20.06 to the internal eMMC even with lots of help from others. Screen just goes blank for a second or two randomly. Display looks like an old analog screen of static at random times . Machine locks up from 10 seconds - 2 minutes before unlocking. Sometimes a reboot is the only thing that will unlock it. Drops Wi-Fi randomly. Latest updates fixed battery icon and sleeping issues. When running an OS from a micro SD card machine can read USB flashdrives and external harddrives with no problems. Hardrives have to be pluged into a powered USB hub. Installed OS can not mount external harddrives and sometimes can not even read USB flashdrives. No codic to watch Amazon Prime Videos. I am still impressed with the machine but I think better componets should have been chosen in the design. I would have been happy to pay $100 more for a more reliable machine that could have run Mint and had much fewer bugs imho.