Any way to tell the PinePhone's hardware revision

[ReleaseTheGeese]

Greetings,

I was planning to try my phone as a USB host. I read here that the 1.2a revision fixes the USB CC pin issue. Is there any way to check the PinePhone hardware revision, either by inspecting the hardware or using software? I'd like to check whether I have revision 1.2 or 1.2a before I attempt a hardware fix, or (very unlikely but still) accidentally damage it by connecting a USB3 adapter.

My PP is the UBports community edition.

Regards,
R.T.G.

[dejvino]

My understanding is that the 1.2a version was so far only sent to some of the kernel developers. The Ubports CE edition was just a 1.2 version. At least mine was. Not sure if you can see the "1.2a" string anywhere, probably not.

Anyway this is easy to verify:

1. Run a recent release of e.g. Mobian or Arch Linux ARM which has the patched USB host support in the kernel already
   
2. Launch a terminal (over SSH / serial / in the UI) and run `dmesg -w` which will keep printing new kernel logs
   
3. Connect any USB device
   
4. If you see a bunch of "anx7688" messages and end up with a new USB device recognized, you don't need to fix anything. Otherwise get your screwdriver ready
   

Here is a sample of my log when connecting a USB 2.0 gamepad to a fixed 1.2 PP on Arch Linux ARM, kernel 5.7.0-7-danctnix:

Code:

[   55.125335] anx7688 0-0028: plug irq (cd=1)
[   55.137801] anx7688 0-0028: cable inserted
[   55.177826] anx7688 0-0028: power enabled
[   55.242233] anx7688 0-0028: eeprom0 = 0x03
[   55.242253] anx7688 0-0028: fw loaded after 40 ms
[   55.242790] anx7688 0-0028: OCM firmware loaded (version 0x2410)
[   55.245968] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=0 05 00 32 90 01 26 12
[   55.291092] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=1 05 01 2c 91 01 26 16
[   55.292895] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=2 11 02 00 00 00 ec 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 39 00 00 51 77
[   55.296197] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=3 05 03 00 00 01 ff f8
[   55.298373] anx7688 0-0028: OCM configuration completed
[   55.300673] anx7688 0-0028: status changed to 0x00
[   55.300692] anx7688 0-0028: cc_status changed to CC1 = SRC.Open CC2 = SRC.Open
[   55.300702] anx7688 0-0028: dp state changed to 0x00
[   55.300727] anx7688 0-0028: data role change requested to ufp
[   55.394037] anx7688 0-0028: status irq
[   55.395678] anx7688 0-0028:   soft = 0x0c
[   55.396966] anx7688 0-0028: status changed to 0x0c
[   55.733582] anx7688 0-0028: status irq
[   55.735308] anx7688 0-0028:   soft = 0x30
[   55.736721] anx7688 0-0028: status changed to 0x2c
[   55.736735] anx7688 0-0028: cc_status changed to CC1 = SRC.Rd CC2 = SRC.Open
[   55.736887] anx7688 0-0028: data role change requested to dfp
[   55.736934] phy id_det change to host
[   56.233808] usb 2-1: new low-speed USB device number 2 using ohci-platform
[   56.468367] input: usb gamepad            as /devices/platform/soc/1c1a400.usb/usb2/2-1/2-1:1.0/0003:0810:E501.0001/input/input6
[   56.468953] hid-generic 0003:0810:E501.0001: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.10 Joystick [usb gamepad           ] on usb-1c1a400.usb-1/input0

Don't be afraid to connect a USB device to a pre-1.2a PinePhone. It won't blow up, it just doesn't do anything useful. And don't be afraid of the HW mod. I've done it successfully for two devices already and it is fairly easy.

Wish you luck!

[ReleaseTheGeese]

@dejvino

Thanks. Dmesg was quiet, so looks like it is time for some emergency surgery...

[LinAdmin2]

I doubt that when plugging in the USB-dock, no warnings or errors in dmesg prove that the hardware is ok (v.2.1a)

If I have correctly understood, the hardware modification is necessary for charging the phone via the USB-dock.

Some distros have an app. showing the power status and my unmodified phone always shows "discharging" even when the dock is powered.