<![CDATA[PINE64 - General Discussion on PineTab]]> https://forum.pine64.org/ Fri, 15 May 2026 03:35:07 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Voidlinux working on eMMC]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20234 Mon, 30 Mar 2026 23:07:35 +0000 cheepeero]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20234
I have decided to try out Voidlinux on my Pinetab2, replacing the factory Archlinux I had installed until now. When I finished, I found that the same Plasma 6 desktop is much more responsive, with a significantly lower memory footprint. Maybe this is due to musl vs glibc, but it also might be that I have missed some memory-intensive services. Also note that I am using my old Archlinux home folder on the new Voidlinux system, and everything works.


So, here is my experience with this migration. I hope it will help others that want to migrate or try Voidlinux, so you can avoid bricking the Pinetab2 in the process, like I did.


First, I followed the installation instructions on the Pinetab2 releases page, which wrongly state that the Voidlinux image there is suitable both for the SD card and for the eMMC. The SD card worked, but flashing the eMMC bricked the device, so I had to revive it using the UART debugger. Do not do that!

The resources I needed are as follows:

If you follow my steps, and skip step 2, you won't need this, but it was handy for me:

Below are the steps I took. If you follow this, SKIP STEP 2!

0. On the Pinetab2 I had the danctnix preinstalled factory image, which I used productively since I first received the device. At this step, I backed up my files using dd, and migrated my LVM home onto a separate HDD via USB.
1. I flashed Voidlinux as instructed in the Pinetab Software Releases page onto an SD card, and it booted just fine. I did not require the UART device.
2. DO NOT DO THIS STEP! It is here for informative purposes only: I flashed the same Voidlinux SD card image onto eMMC, as instructed by the Wiki page, which bricked the pinetab. So, again, DO NOT DO THIS.
    - I recovered with the UART (https://pine64.org/documentation/PineTab...s_and_FAQ/ - Recovery from non-booting device) and installed a fresh danctnix Archlinux factory image.
    - Note to maintainers: please remove the faulty instruction from the Wiki page, or, alternatively, clarify how to flash Voidlinux to the eMMC.
3. After the blunder above, I rebooted into the Voidlinux SD card install, and I left the eMMC mmcblk0p1 unchanged (the boot partition, with danctnix u-boot and the kernel), but recreated and formatted the root partition, mmcblk0p2, with an empty ext4 filesystem.
4. From the SD card I followed the instructions on chroot install from Voidlinux handbook (https://docs.voidlinux.org/installation/...hroot.html), with the following notes:
    - mounted /dev/mmcblk0p2 as /mnt, next /dev/mmcblk0p1 as /mnt/boot. There is no need for an EFI partition.
    - I used `ARCH=aarch64-musl` and the repo URL `REPO=https://repo-default.voidlinux.org/current/aarch64/`
    - after copying the xbps keys and running the chroot install, remember to skip the rootfs tarball method, but continue with generating fstab and setting a root password
    - also skip stuff related to GRUB and EFI
    - as a side note, the section about Pinebook Pro does not apply at all to Pinetab2
5. I jumped to the Voidlinux-pinetab2 readme on github, and installed all the packages mentioned there. I did not have the files downloaded on SD card, so had to configure the network at this step, but one can prepare the files beforehand, after flashing the Voidlinux SD card.
    - the imageramfs step did not work - out of disk space on boot partition, but the system boots and works fine without it
    - the u-boot boot.scr needed to be regenerated. The xbps-install output provides necessary instructions on-screen
6. Unmounted /mnt/boot and /mnt, sync and next poweroff, remove SD card, power on from button, and Voidlinux booted from eMMC successfully into the text console.
7. As root, started following the Voidlinux handbook guide on how to configure the system (lvm, sddm, wayland, xdg portals, cron etc). Finally, I configured my non-root user, after installing and testing SDDM and KDE, I moved back the LVM home volume from the external HDD, and all worked out well. (Note that I still had the dd backup of the LVM volume, just in case)

At this stage I still have Voidlinux-related stuff to fix, but the base system and KDE/Plasma works.]]>
I have decided to try out Voidlinux on my Pinetab2, replacing the factory Archlinux I had installed until now. When I finished, I found that the same Plasma 6 desktop is much more responsive, with a significantly lower memory footprint. Maybe this is due to musl vs glibc, but it also might be that I have missed some memory-intensive services. Also note that I am using my old Archlinux home folder on the new Voidlinux system, and everything works.


So, here is my experience with this migration. I hope it will help others that want to migrate or try Voidlinux, so you can avoid bricking the Pinetab2 in the process, like I did.


First, I followed the installation instructions on the Pinetab2 releases page, which wrongly state that the Voidlinux image there is suitable both for the SD card and for the eMMC. The SD card worked, but flashing the eMMC bricked the device, so I had to revive it using the UART debugger. Do not do that!

The resources I needed are as follows:

If you follow my steps, and skip step 2, you won't need this, but it was handy for me:

Below are the steps I took. If you follow this, SKIP STEP 2!

0. On the Pinetab2 I had the danctnix preinstalled factory image, which I used productively since I first received the device. At this step, I backed up my files using dd, and migrated my LVM home onto a separate HDD via USB.
1. I flashed Voidlinux as instructed in the Pinetab Software Releases page onto an SD card, and it booted just fine. I did not require the UART device.
2. DO NOT DO THIS STEP! It is here for informative purposes only: I flashed the same Voidlinux SD card image onto eMMC, as instructed by the Wiki page, which bricked the pinetab. So, again, DO NOT DO THIS.
    - I recovered with the UART (https://pine64.org/documentation/PineTab...s_and_FAQ/ - Recovery from non-booting device) and installed a fresh danctnix Archlinux factory image.
    - Note to maintainers: please remove the faulty instruction from the Wiki page, or, alternatively, clarify how to flash Voidlinux to the eMMC.
3. After the blunder above, I rebooted into the Voidlinux SD card install, and I left the eMMC mmcblk0p1 unchanged (the boot partition, with danctnix u-boot and the kernel), but recreated and formatted the root partition, mmcblk0p2, with an empty ext4 filesystem.
4. From the SD card I followed the instructions on chroot install from Voidlinux handbook (https://docs.voidlinux.org/installation/...hroot.html), with the following notes:
    - mounted /dev/mmcblk0p2 as /mnt, next /dev/mmcblk0p1 as /mnt/boot. There is no need for an EFI partition.
    - I used `ARCH=aarch64-musl` and the repo URL `REPO=https://repo-default.voidlinux.org/current/aarch64/`
    - after copying the xbps keys and running the chroot install, remember to skip the rootfs tarball method, but continue with generating fstab and setting a root password
    - also skip stuff related to GRUB and EFI
    - as a side note, the section about Pinebook Pro does not apply at all to Pinetab2
5. I jumped to the Voidlinux-pinetab2 readme on github, and installed all the packages mentioned there. I did not have the files downloaded on SD card, so had to configure the network at this step, but one can prepare the files beforehand, after flashing the Voidlinux SD card.
    - the imageramfs step did not work - out of disk space on boot partition, but the system boots and works fine without it
    - the u-boot boot.scr needed to be regenerated. The xbps-install output provides necessary instructions on-screen
6. Unmounted /mnt/boot and /mnt, sync and next poweroff, remove SD card, power on from button, and Voidlinux booted from eMMC successfully into the text console.
7. As root, started following the Voidlinux handbook guide on how to configure the system (lvm, sddm, wayland, xdg portals, cron etc). Finally, I configured my non-root user, after installing and testing SDDM and KDE, I moved back the LVM home volume from the external HDD, and all worked out well. (Note that I still had the dd backup of the LVM volume, just in case)

At this stage I still have Voidlinux-related stuff to fix, but the base system and KDE/Plasma works.]]> <![CDATA[Waypipe amazingly fast X11 replacement]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20191 Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:14:10 +0000 459below]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20191
Anyway waypipe solved that for me by being able to stream Brave from my main powerful computer. Having installed waypipe on both client and server using just this.


Code:
waypipe ssh myfedora-desktop-pc flatpak run com.brave.Browser --ozone-platform=wayland


If one is bothered by the performance of the browser or other apps. It feels so much snappier, native and stable. Even touch inputs work - pinch to zoom, scrolling, swiping. I did not see a lot of talk about waypipe on the PineTab2.]]>
Anyway waypipe solved that for me by being able to stream Brave from my main powerful computer. Having installed waypipe on both client and server using just this.


Code:
waypipe ssh myfedora-desktop-pc flatpak run com.brave.Browser --ozone-platform=wayland


If one is bothered by the performance of the browser or other apps. It feels so much snappier, native and stable. Even touch inputs work - pinch to zoom, scrolling, swiping. I did not see a lot of talk about waypipe on the PineTab2.]]> <![CDATA[wifi password wont save]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20142 Mon, 29 Dec 2025 21:54:42 +0000 WEF]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20142
Info on my setup:
Operating System: Arch Linux ARM
KDE Plasma Version: 6.1.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.4.0
Qt Version: 6.7.2
Kernel Version: 6.9.9-danctnix1-1-pinetab2 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland]]>
Info on my setup:
Operating System: Arch Linux ARM
KDE Plasma Version: 6.1.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.4.0
Qt Version: 6.7.2
Kernel Version: 6.9.9-danctnix1-1-pinetab2 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland]]> <![CDATA[Customize virtual keyboard?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20123 Tue, 16 Dec 2025 23:12:20 +0000 WEF]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20123
Thanks for your suggestions.]]>
Thanks for your suggestions.]]> <![CDATA[black cursos background]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20078 Tue, 11 Nov 2025 22:07:39 +0000 polrus]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20078 in Gnome all works fine

But in SDDM and Plasma i get black rectangle behind mouse indicator/cursor?
Any hints?]]> in Gnome all works fine

But in SDDM and Plasma i get black rectangle behind mouse indicator/cursor?
Any hints?]]> <![CDATA[Reinstallation Arch Linux ARM from scratch]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20068 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 05:17:37 +0000 victor_yeh]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20068
By the way, I am not familiar to U-Boot commands. Are there any suggestions for installing Arch Linux ARM? (especially U-Boot commands)]]>
By the way, I am not familiar to U-Boot commands. Are there any suggestions for installing Arch Linux ARM? (especially U-Boot commands)]]> <![CDATA[Pinetab-V boot rescue]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20045 Sun, 19 Oct 2025 21:01:12 +0000 anoduck]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20045
Now, I want it to boot from the EMMC, which it doesn't do. Luo provides an u-boot update script in the GitHub releases for updating the bootloader, but I do not believe this tool is suited from rescuing the boot of a broken system. 

I will review the starfive documentation on booting, but if someone has experienced a similar issue, assistance would be appreciated. I have some critical projects going on I must dedicate my entire attention to, and cannot afford to tinker as I usually do.]]>
Now, I want it to boot from the EMMC, which it doesn't do. Luo provides an u-boot update script in the GitHub releases for updating the bootloader, but I do not believe this tool is suited from rescuing the boot of a broken system. 

I will review the starfive documentation on booting, but if someone has experienced a similar issue, assistance would be appreciated. I have some critical projects going on I must dedicate my entire attention to, and cannot afford to tinker as I usually do.]]> <![CDATA[No updates on pinetab2 arch danctnix?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20035 Mon, 13 Oct 2025 08:19:24 +0000 Ingen]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=20035 Very satisfied user of this device. The stock arch danctnix os is a joy to use both in tablet mode and with keyboard.
My only issue is with updates. They always seem to stop after a while. The usual
Code:
sudo pacman -Syu

that normally should give updates at least once a day, suddenly starts to state that all databases are up to date, there is nothing to do. This lasts for weeks.
I try every possible solution I can find, but end up reinstalling the danctnix factory image. And then updates are working again for a while. This have happened maybe four-five times since I got it summer 2023. It's normally not a huge problem, but this time reinstalling don't help. Now I havent recieved updates in maybe 3-4 weeks. Tried reinstalling a couple of times but I only get the initial updating and then it stops.
Does anyone else have this experience? Or can someone confirm that updating works for them? I would really appreciate to hear from you!]]> Very satisfied user of this device. The stock arch danctnix os is a joy to use both in tablet mode and with keyboard.
My only issue is with updates. They always seem to stop after a while. The usual
Code:
sudo pacman -Syu

that normally should give updates at least once a day, suddenly starts to state that all databases are up to date, there is nothing to do. This lasts for weeks.
I try every possible solution I can find, but end up reinstalling the danctnix factory image. And then updates are working again for a while. This have happened maybe four-five times since I got it summer 2023. It's normally not a huge problem, but this time reinstalling don't help. Now I havent recieved updates in maybe 3-4 weeks. Tried reinstalling a couple of times but I only get the initial updating and then it stops.
Does anyone else have this experience? Or can someone confirm that updating works for them? I would really appreciate to hear from you!]]> <![CDATA[keyboard pogo pins part number]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19965 Tue, 26 Aug 2025 10:34:22 +0000 starpp]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19965 <![CDATA[Simple Outdoor Weather Station with Pine64 and ESP32]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19944 Fri, 08 Aug 2025 18:47:59 +0000 aria22]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19944 https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2...erver.html
I’ve also seen a Random Nerd Tutorials guide for building a standalone ESP32 + BME280 mini weather station, and skimmed Pine64’s docs on setting up services via their community Linux image. Does anyone here have experience aggregating sensor data this way? I’d love tips on best practices for handling connectivity, lightweight data ingestion, or small dashboards on Pine boards.]]> https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2...erver.html
I’ve also seen a Random Nerd Tutorials guide for building a standalone ESP32 + BME280 mini weather station, and skimmed Pine64’s docs on setting up services via their community Linux image. Does anyone here have experience aggregating sensor data this way? I’d love tips on best practices for handling connectivity, lightweight data ingestion, or small dashboards on Pine boards.]]> <![CDATA[Won't boot with a MicroSD inserted]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19942 Fri, 08 Aug 2025 00:59:55 +0000 acruhl]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19942
I'm having a problem with my Pinetab2 here:

https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19908

I'm trying to boot another OS from the MicroSD card using the UART adapter, but it just won't boot. Not with one or the other or both plugged in. I'm following this:

https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/PineTab2#In...structions

Am I doing something wrong?

I also noticed that if I plug in the UART adapter and get a serial console on my broken OS that boots to the login GUI, I start to see emmc errors on the serial console.

What can I do? I want to either:

1. Fix the OS on the internal emmc
2. Boot another OS on the MicroSD

I'm beginning to doubt the hackability of this hardware.]]>
I'm having a problem with my Pinetab2 here:

https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19908

I'm trying to boot another OS from the MicroSD card using the UART adapter, but it just won't boot. Not with one or the other or both plugged in. I'm following this:

https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/PineTab2#In...structions

Am I doing something wrong?

I also noticed that if I plug in the UART adapter and get a serial console on my broken OS that boots to the login GUI, I start to see emmc errors on the serial console.

What can I do? I want to either:

1. Fix the OS on the internal emmc
2. Boot another OS on the MicroSD

I'm beginning to doubt the hackability of this hardware.]]> <![CDATA[Libre Office on Pinetab2?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19941 Wed, 06 Aug 2025 13:48:41 +0000 Anonymous1989]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19941
I would like to know can I use Libre Office Writer etc. on Pinetab2? I don't mean review versions because I want to use writer version. I don't have yet Pinetab2 but I'm considering to buy it.]]>
I would like to know can I use Libre Office Writer etc. on Pinetab2? I don't mean review versions because I want to use writer version. I don't have yet Pinetab2 but I'm considering to buy it.]]> <![CDATA[Any updates on Bluetooth for PineTab 2?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19937 Mon, 04 Aug 2025 19:57:57 +0000 BluetoothBroke]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19937 <![CDATA[beta release of a Linux mobile app strength training app]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19787 Tue, 08 Apr 2025 01:27:11 +0000 coryholl]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19787
Here is an app website with further info:

Muscle Buddy

Source tarballs and AppImages are available for download here.

I own a PinePhone and PineTab2 which the app works on and I am interested in how well it works for other PineTab users.

Any feedback would be highly appreciated.

I am going to post a similar message to the PinePhone and PinePhonePro forums.  Hope people do not view that behavior as SPAMing.

Thanks.  Tongue]]>
Here is an app website with further info:

Muscle Buddy

Source tarballs and AppImages are available for download here.

I own a PinePhone and PineTab2 which the app works on and I am interested in how well it works for other PineTab users.

Any feedback would be highly appreciated.

I am going to post a similar message to the PinePhone and PinePhonePro forums.  Hope people do not view that behavior as SPAMing.

Thanks.  Tongue]]> <![CDATA[Possible solution to boot and/or eMMC failures]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19772 Wed, 02 Apr 2025 05:01:57 +0000 sanctimonious_spoon]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=19772
Code:
mmc0: error -110 whilst initialising MMC card

I tried flashing the eMMC with the factory image multiple times, but none of the attempts succeeded.

Based on my experience with Xilinx SoCs, I suspected an issue with the SD Host Controller (SDHC). I poked at some of the internal registers on the SDHC in U-Boot, but while I noticed some possible patterns, I couldn't pinpoint a definitive issue or find any magical reset sequence that fixed the issue. I was able to observe that some of the low-level SD commands were timing out due to lack of response. Off a hunch, I removed the back cover and disconnected the battery cable form the main board (I also disconnected the other connectors so I could examine the main board, but given that both the SDHC and the eMMC are located on the main board, I wouldn't expect the removal of any of these to have an impact). When I reinserted the cable and booted the Pinetab 2 I was able to write an image to the eMMC and subsequently boot from the eMMC. My theory is that the SD/MMC/eMMC state machine in the SDHC was somehow corrupted, leaving it unable to enter a state where it could respond to commands; I suspect that fully de-energizing and re-energizing the circuit caused it to go into reset, getting it back on an operational path. It's possible the issue is with the eMMC chip instead of the SDHC, but my knowledge of SD/MMC standards and implementation is limited and I was unable to find substantial documentation on the eMMC chip. As a caveat, I have not had the time to attempt to reproduce the issue or my solution, so it's possible my observation and solution were subject to confounding factors I didn't test for. (Time aside, I damaged the microSD card reader while attempting to reseat the back cover, so I would need to get USB booting to work in order to be able to effectively run tests.)

Hopefully, this is helpful to someone.]]>
Code:
mmc0: error -110 whilst initialising MMC card

I tried flashing the eMMC with the factory image multiple times, but none of the attempts succeeded.

Based on my experience with Xilinx SoCs, I suspected an issue with the SD Host Controller (SDHC). I poked at some of the internal registers on the SDHC in U-Boot, but while I noticed some possible patterns, I couldn't pinpoint a definitive issue or find any magical reset sequence that fixed the issue. I was able to observe that some of the low-level SD commands were timing out due to lack of response. Off a hunch, I removed the back cover and disconnected the battery cable form the main board (I also disconnected the other connectors so I could examine the main board, but given that both the SDHC and the eMMC are located on the main board, I wouldn't expect the removal of any of these to have an impact). When I reinserted the cable and booted the Pinetab 2 I was able to write an image to the eMMC and subsequently boot from the eMMC. My theory is that the SD/MMC/eMMC state machine in the SDHC was somehow corrupted, leaving it unable to enter a state where it could respond to commands; I suspect that fully de-energizing and re-energizing the circuit caused it to go into reset, getting it back on an operational path. It's possible the issue is with the eMMC chip instead of the SDHC, but my knowledge of SD/MMC standards and implementation is limited and I was unable to find substantial documentation on the eMMC chip. As a caveat, I have not had the time to attempt to reproduce the issue or my solution, so it's possible my observation and solution were subject to confounding factors I didn't test for. (Time aside, I damaged the microSD card reader while attempting to reseat the back cover, so I would need to get USB booting to work in order to be able to effectively run tests.)

Hopefully, this is helpful to someone.]]>