Android-x86-8.1r5

Android-x86 on the Insignia Flex 8

Android-x86_64 [v8.1r5] running on a Insignia Flex 8 [NS-P08W7100] tablet.

Based off Kernel 4.18.14

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Installation Instructions

• Download latest pre-built image here   |   View all builds
• Use Rufus to create USB drive installer.
• Use OTG adapter to connect USB drive and keyboard to device and press DEL at bios logo and navigate to <Security> then select Secure Boot menu and make sure Secure Boot is disabled.
• Boot from USB drive under the Save & Exit menu via the Boot Override section (If Secure Boot was enabled, ensure you Save Changes & Reset before booting from USB!)
• Select Live to test Android directly from USB, or choose Auto-Install to install Android-x86 to the internal storage (mmcblk0).
• If installing, choose the internal storage device (mmcblk0) and click Yes and allow for installation to finish and then select reboot.
• Note you should login to a Google account and update all pre-installed applications to ensure proper functionality after fresh install.
• Enjoy your Insigna Flex 8 running Android-x86!

Recent Bugfixes and Improvements

• 2020-11-18:
  • First pre-built image released!
  • Improved s2idle support (per these patches)
  • Improved Wi-Fi support and random disconnects via alternate rtl8723bs driver.
  • Improved /etc/scripts/sleep.sh script for better s2idle support.
  • Fixed "audio pop" issue with touch events when using headphones via /etc/scripts/pop-fix.sh script.
  • Fixed headphone switching on boot (audio will automatically output to headphones if connected on startup)
  • Fixed levels for internal and external headset microphones.
  • Added "HDMI Output" switching to GRUB2 loader menu.
  • Fixed terminal and nano dipslay to fill screen when running as superuser (added terminal line settings)
  • Note: Recently identified that s0ix not working properly, currently debugging and new build hopefully coming soon!

Kernel Build Instructions

To build from source, follow the instructions at Android-x86.org and switch to the 4.18 kernel:

cd /path/to/android/source/kernel
git fetch x86 kernel-4.18
git checkout FETCH_HEAD

• Patch 4.18.14 kernel with all patches in sequential order.
• As of this build, Kernel 4.18 had issues compiling due to missing ./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/wl/Makefile:
  • Edit ./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/Makefile and remove or comment out the line obj-$(CONFIG_WL) += wl/
  • Edit ./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/Kconfig and remove or comment out the line source "drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/wl/Kconfig"
• Copy touchscreen firmware to ./device/generic/firmware/silead/gsl1680-insignia_flex8.fw if building iso from source, or place in ./system/lib/firmware/silead/ for pre-built system image.
• Copy soundcard state file for alsa to ./device/generic/common/alsa/bytcrrt5651.state if building iso from source, or place in ./system/etc/alsa for pre-built system image.
• Replaced the staging rtl8723bs driver with youling257's version and compiled from source as per these instructions.
• Build the kernel / iso and install to device.
• Once booted in Android, create an /etc/scripts folder and copy all scripts to this folder
• Replace /system/build.prop with this file
• Replace /etc/init.sh with this file

Additional Build Details

• Replaced staging rtl8723bs driver with youling257's version for improved wirless connectivity.
• Added acpi=force reboot=acpi acpi_osi='!Windows 2013' acpi_osi='!Windows 2012' acpi_osi='Linux' boot args to GRUB (android.cfg) to improve ACPI support.
• Added acpi_backlight=vendor boot args to GRUB (android.cfg) to resolve black screen when resume from sleep.
• Added intel_idle.max_cstate=1 boot args to GRUB (android.cfg) to improve deep sleep issues with IGFX and Baytrail/Cherrytrail c-state bug.
• Updated /system/etc/init.sh startup script and added NS-P08W7100 to init_hal_sensors function to properly initialize accelerometers (screen rotation).
• Updated /system/etc/init.sh startup script and added NS-P08W7100 to do_bootcomplete function to run custom scripts (enable headphone switching, suspend-to-ram, audio pop fix, etc).
• Enabled navtivebridge support by default and included houdini in the pre-built image, and fixed url link issue with /system/bin/enable_nativebridge script.
• Updated build.prop with optimizations for better GPU and system performance.
• Removed taskbar, calibration and developer tools apps from pre-built image.
• Updates Android-x86 GRUB loader with prettier theme.
• Added ES File Explorer to pre-built image.
• Added nano to pre-built image.

Known Bugs and Issues

• The bytcr5651 audio card in this device has a strange ext-amp (internal speaker) configuration, and it fails to be detected by almost all modern kernels except for k4.18 (with the use of an additional patch to enable the GPIO pin); Hoping to figure out a solution to resolve this on newer kernels but sick of compiling from source with no results, and sticking with 4.18 for now!
• Cameras do not work (no kernel support) Note k5.8 has ressurected the atomisp driver and camera support may be possible in the near future! Tested a build w/atomisp enabled but camera sensors are failing to power up, still debugging)
• Bluetooth is partially working but not reliably discovering or connecting to all devices.
• Formatting SD card with Android isn't working (cannot be used for internal app storage - format with PC for use as portable storage).
• Baytrail/Cherrytrail devices suffer from a c-state bug with linux, which can cause issues with freezing or resuming from standby, but this latest build is fairly stable.
• If having issues resuming from suspend/sleep, you can try using intel_idle.max_state=1 or i915.enable_execlists=0 boot args in GRUB (android.cfg).
• For Netflix support, use version 4.16 build 15172

Notes

• Special thanks to @cwhuang and @youling257 for their support.
• See this topic on the Android-x86 Google Group for more information and for further assistance if necessary.