Running Linux on DEX (Galaxy Note/S/Tab) - Sharing Thread

[mib1800]

Please share experience and tips.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...WMAV6BAgAEAE&usg=AOvVaw1XT9J7w-OQqVD-lSu1d1S2


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.te...ll-finally-give-life-to-the-linux-smartphone/

I have just installed it on my Note 9. When plugged into my Dex, it gives a full screen Linux desktop environment. Really excited what it can do. I am not very familiar with Linux so it is good time to pick it up. The UI seems simple. Performance wise, it is very good and snappy.

 

[Klyster]

I haven't installed yet but this was interesting.

 

[jamesrick80]

When a phone actually has other capabilities and allows it to happen...the joy of android and Samsung devices.

 

[Lightsaber]

I am using this on a note 9 and it is a great experience. Used it for most of the day and no complaints. Was able to bring up Visual Studio Code and do some golang work, it worked well. A coworker had me bring up YouTube videos on the ubuntu browser and the phone at the same time and monitor with htop. It was running on all 8 cores but there was no real lag. Overall a fun experience. In theory a company could give their developers one of these phones and do away with a laptop, it worked that well. Was able to plug in a gigabit ethernet adapter, mouse, keyboard and ssd drive in external enclosure and all worked well.

 

[mib1800]

I am using this on a note 9 and it is a great experience. Used it for most of the day and no complaints. Was able to bring up Visual Studio Code and do some golang work, it worked well. A coworker had me bring up YouTube videos on the ubuntu browser and the phone at the same time and monitor with htop. It was running on all 8 cores but there was no real lag. Overall a fun experience. In theory a company could give their developers one of these phones and do away with a laptop, it worked that well. Was able to plug in a gigabit ethernet adapter, mouse, keyboard and ssd drive in external enclosure and all worked well.

Great. Just a question. Are you able to get connection to work over WIFI?
Mine doesnt work.

 

[Lightsaber]

Great. Just a question. Are you able to get connection to work over WIFI?
Mine doesnt work.

Using this on an unlocked note 9 with the October update. Wifi in DeX Linux mode works with no issues. When I plug in the gigabit ethernet adapter it takes precedence over wifi. That priority should be adjustable by changing the network interface metrics (i.e. ifmetric).

 

[bobbie424242]

It sort of make the iPad pro feel even more castrated.

 

[Lightsaber]

It sort of make the iPad pro feel even more castrated.

I have the original 12.9 iPad Pro. Tried everything to get it to work as a daily driver for using as a development machine - spent a fair amount of money on apps, keyboard, pen etc. but never got it there. Bought the note 9 a week ago and I now have a completely functional linux development environment in my pocket. My inner geek is incredibly happy right now. On the Reddit DeX linux forum somebody actually got Blender 3d running on DeX linux, how cool is that.

 

[mib1800]

Using this on an unlocked note 9 with the October update. Wifi in DeX Linux mode works with no issues. When I plug in the gigabit ethernet adapter it takes precedence over wifi. That priority should be adjustable by changing the network interface metrics (i.e. ifmetric).

I found out connection via my home WiFi works fine.

But work WiFi using 802.1x EAP doesn't work. Anyone knows how to fix or is this a bug?

 

[mi7chy]

Aside from the phone what's the hardware requirement? Does it work with just the Note 9 included dongle with bluetooth keyboard and mouse or do you need the Dex Pad?

Btw, this looks like a nice lapdock accessory for the Note 9 Snapdragon version if you can pick one up for cheap like $150 or less. Sounds like you'll also need a USB-C to USB-C Gen 2 USB 3.1 (aka Thunderbolt) cable and there are known caveats.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-V8H07UT-ABA-Premium-Package/dp/B01M14FYYU

This particular model of the lapdock is well built and is fully compatible with Samsung Dex on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Snapdragon version (other Samsung models are not supported yet, possibly in the future with updates from Samsung that disable the need to have a Samsung Dex Dock).

The keyboard and trackpad both work decently well (the trackpad is not the best I've used for a laptop, but it works just fine), with the caveat, the button clicks don't work, but you can get the same effect but tapping with two finger for right click and tapping with one finger as left click. The screen is a solid Full-HD IPS panel, and the lapdock battery does slow charge the phone while in Dex mode.

Also, you might see a notification icon indicating that you should use genuine Samsung Dex product (but you can just x it out), but it doesn't stop the lapdock from fully functioning. Also, Wifi-Direct doesn't work, but you can use Smart View.

As of October 24th, 2018, Samsung Dex on the Galaxy Note 9 (Snapdragon version) works completely with this specific model V8H07UT#ABA lapdock. Trackpad works, keyboard works, audio works, and display are all functional with Samsung Dex. Make sure to use a good USB-C cable such as this one from https://smile.amazon.com/Anker-Thun...TF8&qid=1540370788&sr=8-1&keywords=B076D76DRQ from Anker. There have been reports that this also partially works with the Galaxy Note 9 (Exynos version) but no audio. The other Samsung devices S9, S8, Note 8, and etc have not been updated to support Dex without a Dex dock yet.

 

[Lightsaber]

Aside from the phone what's the hardware requirement? Does it work with just the Note 9 included dongle with bluetooth keyboard and mouse or do you need the Dex Pad?

Btw, this looks like a nice lapdock accessory if you can pick one up for cheap like $150 or less. Sounds like you'll also need a USB-C to USB-C Gen 2 USB 3.1 (aka Thunderbolt) cable and there are known caveats.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-V8H07UT-ABA-Premium-Package/dp/B01M14FYYU

Seems like it is hit or miss with those hp lapdocks and the note 9. For some people they work great and for others not at all. Seems to have something to do with the firmware version they are running.

In terms of docks I typically use the DeX pad since it has a cooling fan built in. Also have a USB-c to hdmi adapter that works well but it doesn't offer charging like the DeX pad. Interestingly enough I tried a friend's apple USB-c dock and charger for the macbook and it worked really well, including fast charging. Based on reading through various android forums it seems there are a good number of USB-c docks that will just plug in and work.

In terms of keyboards and mice I found any bluetooth keyboard/mouse has worked and when using the DeX pad a wired keyboard and wired trackball or mouse worked just fine.

One thing I found really nice is the ability to plug in external disks. I took a 500gb ssd in an external usb3 enclosure that was formatted with the exfat filesystem and it mounted and read it immediately.

 

[Tsepz]

It sort of make the iPad pro feel even more castrated.

iPad Pro is just a glorified iPhone really. I came to accept that iOS is not great for productivity and I now use my iPad simply to watch Netflix and YouTube in bed, it's best for that.

A Galaxy Note is far more of a productivity beast than iPad or iPad Pro, even the SPen is far ahead, being able to be tucked away in the phone's body and charge up in no time for years.

 

[mib1800]

Seems like it is hit or miss with those hp lapdocks and the note 9. For some people they work great and for others not at all. Seems to have something to do with the firmware version they are running.

In terms of docks I typically use the DeX pad since it has a cooling fan built in. Also have a USB-c to hdmi adapter that works well but it doesn't offer charging like the DeX pad. Interestingly enough I tried a friend's apple USB-c dock and charger for the macbook and it worked really well, including fast charging. Based on reading through various android forums it seems there are a good number of USB-c docks that will just plug in and work.

In terms of keyboards and mice I found any bluetooth keyboard/mouse has worked and when using the DeX pad a wired keyboard and wired trackball or mouse worked just fine.

One thing I found really nice is the ability to plug in external disks. I took a 500gb ssd in an external usb3 enclosure that was formatted with the exfat filesystem and it mounted and read it immediately.

How do you get the external drive to be accessible in Linux?

 

[840quadra]

What’s the point?

Not to sound crass, just curious the use case for people interested in this. For the geek inside me, I find it intriguing, but that’s about it. We are already running a fairly open UX based OS, with lots of great packages available inside and out of official channels.

 

[Lightsaber]

What’s the point?

Not to sound crass, just curious the use case for people interested in this. For the geek inside me, I find it intriguing, but that’s about it. We are already running a fairly open UX based OS, with lots of great packages available inside and out of official channels.

What you said is true, no disagreement here. My wife looks at what I do with it and just laughs. Some coworkers think it is great, others wonder why. Probably like anything in life, if it scratches that itch then go for it. That being said I found it replaced dragging a laptop back and forth from work, always have my phone on me anyways and now that I can use it as a linux desktop was a win for me.

 

[mi7chy]

Here's another new lapdock option with wider device support.

https://miraxess.com/smartphone-compatible-mirabook

 

[840quadra]

What you said is true, no disagreement here. My wife looks at what I do with it and just laughs. Some coworkers think it is great, others wonder why. Probably like anything in life, if it scratches that itch then go for it. That being said I found it replaced dragging a laptop back and forth from work, always have my phone on me anyways and now that I can use it as a linux desktop was a win for me.

I think it is really cool overall, just wasn’t sure the use case people are going for. I have always loved mixing software, and doing things outside of normal.

Always loved how Android has supported keyboards and a mouse, along with an external display. I actually wrote an article on one of my old Nexus phones using this method. Super cool, sad that Apple cripples their devices (Didn’t Steve say iPhone ran OS X ) from the start.