# Just how impossible is it to get FreeBSD to support part of existing Android phones?



## mavavilj (Jul 3, 2022)

Just how impossible is it to get FreeBSD to support part of existing Android phones?

I have grown very positive towards FreeBSD on desktop, but since mobile phones are a significant other device, then I find that having Android there suggests that Linux for desktop that is also, except for some specialized domains.

Then I read about Pine64 and something.

But ultimately FreeBSD would need to be ran on existing phones, rather than building new phones, right?

But how possible/impossible is this?

Or also, is it worth anything, if most phone users are non- power users anyways? So they will barely tell the difference between Symbian or Windows or whatever. As long as it runs the apps.

Also, where can I begin to learn how to approach compiling FreeBSD for Moto G5 for example? Unless this, in fact, requires intervention by the phone company itself.


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## SirDice (Jul 4, 2022)

mavavilj said:


> Just how impossible is it to get FreeBSD to support part of existing Android phones?


Because several hardware manufactures don't supply the necessary documentation and don't care to support FreeBSD at all. It's not the FreeBSD developers that don't want to, it's the manufactures not willing (or able) to provide the required documentation and code.


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## mavavilj (Jul 4, 2022)

I wonder if there's any platform that allows even "proof-of-concept FreeBSD Mobile" type of thing?


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## SirDice (Jul 4, 2022)

You have no idea what the hardware of a smartphone looks like don't you?


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## eternal_noob (Jul 4, 2022)

I'd love to see FreeBSD running on my Samsung S5 too!
Last week i resurrected it and installed LineageOS 18.1 (Android 11) because there is no mobile version of FreeBSD.


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## sidetone (Jul 4, 2022)

You would need to be an expert to cross compile it for that hardware. You would need to know the type of architecture it is. It may need a whole organization to build and maintain it.

I see BSD's as too big and have too much to fit on a small phone, without using a microSD card. As long as it holds over a gigabyte. If it can be installed on the microSD card, rather on the phone itself, that's more than enough room. Cross compiling and basing it off of https://www.minibsd.org/ or compiling world from source would provide a small enough size to fit on a phone. If it works on the microSD card, the OS wouldn't be in the phone itself, and for data, you wouldn't be able to switch out the card, unless each one had a whole OS on it. Maybe it can be installed on the phone itself through the microSD card?

You would have more luck with this on a PinePhone, they'll let you know the architecture, then cross compile it for that hardware. The phone would already be compatible to have enough room on it, and to allow a microSD card. NetBSD may have better luck of supporting or providing assistance for it. Some on these forums may provide hints, but much of the work, NetBSD may provide more of that.

Then, move on from PinePhone, to learning and attempting on an Android phone. That may be a different level of challenge and restrictions.

Getting it on an Android may seem farfetched, but a lot of people would want to see any Opensource OS installed on it. I can actually see NetBSD supporting and having an installation of PinePhone as a (a low) tier. Then, I can imagine a fork for that for a smaller OS from NetBSD's installation. Android is a little more far fetched, but something like that is possible, though less likely to happen.


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## covacat (Jul 4, 2022)

freebsd hardware support is not up to par even on arm development boards let alone phones/tablets
you may get a serial console with no networking and probably no video output if you try hard enough


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## mavavilj (Jul 4, 2022)

covacat said:


> freebsd hardware support is not up to par even on arm development boards let alone phones/tablets



One may also wonder, if further hardware support is a worthy goal even? Can one expect that some now Android phone manufacturer would ever consider adding BSD to their phone?


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## astyle (Jul 5, 2022)

Ah, I recognize OP from Discord yesterday. Different username, same language.  Spent about an hour telling him to learn how to do research, and pointed to AMD's ROCm / HIP as an example. Manufacturer docs are out there, publicly available, but you need some education to be able to connect the dots and know where to look and problem-solve. The guy was just trolling for money-making ideas. He not only had pretty limited knowledge about how things are even developed and put together, but refused to even learn how to connect dots and do research.


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