What inexpensive tablets will antiX run on?

[Moderator BobC]

I see cheap tablets from China, as cheap as $10 or $15.

I’m curious to try loading a tablet with Linux if I knew more about it and how to know what would be likely to work.

Any experiences, good or bad? Suggestions what to look for or avoid?

Thanks…

[Anonymous]

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Hi BobC,

I would see what the hardware/drivers are and look for any that
would be trouble.
see if the wifi,audio,video, etc are supported by the kernels. It’s
a bit like looking at laptops as far as that — see if the hardware
is working on linux.

[Member eugen-b]

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UBPorts is the closest you can get to GNU/Linux on a tablet. See their list of supported devices.

I don’t say that anything else is impossible, but if it was easily possible for you then you would have asked on a forum. 😉

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by eugen-b.

[Member Xecure]

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My experience with antiX and tablets is short, but I will try to explain what I have learnt.

BobC wrote:

I see cheap tablets from China, as cheap as $10 or $15.

You better forget this. Most of these are ARM based. You will have to look for intel based tablets (probably using atom Z8300 series). I think the most basic ones will start at 70$, thought second hand may be a good option.

Things you must avoid:
– Tablets that come only with android (as they will probably have no compatible firmware for linux, and maybe not even a BIOS). If they can run Windows, your hope can go up.
– AVOID EMMC. Search for tablets that can have their hard drive replaced, if possible. Doesn’t matter if they are real SSDs or hybrids. If the EMMC breaks, I don’t know if you will be able to find someone that can replace them. Your only hope would be to use them only in live environment with a USB permanently plugged in.
– Search for devices you CAN disassemble (search google for “tabletname” “disassemble”). Shitstuff like the Surface Pro is a No-no. If you cannot open it with screwdrivers and/or a plastic “clip” (I don’t know what they are called in English), don’t get it. If it breaks, it will become a useless paperweight.
– they MUST have a USB port (or Micro-usb, or the like). You need to boot antiX, and I believe this is not possible to do from an SD card. Get a USB Dongle, as you will probably have to use Mouse + keyboard + live-USB to install antiX, before you are able to get the touchscreen working and Onboard or other on-screen keyboards installed.
– It is better if they have a charging port. If they only charge through USB, then you will not be able to use mouse/keyboard (incase the touch recognition stops) or even a USB-Wifi device, as the onboard wifi may not work under linux (or maybe is missing a firmware file, which you will need to add manually) while they are charging. I would also check, before installing antiX (on the live-USB), that charging and battery level is detected. Some devices simply will never charge after linux is installed (missing driver/frimware).
– Check to see if the Wifi chip works under linux (search on the net). You won’t be able to update anything or navigate the interwebs (except if using Ethernet to USB or a WIFI USB device).
– Touch. AVOID SILEAD. Silead touchscreens are very buggy. My tablet has a Silead screen, and Debian doesn’t include the driver with their kernel (fortunately, anticapitalista does).
– If you are planning on using a WM, think about the resolution. Too big, and you will have to: a)Use a lower resolution, b)Use hi-DPI (Font will be readable), but buttons in programs will look extremely small (I haven’t figured out how to increase their size).

Before buying, search google for “tabletname” “Ubuntu” or “Arch”, as most people who try to configure their tablet with linux use one of them. Maybe even the Arch wiki has an article of someone who got their tablet working and what drivers/firmwares/kernel-version were needed.

My experience: I got a secondhand Teclast X98 plus ii. I needed to boot from USB 4 or 5 times before a special version of Xubuntu launched. antiX launched every single time (10 points to antiX), some problems reinstalling with the present eMMC disk, but it worked. Silead touchscreen (ouch). I needed to find the firmware online, place it in the correct folder and manually restart silead module. Had some trouble calibrating (but it worked out). Wifi (RTL8723BS) needed a firmware I found in MX 18, and I think it only worked when I upgraded the kernel to antiX 4.19 version (bluetooth never worked). Battery wasn’t recognized. I had to compile a new antix-4.19 kernel for my device with the needed modules for my battery and charger (axp288). Sound never worked (still investigating the chip), no gyroscope (created a script to rotate the screen and the touch coordinates), no webcam (who needs this?). I was working on finding a way to compile a module to get Bluetooth working, so at least I could get audio through Bluetooth. Now I have it loaned, and I don’t think I will get it any time soon, so the project is stopped.
antiX works like a charm. Very very fast. Faster than MX and WAY faster than Windows. I was using this device to read ebooks and navigate the web.

Hope this helps.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Xecure. Reason: Added info about wifi USB dongles

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Moderator BobC]

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I guess I misunderstood what was possible. Thank you all for your wisdom and saving me a lot of headaches.

My current plethora of laptops and desktops will have to do, then.

Who knows, maybe a virused or corrupted free Windows one will drop from the sky for me 🙂

[Member manyroads]

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Here’s some info on the market: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-tablets/

Edit: If it were me, and it often is, I go to amazon & egghead looking for refurbished PCs. They mostly work wonderfully and cost very little especially if you stick with known Linux friendly companies like Dell.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by manyroads.

Pax vobiscum,
Mark Rabideau - http://many-roads.com
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." H. L. Mencken
dwm & i3wm ~Reg. Linux User #449130
20 Jan 2021 ~ "End of an Error"

[Moderator BobC]

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Yes, that was the article I started from. I was had gotten the impression that there were a lot of tablets able to be loaded with Linux, and had the mistaken conception that included the android ones, but read that article, and was trying to see if there was better or more up to date info I had missed.

Indeed, all the laptops I have left that run are Dell’s.

[Forum Admin rokytnji]

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Door stop IBM touchscreen early tablet laying around somewhere. Think it is a A model of some sort.
Door stop Android 4 inch screen tablet laying around somewhere also.

If I could put em to use. But the effort required seemed useless to me for so little gain.

These are still relevant on my shelf though: ebay link

I did not pay 50 bucks and mine came with everything. So I bought 2. Texas dude who was buying these from school auctions had them listed cheap <25 bucks> a few years ago on ebay.

Edit: If interested. M&A Touchscreen netbook is another name as well as M&A companion netbook. Al have passive touchscreens that work in AntiX.

2nd edit: avoid this model though. Fixed screen and NO touch capabilities. The touchscreen ones swivel and fold down into a tablet.

3rd edit: They are fibbing on the listing I showed. I know for a fact that no 10 inch screen M&A companion netbooks made in that series. They were all 9 inch screens. They also came with only Windows XP from the factory

https://liliputing.com/2008/10/ma-companion-pc-another-classmate-pc.html

Last edit: if ebay aint your thing : letgo.com sells like ebay does also and is chock full of computer gear like facebook sales and may be cheaper in the long run.
example: Since I live near midland Texas. letgo midland texas would be search engine term.
Face book sales needs no explanation I would think.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by rokytnji.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by rokytnji.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by rokytnji.

Sometimes I drive a crooked road to get my mind straight.
Not all who Wander are Lost.
I'm not outa place. I'm from outer space.

Linux Registered User # 475019
How to Search for AntiX solutions to your problems

[Forum Admin rokytnji]

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Not cheap cheap. But doable for someone maybe?

https://us.letgo.com/en/i/laptop_a9b2341b-dec7-490d-a9ae-10991a305fd3

Just posting a example. I dicker on the price 1st before commiting to the sale.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by rokytnji.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by rokytnji.

Sometimes I drive a crooked road to get my mind straight.
Not all who Wander are Lost.
I'm not outa place. I'm from outer space.

Linux Registered User # 475019
How to Search for AntiX solutions to your problems

[Moderator BobC]

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Its ok, Roki. I’ll just live with what I have unless I find a freecycle one. If I had another working DVD drive I could get the old PIII 400 working. It’s from 1998 and doesn’t have USB that it can boot from. I did get it booted with 17.4.1 base from CD, so I’m hopeful it will work with 19 once a CD sized boot is available.

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