Cosmo Linux Beta

Linux installation guide

The first step to install Linux on your Cosmo is to make sure you are running the latest Android firmware, currently v19. You can check the Android version by tapping Settings -> System -> Advanced -> About Phone and scrolling to the end of the page as in the following screenshot.

Next you will have to download the Linux firmware, which will need to be installed into the microSD card on your Cosmo. Insert a microSD card on your cosmo and make sure it is formatted as MS-DOS(FAT32).

You can find the download archive at this address: http://support.planetcom.co.uk/download/cosmo-customos-installer-beta.zip

Once you downloaded the zip archive you will have to extract its content onto your microSD card:

Open Files by Google and locate the ZIP archive
Tap the file to reveal the cosmo-customos-installer folder
Long tap on that folder, select Extract to... and finally select the microSD card as desitination. Your microSD card should now contain a folder named cosmo-customos-installer with several files inside it.

Next, you will have to boot into recovery mode. To do that, simply turn ON your Cosmo while keeping pressed the volume up button on the outside cover. The volume up button is the one on the fingerprint sensor, which points UP when the unit is open. The unit should boot into recovery mode and you should be able to see the Android logo, but nothing else - as in the following screenshot.

At this point, keep the ESC key pressed (top left key on the keyboard) and press the volume up button from the outside cover again, then release both keys. This following menu will be displayed.

The main requirement when installing Linux is to reserve space for it. In order to do this you will have to re-partition your device, which will lead to the loss of all your data. Once you reserve some space for Linux you can update Android or Linux independently, without loosing your data again. To change the partition table of your Cosmo use the option "Change the partition table of your COSMO", as in the picture below.

You will have 5 options to choose from:

Reserve all space for Android
Reserve 90GB for Android and 30GB for Linux
Reserve 60GB for Android and 60GB for Linux
Reserve 30GB for Android and 90 GB for Linux
Reserve all space for Linux

If you select to reserve some space for Linux, 4 additional partitions will be created:

EMPTY_RECOVERY_BOOT_2 - This partition can be used to store an image that runs in recovery mode, such as TWRP
EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_3 - This partition can be used to store Debian/KDE or Rooted Android
EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_4 - This partition can be used to store Debian/KDE or Rooted Android
In addition, an extra partition will be created with the custom size selected by the user, which will be used to store the root file system.

Once the storage for Linux has been reserved, you can install a custom OS on your Cosmo, by choosing the related option as in the picture below.

This option will scan the microSD card for compatible installers and will present you with a menu showing the available installers as in the picture below.

Whenever new or updated custom operating systems will be available for the Cosmo, you will be able to download them into a micro SD card and install it in your device.

At the moment we have initial support for the following:

TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project)
Debian using KDE/Plasma - beta
Rooted Android

Once you select a custom OS you have to select where to install its boot firmware. Remember that you can install TWRP only on the EMPTY_RECOVERY_BOOT_2 partition, while you can install Debian/KDE and the Rooted android image in either EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_3 or EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_4 partitions.

Once you select the boot partition, the custom OS will be installed on your Cosmo Communicator. A boot menu will then appear when you turn ON the device, allowing you to choose what to start as in the following picture.

Using this method you will be able to install a custom OS such as Linux on your device without the need for a laptop or a desktop computer. All you need to do is to download the installer in a micro SD card and use the recovery mode to start the installation.

How to install TWRP

Follow the installation steps above and just remember that TWRP can only installed in the EMPTY_RECOVERY_BOOT_2 partition.

How to install Debian/KDE

Simply follow the installation steps above. The Debian/KDE installer will automatically install the boot image into the selected partition and it will also install the rootfs image into the Linux partition.

Tips

The password for the 'gemini' user is 'gemini'
To configure the keyboard layout of your Cosmo, click on the menu icon and select System Settings. Inside System Settings select "Input Devices" and set the Keyboard Model under Hardware to "Planet | Planet Computers Gemini" as in the screenshot below. Tap the Apply button.

WIFI - To setup the WIFI connection tap on the WIFI icon on the bottom right, select the WIFI network you want to connect to and tap Connect.

Linux known bugs

Multiple keyboard layout don't work out of the box. To activate multiple keyboard layout you can experiment with similar to:

setxkbmap -layout planet_vndr/gemini\(gb\),planet_vndr/gemini\(ru\)

Opening/Closing the unit does not suspend/resume the unit at this time. You will have to manually shutdown the unit via software when you want to terminate your Linux session.
Installing applications - In order to install application using the classic apt-get command, you will have to remove the "_apt" user from the /etc/passwd file.