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This document will guide you through the necessary steps needed to flash install or update Android on your Gemini with Linux or Android OS.

'''Please note: &nbsp;''' '''<span style="color: #ff0000;">Flashing Installing Android or Linux will delete any user data on the device. Please make sure you have a backup of any important data before starting!</span>'''

<div style="text-align: justify;">'''Important Note: <span style="color: #ff0000;">please Please don’t use other tools to flash firmware fo your Gemini as it’s easy to loose key information such as the IMEI number. In particular, never use the “Format all + download“ option in the SP Flash Tool as this erases key information stored in the NVRAM partition and can lead to a non-functional device.<br data-attributes="%20/"><br data-attributes="%20/"></span>'''</div>There are 3 steps needed to install or upgrade Android on your Gemini:

To flash your Gemini with an Android or Linux firmware you will need a Windows or Linux PC and you will have to complete These steps are detailed in the following steps:next sections.

# Download and Install FlashTool for Windows or Linux# Down  ==<br data-attributes="%20/">Download and Install FlashTool on Windows==The first step to install FlashTool on a Windows PC is to install the flash tool drivers. These The drivers are needed for your Windows PC to communicate with your Gemini, the minimum requirement is to have a 64bit Windows operating system.

Once downloaded the Windows flash toolFlashTool, please unzip it to reveal the '''FlashToolWindows''' folder. Next, run the flash tool by double clicking on '''flash_tool''' (flash_tool.exe) file in the '''FlashToolWindows''' folder.

<code>ATTRS{idVendor}=="0e8d", ENV{ID_MM_DEVICE_IGNORE}="1"</code><br data-attributes="%20/"><code>ATTRS{idVendor}=="6000", ENV{ID_MM_DEVICE_IGNORE}="1"<br data-attributes="%20/"></code>

 &nbsp;<code>sudo apt-get install libjpeg62</code>

On Fedora you will have to write the following command to allow applications running with root privileges to access the X server (this will fix the lines above for both the gedit and the flash_toolcommand):

Additionally you will have to  to&nbsp; restart the udev service by typing (or rebooting your machine):

<code>udevadm control --reload-rules &amp;& amp; udevadm trigger</code>

==Download Android-Only Gemini Firmware==Now that the Flash Tool FlashTool application is running, it is time to download the Gemini Android Firmware. Planet Computers provides both an Android-only firmware and a Linux or Android-Linux firmware. If you choose to flash a standard Android firmware, you will have to download one from this page: the [[Gemini Firmware|Gemini Firmware.page]].

 ==Download Android/Linux Gemini Firmware==If you choose to flash a Linux or Android-Linux firmware, then you will have to repartition your device, reserving some space for Linux and some for Android. To repartition your Gemini you will have to use our partition tool, available at [http://support.planetcom.co.uk/partitionTool.html http://support.planetcom.co.uk/partitionTool.html]. A screenshot of the tool is provided below. [[File:Screen_Shot_2018-06-20_at_11.06.06.png|center|640x422px|border]] You can choose the partition size for Linux and Android by dragging the planet slider left or right. You can choose to have an Android-only Gemini, a multi boot Linux-Android or a Linux-only Gemini. Once you have selected the partition sizes you have to select your Gemini model using the appropriate drop down menu. There are 3 Gemini versions, please make sure you select the right version for your device. WiFi-Only Gemini users should select "Gemini WIFI-Only". 4G Gemini users using x25 chip (early release Geminis) should select "Gemini x25" and finally Gemini 4G x27 users should select the "Gemini x27" option. If you are not sure about your Gemini version, just check under Settings -> Wireless & networks. If you see a menu called SIM cards, then you have an x27 Gemini, otherwise you have an x25 Gemini. After selecting the partition size, you can select the operating systems to use for each boot mode. Gemini supports 4 boot modes. When the Gemini is OFF, press Esc(On) key for around one second to initiate the booting process. Immeditately after that, the unit will vibrate, and after a few seconds the screen will turn ON. When the screen turns ON, the Gemini will check the status of the Esc (On) key and of the side silver button. Based on the status of those buttons there are 4 possible booting modes: * Boot 1: Both Esc (On) key and side button are not pressed. This is the default booting option when no buttons are pressed.* Recovery Mode: Esc (On) is pressed. This will always boot into overy mode.* Boot 2: Side button is pressed.* Boot 3: Esc(On) key is pressed and Side button is also pressed As an example, the following screenshot shows a Gemini WIFI-Only model, configured with 28 GB for both Android and Linux, where the boot modes are set as: * Boot 1: Standard Android* Boot 2: Debian GNU/Linux* Boot 3: Sailfish OS  [[File:Screen_Shot_2018-06-20_at_11.16.03.png|center|640x421px|border]]  After you made your selection, there are 3 modules to download using the buttons on the right: * The Base firmware contains the basic Android firmware. This is the main component, it needs to be extracted to reveal the Gemini Base firmware folder. All the other component need to be copied/unzipped here.* The Scatter file contains the definition of your Gemini partition, based on your selection. This needs to be copied into the firmware folder* The optional Linux (Debian, Sailfish or Debian+Sailfish) contains the additional Linux module. This needs to be unzipped into the firmware folder Once you have extracted the base firmware,  copied the scatter file and unzipped the optional Linux module, you will be ready to proceed to the next step. ==Configuring Flash ToolFlashTool==

* Scatter-loading file should be set to the specific scatter '''Gemini_Android.txt''' file of the firmware that you want to flash, which is located in inside the of the firmware folderthat you downloaded.

[[File:flash1Screen_Shot_2018-06-21_at_10.45.58.png|center|800x511px|border]]

[[File:nvramScreen_Shot_2018-06-21_at_10.52.02.png|center|799x526px|border]]  Next, just click the '''Read Back''' button, connect your Gemini to your PC and restart the Gemini. Once rebooted, the flash tool will detect the phone and will write the NVRAM partition on a file on your hard disk called NVRAM0. It’s a good idea to keep this file as a backup.  

[[FileNext, just click the '''Read Back''' button, <span style="color:flash1#252525; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif; font-size: 15.008px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">connect your PC to the left end USB-C port on your Gemini</span> and restart the Gemini. Once booting, the flash tool will detect the unit and will write the NVRAM partition on a file on your hard disk called NVRAM0 (see screenshot below). It’s a good idea to keep this file as a backup.png|center|640x419px|border]]

Once you select the scatter file, the table should be populated as below[[File:Screen_Shot_2018-06-21_at_10.51.50.png|center|800x527px|border]]

[[File:flash2If you want to flash the complete firmware to your unit then select '''Firmware Upgrade''' from the drop down menu.png]]This will automatically select all the partitions in the table and it will restore your unit to its factory state. Please note that you will loose all your personal data/settings. 

Finally, change the '''Download Only''' drop down menu to '''Firmware Upgrade''' and click on the '''Download''' button[[File:Screen_Shot_2018-06-21_at_11. When switching between a standard Android to a dual boot Android/Linux firmware, you must use the '''Firmware Upgrade '''mode because you need to format the device and change the partitions01.20.png|center|800x597px|border]]

==Manually Update Android firmware==Planet Computers provides over-If instead you want to manually update your Gemini without loosing your data, you should select the '''Download Only '''option from the-air update for standard Android installationsdrop down menu. For custom installationAfter that, make sure you will need to manually update select all the partition with the exception of the Android firmware'''userdata''' partition, which contains your data.Your screen should look like this:

To update the Android firmware, simply download the latest Android firmware from [http[File://supportScreen_Shot_2018-06-21_at_11.planetcom12.co29.uk/index.php/Gemini_Firmware http://support.planetcom.co.uk/index.php/Gemini_Firmwarepng|center|800x597px|border]] and use the '''Download Only''' option while selecting only the system partition, as in the screenshot below

==Linux dual boot notes==The dual boot mechanism works as followfollowing screenshot shows a successfully completed flashing process:

* '''Dual boot Android[[File:Screen_Shot_2018-Linux firmware'''** Press Esc (On) for around one second to turn ON the unit and boot into Android. You should release the Esc (On) button before the screen turns ON, otherwise the unit will boot into recovery mode (see below).** Press Esc (On) for around one second to turn ON the unit and at the same time press and hold the side button until the screen turns ON to boot into Linux. You should release the Esc (On) button before the screen turns ON, but you must keep the side button pressed until you see the turning ON. When the screen turns ON you can release the side button, and the unit will boot into Linux06-21_at_11.** Press Esc (On) and keep pressing the button until the screen turns ON to boot in recovery mode17. At this stage the recovery mode is disabled and you will see a droid image with a red triangle and a "No command" text44.png|center|800x595px|border]]