linux-eve

Linux Support for the Eve Chromebook (Pixelbook i7)

Linux Hardware Support (v4.14)

Functional:

• Webcam
• USB
• Keyboard Backlight
• Intel WiFi and Bluetooth
• PCIe NVME Hard Drive
• Wacom Touch Screen
• Touchpad (needs pressure tweaks for gestures, see below)
• ACPI Buttons
• Backlight control (needs some custom scripts, see below)
• Audio (needs chromeos firmware, see below)
  • Microphone
  • Headphone Jack
  • External Speakers

Needs Debugging

• Audio Routing

  Kbl Audio Port: ASoC: no backend DAIs enabled for Kbl Audio Port
  

Overview

This is a guide to setup a native Linux install on your Eve Chromebook. I have chosen Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (daily snapshot) + Mainline v4.14 kernel as my target.

Setup

• Enable Developer Mode
• Install the latest SeaBIOS firmware (the stock firmware won't detect NVME hard drive)
  • https://mrchromebox.tech/#fwscript
  • Run the command in the terminal, and select the "Install/Update the RW_LEGACY firmware" option
  • The script will ask if you want to enable USB boot by default, select YES. (So you can install a distro from a USB stick)
• Download Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, and create a bootable USB drive.
• Attach USB drive through a TYPE-C USB adapter, and reboot.
• At the OS verification prompt, issue a CTRL-L and ESC and select the USB drive as the boot option.
• Install the OS to the hard drive, the touchpad pressure sensitivity defaults are horrid, and life might be easier for you to use a USB mouse.
• After the install is done, reboot, and boot the machine via Legacy mode off the internal hard drive.

Tweaks

Kernel

• Install the latest released Linux Kernel - http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/

Touchpad

• Fix the touchpad pressure sensitivity
  • As root create a file at /etc/udev/hwdb.d/99-touchpad-pressure.hwdb
  • My configuration is listed below, if you don't like it, knock yourself out - https://wayland.freedesktop.org/libinput/doc/latest/touchpad_pressure.html#touchpad_pressure_hwdb

  libinput:name:*ACPI0C50:00 18D1:5028 Touchpad:dmi:*svnGoogle:*pnEve*
  LIBINPUT_ATTR_PRESSURE_RANGE=15:35
  

  • Once you have added the configuration, run the follow command to update

  sudo udevadm hwdb --update
  

  • Reboot

Backlight

• Clone this repo, and run the scripts/backlight/setup-systemd.sh * This will install a simple service to enable and control the backlight
• Reboot
• Map the brightness
  • Setting -> Keyboard -> Custom
  • Increase brightness = /usr/bin/local/brightness --increase
  • Decrease brightness = /usr/bin/local/brightness --decrease

Audio

• Copy the dfw_sst.bin firmware provided in this repo to /lib/firmware
• Add a blacklist entry in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

  blacklist snd_hda_intel