117 karma · joined November 17, 2020
You can see the current progress here: https://github.com/toltec-dev/toltec/issues/820
As for the comment on the kernel change, that was actually an ask by someone in the community: https://github.com/reMarkable/linux/issues/8
As for the statement that they don't respond to requests for source that they are obligated to release. They have everything that they are obligated to release on GitHub, and they have always released updated toolchains (that include a bunch of source) when. requested of them. They have been kinda late with the latest request, so yes they aren't timely right now. I've been poking what contacts I have, but I think a bunch of people had some extended vacations around the holidays or something.
It would be nice if someone were to start working on an aftermarket linux distribution/ecossytem that targets eink devices. It's a lot of work to do, though, so I'm not surprised that nobody has picked up that torch yet.
Some notes on the reMarkable, it is running a custom linux distribution that is based on Openembedded Core[0]. The company publishes their modifications to the linux kernel[1], so one person has created their own linux distribution for the original reMarkable tablet [2]. The reMarkable 2 currently has no native framebuffer driver for the screen, due to it being software controlled by the UI application, which requires a workaround for custom applications[3].
0. https://www.yoctoproject.org/software-item/openembedded-core... 1. https://github.com/reMarkable/linux 2. http://www.davisr.me/projects/parabola-rm/ 3. https://github.com/ddvk/remarkable2-framebuffer
There are two types of bricking[0]. A hard brick, where the device no longer functions, and may not be recoverable, and a soft brick, where the device is still working, but fails to boot to a usable state.
> It does NOT sound like having root access.
Could you clarify what you mean by this not sounding like you have root access? You have the ability to sign in to the device as the root user out of the box, which is exactly what root access is.
> This big warning is on the front page: > > > Warning: Toltec does not support OS builds newer than 2.15.1.1189. You will soft-brick your device if you install before support is released. See remarkable2-recovery for information on how to recover your device if you have done this.
Yes, I know about the warning, I wrote it. When it was less strongly worded, way too many people were ignoring the warning, trying to install toltec on an OS version that didn't have the offsets required for rm2fb yet, and did not write down their SSH password or set up an SSH key.
As for bricking your device: It will not hard brick, it may only soft-brick[0], as in, the display will not update on the rM2, because the software driving the screen needs to be updated to support the new OS. You can still SSH in and revert the changes and then downgrade. If you were silly enough not to write down your SSH password, or set up an SSH key and can't get into SSH, you can still recover your device[3] on your own.
0. https://remarkable.guide/faqs.html#can-i-install-toltec-befo... 1. https://remarkable.guide/devel/toolchains.html 2. https://remarkable.guide/guide/access/ssh.html 3. https://remarkable.guide/tech/recovery.html 4. https://github.com/sandsmark/recrossable
0. https://remarkablewiki.com/tech/ssh 1. https://toltec-dev.org/stable/#section-kernel 2. https://github.com/timower/rM2-stuff/tree/master/apps/yaft 3. https://github.com/dixonary/fingerterm-reMarkable 4. https://toltec-dev.org/stable/#section-readers
another option would be to just grab the files from the package itself and extract them to the device, and then manually run the install script steps as required. They are basically just gz tarballs.
There is also https://github.com/plan5/remarvin