PowKiddy X18S LineageOS Beta #1 (so many things...) (Patreon)

Important note

The X18STool.exe file has been updated to fix a potential system flash failure. If you downloaded the package before November 20th, 4:50 PM GMT+1, please re-download the files before flashing! If you have already flashed your unit successfully then you can dismiss this message as not all units were affected by this issue equally!

Introduction

It's been a long time coming, but here is LineageOS 18.1 for the PowKiddy X18S!

This device has been a challenge, with all kinds of obstacles to work through, which reflects in the rather large changelog you see. (Broken analog stick drivers that needed fixing, no L3/R3 buttons, no proper way to actually flash anything, etc.)

This is also the first device I've ever encountered that was problematic enough for me to warrant writing my own bootloader unlock and ROM flashing tool (to make it safe enough for "regular people").

I also want to use this chance to say thanks to the brave volunteers over at the Retro Handhelds Discord server for taking some leaps of faith testing the early revisions of my bootloader unlock and ROM flashing tool.

Also thanks to Lapin for the custom wallpaper. This one has already been part of the last GPD XD release, but truth be told it just slipped my mind at the time so I'm explicitly mentioning it here.

And finally, thanks to PsyOps, the good fellow with the endless video editing times that made me realize we really, REALLY, REALLY needed a custom ROM flashing tool, given the fact that a 70+ step tutorial would have probably been too much to handle for the average person out there!

How to install: Unpack the attached files using 7zip and follow the included instructions found inside README.txt.

For those needing the Google Play Store: The PowKiddy X18S is a read-only partition device, which means flashing Google Play app packages (via a recovery) isn't possible. Magisk is shipped out-of-box though, allowing the install of system-less Google Play packages like MagiskGapps. The included README.txt contains a section explaining how to.

For those needing root: Magisk is included out of box and only needs to be activated on first boot. Due to the boot partition being signed, in-app updates of Magisk will render the device semi-bricked. Long story short: Don't update Magisk! When a new Magisk update gets released I will make sure to release a new build containing it!

Changelog

• Added virtual L3/R3 buttons (accessible by tilting any analog stick > 20% and pressing Start or Select)
• Added L3/R3 side-swap (the setting can be found in System -> Buttons -> Extras)
• Added analog stick filtering (the setting can be found in System -> Buttons -> Extras, it's enabled by default and filters out analog stick misfires caused by the X18S jlink_joy gamepad driver)
• Improved the analog stick granularity (allowing for smoother / smaller / finer movements)
• Fixed LCM/LCD/TS digitizer resolution mismatches (which caused touchscreen offset issues)
• Re-calibrated the LCD panel (giving us a 10~15% brightness increase)
• Fixed some Bluetooth audio issues
• Fixed the extensive battery drain
• Fixed the LCD burn-in issue
• Fixed the battery charging issue
• Ported the touchscreen mapper
• Created a cross-platform bootloader unlocker & ROM flashing tool (for Windows & Linux) to ensure users have an easy time migrating to LineageOS

Unfixable known issues (including fixable things that aren't up to me to fix)

• The screen turns off while using HDMI output (PowKiddy uses this to hide the fact that their LCM/LCD rotation values are off, but there's little I can do to fix this unless someone at PowKiddy decides to send me the kernel sourcecode)
• Updating Magisk via the app semi-bricks the device because the bootloader expects signed boot images (don't do it)

Fixable known issues

• Some apps have trouble picking up the R2/L2 buttons and / or analog sticks (currently being investigated)