rgvxsthi / Braswell-EDGAR-Linux-Fixes

Fix sound and other essentials on Braswell-based Chromebooks running Linux

Some fixes for running Linux as a daily driver on Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431

Update Log:

• 14/07/2021 - Updated Keyboard fix for Ubuntu/Debian distros

Fixes for Arch-based distros

Tested on EndeavourOS XFCE on an Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431

Update mirror list

The below command updates the Pacman mirrorlist with latest 200 updated HTTP and HTTPS mirrors (configured for AU and NZ regions - refer to ArchWiki for more info) sorted by download speed. The following command uses reflector to update and save the contents to /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.

1. Open a Terminal window
2. Run the below command:

reflector --latest 200 --country AU --country NZ --protocol http --protocol https --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Fixes for Ubuntu-based Distros (Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Kubuntu/Mint etc...)

Most of these fixes worked properly for me under Kubuntu 20.04 and KDE neon 5.18 on an Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431! (seems to be good on most Ubuntu-based distros)

Audio

All thanks to J. Starnes @ AskUbuntu for the fix. MrChromebox states that "this fix should work for all Braswell ChromeOS devices, except maybe the R11/C738T, since it uses a different audio codec/amp"

Installation

1. Fixing Audio via Speakers

1. Open a terminal and enter the following commands line-by-line:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rgvxsthi/Braswell-EDGAR-Linux-Fixes/master/asound.state
pgrep alsa
sudo cp asound.state /var/lib/alsa/asound.state
sudo alsa force-reload

3. Test to check that your sound is working or not (via Sound Mixer/Firefox etc)
4. If working, use the following commands to make the changes permanent

alsactl init
sudo alsactl store --file /var/lib/alsa/asound.state
sudo alsa force-reload

2. Fixing Audio for Headphones

Once you have followed the above steps and your sound is working (check after a reboot as well), you have to follow the following steps to unmute your headphones.

1. Open a terminal and type

alsamixer

2. Press F6 (brightness decrease key)
3. Select your sound card (chtrt5650 for me)
4. Press right arrow key once to move to Headphone Channel
5. Press "m" to unmute it and the ESC key to save these changes.

Keyboard

All thanks to TickleMeElmo132 on Reddit for the great write-up on this very easy fix.

To use the keys the same way they work under ChromeOS on your Ubuntu-based distro, follow the below steps.

Installation

1. Open up a terminal and type the following commands:

sudo apt install intltool xutils-dev -y

2. Once the above build utilities have installed/updated, open up a terminal to download GalliumOS's default keyboard configuration. This file is hosted on GalliumOS's build server and also mirrored on this GitHub repository for easy access/download:

wget https://apt.galliumos.org/pool/main/x/xkeyboard-config/xkb-data_2.23.1-1ubuntu1-galliumos1_all.deb

3. Once the file has downloaded, install it with terminal:

sudo dpkg -i xkb-data_2.23.1-1ubuntu1-galliumos1_all.deb

4. Restart your computer and check your keyboard layout settings. You should have a new listing called "Chromebook". Play around with the settings and pick the option that suits best:

Fix for boot-menu not opening/boot options not displaying and only showing a black screen

If for some reason, the boot options/menu show a black screen and you're not able to boot from the USB, try the following fix (big ups to MrChromebox for the fix). These should work on any distro, not just Ubuntu-based.

1. Boot to your installed linux distro
2. In Terminal, type the following command:

sudo efibootmgr -O

(capital O and not a zero)

3. Reboot and you should be able to see the boot menu/options now.

P.S. if you're able to see the EFI shell, the following command might also work (haven't tested):

setvar BootOrder =

and then type

exit

Reboot and you should be able to see the boot menu/options now.