Xiaomi Redmi 6A (xiaomi-cactus)

Features
Flashing It is possible to flash the device with pmbootstrap flasher.	Works
USB Networking After connecting the device with USB to your PC, you can connect to it via telnet (initramfs) or SSH (booted system).	Works
Battery Charging and battery level reporting works	Untested
Screen Display works. Ideally with sleep mode and brightness control.	Works
Touchscreen	Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration	Untested
Audio Audio playback, microphone, headset and buttons.	Untested
Camera	Untested
Connectivity
WiFi	Untested
Bluetooth	Untested
GPS	Untested
Modem
Calls	Untested
SMS	Untested
Mobile data	Untested
Miscellaneous
FDE Full disk encryption and unlocking with unl0kr.	Untested
Sensors
Accelerometer Auto screen rotation works in desktops e.g. Phosh or Plasma Mobile	Untested

Xiaomi Redmi 6A
	; Plasma Desktop
Manufacturer	Xiaomi
Name	Redmi 6A
Codename	xiaomi-cactus
Released	2018
Type	handset
Hardware
Chipset	MediaTek Helio A22 (MT6761)
CPU	Quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU	PowerVR GE8320
Display	720 x 1440 IPS
Storage	16 GB
Memory	2 GB
Architecture	aarch64
Software
Original software The software and version the device was shipped with.	Android (MIUI) 9
postmarketOS
Category	downstream
Mainline Instead of a Linux kernel fork, it is possible to run (Close to) Mainline.	no
Device package	device-xiaomi-cactus
Kernel package	linux-xiaomi-cactus

Contributors

jdr

Maintainer(s)

jdr

Users owning this device

Blitztide
Divanchuk
OctoBanon
Szczurek (Notes: 2x)
TukangM (Notes: 2/16, cracked screen)
Veynamer

How to enter flash mode

Shutdown the phone completely
Press Volume down(-) and Power button simultaneously to enter the fastboot mode.

Bootloader original status

The bootloader in new Xiaomi devices are locked. To unlock it, you need to go to https://en.miui.com/unlock/download_en.html and follow the instructions as given.

Installation

The following steps boots postmarketOS.

pmbootstrap flasher flash_rootfs
pmbootstrap flasher flash_kernel
pmbootstrap flasher boot

Plasma Mobile

Need to modify the file /usr/bin/startplasmamobile

Add --framebuffer --fb-device /dev/fb0 to arguments of startplasma-wayland

Like this:

startplasma-wayland --framebuffer --fb-device /dev/fb0 --xwayland --lockscreen --inputmethod maliit-keyboard --exit-with-session=/usr/lib/libexec/startplasma-waylandsession

This ensures that the Plasma Mobile is rendered using a frame buffer.

Current boot status

Currently (Linux 4.9.117, edge, 01 Nov 2023) on Plasma Mobile (both using framebuffer and not), Gnome Mobile and Phosh phone boots up, successfully shows loading animation, resizes system partition on first boot, starts SSHd (so you can SSH into) but after that loading animation stops and desktop environment doesn't show up.

Xfce4 works out-of-the-box.

Here is an output of startplasma-wayland:

qt.qpa.wayland: Creating a fake screen in order for Qt not to crash
The Wayland connection broke. Did the Wayland compositor die?
The Wayland connection broke. Did the Wayland compositor die?
kdeinit5: Communication error with launcher. Exiting!
Error: could not determine $DISPLAY.
Error: Can not contact kdeinit5!
org.kde.startup: "kdeinit5_shutdown" () exited with code 255
startplasma-wayland: Shutting down...
startplasmacompositor: Shutting down...
startplasmacompositor: Done.