L4T Ubuntu
​

Intro
L4T Ubuntu is a version of Linux based on nvidia's linux for tegra project. It uses a different kernel compared to previous releases which allows it to use features not yet in mainline. Such as audio, docking support and vulkan.

Join our discord: https://discord.gg/53mtKYt

We have a wiki !
To facilitate our work we will only update our wiki from now on in order to avoid multiple outdated references, please refer to the following link instead of this page
https://wiki.switchroot.org/en/Linux/Ubuntu-Install-Guide

Credits
Bylaws,
Langerhans,
Ave,
Natinusala,
CTCaer(most of the hard stuff),
Gavin_Darkglider,
DanielOgorchock(Joycon drivers/joycond),
stary2001 (reboot2payload),
NVIDIA,
Azkali
Everyone else in switchroot - more info on that in the future.

 

[gptriple]

@bylaws also with update 2 my switch don't boot into linux, now stuck on black screen i wait more than 10 minutes for 2 times but nothing.
with update 1 switch return in rcm after select L4T in hekate, now black screen.
sd card samsung 64gb u3
switch serial xaj7001650****
firmaware 7.0.1 update with choidyournx from 5.1

let me know if you need more information

 

[pescu]

That would be my dream come true but I am not sure it is possible. We can only dream, can't we ? For now.

I think that Max Keller and the rest of the team are working on androit, but I am not sure, because they have to fix the majority of bugs in L4T Ubuntu

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@bylaws also with update 2 my switch don't boot into linux, now stuck on black screen i wait more than 10 minutes for 2 times but nothing.
with update 1 switch return in rcm after select L4T in hekate, now black screen.
sd card samsung 64gb u3
switch serial xaj7001650****
firmaware 7.0.1 update with choidyournx from 5.1

let me know if you need more information

it happend to me when I installed update V1.2, i just reinstalled the L4T ubuntu

 

[gptriple]

I think that Max Keller and the rest of the team are working on androit, but I am not sure, because they have to fix the majority of bugs in L4T Ubuntu

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it happend to me when I installed update V1.2, i just reinstalled the L4T ubuntu

what do you mean for "reinstalled L4T" did you reborn the image and apply again the update?

 

[Centergaming]

@bylaws The latest update keeps sending me back into rcm mode...

Edit: Rebooted 4 to 5 times to get it working

 

[pescu]

@bylaws The latest update keeps sending me back into rcm mode...

It send me first time, but when I booted again it worked

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

what do you mean for "reinstalled L4T" did you reborn the image and apply again the update?

I reborn the image, booted into linux and configure it, power off, and apply the update again.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@bylaws also with update 2 my switch don't boot into linux, now stuck on black screen i wait more than 10 minutes for 2 times but nothing.
with update 1 switch return in rcm after select L4T in hekate, now black screen.
sd card samsung 64gb u3
switch serial xaj7001650****
firmaware 7.0.1 update with choidyournx from 5.1

let me know if you need more information

You can also try rebooting like 4-5 times

 

[gptriple]

It send me first time, but when I booted again it worked

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


I reborn the image, booted into linux and configure it, power off, and apply the update again.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


You can also try rebooting like 4-5 times

ok, i tried to reburn the image and boot again. i can't enter and configure becouse never booted for me.
now i'll try to do some reboot

 

[pescu]

ok, i tried to reburn the image and boot again. i can't enter and configure becouse never booted for me.
now i'll try to do some reboot

For me the first boot took like 4-6 minutes

 

[gptriple]

For me the first boot took like 4-6 minutes

No way, i tryed to flash sd with 2 different programs, rufus and etcher, but no results my switch always return in rcm

 

[Felipe_9595]

Can I enable the 2.0ghz fre so it works like the other frequencies where working before, scaling on the load of the cpu?

 

[parkerlreed]

So I'm trying to get Arch booting on this (I understand I may not have video, I set it up to auto connect to WiFi)

Took the rootfs from here and extracted to a blank second partition (ext4) https://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv8/generic

Copied the Image and initramfs-linux.img to the L4T folder

I try to boot it and just get a black screen. I assume I need to edit the offsets in the boot.scr but I'm not sure to what.

This is the current byte size of my Image and initramfs

total 32632 
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root     4096 May  6 12:17 . 
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root     4096 Dec 31  1969 .. 
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root      386 May  6 12:15 boot.scr 
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  1048576 May  6 12:13 coreboot.rom 
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 24734208 May  6 19:04 Image 
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  7335251 May  6 19:04 initramfs 
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   280289 May  6 12:11 tegra210-icosa.dtb

 

[jug5]

@bylaws Thank you so much for adding the USB ethernet drivers and NFS, one thing that you missed: CONFIG_NFS_V4

Can you please enable in the next kernel build?

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Also for reference this is the kernel option

CONFIG_USB_NET_AX88179_178A

I don't have mine on me to check if that's in the new config

EDIT: Strange it should be working

[parker@stealth l4t-ubuntu]$ ./extract-ikconfig Image | grep AX88
CONFIG_USB_NET_AX8817X=y
CONFIG_USB_NET_AX88179_178A=y

Epic, did you use the new boot option? You may have booted the old kernel. The actual file layout in the FAT32 partition changed.

I have the same USB ethernet adapter and I can verify that I'm booting the new kernel that has the drivers compiled in but it still doesn't work for some reason.
There is no dmesg output at all when plugging or unplugging the adapter.

Edit: It's a problem with the USB port on the dock, I plugged in a USB drive and nothing in dmesg and no new devices in lsblk shown either.

 

[iotdevnet]

Try with 1.2, its VERY likely its fixed

1.2 is OUT, with 2.0ghz most games run at same pace as shield. Tons of controller drivers have been enabled along with usb ethernet drivers.

- Yep my usb Ethernet works!
- 2.09Ghz actually is show to me overclock also works !

- hw video acceleration work with default video player !

tryed 4k h265 aquaman there is some small lag thinks going worst if i switch to 4k 30hz not sure how is 4k playback on Nvidia shield Tv maybe android video acceleration will work more good cos they will have better driver lib.

P.S How i can boot kernel parameters to the kernel like for example:
i want to disable ipv6 so how i can pass this parameter to the kernel ?

ipv6.disable

i really not like why arm don`t have grub

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@bylaws Thank you so much for adding the USB ethernet drivers and NFS, one thing that you missed: CONFIG_NFS_V4

Can you please enable in the next kernel build?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



I have the same USB ethernet adapter and I can verify that I'm booting the new kernel that has the drivers compiled in but it still doesn't work for some reason.
There is no dmesg output at all when plugging or unplugging the adapter.

Edit: It's a problem with the USB port on the dock, I plugged in a USB drive and nothing in dmesg and no new devices in lsblk shown either.

If you wonder are you booting the newer kernel when you boot you must hear the fan spinning with full speed.

also you delete old boot folder from your fat32 sd card

 

[jug5]

- Yep my usb Ethernet works!

If you wonder are you booting the newer kernel when you boot you must hear the fan spinning with full speed.

also you delete old boot folder from your fat32 sd card

Yeah I've deleted the old boot folder, I'm not sure I hear the fan but there's no other kernel to boot other than the new one in the new folder.
At what point do you dock your switch during boot? After the login screen?

 

[iotdevnet]

Yeah I've deleted the old boot folder, I'm not sure I hear the fan but there's no other kernel to boot other than the new one in the new folder.
At what point do you dock your switch during boot? After the login screen?

my login is automatic i set it to log me in directly
after that i put on the dock

 

[coffinbirth]

- Yep my usb Ethernet works!
- 2.09Ghz actually is show to me overclock also works !

- hw video acceleration work with default video player !

tryed 4k h265 aquaman there is some small lag thinks going worst if i switch to 4k 30hz not sure how is 4k playback on Nvidia shield Tv maybe android video acceleration will work more good cos they will have better driver lib.

P.S How i can boot kernel parameters to the kernel like for example:
i want to disable ipv6 so how i can pass this parameter to the kernel ?

ipv6.disable

i really not like why arm don`t have grub

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



If you wonder are you booting the newer kernel when you boot you must hear the fan spinning with full speed.

also you delete old boot folder from your fat32 sd card

Shield TV is pretty much the best 4k HDR box you can get. Huge(20mbps)4k h265 work for me perfectly.

 

[iotdevnet]

Shield TV is pretty much the best 4k HDR box you can get. Huge(20mbps)4k h265 work for me perfectly.

yes but we still limited from 4k 30hz so maybe 1080p is enough
P.S maybe with hardware modification we can make HDMI port to do 4k/60hz not sure is 60hz require more pins to the hdmi port

 

[ReavoEnd]

Any chance for future support of the PowerA Gamecube-style controller? Currently it can be manually paired via Bluetooth, but is not recognized as a controller unlike the pro controller or Joy-Cons.

Second question: Is there any way to manage which "controller number" your connected controller shows up as to the system? For instance right now what happens is:

• Joy-Con connect, first time: Controller 1
• Joy-Con disconnect, connect second time: Controller 2
• Joy-Con disconnect, connect third time: Controller 3
• etc.

Seems like a bug, as ideally it would release the controller 1 slot upon each disconnect, then reconnect as controller 1 every time.

 

[Refriger8tor]

@bylaws first off thanks for making all this possible, truly awesome stuff
secondly, any chance of USB webcam support (or if anybody else here wants to report if their's work)?

Was messing with some peripherals today, USB printing and scanning worked on my Canon MX880 color printer lol!

 

[De4dm4sterBR]

L4T Ubuntu 1.2
​

Intro
L4T Ubuntu is a version of Linux based on nvidia's linux for tegra project. It uses a different kernel compared to previous releases which allows it to use features not yet in mainline. Such as audio, docking support and vulkan.

Beware, using high clocks in handheld mode will degrade your batteries capacity a lot faster than at stock clocks
If you can't install an application check this thread, and ask all questions there https://gbatemp.net/threads/l4t-ubuntu-applcation-install-guides.537579/

Features

• Dock support with USB
• Bluetooth (both controllers and audio)
• Nvidia GPU drivers - Vulkan and OpenGL
• Audio - Headphones, speakers and over HDMI when docked.
• Joycons and pro controllers are supported fully when not attached to the the console
• Touchscreen
• Display
• WiFi
• CPU frequency scaling - The CPU scales from 200mhz to 1.7ghz (what switch is binned for) depending on the load its under. Fans are adjusted to account for this
• Full sdcard speed
• Hardware video acceleration when using the built in videos app (means you can watch videos without battery draining massively)

Prerequisites

• A dedicated 16GB+ sdcard

Downloads

• Sdcard image: https://download.switchroot.org/switchroot-l4t-ubuntu-2019-04-28.img.gz

Updates

• 1.1:
• Download:
• https://download.switchroot.org/updates/update-1.1-for-switchroot-l4t-ubuntu-2019-04-28.tar.gz
• Installation Instructions:
• apt update && apt upgrade is NOT enough for this update
• Extract this to the first partition of your sdcard, making sure to overwrite Image and tegra210-icosa.dtb.
• Changelog:
• Enabled USB mass storage and binfmt in kernel.
• Fixed touch sensitivity and it not reaching bottom edge.
• Fixed issues with joycon/procon right stick and y axis
• Potentially fixed issues with sdcards, if someones didnt work before please try again, if still no then pm me.

• 1.2:
• Download:
• https://download.switchroot.org/upd...1-for-switchroot-l4t-ubuntu-2019-04-28.tar.gz
• Installation Instructions:
• apt update && apt upgrade is NOT enough for this update
• MAKE SURE TO DELETE THE boot FOLDER AND boot.scr BEFORE EXTRACTING THIS UPDATE
• Extract this to the fat32 partition of your sdcard, making sure a l4t-ubuntu folder is created and the L4T ini is overwritten.
• Changelog:
• Enabled ntfs, nfs, squashfs (snaps may work now), ethernet drivers in kernel.
• Added 2.0ghz overclock.
• Enabled android ashmem drivers, needed for anbox (need arm64 ver of it and may run)
• Potentially fixed issues with sdcards, if someones didnt work before please try again.
• No longer conflicts with lakka.
• Check misc info section on how to activate 2ghz mode.

How to install

1. Download the image from the downloads section and extract.
2. Write it to your sdcard using a program such as etcher or dd
3. Apply any updates from the updates section in the thread, IMPORTANT as images don't EVER come with them
4. Boot hekate and select L4T from the configs menu.
5. Wait for around 2-4 minutes while it initially loads
6. Go through the setup process - make sure not to dock the console in this period.
7. Once the initial setup is finished and you are on the login screen it is advisable to reboot:
8. Hold the power button for 10 seconds.
9. Load hekate again and select L4T as a payload.
10. Log in and open the "Disks" app
11. Select the second partition of your sdcard and click the gears icon
12. Choose resize and change the size to the full amount of available space.
13. Enjoy, you now have fully featured Ubuntu on your switch!

Bugs

• Wired joycons do not work (connected to console)
• Docking while having a ssh session open can cause the display to not turn off correctly
• No sleep mode
• USB OTG - works fine in dock though
• Vulkan is buggy in dolphin
• Touch randomly freezes sometimes
• The real time clock gets messed up in horizon

Misc Info

• Pair (joy/pro)cons by opening the bluetooth menu in settings and pressing the + button in the bottom left corner. Then press the sync button on the controller and select its name in the pairing window. Once both joycons are paired press each of their shoulder buttons to use as one controller
• To update the system run "sudo apt update", "sudo apt upgrade". This will apply all switch and ubuntu updates aside from kernel updates, they will be posted here if ever needed.
• To limit cpu freq, run cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_available_frequencies. Find the one you want, then run: echo <freq you want> | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_max_freq
• To force max freq run echo performance | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_governor
• A gui to configure overclocks and fan profiles is coming soon
• NEW: To activate 2 ghz mode run
  

  echo 1 | sudo tee /sys/kernel/tegra_cpufreq/overclock
  echo 2091000  | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_max_freq

  then run the command to force max freq if you want to use anything intensive.
• To always use 2.0ghz mode copy
  

  #!/bin/bash
  echo 1 > /sys/kernel/tegra_cpufreq/overclock
  echo  2091000 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_max_freq
  exit 0

  to /etc/rc.local (you'll need root to create)
  
  ​

  ​

Sources
They can all be found at https://gitlab.com/switchroot with the other kernel repos on http://nv-tegra.nvidia.com

Credits
Langerhans,
Ave,
Natinusala,
CTCaer,
NVIDIA,
Everyone else in switchroot - more info on that in the future.

Well, even after 1.2, my SD card still not able to boot L4T.

 

[DerekGeneric831]

i've managed to boot into Linux on the switch and set the Disk Partition, however theres a few problems..
I can't seem to understand how to update L4T Ubuntu with the latest update,
the keyboard aswell as touchscreen capability is awful and when i go into the Gnome-Terminal and it requires my password whenever i use the caps lock for the first letter of my password it accepts that as the entry for my whole password and asks me to type my password in again meaning im stuck in a loop and can't enter any of the entries i need to put in.. I can't get the Joy Cons recognised through the bluetooth settings whatsoever even when pressing the sync buttons.. and setting up Dolphin Gamecube Emulation w/ Vulkan is pretty much the end goal and the reason i want to use L4T Ubuntu however when i plug my Micro SD into my PC to drop some games on it.. it says that the Micro SD only has less than 100MB on it?