Yoga Book Linux Porting Repository

This repository serves as a central hub for software related to running GNU/Linux on Lenovo Yoga Book tablets (YB1-X91L/F, YB1-X90L/F).

Status

Instructions are for YB1-X91 (Windows) models. Android (YB1-X90) version should works also, with some exception (check the Issues). To boot from USB, enable USB host and disable Secure Boot as described here: https://web.archive.org/web/20220516142318/https://poz1.com/windows-on-android-lenovo-yogabook/

Most of the hardware is functional, with the following exceptions:

• Cameras
• LTE modem (in L modifications of the tablet)
• Keyboard vibration feedback

Most Linux patches have been mainlined, except for the sound drivers.

What You Need to Know

The Yoga Book tablet features a sensor keyboard, which essentially functions as a touchpad. To use it as a keyboard, a userspace 'driver' is utilized. Therefore, installing the OS without connecting a physical keyboard via an OTG hub can be challenging.

Quick Start

I personally use Debian, so the instructions below describe its installation. Ubuntu should also be compatible. For other distributions, you may need to download and build packages from the source.

Instructions are approximate, details may vary. Please create an issue if something goes wrong.

Repositories

If you want to use a prepackaged repository, there are repositories available for Arch Linux (and derivatives), Debian (and derivatives) and Ubuntu (and derivatives).

For Arch Linux you can check here.
For Debian it is available here.
For Ubuntu it is available here.

The packages are build by Imanuel Ulbricht, the build scripts can be found here for Debian/Ubuntu and here for Arch Linux. The package repos are found here for Debian, here for Ubuntu and here for Arch Linux.

If you want to use a different distro like Fedora or Alpine, please comment this issue.

OS Installation

1. Download an ISO image and write it to a USB flash drive (refer to Debian's official site for instructions).
2. Connect a powered microUSB OTG hub to the tablet (non-powered may works also, let's try).
3. Connect the USB flash drive and a keyboard to the hub.
4. Power on the tablet while holding the Volume Up key.
5. Select the USB drive in the boot menu.
6. Install Debian as you normally would, and boot into the new system. The Gnome desktop is recommended because it supports screen rotation based on accelerometer data.
7. Download the latest .deb packages (check the Tags section in this repository):
   • linux-image
   • touch-keyboard
   • yogabook-support
   • alsa-ucm-conf-yogabook
8. Open a terminal emulator, navigate to the directory containing the .deb files, and install them using the command sudo dpkg -i --force-depends *.deb.
9. Resolve any missing dependencies with the command sudo apt -f install.
10. For Debian, install firmware packages also: sudo apt install firmware-intel-sound firmware-brcm80211.
11. Reboot. Verify that the new kernel is in use with the command uname -a (the output should include 'yogabook' in the version).
12. If the system has a newer kernel than the one you downloaded, reboot again, select the Yoga Book kernel from the boot menu, and verify that it boots successfully. After this, remove the default kernel from the system with sudo apt remove linux-image-<version> command.
13. The touch keyboard should now be operational, allowing you to detach the OTG hub and enjoy your Yoga Book.

Troubleshooting

Known issues:

• Camera doesn't work.
• To have automatic screen rotation working, it should be supported by desktop environment. Try Gnome first.
• My Yoga Book randomly freezes after some time. If you have the same behavior, let me know.