Android X86 Club

[lexluthermiester]

Welcome to the club for Android X86!

While this thread will primarily focus on distributions from http://www.android-x86.org, discussions about other versions or forks are welcome. Here everyone is welcome to talk about it, seek advice, ask for help and hang out. If you don't know about the project, go check it out. Been a lot of fun over the past few years. Android App compatibility is about 94% to 95%ish and greatly depends on whether the devs wrote support for X86/X64 into their apps or linked to the standard Android code library's AND how old the app is. So your mileage may vary.

That said, it's a great OS for old or new Desktop's & Laptop's. I am currently using a Dell Vostro 3750 with an i7-2860QM, 16GB of DDR3 1333 CL9 RAM and a 1.2TB Intel MLC based SATA SSD

So after a LONG break, there has been some developments in the Android X84/X64 arena, and good ones!

The version of AndroidX86 I'm currently personally using is BlissOS 14.10.3(Android11) from Sept of this year on my personal laptop.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/bl...6_64-OFFICIAL-opengapps-20240916.iso/download
This newest version(14.10.3) has been tested and works fine too. It is my current personal daily driver install.

However, there are other versions which I've tested or are currently testing.

BlissOS 15.9.1(Android 12)
https://sourceforge.net/projects/bl...2-x86_64-OFFICIAL-gapps-20240912.iso/download
Tested this this one a few days ago and all seems well. The UI is a bit jank(to me), but works as it should. Android apps

BlissOS 16.9.6(Android 13)
https://sourceforge.net/projects/bl...7-x86_64-OFFICIAL-gapps-20240911.iso/download
Testing is finished and this version is very stable. This version is close to the stock standard AOSP build but with Google's bloat trimmed down.
It also has the BlissOS customization treatments, which are very will done. This is the one I'm going to update to as my daily driver soon.

Now testing BlissOS Zenith 16.9.6(Android 13).

BlissOS-x86 - Browse /Official/BlissOSZenith/Gapps/Generic at SourceForge.net

An Open Source OS, based on Android for PC's & Tablets

sourceforge.net

Not sure what the differences are between this "Zenith" build and the one above, but I'll chime in and let everyone know.
After @HMTheBoy154 from the BlissLabs dev team chimed in, they explained that the differences are in the Linux kernel version being used. The Zenith version uses the newer kernel

So for those who might not be up to speed, this is the group BlissLabs making their own flavors of AndroidX86.
They had a rough start a few years ago but as of late they have been making great strides into a very usable Android OS for Laptops and PC's!
You all can find them over at their website;

BlissLabs

A non-profit org that develops open source software for the community

blisslabs.org

As for hardware needed for use;

CPU's : Generally anything modern. Intel(anything post Core2) and Ryzen(actual ZEN* based) are fully supported. POPCNT is a required CPU feature.

GPU's : Intel IGPs are fully supported as well as most Geforce GPUs and some Quadro's. AMD IGP's are stated as supported but I only have older Radeon GPUs to test with so your mileage may vary. Ryzen IGPs are support to work perfectly, but I have not tested this

Network(LAN & WIFI) : All Intel and Realtek LAN/WIFI's are supported but Broadcom support is crap to say the least.

Storage : SSD's and Hard Drives are equally supported, extra drives and optical drives can be mounted with standard terminal commands. Hell, even ZipDrives are supported, which was tested as a joke and was completely unexpected when it worked! Generally, if the system BIOS/UEFI can see the drive natively, Android will see it too(because Android uses the Linux kernel)

Sound : Almost all built on audio devices will work, as well as USB based devices generally. Many Creative Labs SoundBlaster cards work great, but a few do not. Generally whatever the Linux kernel supports, AndroidX86 supports as well.

Displays : All laptop displays are supported and I have yet to see any plug&play displays not work.

AV Capture/TV Tuner devices : Generally, if the Linux kernel supports it, Android will see it too, but app support is very specific and requires supporting code.

Memory card readers are generally supported to excellent effect.

If there's anything I can help with, please chime in, I'll see what I can do!

(NOTE, I'll be updating this post as new info comes available and things develop.)

 

[Papahyooie]

I've tried so hard to get this to work for me. I want to put it on a small form factor PC (like an old eeepc or something) expecting it to run on low spec machines, but it runs like a dog even on my high end stuff. All I want is something with a big icon interface (like android), easy apps (like android) so I can put it on my kitchen PC to watch twitch and hulu. (and of course, neither work on x86....)

It seems perfect for my use case, but I just can't get it to play nice with anything.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I wonder if there is any support for older AMD APUs. I have an AMD-E350 laptop that could benefit from running this. Driver support with windows 7 or windows 10 has meant that any hardware acceleration requests when it comes to things like youtube videos is directed to the CPU instead of the APU. E-350 is incredibly weak for 1080p in that respect.

 

[lexluthermiester]

All I want is something with a big icon interface (like android), easy apps (like android) so I can put it on my kitchen PC to watch twitch and hulu. (and of course, neither work on x86....)

Twitch and Hulu both should have X86 support in their app(don't quote me). Even if not, if you use an browser like Firefox Focus, the web version of the services should work fine. Haven't used either in a while, but they did the last time I tried. Amazon Prime is my stream service of choice.

It seems perfect for my use case, but I just can't get it to play nice with anything.

The key is to find a system that is/was very popular. Like a Dell, HP or Lenovo laptop for example. If you want a SFF PC, same thing, find something with popular hardware. Zotac's mini-PC systems generally work fine and Intel's NUC PC's are well supported.

I wonder if there is any support for older AMD APUs. I have an AMD-E350 laptop that could benefit from running this.

That's a good question. Never tried it on an AMD mobile chipset. You could always try it out, nothing to lose but a bit of time installing(takes about 15ish minutes).

 

[dorsetknob]

Got a Asus Phonepad that fits this bill or is it a tPhablet
at 7" big for a phone but as a Tablet just right

 

[lexluthermiester]

Got a Asus Phonepad that fits this bill or is it a tPhablet
at 7" big for a phone but as a Tablet just right

Is it an X86 tablet with a standard BIOS? Whats the model number?
If you can boot from the SD or USB ports and reinstall the OS from there, it might work.

 

[dorsetknob]

Android Phone / Tablet with Intel CPU Model K004

 

[GoldenX]

I wonder if there is any support for older AMD APUs. I have an AMD-E350 laptop that could benefit from running this. Driver support with windows 7 or windows 10 has meant that any hardware acceleration requests when it comes to things like youtube videos is directed to the CPU instead of the APU. E-350 is incredibly weak for 1080p in that respect.

AFAIK, they use mesa, so it would work just fine, like any Linux distro.
Edit: yep, this is the last 8.1 release: "Support OpenGL ES 3.x hardware acceleration for Intel, AMD, Nvidia and QEMU(virgl) by Mesa 18.3.1."

 

[qubit]

Android on x86 sounds all wrong. Love it.

 

[insane 360]

cool club...

i keep playing around with it. latest was bliss OS on a surface pro 3. ran awesome, the only issue was battery life. if left on battery it would be dead in a few hours, regardless of screenon settings. i've put windows 10 back on it and run bluestacks 4 and it runs the few apps that my daughter uses for school.

but tried a few games as well and very slick, much faster than my droid force 2 (snapdragon 835)

 

[GreiverBlade]

nice .... well i am primarily using NoX for any Android app i want on my computer ...

interestingly enough back in the day i had a Motorola Razr i (XT890) with a x86 CPU (shamefully a Atom Z2460 although less shamefully than other atoms ... that one was kinda fast ) running Android
given that Android is technically a Linux fork ... i don't see why it wouldn't be X86 compatible too with some tinkering

 

[lexluthermiester]

Android Phone / Tablet with Intel CPU Model K004

I'm not finding much when I search for the. What's the make and model? Or is it one of those inexpensive chinese brands?

Android on x86 sounds all wrong. Love it.

And yet it works really well! If it was absolutely required, I could get by with it as a daily driver.

given that Android is technically a Linux fork ... i don't see why it wouldn't be X86 compatible too with some tinkering

And that's exactly the idea.

 

[GoldenX]

And yet it works really well! If it was absolutely required, I could get by with it as a daily driver.

Sometimes it's better than Windows/Linux.

 

[dorsetknob]

Got a Asus Phonepad that fits this bill

Or is it one of those inexpensive chinese brands?

Yeh ASUS is a cheap chinese Brand ( or some people say

I'm not finding much when I search

your googling technique needs a skills refresh
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=asus+k004
Here is their knock off dodgy web page
https://www.asus.com/Phone/ASUS_Fonepad/

 

[lexluthermiester]

Yeh ASUS is a cheap chinese Brand ( or some people say

your googling technique needs a skills refresh
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=asus+k004
Here is their knock off dodgy web page
https://www.asus.com/Phone/ASUS_Fonepad/

Sorry I suddenly feel dumb.. LOL! I forget you mentioning Asus.. After looking it up, it doesn't seem like it would work. Even though it's an X86 CPU, it's configured the same way an ARM CPU based tablet is, without a standard user accessible bios and bootloader.

 

[dorsetknob]

yeh no access to bios (which is a shame)
would love to install win (10) and still be able to use it as a Phone /tablet
Its a nice phablet and i like the 720i Screen movie playback is nice and smooth

 

[lexluthermiester]

yeh no access to bios (which is a shame)
would love to install win (10) and still be able to use it as a Phone /tablet
Its a nice phablet and i like the 720i Screen movie playback is nice and smooth

On that CPU Win10 would run like molasses in January..

 

[Tonylakeman]

I'm looking at installing Android x86 on a kenlix mini pc running a n4100 with additional external drive. I have read that this pc is suitable, one question though, is there a way of getting a pc TV tuner to work on Android x86?

 

[lexluthermiester]

one question though, is there a way of getting a pc TV tuner to work on Android x86?

Gonna have to break the bad new and tell you the chances are slim(leaning toward none). TV tuner support is not a thing in Android. For that, you may wish to setup up dual boot and have Windows on one partition and Android on the other.

Welcome to the TPU forums!

 

[Tonylakeman]

I thought as much, been running Android boxes for years and just wondered if x86 had any hidden gems. Many thanks for the reply, I look forward to putting it on my pc and having a play.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Android boxes for years and just wondered if x86 had any hidden gems.

The thing is, If Google had played their cards right, they could have made Android into a very versatile desktop OS. As it is, it's damn decent and very useful as such, but with just a bit of tweaking and refinement it could give Windows a run for it's money.

Many thanks for the reply, I look forward to putting it on my pc and having a play.

You're welcome. Any time!

 

[insane 360]

I'm looking at installing Android x86 on a kenlix mini pc running a n4100 with additional external drive. I have read that this pc is suitable, one question though, is there a way of getting a pc TV tuner to work on Android x86?

about the only option i could think of would be to get a network tuner (like hdhomerun) and using the channel's app or maybe its their own app now...

I use plex pass at the house with an older hdhomerun dual tuner and then plex sends live tv (guide is finally a proper guide) to my firetv and my roku devices...

work around but there are a few options, but nothing internal to your android x86...have to be creative

 

[GoldenX]

On that CPU Win10 would run like molasses in January..

LTSC runs fairly well on "baratos" Atoms.

 

[Tonylakeman]

about the only option i could think of would be to get a network tuner (like hdhomerun) and using the channel's app or maybe its their own app now...

I use plex pass at the house with an older hdhomerun dual tuner and then plex sends live tv (guide is finally a proper guide) to my firetv and my roku devices...

work around but there are a few options, but nothing internal to your android x86...have to be creative

Yeah I was looking at the homerun but don't want to spend the money on one, will make do with a separate TV box that I have had for years.

 

[dellx86]

My Inspiron 2200 reads the usb with androidx86 , gives me boot choice menu, but stalls upon trial; and repeats. Any suggestions?