Plasma/Mobile/FAQ

From KDE Community Wiki

Why Plasma Mobile is not using Mer/Nemomobile?

Plasma Mobile is software platform for mobile devices, this however doesn't include the operating system but Qt5, KDE Frameworks, Plasma and Various applications. Plasma Mobile can work on mer distribution. But since we don't have expertise and resources for packaging for Mer, that is not our main focus.

Can android apps work on Plasma Mobile?

Currently it is not possible. Hoewever, there is shashlik project which makes it possible to run android apps in Normal Linux environment, please check it out : http://www.shashlik.io/

Can I run Plasma Mobile on my mobile device?

Currently, Plasma Mobile runs on the following device types:

  • x86 based devices: if you own an x86 based device, Desktop Neon based ISO image is for you.
  • devices ported to postmarketOS: if your device has been ported to postmarketOS, follow the instructions to install postmarketOS on your device.
  • devices where Halium can run: if your device can run Halium, get the Neon-based rootfs that the Plasma Mobile team provides and follow the relative guide.

If port is not available, you can help in porting Plasma Mobile to your device.

What are requirements of device for porting Plasma Mobile?

  • For Android based devices (ARM and x86) a Halium port is required:
    • Device tree & Kernel source
    • Kernel version must be 3.1.0 or later
    • Devices with MediaTek chipsets are not recommended
    • 16 GiB of storage is recommended, but 8 GiB could also work
    • 1 GiB of RAM is needed
  • Intel or AMD based devices (with open source firmware) just can use the x86 ISO


For Android porting you should have a look at the Halium Porting Guide.

I've installed Plasma Mobile, what is login password?

Default user in the Plasma Phone reference image is "phablet", there is no password set by default for user, At startup however it shows login-screen neverth-less as current kscreenlocker have no way to detect if password is set. It will accept anything as password during startup. See T4991 on phabricator.

After logging in device, you can use konsole to set passwd for user.

What is status of project?

Currently Plasma Mobile is available on LG Nexus 5, and LG Nexus 5X smartphone. There is also x86/intel based ISO which can be used to run Plasma Mobile on normal project. For more information about current todo items, visit the Plasma Mobile board on phabricator.