My device arrived today - so going to work on it this weekend. As for Linux - I was planning on creating a VM (ubuntu or debian) on my Unraid server unless you think this is a bad idea.
As long as you have access to a usb port I can’t see why not. For any troubleshooting, I’d ask on the 8.1 ROM thread I linked to.
Good luck with it!
Got it up and running! Pretty proud of myself given I’m a complete novice with Linux/Android. Thanks to @pgale and @stevemann whose posts I found very helpful along the way.
Now the tinkering begins…
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Excellent. Hope you have fun with it
what are you using for the live weather radar tab?
I got my ThinkSmart device up and running with A11 ROM. How do I get a full Kiosk Mode to install and get a similar dashboard as shown in the first post?
Currently, I do not have any Home Assist Instants running, do I need to create them first?
Thanks
KD
The android app you are seeking is Fully Kiosk. https://www.fully-kiosk.com/
There is also an integration to allow communication between ha and the fully kiosk app. Fully Kiosk Browser - Home Assistant
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As @nickrout says, there’s an app - there are actually a few. The one you want is Fully Kiosk BROWSER (for running HA via a browser window) or you could use Fully Kiosk SINGLE APP which allows you to run an app, in this case it would be the HA companion app. I use the browser app.
I’m now running Lineage 15.1, courtesy of @deadman on Discord. This is a great upgrade to the OS I was previously running. I’ve pulled together multiple posts and writings from a host of people and created a guide to installing which can be found on my GitHub page here:
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Could you expand on the advantages of Lineage 15? Thanks
It’s still based on core Android 8.1 but has a new recovery environment that allows sideloading directly. It’s based on the open source LineageOS so builds on Android (it isn’t just a skinned version of Android that someone said to me the other day on Facebook!). @Deadman’s build of Lineage for the TSV has carefully picked drivers and other components that are tested to work with this device.
Previously, I have tried and run (for quite some time) Mattmon’s 8.1, Android 11 with Google Go Apps and postmarketOS (PMOS) which is Alpine Linux based.
All other options had issues that caused me problems. Lineage OS 15.1 fixes audio not working at all through a browser, weird touchscreen timeouts and problems crashing when booting (A11) if another app is set as the launcher.
So for me, it’s stable and just works with everything I’ve tried so far.
Only issues found so far are issues using it in landscape for some apps (reported by someone else - i’ve not reproduced). This doesn’t mean that something breaking won’t be found in some odd situation. The device is still a hacked turnkey MS Teams device that has been built on by using a userdebug image that was leaked. There is NO SUPPORT whatsoever from Lenovo or anyone else. This is a discontinued device. The Lineage build is UNOFFICIAL so don’t expect any updates apart from anything that @deadman and the other devs working with him may or may not release out of the goodness of their hearts (if they even are able to fix something that crops up). That being said, this retailed for around $350 new, so getting one for $20-40, shrink-wrapped in a box is an amazing deal and they work really well.
They do only have 2GB DDR3 RAM and that shows with more complex, heavy web pages or web apps which can be slow to load. For HA dashboards, even running a camera feed or two, they work well, reliably and pretty quick.
So having run five devices for a few months and tried all the options, Lineage 15.1 wins!
Sorry - that went on to be more about the device but it’s worth mentioning the caveats as some people expect it to be a fully usable modern tablet. Some people want everything for nothing 
I hope that helps?
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edit: i’m blind
Worked great, thank you!
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Thanks for this guide! I have it up and running, with lineafe 15.1 rol and home assistant companion app.
Now, I do have an issue. When I use Google photos Screensaver, it seems that the screen just goes down instead of showing actual a photo slideshow.
I have set the screen to not fall asleep (‘Sleep after 5 minutes’ under Display + ‘Stay awake’ in developer options), screensaver set to start when docked or charging.
Result is that the screen just falls asleep after 5 minutes.
Anyone got a suggestion? I have the feeling that I miss something…
Use Fully Kiosk, not the companion app
Thanks, I’ll give it a try.
I’ve been reading about Fully Kiosk just now… I was not aware of the screensaver options etc.
What hardware are you using? If you’re using a thinksmart then the issue you’re seeing is most likely because that device doesn’t have a battery, so it is never “charging” as far as the operating system is concerned.
Yeah, mine are showing 50% and not charging. I seem to remember Mattmon’s build showed charging but I might be wrong?
Interestingly, the main post about these devices is tagged “official mobile app”.
Fully is just a browser that can has an integration and can be controlled by automations. It doesn’t require interaction with the tablet to change screens.
The companion app does add sensors from the remote device, which can be useful. And perhaps there are ways to control the companion app remotely that I am not aware