Arch Linux GNOME for FydeTab Duo v0.1.5

Arch Linux GNOME for FydeTab Duo — v0.1.5

Maintenance release of the Arch Linux ARM GNOME image for the FydeTab Duo:
a kernel fix that affects on-demand driver loading across the whole system,
and a substantially smaller image.

Release summary

• Kernel 6.12.43-18 fixes two platform defects inherited from the
  vendor's ChromeOS kernel configuration:
  • Kernel module autoloading was silently broken on all previous
    images (the config routed every kernel-initiated module load through a
    helper binary that does not exist on Arch). Manually loaded drivers
    worked, which is why it went unnoticed; anything relying on on-demand
    loading — firewalls, containers, filesystem and crypto modules — now
    works as it should.
  • nftables support is enabled, so the nft-backed iptables that Arch
    ships (and with it ufw, firewalld, Docker networking) can actually talk
    to the kernel.

Default credentials — change them on first boot: user arch,
password arch. Run passwd after first boot.

Installation

1. Download ArchLinux-ARM-FydeTab-Duo-Gnome-uboot-2026-08-18.img.xz
   from this release and verify it:

   sha256sum ArchLinux-ARM-FydeTab-Duo-Gnome-uboot-2026-08-18.img.xz
   # d31c0d2f86f4dde5bf7cdb494758275d9ea9a45b9e9354235c824ef055db483c
   

2. Decompress:

   unxz ArchLinux-ARM-FydeTab-Duo-Gnome-uboot-2026-08-18.img.xz
   

3. Put the tablet into Loader mode, connect it over USB and flash with
   rkdeveloptool (loader binary and details in the guide linked below):

   sudo rkdeveloptool ld
   sudo rkdeveloptool db rk3588_spl_loader_v1.09.111.bin
   sudo rkdeveloptool wl 0 ArchLinux-ARM-FydeTab-Duo-Gnome-uboot-2026-08-18.img
   sudo rkdeveloptool rd
   

   Full walkthrough: the FydeTab Duo Arch install guide.

4. First boot resizes the root filesystem to fill the eMMC.

Known issues

• Waking from deep suspend requires the power button — USB keyboards
  cannot wake the device (USB power domain is off in deep suspend).

Looking for a different desktop? There is now an Omarchy (Hyprland) image for this device as well.