Unofficial Android · iKKO MindOne
Android 17 for a card-sized phone, built without the manufacturer’s source code.
The iKKO MindOne shipped with Android 15, running on lower layers from the Android 12 generation, and its maker never published the code needed to move it on. I rebuilt the phone’s software from the hardware up, and it now runs Android 17 through LineageOS, a free, community-made version of Android. Everything the phone can do works, except the built-in virtual SIM. It is the phone I use every day, and a version other owners can install is on its way.
In development · updated
Right now
Android 17
LineageOS 24, on my own MindOne every day.
Everything works
Except the built-in virtual SIM.
Download coming soon
The source code is already on GitHub.
What the work was
Not new paint over old parts: every layer, from the hardware up, brought to today’s Android.
Beneath Android, every phone carries software that drives its screen, camera, sound and mobile radio. Most unofficial versions of Android keep that original layer and replace only what sits on top — which works until the old parts stop fitting the new system. Phone makers redo this layer when they bring a chip to a new Android release, with their own source code and a team. Here it was done from the outside, by one person: starting from Google’s current kernel and the drivers MediaTek publishes for this chip, and working out the rest from the phone itself.
What the project does
Linux 6.18 · Google GKI
The kernel is the part of the system that talks directly to the hardware. The phone has moved from the old version it shipped with to Google’s current one, used as Google releases it, so Google’s security fixes reach it directly. Everything specific to the MindOne loads on top.
device tree, rebuilt from the stock binary
Before anything works, the system has to be told what is on the board and how it is wired together. The manufacturer never published that description, so it was rebuilt from the compiled copy inside the phone.
own Android services: audio, sensors, location, camera, video
Sound, sensors, location, the camera and video each go through a service written for this phone instead of the original closed one. Open code is what lets them move to new versions of Android, and what lets them be improved.
donor components, extracted by whoever builds it
A few pieces that cannot be rewritten, such as graphics, come from newer phones on the same chip — Samsung’s Galaxy A07 among them — whose versions are made for current Android.
What works
Everything the phone can do, except the built-in virtual SIM.
About the phone
The MindOne is about the size of a credit card: a square AMOLED screen under sapphire glass, and a single camera on a hinge that flips round for selfies. Phones this small are rare, and that is the reason to keep this one current.
What’s next
A download on GitHub with step-by-step instructions, and later updates delivered through the phone’s own Updater app. It will come without Google apps, with a guide to adding them.
Battery life, speed and reliability.
An Android app and new firmware for the Snap keyboard case, to remap its keys and adjust its headphone output.
Google’s kernel fixes as they come out, and future Android releases. The longer-term aim is official LineageOS support.
Can I install it?
Not yet. A ready-to-install build is being prepared; when it is out, this page will link to it, with instructions for putting it on a MindOne.
For developers
Everything is on GitHub under open licences. The closed files the phone still needs are extracted by whoever builds it and are never stored in the repositories.
LineageOS 24 / Android 17: own AIDL services for audio, sensors, GNSS, the camera provider and the vibrator, in-tree V4L2 Codec2 video and Rust modem helpers, 64-bit only. The lineage-23.2 branch keeps Android 16 on Linux 6.12.
Device modules, DTB/DTBO and a Kleaf DDK build over Google’s android17-6.18 GKI core. The previous android16-6.12 line and the earlier android14-6.1 port are kept.
Disclaimer
Everything on these pages is provided as is, with no warranty of any kind, express or implied. Unlocking a bootloader, flashing partitions and running the tools linked here can erase all your data and permanently disable your phone. You do this at your own risk and on your own responsibility. The author accepts no liability for any loss or damage, to your device or otherwise, arising from following anything written here.
A personal research project on a device bought at retail, describing what happened on one unit. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by iKKO or MediaTek.