Open hardware · Kali Linux · ARM64
You bought the tablet. You should own it the way you own a PC: install anything, remove anything, and know exactly what leaves your device and where it goes. No mandatory accounts. No silent telemetry. No store deciding what you're allowed to run.
Tablex Linux is the project that makes that real. We take a sub-$100 Android tablet — the Teclast P85T — and port modern Linux to it, driver by driver, in public. Every line we ship is free software, and every claim is backed by evidence. First stop: a portable Kali Linux rig. Final stop: tablets that answer to their owners.
Kali Linux preloaded · Open hardware · Community driven
01 / The problem
Modern tablets are powerful enough to become useful Linux computers. But their software is usually locked behind proprietary Android firmware, vendor kernels, undocumented hardware and short support lifetimes.
And while you use them, you pay with your data: mandatory accounts, silent trackers and clouds owned by hyperscalers and data brokers. You never agreed to trade your personal life for a tablet — it was the only offer on the table.
Tablex Linux is a movement to break that deal: real Linux tablets with no Android standing between you and your hardware — and no brokers standing between you and your data.
02 / The project
Tablex Linux takes an inexpensive Android tablet and ports Linux to it — documenting each step so anyone can follow, reproduce and learn. This page is the living record of that process.
The goal: a pocket Kali Linux rig for portable security auditing — built step by step, with every breakthrough and every dead end published here.
First development platform
The first Tablex Linux development platform is an affordable ARM64 tablet based on the Allwinner A523 family — selected because it is a realistic, hard test case, not an easy demo.
STATUS: IN DEVELOPMENT — SPECS PUBLISHED AS THEY ARE VERIFIED. NOTHING CLAIMED BEFORE IT BOOTS.
The first device is only the beginning — the methodology is designed to transfer to other ARM64 tablets.
Hardware file / DEV-PLATFORM-01
This is the exact consumer device the project starts from — cheap, widely available, and representative of the problem. Values below are manufacturer claims until the project verifies them against firmware, logs and measurements. The verification log will be published as evidence lands.
SOURCES: TECLAST OFFICIAL SPEC SHEET (EN.TECLAST.COM) + CROSS-CHECKED LISTINGS · REVISION DIFFERENCES DOCUMENTED PER-BOARD.
03 / What you get
Boots straight into Kali — an ARM build tuned for the tablet, not a generic image.
IN DEVELOPMENTNetwork, web, wireless and forensics tools preselected for a portable rig.
PLANNEDThe full Kali experience with your fingers — no keyboard dock required on site.
EXPERIMENTALWi-Fi and Bluetooth for on-site audits. Advanced modes verified per chip before claimed.
EXPERIMENTALAll-day auditing on battery, charged over standard USB-C.
PLANNEDImages, guides and sources published — rebuild the whole thing yourself.
IN DEVELOPMENT04 / Open source
What we discover, the patches, the build guides and the docs must be reproducible by others. If a solution only works because one person knows a secret trick, it isn't finished.
05 / The engineering agent
Tablex Engineer reads firmware, logs and hardware documents, then labels every finding as FACT · EVIDENCE · HYPOTHESIS · UNKNOWN — so nothing unverified ever ships as truth.
06 / The roadmap
This is the port tracker — phases move from planned to done as the work lands, and each step gets its own log entry below.
Open the tablet on paper first: every chip, sensor and port, listed.
Make it start Linux — every time, the same way.
A modern system underneath, with the tablet hardware recognized.
Kali you can actually use with your fingers.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for audits, battery that lasts the job.
A smooth desktop wherever the hardware allows it.
Download, flash, audit. A guide anyone can follow.
Repeat the recipe on the next cheap tablet.
Novedades del port
Aquí iré publicando las novedades del port: hardware recibido, volcados, primeros arranques y callejones sin salida. Resumido y con evidencia.
POST 001 · 2026-09-24 PUBLICADO
La Teclast P85T ya está en el laboratorio. Primer volcado por ADB (sin root): SoC Allwinner A523, 4 GB de RAM, 64 GB eMMC, pantalla 800×1280 con táctil Silead, WiFi AIC8800 y PMIC AXP2202. Esto es lo confirmado, lo probable y lo que falta.
07 / Project log
Every step of the bring-up gets logged here — newest first. Breakthroughs and dead ends alike.
LOG 004 · UP NEXT NEXT
Next: back up the stock firmware, open a UART console and capture the first boot logs. Nothing gets modified until the original system is safely stored.
LOG 003 · 2026-09-24 PUBLISHED
The P85T unit is here. First ADB extraction done: Allwinner A523 (8× A55), 4 GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC, 800×1280 panel with Silead gslX680 touch, AIC8800 WiFi/BT, AXP2202 PMIC. Full simplified breakdown in the post.
LOG 002 · 2026-09-22 PUBLISHED
tablexlinux.com is online with the Teclast P85T hardware file: every spec labeled as vendor claim until verified on-device. This log is now the official progress record.
LOG 001 · 2026-09 PUBLISHED
First port target locked in: an affordable 8″ tablet on the Allwinner A523 (ARM64, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage). Cheap, available, and hard enough to prove the method.
08 / What Kickstarter funds
The biggest cost isn't software — it's the time to investigate hardware never designed for mainline Linux. Funding turns a promising experiment into a reproducible open-source project.
KICKSTARTER LINK GOES HERE — REPLACE #back HREF WHEN LIVE.
09 / Why this matters
A tablet can have years of useful hardware life left after its manufacturer stops supporting it — and every one of those years currently paid for with personal data. Open Linux support ends both extractions: devices that stay yours, data that stays yours.
10 / What success looks like
EACH ITEM SHIPS WITH ITS STATUS LABEL: WORKING / IN DEVELOPMENT / EXPERIMENTAL / PLANNED.
11 / Community
Tablex Linux is developed in public. You don't need to be a kernel developer to help — every verified piece of information makes the next device easier.
12 / Sources
Every document, tree and thread the port stands on — kernel, devicetree, bootloader, firmware and P85T-specific research. Start here to follow (or check) the work.
COMMUNITY THREADS + GISTS ARE THIRD-PARTY WORK — CROSS-CHECK BEFORE TRUSTING, SAME AS WE DO.
Final call
A cheap Android tablet shouldn't be a disposable computer — or a data tap for brokers and hyperscalers. Watch it become a Kali machine you truly own: your hardware, your software, your data.
REPLACE BUTTON HREFS WITH THE KICKSTARTER + GITHUB URLS WHEN LIVE.